July 27, 200916 yr Well, that sure is sweet. Now- the questions: Is that a complete Chevy front clip?? obviously the hood is the same- is that the same grille as a Chevy, too?? Same 'skunk stripes' & rims ?? I haven't noted or seen many pics of a Sprint, I had thought there was more differentiation. Kinda renders the 'my fav GMC' thing a bit moot, no ?
July 27, 200916 yr She's a hard-charging dream, Camino. Is my memory lapsing again... the front signal lamps, there is no body-color strip on the divider bar like the Chevelle/El Camino... is that a GMC thing, or is it missing? Edited July 27, 200916 yr by ocnblu
July 27, 200916 yr Author Well, that sure is sweet. Now- the questions: Is that a complete Chevy front clip?? obviously the hood is the same- is that the same grille as a Chevy, too?? Same 'skunk stripes' & rims ?? I haven't noted or seen many pics of a Sprint, I had thought there was more differentiation. Kinda renders the 'my fav GMC' thing a bit moot, no ? Grille and stripes are the same, only badging is different. The SP got a decal "SP" rather than emblems as in the "SS". What's cool about these is the crazy level of rarity. Rims are the same except for the impossible to find GMC centers, and the GMC badges are slightly different for the SP than regular Sprints. Same big block engines, but GMC called them "Invader" instead of "Turbo-Jet". EDIT: The marker lights were also different (slightly) and the grille may have been trimmed in a different way. I think some of the options may have been different too, but yeah, no significant differences. Edited July 27, 200916 yr by Camino LS6
July 27, 200916 yr Author She's a hard-charging dream, Camino. Is my memory lapsing again... the front signal lamps, there is no body-color strip on the divider bar like the Chevelle/El Camino... is that a GMC thing, or is it missing? You know, I'd have to check on that! I know that the "graining"/coloration was slightly different, but I thought the bars were the same.
July 27, 200916 yr Yeah I think the body-color trim piece was just like glued on to the lamp on the Chevys. It even may have been tape... not certain of that, though, I'd have to see a '71 Chevelle and put an eyeball on that. It looks like this Sprint is just missing the divider bar tape, the lamp itself looks identical to a Chevy, IIRC. Edited July 27, 200916 yr by ocnblu
July 27, 200916 yr Author I'll check my factory brochures. EDIT: Can't tell from the brochures, but I think that they may not have been body color. I just can't remember. Edited July 27, 200916 yr by Camino LS6
July 27, 200916 yr Awesome truck. I had both a 70 and 71 Chevelle, and I like the 71 body style better. That truck is just damn near perfect. Chris
July 27, 200916 yr >>"...but yeah, no significant differences."<< Not taking away anything here... but, IMO: lameness. Not in the hardware/styling, but in that GMC didn't expend any effort here whatsoever. Still cool.
July 27, 200916 yr Author >>"...but yeah, no significant differences."<< Not taking away anything here... but, IMO: lameness. Not in the hardware/styling, but in that GMC didn't expend any effort here whatsoever. Still cool. True, but they made very,very, few. Wouldn't have been cost-effective.
July 27, 200916 yr True, but they made very,very, few. Wouldn't have been cost-effective. Catch 22? Probably would have sold more had they looked significantly different.
July 27, 200916 yr This would actually be a Phantom or clone I could see myself building. I've always wanted an older truck....HMMM...start with a 71 El-Camino....build a "tribute" vehicle.... Can almost feel the big block rumble. Chris
July 27, 200916 yr Author Do we have any production estimates of # built? Chris Total: 3,963 Sprints in '71 (all engines and trims combined) Only 25 got the 454 Edited July 27, 200916 yr by Camino LS6
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