Decoding Door Trim Tag
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Joined: Jun 2016
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From: Tennessee
Decoding Door Trim Tag
Hi Folks-
I've done a lot of Googling on this subject, but I'm still having trouble deciphering what my trim tag is trying to tell me.
Can someone give me a hand with this?
1981 model-
B 08B 104775
74I 80L 80U 98M E
I've done a lot of Googling on this subject, but I'm still having trouble deciphering what my trim tag is trying to tell me.
Can someone give me a hand with this?
1981 model-
B 08B 104775
74I 80L 80U 98M E
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
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From: Southbound
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B code for 1981 model year
08B Time Built Date second week (B) of August (08)
104775 consecutive unit number
74I dark red leather upholstery (could also be 742)
80 Autumn Red 98M Dark Claret optional two tone paint
U and L indicate upper and lower halves of the car.
E is for acrylic enamel paint.
08B Time Built Date second week (B) of August (08)
104775 consecutive unit number
74I dark red leather upholstery (could also be 742)
80 Autumn Red 98M Dark Claret optional two tone paint
U and L indicate upper and lower halves of the car.
E is for acrylic enamel paint.
Last edited by Easy Mike; Jul 15, 2016 at 12:31 PM.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 68
Likes: 5
From: Tennessee
B code for 1981 model year
08B Time Built Date second week (B) of August (08)
104775 consecutive unit number
74I dark red leather upholstery (could also be 742)
80 Autumn Red 98M Dark Claret optional two tone paint
U and L indicate upper and lower halves of the car.
E is for acrylic enamel paint.
08B Time Built Date second week (B) of August (08)
104775 consecutive unit number
74I dark red leather upholstery (could also be 742)
80 Autumn Red 98M Dark Claret optional two tone paint
U and L indicate upper and lower halves of the car.
E is for acrylic enamel paint.
Man, that helps.
Question about the paint- the car sure looks like it's all one color to me. If the code is 80U and 80L, then that means the whole car is '80', or Autumn Red, correct? If so, where does the 98M Dark Claret come into play?
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
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From: Southbound
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The 98M code on your trim tag indicates the car was originally two toned.
Take a peek: https://www.google.com/search?q=1981...XyBU0Q_AUIBigB
Contact the National Corvette Museum and see if you can obtain a copy of the build schedule for your car. It is likely to show the two tone paint option (D84) and the factory colors.
http://www.corvettemuseum.org/learn/...ndow-stickers/
Last edited by Easy Mike; Jul 15, 2016 at 01:27 PM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 68
Likes: 5
From: Tennessee
U and L are GM codes more applicable to other GM makes than to Corvette. U indicates the area above the belt line; L indicates beneath the belt line. For the 81 and 82 two tone Corvettes, the car was first painted all over with the primary color, in your case, 80 Autumn Red. The second color was sprayed on the lower half of the car after that and over the top of the existing color coat.
The 98M code on your trim tag indicates the car was originally two toned.
Take a peek: https://www.google.com/search?q=1981...XyBU0Q_AUIBigB
Contact the National Corvette Museum and see if you can obtain a copy of the build schedule for your car. It is likely to show the two tone paint option (D84) and the factory colors.
http://www.corvettemuseum.org/learn/...ndow-stickers/
The 98M code on your trim tag indicates the car was originally two toned.
Take a peek: https://www.google.com/search?q=1981...XyBU0Q_AUIBigB
Contact the National Corvette Museum and see if you can obtain a copy of the build schedule for your car. It is likely to show the two tone paint option (D84) and the factory colors.
http://www.corvettemuseum.org/learn/...ndow-stickers/
Awesome information, thanks a ton!
Based on the pics in that Google link, it looks like either they forgot the Dark Claret on the lower half of my car at the factory, or the car has been repainted 100% Autumn Red at some point.
Really interesting.
Team Owner
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From: Southbound
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From: Shamong, NJ
The trim tags used on 81 Bowling Green built Corvettes, were different than those used for St. Louis 81's. The St. Louis tags actually had a space marked "PAINT" and "TRIM", while the Bowling Green tags just have a large space, with a series of numbers stamped into the tag.
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From: Shamong, NJ
It's well known that occasionally mistakes were made on trim tags, but that was generally limited to the 60's, and really not an issue by the late 70's or 80's. I'm pretty sure if your car is coded 80L 80U 98M, it left Bowling Green painted RPO D84 Two-Tone Claret over Dark Claret (the June 1981 Corvette Ordering Guide I have calls code 80, Claret Metallic, not Autumn Red).
If your car was originally painted either Claret Metallic, or Dark Claret Metallic, your trim tag would have been marked 74I 80L 80U (if Claret), or 74I 98L 98U (for Dark Claret). Neither the 4th set of numbers, or the "M", would appear on a solid colored 81 Bowling Green Corvette trim tag.
Below is the trim tag on my Charcoal Gray Metallic, Bowling Green built 81 Corvette, showing the configuration of a solid colored Bowling Green trim tag, without the 4th set of numbers or the "M".
