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New Vette owner need help

G

GA Eighty One

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Hello all, just purchased an 81 two tone Vette yesterday, will pick up on Wednesday. The car is silver over charcoal and has a red interior. The trim on the car is red and orange like you would find on a dark red or burgundy two tone. My trim tag has the following:

74I 33L 33U 39M E

I have been told that the "L" and "U" stand for upper and lower so my car was originally all silver. But then I was told since my car also had the 39M on the tag that it probably was a two tone silver over charcoal car.

My question for all of you is simply this, did 81's come in the color combo that I have mentioned and what exactly is my trim tag telling me?

Thank you in advance!

My_81_a_.jpg
 
GA Eighty One ~ Welcome to the Corvette Action Center Community ~

From the information you provided.. I agree your soon Corvette to be is a factory two-tone built in Bowling Green. The LAST 8 digits are the S/N and in your case it should start with B5 (Bfive) to indicate Bowling Green, BS would be for 1981's built at St. Louis. There should also be a B 00 (B 05 up to B 10) The B is a prefix used to indicate Bowling Green and the Number indicates the Month built, e.g. B 05 = 1981 Bowling Green June etc..

Your car is a Silver over Charcoal with Dark Red Leather interior (33/39 74I)

Bud
 
Thank you for your response. Do you think the red and orange accent stripes are also original to my Vette or did a previous owner like them better than the usual grey stripes found on the silver/charcoal two tones and have them changed?

My vette is a Bowling Green Vette as you stated with the last numbers in the VIN being 5101306

Is there a way to tell the originalalty of the accent stripe based on the trim code?

Again thank you for your response ;)
 
Honesty I'm not sure if that is factory correct color stripes or not..

I know most of the two tone 1981's I've seen used the same color strip on the hood as the lower color, but I'm not sure about the midbody stripe..

I've also seen two tones with no hood stripe, and the owners told me it was the original paint ;shrug

Maybe Bill or one of the others that are involved in NCRS can answer this question...

If you go to the L81VetteRegistry then to the members photo's you'll see 1981 two tones with and without the hood stripe ;shrug

Bud
 
Thanks for your help Bud. Quite honestly I had never seen another one like it when I ran across it. That's what makes me think the stripes are not the original stripes.

However, if they are the original stripes then maybe this is a rare color option and that would be a real good thing especially since the car is said to have only 43,445 miles on the odometer.
:beer
 
Welcome to CAC!!:CAC
Very nice looking vette!!!!!!!!! :upthumbs :upthumbs
I do believe the stripe is an add-on but it adds to it!!!!!!!:cool
enjoy the forums!!!!!!!!
 
Thanks Bill. Yes I do like the color combo on this Vette and I agree with what you said about it probably is an add on but that it actually "adds to it."

I have seen alot of two tone cars with the silver over charcoal with the traditional grey stripe and never thought twice about buying one. Then I saw this little Vette and it was like love at first sight!:drool:
 
Mystery Solved!

Mystery Solved!

I picked up the car today and just got her back home. I looked closely at the red and orange stripes in the door jam area and discovered that they indeed were covering the old light gray and dark gray striping. That mystery is solved.

I have to say that the drive back to my house was pretty nice. We only saw one Corvette on the trip back, an older gentleman in a C-4, and tried to get our first wave. He was too busy talking on the cell phone to notice I guess.

Oh well time to get out and do some preventative maintenance on the Vette such as change the oil and filter and add some gas treatment and high octane gas. The car was a little sluggish but the owner had it stored at a storage facility near his home and did not drive it much. I even have the original 8-track player if I ever wanted to go that direction. Thanks again for the help on this issue, I’m sure I will back with more questions soon.
 
Way to go!

I think they look cool in that combination. It may not be original, but darn it! They match well to the two-tone scheme. :beer
 
Hello GA 81,

I think you have one of the best color combo's an 81 could get! Be proud of your 81 and if you live in the states you'll have enough to wave compared to Holland over here :D
Enjoy the vette and if you have any questions or problems, don't hesitate to ask :)

Groeten Peter
 
GA81,

Welcome, and happy trails! :beer The stripe combo does look good. It reminds me of the stripes used on the two-tone claret scheme but with more appealing contrast. Good luck and plan a trip to Charleston in October for our Street Thunder show. We expect close to 400 cars this year. Here is the local corvette club's website to obtain info on the show. Click on "street thunder" link at top of homepage. :pat

http://www.4cccc.com/
 

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