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Confirmed Differences

Below is a table of confirmed differences in late model Canadian cars from their U.S. counterparts. Many thanks to Stan East for his excellent article "Late Canadian Stock, Eh?" in the February, 1994 CORSA Communique. His article is the source for the bulk of these items and is based on car #4787, a '66 500 coupe. Other main sources, examined by James Hogarth, Rich Felzer, Bording Ostergaard, Rob Hall, & Kent Sullivan, are the following near-original cars:

1965

1966

Recent additions are in purple.

Part / Feature

Differences

Sources

Photos

Notes

Air cleaner decal (non-turbo)

Design unique to Canada and differs from 1965 to 1966 in terms of the content; font also differs slightly

Stan East, James Hogarth

Decal from #5943 ('65)

Decal from #0771 ('66)

Exact repro available from James Hogarth (Bob Slusher had the decals reproduced and kept the camera-ready artwork)

Back-up light housing

"Made in Canada" stamped on back side

Stan East

Restored housing from #1602

Not all Canadian cars had "Made in Canada" housings though, it depended on what source had delivered to the plant. <1/2 likely have Canadian ones

Battery cables

Different part number stamped on negative cable; no part number stamped on positive cable

Note: No research has been done yet on cables for RPO T60 (HD battery option)

Bording Ostergaard, Stan East

Negative battery cable from #0053

Negative battery cable from #1602

Negative cable:

2987280 ('65 and very early '66)

2987257 ('66 after mid-September or so—note cable from #0053, an early '66 car, has first number)

Positive cable: no number stamped

Body build sheet

Different size and format

Kent Sullivan

Body build sheet from #1602

Many cars still have them because they were very often put inside the driver's seat upholstery, often in the seat back

Body tag

Design unique to Canada; is painted body color; options are shown using standard RPO codes

Stan East, Kent Sullivan

Body tag from #0053

Body tag from #2673

At least two options that appear on '66 U.S. body tags, tinted glass, all (A01) and deluxe seat belts (A39), do not appear on '66 Canadian body tags; At least two options that appear on '66 Canadian body tags, headrest front seats (A82) and 4-speed transmission (M20), do not appear on '66 U.S. body tags; Discrepancies like this were likely due to differences in production responsibilities between the body construction and final assembly lines in U.S. and Canada.

Convertible top rear window

Different logo stamped into rear window

Duane Wentlandt

Logo from #0011

Different manufacturer and therefore different company name in logo (PC Tri-Lite vs. Regalite). Other info is the same: date code format & care instructions.

Dash wiring harness

Different wire colors; turn signal flasher mounts on fuse block; flasher is made by HCS Ltd. (#1264H)

Stan East, Kent Sullivan

Fuse block from #0053

 

Defroster duct

No cardboard baffles stapled to the outlets

Bording Ostergaard, Rob Hall, James Hogarth, Kent Sullivan, Duane Wentlandt

Defroster duct from #6049

None of the ducts examined have any traces of the baffles: no cardboard pieces and no stapes or staple holes. Who knows why these were not used in Canada!

Differential case

Code stamped on forward right side instead of lower left

Stan East

Differential case from #5943

This is documented on page 2 of section 0 of the '65 Canadian shop manual but they kept the U.S. picture, which is pretty confusing!

The picture has a red box around the code. It's quite hard to see. It runs vertically with the base of the characters pointing to the right (forward in the car). The code is AA0303. The letters look to have been stamped individually and the numbers in groups of two.

Distributor cap

"Made in Canada" stamped on cap

Stan East

Distributor cap from #7647

 

Engine compartment interior color

Painted same color as exterior (body) color

Stan East

Restored engine compartment from #1602

Gloss level is the same as exterior but not polished

Exterior paint

Was always acrylic enamel rather than acrylic lacquer

1966-specific differences: three more colors available in Canada (18 vs. 15): Blue Charcoal, Cypress Green (same as U.S. '65 color), & Plum Mist; three name differences: "Royal Mist", instead of "Danube Blue", "Laurel Mist", instead of "Willow Green", "Provincial" White, instead of "Ermine" White

Stan East, Eric Starkey, John Gray, Kent Sullivan, Dave Newell

Paint chip charts on Gary Aube's web site

At least two of the three colors unique to Canada in 1966 were used on Buicks, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs in 1966. That's why GM Canada had them in their paint operation, and went ahead and used them on Chevrolets.

Fuel pump

Stamped with "Made in Canada"

Rob Hall, Bording Ostergaard

Pump bottom view from a '65 car (VIN not known)

Pump top view from a '65 car (VIN not known)

Rob Hall found the pump in the pictures at left on a low mileage engine from a '65 Canadian-built Corsa that was wrecked. The engine is quite original; had original spark plug wires, for example.

