I recently purchased a Canadian built 1968 Cutlass S. Other than having the Chevy 12 bolt rear, are there any other differences between the U.S built and Canadian built cars?

 

One nice difference is that you can get a complete data sheet from GM Canada. US cars can’t.

 

Congratulations on buying a car made in Oshawa. There's no difference in body, drivetrain or options. However, that said the majority of Canadian built cars did not get air conditioning as it just isn't needed as much in a cooler climate.

 

Not in 1968. The primary difference was the Type C rear axle. The parts book also shows different part numbers for front spindles, steering arms, and lower ball joints on Canadian-built Cutlii. The lower control arm assembly with ball joint also has a unique P/N for this reason. Brake drum/hub and disc brake rotor and hub are also different P/Ns, and the drums are even different RH/LH. Wheel studs are different P/N as well. There is no explanation of the differences, however. Brake backing plates are the same P/N.

 

Unfortunately for us, part numbers on an identical part made by two different suppliers can be a different number because that part number often denotes the supplier. On the other hand, two different part numbers may well mean two very different parts, two parts that are slightly different but the difference doesn't affect anything, or two parts that look the same but have a small difference that is critical.

 

Trust me, I understand configuration control (the aerospace industry is much more stringent in that case than the automotive industry) but this was not the case in 1968. There are many instances of identical parts from different suppliers with the same P/N and slight physical differences. If parts were functionally the same, they had the same part number.

 

Actually Joe, my fingers skipped over the "no" difference in body etc. Not sure why part numbers were different, but ok. BTW, wasn't another difference that Canadian built also had 3.07:1 gears whereas US built had 3.08:1?

 

Yes, but that's a function of the Chevy axle, which had different ratios due to the different ring gear diameter (the exact tooth counts were different).

 

Any car built in the US and exported to Canada for original sale can also get a complete data sheet.

 

true 65 canadian built seem to be like hens teeth, only read about one , never seen documents

 

I know this was the case with Canadian Chebbies but I'm not sure about Olds: was the firewall painted body color instead of chassis black?

 

My 69 is black

 

And it was built in Oshawa?

 

And my '68's Oshawa built are black as well as a few others.

 

Yes

 

65s were body color