313hitman

so i finally meet the car after returning home from my deployment. I started on it right away and need some help from the forum. all help is greatly appreciated, thanks. on the t top the rear locking levers just have a bolt that just pinches to the body of the car. it doesn't seem right, am i right?


next is this box behind the driver seat. I have no clue what it is because my old 79 c3 did not have it

and my last question of the day. Is this trim replaceable? if so, who sells it? i checked several sites and cannot find it under any of the categories. the screws that hold the weatherstrip are rusted in and the little blocks inside that hold the screws are broken off.

KapsSA

Assuming from your profile we're looking at a 79.
That's the wrong T-top.
78-82 used ONE lever with a shaft that extended into the surround behind the door. Earlier T-tops used the two levers like you have.
That electrical device is the intermittent wiper delay module. On 78/79s it's actually supposed to be mounted way forward in the center console kinda below the radio.
For 80-82 that module was mounted in the jack compartment under the removable tray.

Kris Tunetso

*edit* ninjaed by KapsSA


What year car are we dealing with here? Due to small changes throughout the C3 production run we really need to know the year to be of any help. I think, based on the 2 pictures, that you have a 78-82, but please confirm.

The first photo you have does not look at all similar to the way my 76 tops latch, making me think this car is a 78 or later. If that is true, then you have the wrong T-Tops. 78-82 tops had only front latches and used some kind of peg, I believe in the rear. And I'm willing to bet that wire I see is part of the alarm system that would sound when the t-tops were removed without first disabling the alarm.

Your second photo shows the earlier type finger loops on the storage lid. The later type was a rigid plastic tab, or maybe metal, I'm not sure. It also shows that you have the 68-77 3-lid frame rather than the later 2-lid frame, so if you care at all about having the proper parts for your model year, that'll need to be replaced. The box you're asking about looks like a relay of some kind, as KapsSA said.

313hitman

thank you very much for the info provided. it is a 79. I dont mind the 3 lid frame in the rear but wrong tops is a problem for me. i'll start shopping for some right away. this car seems to have several parts from different years. the rear end is all aluminum (i think it's called batwing) with the composite monospring, looks to be from 80-82 (I'm not complaining about that though)

Brother Rob

Hey man. Thanks for your service and welcome to Corvette ownership. I also just bought my first Vette and also live in the Detroit area. Good luck and see on Gratiot.

red topless gator

The early 79 did have the three compartment, but not the finger straps.

313hitman

I've been reading that the 77 tops i have can be fitted to the 79 by installing the rear strike plate for the rear latch. I check ebay and found sevaral of strike plates. is it as easy and installing 1 plate? here is the link i found
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201116005572?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

gbvette62

Those mount to the T-top itself. You'd also need the parts that mount to the body, the wedge plates and wedge bolts. Even with those parts, I'm not sure how well the early tops will work on your car.

Personally, I think your better off trying to locate a correct pair of 78-82 "single handle tops", then converting the car to use the two handle ones. If you look at your first picture, you can see a nylon tube with a brass terminal on the end of it, and a black wire running to it. That is the receiver for the rear mount pin, of the two handle tops, and the wire ties the tops into the factory alarm.

If you have an aluminum rear, that is out of an 80-82. The 79 was the last year to use the cast iron rear. This is not a "bolt in" swap, it requires cutting out the mounts for the 79 rear end cross member, and welding in the brackets needed to mount newer rear. Does your trans crossmember have two holes in it, for the exhaust pipe to run through, or a single dimple, for the pipe to run under it?

Most 79's used the 3 door rear compartment frame. The switch to the 2 door unit, didn't take place until around VIN 53,500.

All of the T-top trim is available. It's made up of 4 pieces, the front piece, the side piece, the corner connector and the weatherstrip retainer. The front and side piece are about $55 each, the corners about $15 and the weatherstrip retainers run about $40 each. If you buy a set of 78-82 tops, you won't need the weatherstrip retainers, since they don't use them. The 78-82 T-top weatherstrip has a piece of metal molded into the outer side, eliminating the need for the retainer.

As KapsSA said, the 80-82 has the pulse wiper control module, mounted in the rear compartment. I understand that a lot of things have been switched around on that car, but between the control module being in the back, and the 80-82 style rear end, is it possible the car's actually an 80-82?

cobrachuck

Welcome Home
Thanks for your service good luck with your car a wealth of knowledge her on the Forum
Chuck

313hitman

Thank you all soo much for the support. I looked at the title and it says 1979. no stickers in the door jam as it looks like its been removed to be painted. judging by some of the paint chips on the car, it was once red. I'm including pictures of the trans crossmember which doesnt have the 2 exhaust holes and the rear end. all comments are greatly appreciated.

gbvette62

From what I see, that looks like an 81 frame, or maybe an 82. Either way, it doesn't look like a 79. You weren't kidding when you said "this car seems to have several parts from different years.".

Does the VIN on the windshield pillar, match the one on your title? How about a couple pictures of the outside of the car.

313hitman

the vin on the windshield frame does match the title. it's the only thing that matches on this car so far. i have a white steering wheel, black carpet, red plastics....all mixed up. i'm including exterior pics of the car as requested.

Kris Tunetso

Post a picture of the trim tag and we can tell you what interior and exterior colors it originally came with.

gbvette62

That's good! That's one of the things I always worry about, when I come across the car with a mix of parts from various years.



From the pictures, I can tell that it has a 79 style nose, and an 80-82 rear bumper. The bumper change is pretty easy, and a popular update to any of the 74-79 rubber bumper cars.

7T1vette

When you purchased the car, did it have a "SALVAGE" title? Not really a big deal, if you looked it over carefully and were OK with it. But, that would explain how it became a C3 "puzzle".

313hitman

It has a clean title. here is the trim tag

7T1vette

Nothing 'unclean' about a salvage title. It just has the word SALVAGE on it. I guess someone has just been busy putting a C3 together.

Condo_454C3

I believe that paint code is dark green on a 79

Kris Tunetso

I06 = April 06, 1979
Trim 122 = Oyster White Leather
Paint 58L = Dark Green Metallic

Interesting that the rest of the text on the tag seems to be missing...

So, your car rolled out of the factory on April 6th, 1979 with a Dark Green Metallic exterior and an Oyster White Leather interior. The car was repainted at least twice given the presence of red paint under the white. The interior has probably been gutted entirely at one point and had everything replaced with what you have now, (except the white steering wheel) or someone went through the trouble of dying everything. As has been said, your frame is not a 79: probably an 81 or 82.

Looks like you got yourself a fun little Frankenstein. Have fun!

313hitman

I dont know if you misunderstood my statement. here in michigan a "clean" title is a term for a good title, no lien, salvage or rebuild reported on the car.