[dataway]

I think anyone that has had their hands on many Endura/Hideaway parts from 68-69 can attest to the very "casual" production methods that seem to have been used. They sorta look somewhere between homemade and factory From the paint to the brackerty the whole setup seems kind of dodgy ... it works, but some of the parts look like Joe Bob's metal stamping down the street might have produced them.

I think that thick coating is probably some over zealous application of undercoating at a dealership back when they were using asphalt based coatings. Almost reminds me of bedliner. But then you sometimes see it in places that would be pretty hard to reach after it left the factory.

From the "last minute" appearance of the whole setup I'd guess vendors/Pontiac were still experimenting on what worked and what didn't on these system, specially the 68s. I've seen some systems with every square inch rusted so bad you'd swear they were never even painted. Others with black paint dripping off them and still looking pretty good.