I have a '69 coupe (standard interior) project I'm working on and I found incomplete side panels for the back seat up in the rafters the other day.

They are the armrest type with an ashtray in each and a metal painted vertical piece that fits next to the seatback. I've only seen these panels in convertables. The Camaro Restoration Guide isn't very helpful as to which models these were used on, but it does show that the vertical parts are to hide the convertable top mechanism. It only shows convertables with these armrest/ashtray type panels. The thing I don't get is that they are the correct color for the original interior that was in my car.
Now, I realize that 1st Gen Camaros came out of the factories put together any way the workers could build them. But since they're incomplete anyway, I may just sell these parts and get the standard interior panels.

Any ideas?

They were used on 69 coupes with the fold down rear seat. The fold down rear seat was narrower than the fixed rear seat so they needed something to fill the gap between the seat back and the sail panel area.
The convertibles don't have painted metal parts, they are vinyl covered metal parts, that are L shaped if you look down on them from above.



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Mark Canning
1969 Indy Pace Car
350/300HP RPO Z11

Right... these just have black painted 'curved' metal pieces in that same place.
Now I'm really perplexed because I never noticed that the rear seat top/bottom had the fold-down hinges before I put 'em up in the rafters. I want to say they don't, and the back seat/trunk divider just has the two 'hooks' that hold the seatback on.
Maybe a previous owner just happened to find these in the correct color and threw them in the trunk with the rest of the car when I bought it.
Thanks for your help!
Joe

The Camaros with deluxe interior and all Firebirds used a narrow back seat bottom and back with the armrest and those metal spacers

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Geezer

That is true for 67 Camaros (don't know anything about firebirds so I'll take your word for that part). But the only 68 and 69 Camaros with the rear arm rests are convertibles and those with fold down rear seats. Could be either standard or deluxe interiors.


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Mark Canning
1969 Indy Pace Car
350/300HP RPO Z11

Ya Know...... come ta think of it... you’re right , I don’t recall ever seeing a 68-69 Camaro coupe with the arm rest. But my 67 Camaro does and so did the 68 Firebird 400 deluxe interior car and the 69 Firebird 400 standard interior car I sold last year.

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Geezer

Thanks everyone...
The car was so incomplete and all in boxes when I got it. No Protecto-Plate/Build sheet either, so it could have had a deluxe interior. But the seats are standard so again, I'm left scratching my head as to what I should do. I guess the smartest thing to do would be to bring down the back seat pieces and stick them in and see what happens.
I appreciate your input!

Does anyone know if a 69 firebird rear seat and that of a Fold Down 69 Camaro are the same size. Also will a firebird set fit in a Camaro?

In 69 only convertiblesw and Fold down rear seat came with them.