['68OrangeSunshine]

The last time the State of Arizona issued front and back plates was with the Orange plates [1973 -1990?]. The next series was the Maroons, in 1981, and they went with a single plate.
The ''Desert Dawn'' series came out in the late '90s, IIRC.
I read your other post about the '69 Fleetside, [also blue and white]. You mentioned a Mercedes 190. My Dad had a '61 Mercedes 190 sedan, gray overall, 1900 CC L4 motor, 4-on-the-column shifter, 4 door. Ours had an accordian sunroof and fog lamps. He taught me to shift and use a clutch on it as a teenager. I never heard my Dad cuss before that.
I got to drive that car in college, but sadly I loved it to pieces. Being a kid I knew nothing about regular maintenance, and it blew up on me. Then I bought the Orange Stepside and paid a lot more attention to its upkeep.
I believe I remember one of the vendors selling stamped steel replacement Heater Control Levers. Don't recall who. You might Google it on the Search function -- use the 67-72chevytrucks.com internal search. You're right, the pot metal sucks.
No snow here yet, but it's in the mid 40s and is supposed to rain.