red topless gator

We were at the Museum a couple months ago and they do have a section for restoring vetts at their location. Don't know if this has anything to do with your car. They had at least one C3 they were restoring when I was there. Good Luck!

Panzerino

Thanks for that , I’ll keep on looking for answers,
regards
mike

vette8121

Holy "bangers" are you sitting on a SBC. tm

Panzerino

Yeh, small block Chevy , custom built 520 horse power , auto, burnt the hell out of my legs, had to buy a set of Kevlar chaps, looked like one of the “village people” , wife said that ,! , I thought I looked “cool” had some fun last year before I sold it , cops kept pulling me over just to sit on it and have a photo !! ,

brit vet

Can't shed anything on the tag Panz but where are you located old chap

Panzerino

Yeh, small block Chevy , custom built 520 horse power , auto, burnt the hell out of my legs, had to buy a set of Kevlar chaps, looked like one of the “village people” , wife said that ,! , I thought I looked “cool” had some fun last year before I sold it , cops kept pulling me over just to sit on it and have a photo !! ,

Panzerino

Hi thanks for your help, I live over the pond , the United Kingdom, a place called Manchester, “the rainy city” as they call it 😳 looks like I’ll not find anything out regarding the tag, but I’ll keep on trying as I build the car up , should get it ready for the summer,
Mike.

The13Bats

Why is jeff wrong?

Occhams razor

I wasnt aware and under a solid impression that zero c3s were returned to bolwing green for "renovations and or modifacations" or any reason, decaled and returned to the public,

In 30 plus years of working on with vettes i never heard of this,
So "IF" a c3 was returned in the 90s to bolwing green for any such work the burden is to prove it with a provenance not an easy to counterfeit decal that raises flags with spelling errors and odd wording,
I have seen all kinds or bogus dash plaques and decals,

I would then imagine if this car was returned to the factory reworked and returned to the public it would be worth some super high dollars to the right collector,

Please let us know...

Panzerino

Hello
thank for your information regarding the tag, I had no idea that fakes were produced, looks like I’ve opened a can of worms, I was hoping to shed some light on this tag , not to make any monies or raise any issues from this
I bought the car only last month , it was imported from Tennessee around February- March of this year to the United Kingdom, I bought it to restore and have some fun , not to cause any issues with the corvette fraternity
what would be the point of faking a tag and not going all the way with provenance to make some big bucks as you say ? I will keep on delving until I get some evidence , fake or not , but at the end of the day , to me it’s just a 1978 25th anniversary corvette, that I’m restoring back to its former glory, so I can enjoy it next summer , that’s all ��
thanks for all the help on this from all you guys on the forum
regards
Mike.

KenSny

Well, for me it is more like Schrödinger's cat.

As mentioned in a previous post, the Museum restores cars. I have never read anywhere that they send the cars to the plant for restoration.

I have been to the museum many times and have never seen a tag like this.

I have been to car shows, Carlisle, etc and have never seen a tag like this.

If the plant did indeed "modify" cars and put a tag on them then why haven't we seen more examples? It certainly was not a dealer option.

So, until I read documented proof of the plant doing this, the cat is dead.

The13Bats

Congrats on the car and please do not mistake me as one if those who can get huge panty knots over some corvette issues and subjects, its just fun for me

Why would people fake decals or paperwork?
Most times to pull a scam on someone,

I know a guy who bragged to me about the things he did to fake a tall dollar car,
Replace the word "fake" with "make the car appear legit" because he lacked correct paperwork,

For example i could place a L88 center console plate in my 69, and if im just having fun not trying to say my car is the real deal, no harm done just me being cheesy,

I find things like your decal fun and thought provoking
In some cases weird one of a kind factory stuff makes a car very rare and in some cases rare means big money,

Not likely the case but i doubt you would mind if your car was all of a sudden worth 100k plus to the right buyer,

Panzerino

Totally agree with you, I’m sorry I opened this topic now, it looks like it’s getting out of hand, so I think it’s time to end this , until someone comes across some concrete evidence , I’ll just get on with restoring it , and maybe set up a new topic
cheers all
Mike.

The13Bats

Its not out of hand or anything to get stressed over but it would be great if you started a build thread, talk about your project and your dreams and desires for it,

I have a rather stagnant build thread,

Panzerino

Cheers,
i know, but i will start a new thread on the build of my vette, i have taken some pictures , before and after shots, i am about to move the fuse box from under the dash to the engine bay for ease of access in the future, i will be keeping most stock , some slight upgrades but will let you know when these are accomplished , i will also require a little assistance from the forum as this is something new to me,
We all have a "Bucket list" and this is one of mine, its been a long in coming but now its here i can tick this on off,
my thanks again guys , must go now as its 02:49 here in the morning, got work at 08:00, ill get on line later
regards
Mike.

Greg

Hi Mike, welcome aboard. Looks like you have a nice solid foundation to work with. '78 is another great year with many "firsts".
As far as your tag goes, I can't really offer much more input than the guys here have given you already. I worked at GM for many years and never heard of a restoration/modification program at BG in 1991 where they would re-sticker the cars, of course my lack of awareness of a program is no solid indicator by any means. Much went on at GM without needing my personal approval.
One thing I did notice is your decal's document number 10080812 A (and B) were issued between 1987 and 1989. By 1991 (the year of your decal) GM was using document number 10135543A (and B). Being as the date used is 1991 it would seem odd for BG to issue an out of date decal. "Fake" is a hard term. "Added" may be more accurate as, I agree, there seems to be no monetary purpose behind this decal. People just seem to do more weird things with and to Corvettes than any other American built car. Whatever the origination of this decal two things make me suspect of it's authenticity as a GM supplied item; the spelling error and the 5 stamped in place of the S in the VIN. GM would never change the serial number. Of course one thing we've all learned with Corvettes, never say never.
Could you please post a clear pic of your windshield pillar tag and your driver's door pillar trim tag?
Best, Greg

7T1vette

The tag 'part number' was surely issued in some earlier year. But, as long as the tag design didn't change, the p/n could stay the same for many years. So, I think that concern is not relevant.

Another item of UN-common knowledge: GM decreed that all employes eliminate extraneous letters from certain words. For many years, there were hoards of typing pools that did nothing but type all the documents written (by hand) by engineers/staff/management. As they did with items they purchased, an extra letter cost money to type! The word employes was one of those words.

(Yes, when I started with GM, there were typists everywhere. That ended when computers came on board. Then, they eliminated the typists!)

Greg

The tag designs did not stay the same "for many years". They were changed as often as yearly to every three years. Again, the part number of Mikes decal was a 1987 to 1989 issue only (at least from GM). By 1991, the year stamped on Mike's decal GM was using a different numbered tag.

Your reference to the extraneous letters being omitted by typists in the interest of cost effectiveness is interesting. I had not come across that information before. It suppose could explain the misspelled "employes" but it wouldn't explain the error in the VIN.

Panzerino

Hi Greg and thank you very much for this information , well I never knew there could be so much controversy behind a car, it has surprised me no end ! , I am very grateful for all of the messages sent to my thread , but never imagined what the outcome would be , .. very intreaging I must say
I am looking forward to get my vette restored now , plus I will have quite a lot to tell admirers when they ask the question about the tag , over here in the UK I don’t think they would understand , they just see a corvette and admire it for what it is , I do . I will get a picture of my windshield tag and front drivers door pillar trim tag for you later
my regards to you

Mike.

Panzerino

Hi Greg
heres pictures of the windshield tag an pillar tag , hope they come through ok , let me know if all ok , cheers guys
Mike

derekderek

On the windshield tag, the middle digit is an S, not a 5.