cryzko

i have a 77 but don't know the difference between the early and late models..... anyone know..

thanks
cryzko

diablo kid

I know the 1976's had early and late models.
Did the 1977s also have this?

bmankin

The AC compressor for one. 77e uses an A6 and the 77l uses an R4

Van Steel

and where the alarm was located. early 77's were up front by the fender and the later 77's are in the door lock

Glassbowtie77

The weather strips on the t-tops and rear window pillars are different. Between August 23 and September 7, 1976, the Flint, Michigan Engine Assembly Plant changed the paint colors used on Corvette engines from orange to blue. Some early production 1977 Corvettes were still built with the orange painted engines. Coolant reservior's are different also. Very early 77's had no cross flags and alarm key was on the fender, early to mid-year had the cross flags and the alarm key on the fender, and late model's produced after May had the alarm key in the D/S door lock.

Schmucker

And didn't the early ones also not have the crossflags on the fender? Also, really early ones had the shiny horn button but it was recalled or something.

cryzko

my engine block is blue and the alarm key was in the driver side front fender...... i bought weatherstriping last year and hope i got the right set..... maybe a got a retro vette that got caught in the line when they switched over........

cryzko

hunt4cleanair

The irony is as touched on throughout this thread is that an early 77 versus late 77 is mythical. Changes are introduced throughout the production year and at different times in the build sequence. Anyway...here is a blurp into the horn button from my research I'm doing for a C3 book...

"The 1977 Corvettes ordered with tilt/telescopic through S/N 18,637 were shipped with brushed aluminum horn buttons…identical to the spokes. However, a recall was ordered by GM due to the glare encountered by drivers and the brushed aluminum buttons were replaced with painted buttons. 1977 models after 18,637 were shipped with painted horn buttons. Also of interest is that the locking ring lever was also brushed aluminum and shipped with VINs 13,504 through 18,637. Many owners felt it was a “Ralph Nadar” induced recall and declined to accept GM’s generous offer to replace the shiny horn button...casting their vote to reject the persistent invasion into American individuality for Nadar’s personal vision of safety. The recall was made by GM in response to a recommendation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA and its interpretation of a rule regarding “reflections in front of a driver.”

diablo kid

I agree with you hunt4cleanair

"The irony is as touched on throughout this thread is that an early 77 versus late 77 is mythical. Changes are introduced throughout the production year and at different times in the build sequence."

My 76 has some features of both E and L.

LIQUIDDRAGON

i am with diablo on this. only the 76 had an early and late. my vette is a late 76 but it was built during the change over and has both late and early features on it. i also thought that my car was originaly black till i found out that there were no vettes painted black in 76 and the original owner had it painted soon after buying it. come to find out it was metallic silver with firethorn leather. i like the black better sense it helps my rims stand out more i agree that the 77 e and l is a myth though but insteed it is just changes that were made throughout the production year.

Wife'sVette

well, I guess the only solution for the 77 owners ...... that would be me...... is to have "part in hand" when ordering doesn't help much at AutoZone .....oooh, did I say that? Robert

Ganey

Chevy refers to 77 Early & Late. Agree that it is common to make changes in prod.

Mike Ward

EVERY year has it's early and late configurations, not just 77 or 76 as has been argued. The terminology is confusing as it infers some relationship with either a calendar date or when the car was built within the production run. Better terminology would be first design and second design (or third in some cases).

Some design changes took effect almost at the very beginning of the particular year's production, some almost at the end of the run. It's very rare to see multiple unrelated changes all occuring at the same time.

Stating that an entire car is therefore early or late just confuses the issue even more.