OEM tow hooks - originally painted white??

[DeadheadNM]

I’ve seen examples over the years with white paint. Enough so I’m wondering if GM painted them white when they were installed on the line. Granted, NOS examples are not. Anyone have insight whether or not factory installed hooks were painted white?

Here are two examples, two borrowed from member posts. The other I took of a barn find 72 blazer factory equipped with hooks.

[Ol Blue K20]

Good question, the truck I bought my hooks from had one standard and one extreme. The standard was white. The extreme was black. He was the second owner and said that's the way he got it. The extreme was on the left side.

[atog]

I have found several 69-72 hooks with white paint also. All on trucks that were equipped from factory with them. The paint on them was harder to remove than ones that were painted other colors, much like painted bumpers.

[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Good question, the truck I bought my hooks from had one standard and one extreme. The standard was white. The extreme was black. He was the second owner and said that's the way he got it. The extreme was on the left side.

Like this one? Extreme is on the driver side.

Pete, I have seen white on one or 2 pairs in the past, but not many. Usually just raw iron after 50 years. Probably has to do bumper color? I thought I heard tow hooks didn't come with a chrome bumper at one time?,

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Like this one? Extreme is on the driver side.

Pete, I have seen white on one or 2 pairs in the past, but not many. Usually just raw iron after 50 years. Probably has to do bumper color? I thought I heard tow hooks didn't come with a chrome bumper at one time?,

Yes, like that.

[68350]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Like this one? Extreme is on the driver side.

Pete, I have seen white on one or 2 pairs in the past, but not many. Usually just raw iron after 50 years. Probably has to do bumper color? I thought I heard tow hooks didn't come with a chrome bumper at one time?,

I remember the rumor that hooks only came on non-chrome bumper equipped trucks, but Ive seen enough spids with hooks and chrome bumper listed that it was just a rumor in my opinion

[DeadheadNM]

Bumper color a good thought. Here’s the SPID from the blazer above with white hooks chrome bumper - fwiw it’s a cst and as such has a chrome factory bumper and factory tow hook is listed. There are chrome bumper SPID w factory hooks for pickups.

Would be fun to know if these were white.

[bluek5]

I had a 72 Blazer with white paint on the bottom half of the hooks.

[davischevy]

Pete, I have no clue, and I am not qualified to make an opinion on the subject of tow hooks, but those white marks on the hooks on the bench look like assembly line inspection marks to me. I will look at my SIL's factory installed 70 hooks and see if I can find paint on them.

[DeadheadNM]

Thanks for posting guys. Seems like a good chance then at least some were white. Any more anecdotes or info would be great. White seems like bad choice btw.

[BLAZERMAN]

I had an original 1971 GM Suburban dealer order form and it specified that the tow hook option could only be had with a painted bumper. I have come to believe that changed in 72, I havent seen an order form from 72 but I have seen several trucks that came with chrome bumpers and had hooks listed as well. One was a 72 Cheyenne K-20 that Randy (Tee It Up) parted out and another was a very nice green and white 72 K-10 short bed that I believe a member here owned that was at the All Truck Nationals in KC back in 05. I dont know the reasoning behind it but figure thats why they changed the hooks in 72.
As for the white hooks I know of a 70 Blazer that has the white hooks and white bumper, its never left the Indian reservation that owns it since they purchased new. I first saw it in 79 and its still there. i also looked at a 69 C/30 with factory hooks once and remember thinking the aged paint on the hooks looked correct with the age of the painted bumper.

[Astro-Balls]

Did only the 4x4's come with the hooks?

[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by Astro-Balls

Did only the 4x4's come with the hooks?

No, it was its own option available on trucks, blazers or burbs, 2wd or 4x4.

[too much stuff]

This was a 2wd I looked at last fall...

[FirstOwner69]

First, I'll qualify my remarks by saying I have absolutely no firsthand knowledge regarding tow hooks. However, this thread piqued my interest enough for me to review the factory installed options lists contained in the GM Heritage Center info kits. I found this info.

