Had a big disapointment today I knew things were not right at first look. Went to pull the gas tank with dreams of obtaining the build sheet. Almost salivating as I grabbed my first wrench, I cralled under and saw the first sign of disapointment to come. A standard hose clamp on the fuel line! After wresting the tank out around the dual mufflers which HAD to be mounted in the wrong spot. They blocked EVERYTHING!!! Anyway, as you have guessed by now, the build sheet was gone. Trust me that even now, as I write this tale of disappointment, tears still roll down my cheeks. Oh well. I was hoping....

 

what year car? MOST build sheets are disintegrated....don't sweat it!

 

Are there any other places to look far the build sheet. Thought I read somewhere maybe in the dash? That's my only hope as the gas tank was pulled before I got my car.

 

while they are mostly on the tank, there have been folks who have discovered factory documentation behind the dash, in door panels, and stuck in the seat springs (that i remember reading or hearing about). i'm not certain they are actually "build sheets" or some other form of production paperwork gathered along the way in assembly.

 

I took the rubber seal off around the fuel filler on my 73 and borrowed a Bore/scope from the snap-on man and searched all over my tank and could not find my build sheet either.

 

The PO of my Vette replaced the gas tank and removed the build sheet off of mine. He also removed the carpet, both front and back, so I don't know if there's much hope of finding another build sheet.

 

My build sheet was located under on of the seats. Was found by the 3rd owner, I'm the 5th owner. The guy was smart enough to have it laminated and it's with the other stuff that came with the car.
Keep looking, you might find it.

 

You would have been more disappointed had you found something on the tank only to have it be illegible.

Copies of build sheets have been found tucked in the wiring behind the speedo/tach, in the wiring behind the center cluster, behind either kick panel, tucked in the springs of a seat bottom, under the carpet on the floor of the rear storage area, and (for a while in '78) folded and tucked under the rear spring mount.



On rare occasions, a copy of the build sheet might have been placed in the rear storage compartment. In Birthplace of Legends, Peter LiCastro confirms there was an LT-1 with every available factory option. The build sheet was two pages long. Assembly line workers folded the two pages, put them in an envelope, and placed the envelope in the glove box.

For 77 and later cars, the Allied-Vaughn folks might have a copy of the original dealer invoice. It's worth a try. http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...x.php?cmd=area

 

I'm with Mike, on my 72 i could feel the outline of the glue and then also the small pieces of paper that just disintegrated and felt almost like dust as I placed my hand on it... much more disappointing...


Sully

 

Mike any chance that someone has build sheets from earlier say around 75 ?

 

Best source is original documentation with the car.

Now let's discuss the term "any chance." For at least forty years, possibly longer, people have speculated copies of original Corvette build orders might be available from GM. GM has always said the records do not exist and has even allowed a couple of folks to search through the archives on the possibility the records could be stashed away in boxes in some long forgotten warehouse. No one has ever turned up any records. It is likely the records do not exist.

Just the same, never say never. The NCRS has recently come up with previously undiscovered Corvette car shipper information and will make the info available to members beginning October 1. The info includes the original dealer, dealer code, and the date the car was shipped. For owners who have no documentation for their Corvettes, knowing the original dealer might serve as a beginning point for a records search. For folks who already have more documentaiton than original dealer, the newly discovered records won't mean much. Go here and see what they say. http://www.ncrs.org/delivery.html

The plot thickens. Terry Michaelis of ProTeam is currently offering $1M, essentially no questions asked, to unnamed former GM employees for build sheet information which he feels exists.

As of today, the offical word is the records do not exist. At some future date, the official word might change.

 

I'm second owner of my '80. I found mine under the carpet underlay material in the rear cargo/luggage area. I guess I was lucky that it was in this area which obviously preserved the document.

 

With all of the counterfeiting I hear of lately I wonder if GM may be concerned with becoming involved in disputes, possible lawsuits, over what is truly original? Not necessarily a suit against GM but possibly getting involved in verifying authenticity of any such document? Ya never know, many lawsuits out there which seem to defy common sense or logic.

If they were ever found I'd bet there would be quite a few people who would be upset to find out their rare vehicle is actually a clone. One such case was recently reported when the Protect-O-Plate was found.

I suspect, as others have suggested, that Elvis has them stashed somewhere...

 

"Elvis isn't dead, he just went home." Men In Black, Tommy Lee Jones

 

For my 70 the build sheet was under the dash pad. Ther first owner did not look for it. I found it 14 years ago and was in good shape

 

You didn't state what year vette you have.......

My 76 has a corrugated sheet metal panel that separates the tank from the underside of the rear deck fiberglass. It has a handful of bolts holding it in. My build sheet was glued on top of that facing the seats. You couldn't see it from underneath just looking at the tank and probably would have had trouble with one of those snake cameras going in from the fuel door.

If your vette is an earlier year it may not have the metal separator but if yours does it's something to look for and remove. You might just get lucky!! That's my 2 cents.....hope it may help.....

Also as an aside.... the PO of my 76 found a copy of the build sheet in the dash stuffed between the tach and speedo. I have that tucked away for future reference!

 

Elvis and I have had long talks on this subject: he doesn't have the records.

It is my understanding there were legal issues to resolve regarding the car shipper information to be made available to NCRS members. There were questions regarding ownership of the info; who had the legal right to make it available to the public; who got paid if a fee was charged for the info, etc., etc., etc. If I read between the lines correctly (big IF), the information has been known for about a year, maybe a little less. The intervening time has been spent ironing out the legal issues to the satisfaction of those involved. All this over a Chevrolet dealer name who took delivery on a new Corvette back in the day.

You can imagine the legal wrangling which could occur if actual, specific Corvette build information was to be "discovered." Take Mr. Michaelis' $1M offer; he could write a check to someone and someone could hand over boxes and boxes of old paperwork. Before he got home with the treasure, there could be three or four injunctions against him making any use of what he purchased.

You and I would still be without documentation and the lawyers would be getting fees.

 

i have a 78 pace car, that i have stripped to the metal in the interior. it was recently completely restored inside, and i can tell you there was no documentation of any kind in the doors or behind the panels, in the kick panels under the dash pad or contained stuck in any of the wiring or gauges behind the panels, in addition, it wasn't under or in the seats (they were stripped all the way down to the shells and springs and completely rebuilt, re-foamed and recovered and it wasn't under any of the carpet or underlay. since i am not the original owner, and i have no real idea as to exactly what number owner i really am, i still hold out hope that there might be something left of a sticker that was glued to the top of the tank, lol!! since the mechanics are now being redone, when i get the spare carrier and the assorted parts attached to the rear end off, i might still have a shot at seeing something. call me an optimist, but at this point based on having taken off or out all the other possible parts and places, it's all i have left, LOL!!

 

I'm in the same boat.. no build sheet whatsoever in my Vette.. I pulled the gas tank, shield, carpet, seats, dash, door panels.. Rebuilding her, I pulled everything except the engine and transmission/rear-end!

No build sheet

 

srs244: finding nothing in the car is exactly what GM intended. There was supposed to be nothing leftover from the assembly process in the car at the time the car was completed. Other than the required goodies to be shipped with the car, the car was supposed to be clean as a whistle.

When build information about a car is found in the car, it is always in a place out of site of assembly line inspectors whose job it would have been to remove it from the car and toss it in the trash.

If you want to begin a documentation trail for your car, go here http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...x.php?cmd=area and see if you can obtain a copy of the original dealer invoice for your car from the Allied-Vaughn folks. The invoice will include everything which would have been on the build sheet plus addtional information including costs and charges, original dealer name and address, date the car was to be shipped, etc.