T-Top Mystery In Need Of Solve

[Jr. Corvette]

Hello all.

I have again had another mystery in my corvette and I need your guys help. I decided to order new weatherstripping for my early 77 corvette (it's number 4,225 out of 49,000and some). Upon receiving it I found that it didn't fit properly causing me to stupidly drill extra holes to fit it (absolutely the stupidest thing I've ever done) just to have it leak terribly. Long story short, Corvette Depot kindly returned it after having already installed it and the late model 77 corvette weather stripping will be shipped shortly.

So the question is this. Why do I have late 77 corvette T-tops on my very early corvette? They are original T-Tops as they still have the yellow chalk writing for the part description and the original white paint on them.

 

[XFIRE82]

....how do you know what " early " is ? does GM show a serial number in the parts book saying early production part # ************* use __________, after serial # ******* use part number ----------- ? catch what I mean ? You may have the late version and think it is early.

 

[rocky yo]

In the 70's, there must have been so much marijuana and acid being done on the line that I am surprised anything got done at all!!! On a serious note, every corvette produced during that era is an individual work of art. There are a ton of inconsistencies on many vettes. My 71 vert has left me scratching my head on more than one occaision. Sometimes I think that inconsistency is the norm.

 

[FordPrefect]

In the 70's, there must have been so much marijuana and acid being done on the line that I am surprised anything got done at all!!! On a serious note, every corvette produced during that era is an individual work of art. There are a ton of inconsistencies on many vettes. My 71 vert has left me scratching my head on more than one occaision. Sometimes I think that inconsistency is the norm.

Thanks for my morning smile :seeya:

 

[Jr. Corvette]

Haha. That was great and that makes a lot of sense. As for the GM part number saying after #---- it's late. In the 77 corvettes they constantly swapped what they considered late model and early model. Such as you could have a late model weather stripping with a different early model part but that only happened around the 29,000 models. My car was made around 15 after production started in Aug of 76. It's number 4,225 out of 49,000. I assume this will have almost every early part there is.

 

[Brian Keery]

Due to the lack of paperwork kept on C3 production stats, it's difficult to say when changes were made on the production line. True, the 1977 model year shared parts with it's '76 brethren. For the T-tops, the only way to really know what you have is to count the number of 'push pins' holding in the weather stripping. Early weather stripping has 19 pins, whereas the late has 18. The retainers are also different, but the pins are the easiest way to see the difference.

 

[Keith Tedford]

Add to all the above, you have some pretty poor quality restoration parts out there. Chevelle guys have long been complaining about the quality. I saw my share of this stuff in doing the '69 el Camino.

 

[Jr. Corvette]

Too true. I think most of the problem is when they build replacement parts based on the originals sent in by owners because one part could have the same problem over time and the new one's just replicate that. They also could slightly improve some of the parts so that they don't deteriorate or have reoccurring issues of old parts. For example, I had a leaking heater core and none of the one's I ordered (6) fit except one an it still fits poorly and took some wrestling to get it in.

Ya it's to bad they had a fire in the records department losing all the paper work from before 82.

 

[Keith Tedford]

That fire excuse sure gets around and GM seems to have used it whenever convenient. Coincidence???

 

[Brian Keery]

As we all know, whenever possible try to use original parts. When rebuilding isn't an option, I try to really use the forum to my advantage and rely on others experiences to find the best alternative. As to the weather stripping, the stuff from CRC (Corvette Rubber Company) is by far the best out there as far as fit and finish goes. If this is what Corvette Depot is selling you that's great.....but be sure to ask where these re-sellers are getting their parts from.

I used them last year for my new brake calipers, which came from Lonestar. Good product, good price, and they had them in stock. I recently found that my rubber bushings on my rear spring bolts are cracking after only 3 seasons of use (maybe 6000kms). Got the replacements from Corvette Depot......but did confirm before the purchase that the rubber parts were made in North America....not China.

My fuel pump, molded rubber lines, and hard line from pump to carb were replaced last year.....along with my original carb being rebuilt. 1500 kms last season and the internal valving in the pump is failing, so my Napa purchased pump (China) is toast. New AC Delco unit (Mexico) is sitting in the workshop waiting for spring.

Like most of you, I try to do my research before I spend my dough......Lord knows we work hard enough for it. With the cost of shipping and the exchange rate these days it only makes sense to try to do the job right the first time.

I will use my local parts guys for the Chevy stuff whenever possible, I find Corvette Central for shipping, Corvette Depot for convenience and Dr. Rebuild for quality have been my go to vendors. But, I always ask for country of origin info, and will try to source feedback from the forums before I open my wallet. Is it a perfect plan? Far from it, I've been burned too......but I sure have tried to learn from my mistakes, and offer the knowledge gained to anyone who can use it.

 

[buckhorn76]

for mechanical stuff i have had good luck with summit racing.

 

[rocky yo]

I use Corvette Depot also, but I have purchased a lot of stuff in Carlysle at the show in the USA. There is a ton of "JUNK" to go through on the fair grounds. Thats where I found my original steering column replacement.