1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971 kits all say "Hooks, towing: Two, front. Not available with chrome bumper." 1968 adds "...or power steering" for C/K 30s. The exclusion of chrome bumpers might make white hooks reasonable.

The 1972 kit says "Towing Devices: Two front towing hooks. K10-K20 models only. KE10 models available only when H78-15 or larger tires are ordered." Chrome bumpers were not a deal breaker in 1972.

Of course, this applies only for options installed at the factory. I would assume that the hooks could be ordered separately and would possibly (probably?) be black.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

First, I'll qualify my remarks by saying I have absolutely no firsthand knowledge regarding tow hooks. However, this thread piqued my interest enough for me to review the factory installed options lists contained in the GM Heritage Center info kits. I found this info.

1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971 kits all say "Hooks, towing: Two, front. Not available with chrome bumper." 1968 adds "...or power steering" for C/K 30s. The exclusion of chrome bumpers might make white hooks reasonable.

The 1972 kit says "Towing Devices: Two front towing hooks. K10-K20 models only. KE10 models available only when H78-15 or larger tires are ordered." Chrome bumpers were not a deal breaker in 1972.

Of course, this applies only for options installed at the factory. I would assume that the hooks could be ordered separately and would possibly (probably?) be black.

Some nice info, I didn't know a lot of it. Thanks for sharing it.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by 68350

I remember the rumor that hooks only came on non-chrome bumper equipped trucks, but Ive seen enough spids with hooks and chrome bumper listed that it was just a rumor in my opinion

I might have started that rumor quoting from the Chevrolet dealer pricing/ordering book that states it that way.

I don't believe all hooks were factory painted, based on my experience. I used to buy the new take off hooks at the truck equipment place that installed snow plows and such. Also had a pair a guy took off his Blazer when new to install a push bar. I've never noticed white paint on any that I can recall. I think some people just painted them. The ones shown look like they were painted on the truck. I'm sure most people didn't pull the hooks when repainting the bumper. I like to keep mine painted gloss black.

[burb71]

I just wanted to echo a pointment already made,
I have factory literature I can't remember what year it's from but it also States tow hooks were not available from the factory with a chrome bumper.

[davischevy]

I just looked at my SIL's 70 K10 SPID. V76 tow hooks are listed, but no chrome front bumper.

[DeadheadNM]

Jim’s reply adds some helpful detail. Here’s a 72 K20 Cheyenne (chrome bumper) with factory tow hooks);

Still curious about white paint.

[Keith Seymore]

I would add that there was no place in the assembly plant where they sprayed white paint with both the bumper and the tow hooks present.

Said differently - bumpers were received already painted white.

Tow hooks were received already painted black.

There was no place on the chassis line or the final line where the two were assembled to the frame and then (anything) painted white.

As an aside - I installed tow hooks on the assembly line... for one day. It was part of my engineering student training. Immediately after body drop bumpers were picked by the operator on the RH side of the line and thrown across the pit into my waiting left hand. The bumper was installed and tow hooks added as required in that same assembly operation.

I also managed to drop one on my UAW trainer's foot. He wasn't very happy.

K

[DeadheadNM]

Thanks Keith. To clarify, you are referencing square body pickup assembly? Possible that methods changed?

[Keith Seymore]

Yes - my experience would be specific to squarebodies but (I imagine) applies across the board. I've never seen painting done on chassis/final in any of the dozen or so plants I worked in, or in any contemporaneous truck or passenger car documentation.

Typically once the "monuments" are set in the assembly process they don't change from one generation to the next.

K

[DeadheadNM]

Here’s another example recently pulled by a member from a salvage yard in N MN

[davischevy]

The white spot is definitely there.

Pete, those bolt heads appear to be different from each other.

Keith Seymore, is it possible the paint is an inspection confirmation like some of the marks of paint on other assemblies?