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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 03:56 PM
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Default 76 paint code

So I recently bought a 76 corvette, the vin and title show it’s a 76, I believe the original color is yellow because there’s some yellow spots on the car but I went to look at the color codes and for 76 the code for yellow was 56 my car has a color code of 52, 52 was the code for yell beginning in 77, is something up? Or is it just that my car was produced later into 76 so it had the color code of a 77?
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 05:01 PM
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Michael, share your VIN here and a pic of the trim tag let's find out what's going on.
Greg
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 05:04 PM
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Code 52 was a '77 color but cancelled very early in the year.
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 06:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Greg
Michael, share your VIN here and a pic of the trim tag let's find out what's going on.
Greg
1Z37L6S417429 is my vin
and this is my trim tag


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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 06:22 PM
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Go to think link. It talks about it.

Can you take a pic of the steering column? Or the badges, that can determine if it’s a 76 or 77.

http://corvettec3.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/...m=1480704437/9
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by CarterDawson
Go to think link. It talks about it.

Can you take a pic of the steering column? Or the badges, that can determine if it’s a 76 or 77.

http://corvettec3.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/...m=1480704437/9
so my vin and title show that it is a 76 and if that's true the trim tag states it was built in October of 1975 so the 77 paint code being used on my car also wouldn't make sense in this case thank you for the info and the read tho
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 07:49 PM
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Well, this is certainly interesting Mike.
VIN shows a build date of January 1976 but trim tag shows a date (C03) of October 3rd.
Interior trim code 592 was not available in 1976 or 1977. It was offered in 1978 and 1979 as Light Beige, which seems to match the bit of interior shown in your photo. 592 comes up again in 1980 as Doeskin, but not offered with the Code 52 Yellow that year. Interestingly, 1978, 79 & 80 all offered Code 52 Yellow paint.
Do you know any history on your car? Could it have been re-bodied at some point? Stranger things have happened in Corvette world.
Cheers, Greg

Last edited by Greg; Dec 14, 2022 at 08:27 PM.
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 08:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Greg
Well, this is certainly interesting Mike.
VIN shows a build date of January 1976 but trim tag shows a date (C03) of October 3rd.
Interior trim code 592 was not available in 1976 or 1977. It was offered in 1978 and 1979 as Light Beige, which seems to match the bit of interior shown in your photo. 592 comes up again in 1980 as Doeskin, but not offered with the Code 52 Yellow that year. Interestingly, 1978, 79 & 80 all offered Code 52 Yellow paint.
Do you kinow any history on your car? Could it have been re-bodied at some point? Stranger things have happened in Corvette world.
Cheers, Greg
unfortunately that is I suppose where the trail goes cold as I don't have any prior history on the car and no previous owner to speak to as I bought the car from a tow yard but I appreciate all of your help in the matter
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 08:24 PM
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Can you share a few pics of the body and interior? Maybe we can still figure this out.
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 08:33 PM
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I will definitely take some pictures soon as can and upload them
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Old Dec 14, 2022 | 09:43 PM
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Do you have a salvaged title?
A salvage yard could have easily swapped the body.
They can do it legally as long as all the DMV paperwork is filed properly.
Does the number on the engine stamp pad match the windshield VIN.
If it’s a matching numbers car it could help answer some of the questions.
You might want to find and try to read the VIN stamped into the frame.
One last thing, if you go to your local DMV office they can give you the VIN History.
It won’t show you prior owner’s information, but it will give you registration information, prior license plates assigned, any stolen vehicle reports, VIN swaps, data or new VIN’s assigned.
Keep us posted!
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 12:35 AM
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Originally Posted by OldCarBum
Do you have a salvaged title?
A salvage yard could have easily swapped the body.
They can do it legally as long as all the DMV paperwork is filed properly.
Does the number on the engine stamp pad match the windshield VIN.
If it’s a matching numbers car it could help answer some of the questions.
You might want to find and try to read the VIN stamped into the frame.
One last thing, if you go to your local DMV office they can give you the VIN History.
It won’t show you prior owner’s information, but it will give you registration information, prior license plates assigned, any stolen vehicle reports, VIN swaps, data or new VIN’s assigned.
Keep us posted!
I will definitely have to check all the vins but the car has a clear title
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 03:11 AM
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Yes, as long as your VIN tag matches your title you should be fine. Body panels get changed all the time.
But I enjoy getting to the bottom of a good mystery, same as the next guy.
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 03:20 AM
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Originally Posted by Greg
Yes, as long as your VIN tag matches your title you should be fine. Body panels get changed all the time.
But I enjoy getting to the bottom of a good mystery, same as the next guy.
I haven’t gone to check or take pictures of my car since it’s dark out but I have looked at pictures and my gauge cluster is definitely from a 1978+ if that helps at all
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 04:12 AM
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Take a picture of the rear wheelwell body mounts. Post here! See if they look fresh or aged?


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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 04:28 AM
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Send a picture of the rivets on the VIN plate
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 02:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Greg
Can you share a few pics of the body and interior? Maybe we can still figure this out.
let me first say my car is very rough and it’s definitely a project but here are some pictures






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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 02:48 PM
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Hmmm?
Thanks for sharing the pics Mike.
Nothing wrong with a great project. I always like to see another vintage Corvette saved from the scrap heap.
It definitely looks like a '76 body (so VIN is fine) with a '78 interior installed.
As for the trim tag, perhaps the '76 had some front end damage and the front clip was replaced with the almost identical clip from a donor '78 (the two pin emblem hole above the side vent seems to confirm this), they left the '78 trim tag in place and it's just coincidence that both cars were yellow originally. If the '76 interior was tired, this could explain where the '78 style interior came from as well.
Good luck on the restoration!
Cheers, Greg

Last edited by Greg; Dec 15, 2022 at 02:55 PM.
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 02:50 PM
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That inside doesn’t look like a 76 or a 77. To me that looks more like a 1978 interior. But the outside looked like a 1976. Weird. Somebody that knows more can verify this. Maybe somebody made a effort at restoring it and only got to the inside? Weird about the trim tag tho. 🤔
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Old Dec 15, 2022 | 02:58 PM
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Let's see the rivets on the VIN plate
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