how do i go about figuring whether i have an early or late model car?, tried a couple vin decoding sites without much luck, got the tag numbers off the pillar but there is note date of manufactur, trying to get a radiator and need to know whether its an early or late car for that, thanks Dave

 

Hi Dave,
The early/late issue is an interesting one.
The easy decision is to determine when your 76 car was built by looking at the date built code on the Trim Tag mounted on the driver's side hinge pillar.
There are month by month figures for 1976 serial numbers that help you determine what month and estimate what week your car was built once you've gotten the code off the trim tag.
The harder decision is about early/late parts.
Parts were changed throughout the production period. You need to determine when the part changed. That info will then tell you, (along with your cars build date) whether your car should have the early (before the change) or late (after the change).
Each car can have both early and late PARTS on it... it all depends on when the parts changed and when the car was built.
Sometimes choosing the correct part is as easy as seeing the part on your car and then looking at the early/late part you need to buy to determine which is correct..
Regards,
Alan

 

you will always end up needing the more expensive part.

 

the ac compressor

 

Care to explain?

I have the same issue but I can't look at the trim tag since someone along the way decided it would be a good idea to remove it for whatever reason then not put it back. From my VIN number I would gather that it's a late 76 since it's a high production number but the making assumptions makes something of me

 

Hi as,
This link should help you determine when your car was built.
http://corvettec3.ca/numbers.htm
Regards,
Alan

 

1976 was a notoriously bad year for "Model Year Rolling Changes." Which ment we are pulling ahead 1977 parts during the 1976 model year.

One of the first things that come to mind is the CORVETTE script on the rear rubber bumper. It went from a small script that fit into an indentation in the bumper to a large script that fit flat on the bumper. My 1976 (delivered in early May 1976) came with the larger CORVETTE script.

Other changes were the Radial 4 cylinder air conditioning compressor in place of the Axial 6 cylinder compressor. My car still had the A6 compressor.

Later in the model year the overhead dome lite was added and the inside rear view mirror was modified. I think that several other interior features for 1977 were also introduced late in 1976. My car had all 1976 interior parts.

Saginaw did a lot of steering column impact testing using a Black-Tuffy dummies. This meant that the Saginaw Test Lab had many later model steering wheels and prototype steering columns for impact testing. It just so happened that they had several 1977 Corvette lever wrapped steering wheels that were more than required for testing. One of them made its way out of the lab and into my 1976 T&T column in place of the Vega steering wheel.

I don't know if the headlight dimmer steering column and leather wrapped steering wheel were pulled ahead or not. I suspect that they were not.

Jim

 

Thank you Alan, will check that out to see if I can narrow it down a little

EDIT: According to that my Vette was made in late February with a build # of 427932. So then that puts mine right in the middle which would make it even harder to figure if I need early or late parts!

 

Thank you Jim, mine has the large CORVETTE in the rear but no over head light. It also has the vega steering wheel unfortunately

Now that I have the steering column expert on the line, what's the easier swap for the steering wheel, the 75 or 77? I like the 75 better but either is an enormous improvement over the vega wheel!

 

so i looked at the trim tag,? no build date just ext/int trim numbers, have no indent in rear bumper for the lettering, but cant say for sure thats original, no dome lite but a lite off the bottom of the rear view mirror. can i tell from trim codes? doing this for a radiator, should i just measure the rad. and go with that, still would like to know

 

p.s non a/c car and vega steering wheel

 

they all got the vega wheel, the other members are correct

 

IMHO, I was always under the impression that there is no exact cutoff date defining early vrs late.

I suggest you find out your approximate build date from the vin, as it looks like you have from the posts above.

Next, get an AIM, assembly instruction manual, which will have the various revision dates for the various changes in the parts. Also from the AIM drawings you can likely figure out which parts, early or late, that you have now.

Hope this helps.

(Oh yeah, I think they all got the Vega steering wheel that year, LOL's, or the Vega owners that year think they got a CORVETTE steering wheel!)

 

Look under the fan shroud, if the bottom attaches with 2 1/4" studs its an early style. If the bottom of the shroud sits in a tray across the bottom, its late.

 

Lots of rolling model year changes on the '76. Get an AIM to see which ones apply to your car.

 

The date code is in the upper right corner of the trim tag. You should find H (for March) and two numbers for the day of the month. #27932 was assembled in March, 1976.

This tag has a time/build date of J28.

 

This is a very easy swap. You just have to gather quite a few parts to make it happen. The 1976 Vega steering wheel has a hub molded directly into the wheel itself. The 1969-75 and 1977-82 steering wheels have seperate hubs and the steering wheel itself bolts to the hub with six screws.

I had a new 1976 Corvette. When the 1977s came out, my '76 quickly acquired a leather wrapped 1977 steering wheel.

1977-82 T&T Strg Wheel, Telescope Lock, and Horn Parts Blowup
http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/?p=991

Adapting 1969-75 Strg Wheel, Telescope Lock, & Horn Parts to a 1976 T&T Column
http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/?p=1036

Adapting 1977-82 Strg Wheel, Telescope Lock, & Horn Parts to a 1976 T&T Column
http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/?p=1039

A lot of 1969-75 and 1977-82 parts will interchange on a 1976 column.

However, I think that you must use the correct extension with the correct steering wheel and hub. The 1977-82 extension is shorter than the 69-75 extension. If you telescope the 1976 steering column all the way toward the driver, the shorter 1977-82 extension will have a very small gap exposed between the lip of the extension and the top of the turn signal switch housing. Unless you position yourself like a Nascar driver, you most likely will never have the column to its full extended length.

Jim

 

thanks for the help

 

Thank you Jim, I really appreciate the help

 

When I first met my wife, she had an orange '76, and it was the "deeper" shade of orange, which IIRC, was from the first batch of orange cars....even though Chevy called both colors by the same name.