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Originality / Factory-correct 67-69 Camaro convertible top dust boot bag 4485356
« on: May 24, 2023, 06:26:30 PM »
I made this post to provide our Camaro community with detailed information on the factory-correct 1967-69 Camaro convertible top dust boot bag (Part Number 4485356).
It was over a decade ago that I purchased on eBay an NOS convertible top dust boot bag for my 1968 convertible. The boot bag was in its original GM parts envelope. See attached photos.
Neither the boot, nor the boot bag, however, were depicted in any of the First-Generation Camaro assembly instruction manuals (AIMs). More specifically, it was not listed anywhere in the AIM Miscellaneous Shipping List (i.e., 1967 AIM UPC 0, Sheets C1-C1.5; 1968 AIM UPC 0, Sheet C1; 1969 AIM UPC 0, Sheets C2-C3). The boot and boot bag were also not depicted in either the “1967 Custom Feature Optional Accessories” booklet or the “Custom Feature Accessories for 1968 Camaro” booklet that were included in the Camaro’s glovebox by the factory in 1967 and 1968, respectively. A similar accessories booklet was not listed in the 1969 AIM Miscellaneous Shipping List (i.e., 1969 AIM UPC 0, Sheets C2-C3). I believe that it is unlikely that GM would sell their convertibles without a boot (and by extension, a boot bag), leaving it/them to be sold by dealers only. If offered as an optional accessory, they would surely be depicted in the custom feature accessories booklets. It would therefore be reasonable to assume that the boot and boot bag were furnished by Fisher Body and placed in the luggage compartment (i.e., trunk) with the boot stowed inside the bag…even though neither were on the Miscellaneous Shipping List.
For those looking for this part for their car, it is Part Number 4485356 under Group 13.450 and has had several descriptions over the three plus decades that it has been in GM parts catalogs: Bag, Dust Boot; Bag Assembly, Boot Retainer; Bag, Folding Top Dust Boot Storage; Bag Assembly, Folding Top Dust Boot Retainer; Bag, Soft Dust Boot Storage; and Bag Assembly, Dust Boot Storage. It appears to have been in various GM parts catalogs from at least 1942 through 1976. Page 295 of the General Motors Parts History Catalog 87B (1990, November) lists the part as “discontinued.” At least one GM parts catalog described the bag material as a “(polyethylene film) (black)” (Source: Chevrolet Parts and Accessories Catalog P&A 30 (1970, October), p. 13-2).
For those interested in possibly reproducing a factory correct version of this boot bag for our hobby, here are the particulars of my NOS one:
Color: Black (i.e., the only color manufactured by GM)
Material: Tubular construction (i.e., with no flap or closure mechanism on the open end) of polyethylene material cut to length and heat-sealed about 5/16” from the closed end. See attached photo. The material was most likely linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE)…similar to modern tear-resistant trash bags. (However, one cannot be certain without either the original GM specifications or conducting a chemical analysis.)
Dimensions:
Length: 41-3/4”
Width (measured while flat): 16-1/4”
Diameter: 10.345”
Thickness: 0.19 mm (7.48 MIL)
Approximate Volume: 15 gallons
Hope this helps everybody,
Bernie
It was over a decade ago that I purchased on eBay an NOS convertible top dust boot bag for my 1968 convertible. The boot bag was in its original GM parts envelope. See attached photos.
Neither the boot, nor the boot bag, however, were depicted in any of the First-Generation Camaro assembly instruction manuals (AIMs). More specifically, it was not listed anywhere in the AIM Miscellaneous Shipping List (i.e., 1967 AIM UPC 0, Sheets C1-C1.5; 1968 AIM UPC 0, Sheet C1; 1969 AIM UPC 0, Sheets C2-C3). The boot and boot bag were also not depicted in either the “1967 Custom Feature Optional Accessories” booklet or the “Custom Feature Accessories for 1968 Camaro” booklet that were included in the Camaro’s glovebox by the factory in 1967 and 1968, respectively. A similar accessories booklet was not listed in the 1969 AIM Miscellaneous Shipping List (i.e., 1969 AIM UPC 0, Sheets C2-C3). I believe that it is unlikely that GM would sell their convertibles without a boot (and by extension, a boot bag), leaving it/them to be sold by dealers only. If offered as an optional accessory, they would surely be depicted in the custom feature accessories booklets. It would therefore be reasonable to assume that the boot and boot bag were furnished by Fisher Body and placed in the luggage compartment (i.e., trunk) with the boot stowed inside the bag…even though neither were on the Miscellaneous Shipping List.
For those looking for this part for their car, it is Part Number 4485356 under Group 13.450 and has had several descriptions over the three plus decades that it has been in GM parts catalogs: Bag, Dust Boot; Bag Assembly, Boot Retainer; Bag, Folding Top Dust Boot Storage; Bag Assembly, Folding Top Dust Boot Retainer; Bag, Soft Dust Boot Storage; and Bag Assembly, Dust Boot Storage. It appears to have been in various GM parts catalogs from at least 1942 through 1976. Page 295 of the General Motors Parts History Catalog 87B (1990, November) lists the part as “discontinued.” At least one GM parts catalog described the bag material as a “(polyethylene film) (black)” (Source: Chevrolet Parts and Accessories Catalog P&A 30 (1970, October), p. 13-2).
For those interested in possibly reproducing a factory correct version of this boot bag for our hobby, here are the particulars of my NOS one:
Color: Black (i.e., the only color manufactured by GM)
Material: Tubular construction (i.e., with no flap or closure mechanism on the open end) of polyethylene material cut to length and heat-sealed about 5/16” from the closed end. See attached photo. The material was most likely linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE)…similar to modern tear-resistant trash bags. (However, one cannot be certain without either the original GM specifications or conducting a chemical analysis.)
Dimensions:
Length: 41-3/4”
Width (measured while flat): 16-1/4”
Diameter: 10.345”
Thickness: 0.19 mm (7.48 MIL)
Approximate Volume: 15 gallons
Hope this helps everybody,
Bernie
."