Gas tank

Where the two halves mate, the corners are rounded rather than right-angle

Rob Hall

Gas tank from a '65-'66 car (VIN not known)

 

Glass

Stamped with DCL insignia (regular and tinted) and does not have date code

Stan East, Rob Hall

Vent window glass from #7647

Tinted vent window glass from #2635

DCL stands for Duplate Canada Limited; On tinted glass, "DCL" is replaced with "Shadelite"

Headlights

"Made in Canada" was stamped on back of bulb

Stan East, Bording OstergaardKent Sullivan

Headlight from #0053

All cars examined had "U.S.A." molded in the glass (front) but some have "Made in Canada" stamped on the back

Ignition coil

Made of aluminum; silver in color; "Made in Canada" in raised lettering

Stan EastKent Sullivan

Restored ignition coil from #1602

 

Ignition rotor

Stamped with "Made in Canada"

Rob Hall

Rotor from a '65 car (VIN not known)

Rob Hall found the rotor in the picture at left on a low mileage engine from a '65 Canadian-built Corsa that was wrecked. The engine is quite original; had original spark plug wires, for example.

Horns

Stamped with "Made in Canada"

Rob Hall

Horn from #7647

 

Inner to outer fender support

Welded on outboard side of flanges on US cars and on inboard side on Canadian cars

James Hogarth

Driver's side flange weld from #0053

Passenger side flange weld from #1602

 

Jacking sheet

Design unique to Canada

Stan East

Reproduction jacking sheet from #1602

Exact repro available from Bording Ostergaard

Limited slip differential warning decal

Design unique to Canada

Rob Hall

Limited slip diff decal from #3402

Similar design to the polarity warning decal

Oil filter

Bilingual label

Stan East

Filter and box #1

Filter and box #2

Discontinued by AC in Canada by 2000. James Hogarth ordered a case in 1994 and got only 8 white Canadian ones; rest were blue.

Owner's manual

Many differences, starting with the cover; also available in French

Stan East, Andrew Gurudata

Owner's manual from #9543

Owner's manual from #0053

Check out Andrew's comparison of 1966 U.S. and Canadian manuals

Owner protection plan book

Design unique to Canada—last six digits of VIN were stamped on cover of booklet

Dave Newell

Warranty book from #9543

Warranty book from #0053

One book was shared among all GM makes in Canada—marque name was stamped on cover

Parking light / turn signal housing

"Made in Canada" stamped on back side

Stan East

Parking light / turn signal housing from #1602

The stamps are hard to see so they are enclosed in red boxes.

Polarity warning decal

Unique to Canada—no U.S. equivalent

Stan East

Polarity warning decal from #0053

Reproduction polarity warning decal from #1602

Exact repro available from Bording Ostergaard

Radio

"Made in Canada" tag affixed to passenger front corner or side

Stan East

Radio tag from #1602

 

Rear view mirror (outside, non-remote)

Does not have Chevy bowtie

Bob Slusher

Outside rear view mirror from #0053

This is because there was no Chevy division in Canada!

Seat belts

Design unique to Canada (regular and deluxe)

Stan East

Deluxe rear seat belt from #0053

 

Shock absorbers

"Delco Canada" stamp

Bob Gilbert, Rob Hall, Bording Ostergaard

Front shock absorber from #5533

Rear shock absorbers from #5533

Rear shock absorber from #7647

1965: "Delco Canada" is in the same size font as part number and date code

1966: "Delco Canada" is in a larger size font than part number and date code

Spark plug wires

Cars 7647 and 2673 have their original wires. 7647's wires are stamped "G. M. Radio" while 2673's wires are stamped "Packard Radio" (identical to U.S. wires)

Rob Hall, Stan East, Kent Sullivan

Spark plug wire from #7647

It appears that U.S. and Canadian-sourced wires were used interchangeably, based on cars 7647, 2673, and various other 1960-66 Canadian Corvairs examined by Shaun McGarvey and Dave Binnie.

Tail light housing

"Made in Canada" stamped on back side

Stan East

Restored housing from #1602

Not all Canadian cars had "Made in Canada" housings though, it depended on what source had delivered to the plant. <1/2 likely have Canadian ones

Tires, including spare

Manufactured by Dominion Royal or B.F. Goodrich rather than U.S. Royal

Stan East, Kent Sullivan

Tire from #2673, pt. 1

Tire from #2673, pt. 2

Tire from #2673, pt. 3

Car 2673 has its five original tires: B.F. Goodrich Silvertown 660 whitewalls

Trunk interior color

Painted same color as exterior (body) color

Stan East

Trunk interior from #0053

Gloss level is the same as exterior but not polished. Stan says that splatter paint could be ordered as an option—very rare

Trunk mat

Sponge rubber backed coarse weave cloth; looks very similar to the U.S. mat pattern-wise

James Hogarth

Trunk mat (front) from #0053

Trunk mat (back) from #0053

 

VIN tag

Number format unique to Canada; "G.M. Canada" stamped on tag, "D.D." stamped on tag

Stan East

VIN tag from #1602

"D.D." indicated where the dealer was supposed to stamp the date delivered to the customer. No examples exist of this actually being done though.

