1965-67 U.S. Corvair RPO Statistics Addendum
(Thanks to Mark Corbin for his assistance)
As stated in the original RPO statistics article, the simplifying assumption was made that every RPO was theoretically available for all cars produced. This addendum dives more deeply into the topic by exploring the significantly more-complicated reality.
Many factors reduce the total number of cars for which a given RPO is applicable:
-
Model availability (e.g., not available on Corsas)
-
Body style availability (e.g., sedans only)
-
Option interaction
Conflicting option(s) (e.g., spare tire lock [P19] not available with air conditioning [C64])
Exclusive option(s) (e.g., only one type of wheel cover may be installed: N96, P01, or P02)
Required option(s) (e.g., 3.55:1 differential [G95] required with 140 HP engine [COPO 9551] in 1967)
-
Standard equipment for certain configurations (e.g., 3.27:1 differential [G93] standard on 500s and Monzas)
Table 6 contains a comparison of "all" to "subset" totals for RPOs in the first two categories only (model and/or body style).
Table 6: Options for which a subset of models and/or body styles apply, grouped by Uniform Parts Classification (UPC)
| RPO | Option Description | Year | Three-Year Average (All) | Three-Year Average (Subset) | Applicable Production Subset | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | |||||||||||
| % All | % Subset | % All | % Subset | % All | % Subset | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Body - UPC 1 (A01 - E99) |
|||||||||||||
|
A67 |
Folding Rear Seat |
1.88% |
8.13% |
2.24% |
7.07% |
3.58% |
7.99% |
2.56% |
7.73% |
500s only |
|||
|
A82 |
1966: Bucket or Bench Seat Headrests; 1967: Bench Seat Headrests |
n/a |
1.15% |
0.13% |
0.29% |
0.64% |
0.72% |
500s only |
|||||
|
AL5 |
Custom Deluxe Center Rear Seat Belt (requires A39) |
n/a |
0.73% |
3.24% |
0.73% |
3.24% |
sedans only |
||||||
|
AS2 |
Strato-Ease Bucket Seat Headrests |
n/a |
0.75% |
1.36% |
0.75% |
1.36% |
Monzas only |
||||||
|
C06 |
Power Convertible Top |
4.23% |
28.59% |
4.19% |
32.25% |
2.73% |
35.23% |
3.72% |
32.03% |
convertibles only |
|||
|
C64 |
Air Conditioning |
4.00% |
4.55% |
4.61% |
5.12% |
4.58% |
4.76% |
1965: 500s and Monzas only |
|||||
|
D10 |
Rear Door Armrests |
0.10% |
1.28% |
0.18% |
2.15% |
n/a |
0.14% |
1.72% |
500 sedans only |
||||
|
*** |
Two-Tone Paint |
0.78% |
3.35% |
0.69% |
3.37% |
0.65% |
2.91% |
0.71% |
3.21% |
sedans only |
|||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Rear Suspension - UPC 4 (G50 - H99) |
|||||||||||||
|
G95 |
3.55:1 Rear Axle |
0.84% |
0.96% |
0.79% |
0.88% |
0.87% |
0.83% |
0.90% |
500s and Monzas only (standard on Corsas) |
||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Engine - UPC 6 (K01 - L99) |
|||||||||||||
|
K46 |
Heavy Duty Air Pre-cleaner |
0.25% |
0.29% |
0.12% |
0.14% |
n/a |
0.19% |
0.21% |
500s and Monzas only |
||||
|
L62 |
110 HP Engine |
59.74% |
68.01% |
60.90% |
67.74% |
70.15% |
63.60% |
68.63% |
500s and Monzas only |
||||
|
L63 (COPO 9551) |
140 HP Engine |
7.76% |
8.83% |
7.23% |
8.04% |
1.02% |
5.34% |
5.97% |
500s and Monzas only (standard on Corsas) |
||||
|
L87 |
180 HP Engine |
3.06% |
25.16% |
1.88% |
18.63% |
n/a |
2.47% |
21.89% |
Corsas only |
||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Transmission - UPC 7 (M01 - M99) |
|||||||||||||
|
M35 |
PowerGlide Automatic Transmission |
53.09% |
60.44% |
57.23% |
63.65% |
67.94% |
59.42% |
64.01% |
500s and Monzas only |
||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Wheels & Tires - UPC 10 (P01 - T49) |
|||||||||||||
|
P01 |
Wheel Covers |
3.70% |
16.05% |
5.16% |
16.30% |
8.90% |
19.85% |
5.92% |
17.40% |
500s only |
|||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
Electrical & Instrument - UPC 12 (T60 - U99) |
|||||||||||||
|
U27 |
Glove Compartment Light |
n/a |
n/a |
2.24% |
5.00% |
2.24% |
5.00% |
500s only |
|||||
|
U29 |
Courtesy Lights |
n/a |
6.87% |
7.45% |
6.87% |
7.45% |
coupes and sedans only (standard on convertibles) |
||||||
Comparing the three-year average percentages, there are striking increases for some options, notably:
- Rear Door Armrests (D10): 12x
- Power Convertible Top (C06): 9x
- 180 HP Engine (L87): 9x
- Two-Tone Paint: 4.5x
- Folding Rear Seat (A67): 3x
- Wheel Covers (P01): 3xx
For a few options, the increase is roughly 2x. For the remainder, the increase is just a few percent.
