Today's the day!

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

As most of you guys are thinking about ending your Thursday with a meal and a few brewskis, I am waking up to a very exciting Friday here in Australia.
Today is the day when the fuel tank comes out of the Vette and the build sheet comes off. I'm so excited!

You see, my baby is from St Louis and we are not able to get a copy of the build sheet from the NCM as GM purged the records.
The only one in existance is on the tank! I found it a little while ago while checking for fluid leaks and wet spots from diff seals. It was like winning the lotto when I saw the bottom corner that read: Delivering Dealer Fairway Chevrolet, Las Vegas Nevada!
You beauty, my girl has her pedigree!

I'll let you know how we go.

Cheers

Tony

 

[82ColEd]

Allrighty Mate !! :cool
Make sure to make a copy, just in case.. I dont have a build sheet either, and would love to take the thing out, but for the lowering of the tank.. My VIN is one of the ones they dont have from the 82's.. :cry
Let us know..
Ta..
Stefan

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

She's out!

Well she is out, the build sheet that is!
Easiest job I have tackled todate on the old girl. It only took around 2 hours as we didn't disconnect any fuel lines. Once the exhaust was out of the way, the spare tyre holder was taken off, there was only a few nuts and the tank could be eased down. Taking the sticker off the tank was probably the most time consuming thing. We used a razor blade to gently get under the glue. Let me tell you, I am suprised by the info on the sheet:

AU3
A42
A51
CC1
C49
D18
E5Z
E6E
E9Z
HK1
K35
K73
L81
MX3
NA5
N81
QXH
UM6
UP8
U75
U81
VK3
151
152
6HD
7HD
75L
75U

I didn't find N90, which is the nice aluminium mags I want to put on her, so she must have come with just standard rims. Does anyone know what they look like?

The car was delivered by Fairway Chevrolet, Las Vegas Nevada, but I already knew that from the Warranty Booklet I stumbled on.

Now I am going to get replacement sheets for her with the info I have.

Cheers

Tony

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

Um, what is this code?

Hey,

On the sheet, I have a code for the tyre size, code QXH.
It says that the tyre size originally on our Vette was P255/60-R15.
Does anyone have a pic on what the rims look like?
Are they the standard 15x8 rallys?
I can't seem to find Code N90, which is for Aluminium rims, so they must have been standard rallys. Do these tyres fit those rims?

Cheers

Tony

 

[KOPBET]

Tony,
I'm curious to know how the sheet was glued to the tank, i.e. was it tacked at the corners, top & bottom, or the whole shebang?

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

The glue!

The glue was in put on the top middle part of the sheet. It was around 1" wide and about 7" long. The sheet is about the size of an A4 sheet (11 1/2" x 8")
It looks like when they put it on, they used a brush to just wipe the glue on and then stuck the sheet to it. The glue had gone hard, but the razor blade sorted that out. You need to get between the glue and the tank by just sliding the blade along the tank. It was very easy to get the blade between the glue on the paper, so be very careful.

The sheet is in fairly good condition for its age. You can read everything quite clearly, but the paper is very fragile after being exposed to the elements for so long.
We are going to have the sheet framed with acid free backing board ect, this week. I have scanned it and made copies, so I can sort out codes.

Cheers

Tony

 

[vettedoc]

Nice job Tony. Now you have the pedigree intact!

Doc

 

[1979toy]

The standard tire size was P225/70R15 blackwall. Your QXH cde indicates that your car was delivered with the optional P255/60R15 white letter tires. These tires were mounted on the same 15x8 rally wheels reguardless of which tires were ordered.

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

Thanks guys

Doc,

Yeah, I thought so too. Lucky we found it and got it out when we did. I don't think it would have lasted too much longer. Once it was gone, that would have been the end of any "true" restoration.

1979Toy,

Thanks for that. I was sort of scratching my head on that one. I thought the old rallys were suited to the "chrome bumper" Vettes and sort of look out of place on the Urethane bumper cars. Oh well, if that's the way it was, then that's the way we may have to put her back too later.
Still that's a little wider than what is on the car at the moment. We have 225/60/16's on the front and 245/50/16's on the rear. Both front and rear are mounted on American Racing rims that were put on before the car left the States in 1996.
Tell me, the rims are the same as the rims featured on the 1974 & 1975 car pictured in the Corvette Black Book, aren't they?

Thanks again guys

Cheers

Tony

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

82 Collectors Edition

Stefan,

Just looking over everyones posts and I thought I might make a suggestion for you to get that sucker off that tank.
Judging by what I found the sheet condition to be in, your 82's sheet may be in the same condition.
Your in the same boat as me, if you don't get her off you may loose any link to the past.
Trust me, it is an easy job made easier with a hoist.
Good luck

Cheers

Tony

 

[82ColEd]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tony.
I will need some more tools first. Moving to a different continent, i had to leave lots of heavy tools behind with my dad. My neighbour is restoring a car (havent seen it yet), but i might ask him to help me on that one..
So far a couple of screwdrivers, wrenches and other basics is all i got. :cry

Ta!
Stefan

PS: If you happen to have taken pics, pls share, in terms of location etc..

 

[VRGSVET]

Tony,

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in about your wheels. I had the same dilemma with my 1980. When I bought her, she had American Racing rims on. I found out from the original owner that she originally came with rally rims. While I wanted to go all original, I really love the C3 aluminum rims. I decided to get the aluminum rims, because it's so easy to go back and change wheels later. You can get aftermarket replicas of the aluminum rims from any of the big Corvette parts suppliers for around $1000. Or you can do like I did and get a used set off ebay for half that much. Mine needed some serious polishing, but they came out great. Mine also came with the larger tires, like yours. Trust me, go with the 255/60/15, they fit fine and look great. Some day if I have some cash to burn I'll buy a set of rally wheels just so everything will be easy to switch back to original. Good luck and hope this helps.

Verge

 

[AUSSIEVETTEMAN]

Thanks Verge.

I thought about that. The bigger tyres should fit on those rims without any dramas. I agree the old aluminium rims look great on the later sharks.
I have seen a few auctions on Ebay for the rallys and the aluminium wheels, both new and used.
We are looking at buying some soon, but we are resealing both the front and rear windows and cleaning some minor rust we have in the windsheild frame. The previous owners did not investigate the water leak and when I pulled the trim off, bam there it was. Water getting in the old worn seal and running down the pillar and onto the floor. Cleaned her up and put some kill rust on there for now. Will probably look at some POR15 before putting the windscreen back in.

Cheers

Tony