VIN stamp (hidden)

Has different location: driver's side frame rail on the vertical portion; The numbers are stamped between the gas tank hold down strap mount and the second cage nut area

John Gray

N/A

 

Voltage regulator

"Made in Canada" stamped on lid

Stan East

Restored voltage regulator from #1602

 

Wheels

They were stamped "CANAD" on the inside lip (and also "KELS")

Stan East, Rob Hall

5-bolt 13" x 5.5" wheel (VIN not known)

Note that all Corvair wheels (steel and wire) were made by Kelsey-Hayes. K-H had plants in both the U.S. and Canada. The Canadian plant was in Windsor, ON. Thanks to Dave Newell for this information.

Windshield washer refill bottle label

Different design and part number for both the factory-installed bottle and dealer-installed bottle

Stan East, Rob Hall, James Hogarth, Chris King

Factory-installed washer bottle label from #3920

Dealer-installed washer bottle label from #8703

Dealer-installed washer bottle label repro (based on #5943)

Part number of factory-installed bottle is 5772464; dealer-installed bottle is 5772465.

As in the U.S., the factory-installed bottle and bracket were discontinued for 1966.

Exact repro of the dealer-installed bottle label available from Bob Slusher.

Unconfirmed Possibilities

Below is a table of unconfirmed possibilities in late model Canadian cars from their U.S. counterparts. Recent additions are in purple.

Part / Feature

Differences

Source

Notes

Back-up light bulbs

They were probably stamped "Made in Canada"

Rich Felzer

Bulbs removed from car 1602 had Canadian designation but are probably not original

Parking light / turn signal bulbs

They were probably stamped "Made in Canada"

Kent Sullivan

 

Tail light bulbs

They were probably stamped "Made in Canada"

Rich Felzer

Bulbs removed from car 1602 had Canadian designation but are probably not original

Upholstery and carpet

Cardboard tag that hung off a bucket seat—looks like upholstery was made in Windsor—no exterior difference

Stan East, James Hogarth

Colors available varied slightly from the U.S.

Confirmed non-Differences

Below is a table of confirmed non-differences in late model Canadian cars from their U.S. counterparts. Recent additions are in purple.

Part / Feature

Source

Notes

Air filter

Stan East, James Hogarth, Kent Sullivan

Car 2673 has its original filter but nowhere is there a stamp indicating place of manufacture

Alternator

Stan East

Cars 0053 & 2673 have their original alternators but nowhere is there a stamp indicating place of manufacture

Battery

Kent Sullivan

Canadian parts books indicate same Delco part #s ("555" and "569" [HD])

Fan belt

Stan East, Bording Ostergaard, Kent Sullivan

Car 2673 has its original belt and it does not include the place of manufacture; Bording and Stan have some G.M. replacement belts that include "Canada" in verbiage written on package and have "GM 3780981", then a "1" inside a circle, followed by "28" or a "97" stenciled on the belts

Glovebox stickers (tire pressure & engine warning)

Kent Sullivan

Cars 0053 & 2673 have their original stickers and they both say "U.S.A."

Horn relay

Kent Sullivan

Cars 0053 & 2673 have their original relays and they both say "U.S.A."

Rear view mirror (inside, day/night)

Bob Slusher, Kent Sullivan

After examining several cars, there do not appear to be any differences

Speedometer

Stan East, Rob Hall

Stan's research did not turn up any Canadian speedos. Rob Hall looked at 50 or so that he has for parts and none are marked Canada.

Speedometer cable

Bording Ostergaard

Bording has a replacement cable that indicates Canada on the package but the place of manufacture is not indicated anywhere on the part

Turbo carburetor automatic choke cover

Kent Sullivan; Steve Goodman

Car 0053 has this part but all turbo carb auto choke covers say "Made in Canada" (Steve checked several at his shop)

Windshield washer refill bottle

Kent Sullivan

All U.S. and Canadian cars surveyed (about 12) have bottles stamped "Canada 1961" on the bottom and most also say Adell Chemical Corp. Detroit, Mich."

Wiper arms and blades

Stan East, Kent Sullivan

Car 2673 has its original wipers but nowhere is there a stamp indicating place of manufacture

Wiper motor

Kent Sullivan

Cars 0053 & 2673 have their original motors and they both say "U.S.A."

 

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