The effect that this has on the options installed on greater than 10% of cars is to add three items to Table 7 (C06, L87, P01) and to move two more up in the table (L62, M35). These five options are highlighted in green below.
Table 7: Options that were installed on more than 10% of cars (revised)
|
RPO |
Option Description |
Avg. % |
|
P53 |
6.50x13 White Wall Rayon Tires |
73.70% |
L62 |
110 HP Engine |
68.63% |
|
Z01 |
Convenience Group Type "A" |
66.36% |
|
P54 |
7.00x13 White Wall Rayon Tires |
64.03% |
M35 |
PowerGlide Automatic Transmission |
64.01% |
|
U63 |
AM Pushbutton Radio |
58.14% |
|
B70 |
Padded Dash |
48.46% |
|
A02 |
Tinted Glass—Windshield Only |
38.11% |
|
A49 |
Custom Deluxe Front Seat Belts with Retractors |
33.10% |
C06 |
Power Convertible Top |
32.03% |
|
P19 |
Spare Tire Lock |
31.08% |
|
M20 |
4 Speed Manual Transmission |
25.00% |
L87 |
180 HP Engine |
21.89% |
|
A39 |
Custom Deluxe Front & Rear Seat Belts with Front Retractors |
21.63% |
P01 |
Wheel Covers |
17.40% |
|
U73 |
Rear Antenna |
14.12% |
|
B93 |
Door Edge Guards |
13.04% |
|
U60 |
AM Manual Radio |
11.17% |
|
V74 |
Hazard Switch and Flashers |
10.59% |
The effect that this has on the options installed on fewer than 1% of cars is to remove four items from Table 8 (AL5, AS2, D10, and Two-Tone Paint), to move one down in the table (K46), and to change two others' percentages but not their positions (A82, G95). The three options still present are highlighted in green below.
Table 8: Options that were installed on fewer than 1% of cars (revised)
|
RPO |
Option Description |
Avg. % |
|
Z17 |
Suspension and Steering |
0.05% |
|
A64 |
Custom Rear Seat Belts |
0.07% |
|
Z83 |
Highway Emergency Kit |
0.07% |
|
A47 |
Custom Deluxe Rear Seat Belts |
0.11% |
|
K84 |
Heavy Duty Alternator (47 amp) |
0.20% |
K46 |
Heavy Duty Air Pre-cleaner |
0.21% |
|
G93 |
3.27:1 Rear Axle |
0.25% |
|
AS1 |
Custom Front Shoulder Belts |
0.26% |
|
A85 |
Custom Deluxe Front Shoulder Belts |
0.27% |
|
U75 |
Power Rear Antenna |
0.40% |
|
U57 |
Stereo Tape System |
0.46% |
A82 |
1966: Bucket or Bench Seat Headrests; 1967: Bench Seat Headrests |
0.72% |
|
N96 |
Magnesium Wheel Covers |
0.73% |
|
C48 |
Heater Delete |
0.78% |
G95 |
3.55:1 Rear Axle |
0.90% |
Concerning the other factors which reduce the total number of cars for which a given RPO is applicable, compiling a complete list is very challenging. Even if the list were compiled, it would not be possible to calculate the number to subtract in all cases due to some production statistics not being available; specifically those involving combinations of options. A complicated example is K46, Heavy Duty Air Pre-cleaner. It is listed in Table 6 because it was not available on Corsas. It was also not available on any car with L63/COPO 9551 (140 HP Engine) or K19 (Air Injection Reactor). While separate totals for cars equipped with L63/COPO 9551 and K19 are available, the number of cars with both is not. Therefore, an accurate calculation can't be completed.
Just for fun, below are a few option interaction examples. If I get really bored I will add to this list over time!
-
C64 not available with L87 in 1966 and with COPO 9551 in 1967
-
G93 not available with L87
-
G95 standard with L62 and M35 in 1966; with C64 in 1967
-
K19 not required in 1966 with C64 or L87 ("required" vs. "available" language used due to regulatory requirement; it was also not required for cars registered outside of California)
-
K46 not available with C64
-
L63 not available with C64 in 1965 and 1967
-
N30 not available with N36
-
P19 not available with C64
Part 2—1965-67 U.S. Corvair RPO Decoding
The companion article provides information on how to decode the system of codes that Fisher Body used on the tag in the engine compartment.