Consider the 4-door hardtop sedan body type that GM introduced for the 1955 model year. Those cars did not share all the passenger compartment greenhouse tooling of the conventional sedans. That cost extra tooling money.
For the 1965 model year, GM and other American carmakers were now familiar with 4-door hardtop technology, so GM built plenty of them while taking care to minimize additional tooling expenses. Today's post presents some examples of 4-door hardtops that shared nearly all greenhouse tooling with their 4-door sedan counterparts.
Unless noted, images below are of cars listed for sale.
Standard Chevys had 119 inch (3023 mm) wheelbases. Bel Airs were mid-range Chevrolets in 1965.
Impalas were the Chevrolet prestige line. Beside the faddish vinyl-covered roof and B-pilars, the main difference with the sedan in the previous image is the hardened profile of the rear-side window opening.
Now the same from a slightly higher point of view. Biscayne were entry-level Chevys.
Compare the door cut lines of the the sedans and hardtops: they are the same. They only visible sheet-metal difference aside from door pillars on the sedans is that window profile.
Pontiacs shared the same body platform, though the wheelbase is 124 inches (3150 mm). Much of that difference seems to be between the aft door cutline and rear wheel opening.
Same story as for the Chevrolets, though this photos suggests that there might have been a slightly tighter radius on the the roof curve transitioning to the C-pillar.
The Wheelbase here was even longer, 126 inches (3,200.4 mm) befitting a more upscale car. The added length appears to be a stretch in the rear passenger area -- note the longer rear side door.
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