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1980 Rear window trim question

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Old Jan 25, 2010 | 11:47 AM
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Default 1980 Rear window trim question

Why are some 1980 rear window trims black and some are chrome? I have been looking to buy a c3 and have noticed this. I have not found the answer anywhere. thanks Rich
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Old Jan 25, 2010 | 12:56 PM
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Mine was black when I bought the car and has far has I know that's original! Ron
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Old Jan 25, 2010 | 02:05 PM
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Black.
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Old Jan 25, 2010 | 02:50 PM
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here is what i found in a book i have word for word

rear window surround molding is stainless steel in all 1978-1982 corvettes.the moldings utilized on those 1978 cars assembled through approximatly mid-october 1977 are typically unpainted and polished along the outer edge and painted satin black along the inner edge.the moldings on cars assembled from approximatly mid-october 1977 through approximatly the end of november 1977are sometimes as in earlier cars and sometimes entirely unpainted and polished.in 1978s assembled after approximatly the end of november 1977 are typically seen with unpainted outer edges and black satin painted inner edges as with eirlier cars.
all 1978 pace cars,as well as all 1979-1982 corvettes,use rear -window molding that is completly painted satin black.

hope this answeres your question
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Old Jan 25, 2010 | 08:05 PM
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Thank you that is just the info I was looking for. I guess when you see a 1980 with silver trim that would mean the black paint came off. Here is a link to a car I saw that got me thinking about this.http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/1568754709.html
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Old Jan 26, 2010 | 01:38 AM
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I'm the original owner of a 80' and was quit familiar with the era. 78's have the polished Stainless Trim. I don't ever remember seeing a Pace car with Black trim. 79's have black trim as do all 80's -82's. Thats how you tell a 78 from a 79 just look at the trim. So why dose your 80' not have it ? It did. Everybody me included learned the Hard way that when you buff the car out with a power Buffer all You had to do was touch the trim once and the Paint was gone. The Paint the Factory used was junk. So the easyest way to fix it was to buff the rest of the Paint off. I had mine Powder coated back when that was a Hight Tech thing to do. Its held up well.
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Old Jan 26, 2010 | 05:14 PM
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I believe it's the same for the T Top trim around the outer edge, my '80 is black with shiny stainless underneath ?
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Old Jan 26, 2010 | 06:32 PM
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this answers the same question i had about my '80. the black on the trim is coming off all over and i just assumed the previous owner used cheap paint.

i think i'll remove the rest of the paint on the trim and leave it with the stainless showing...
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Old Jan 26, 2010 | 11:56 PM
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Good info to know. Time to repaint it then....
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Old Jan 27, 2010 | 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by richN
...I guess when you see a 1980 with silver trim that would mean the black paint came off....
It would if it were my '80.
I repainted them. The paint used by the GM parts providers wasn't the greatest stuff in the world, plus the polished stainless steel does not hold paint well. You'll see the same problem with painted trim tags.
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