Hey all,

I was changing out my cracked passenger side rear marker light the other day and in order to access the screws, I removed the two passenger side tail lights. To my surprise, I found the car's build sheet. I was under the impression the sheets were stuffed in the k member.

Should I just leave it be?

Ric

 

I discovered mine doing the same exact thing. I had to change out my tail light housings because all the screw mounts were cracked and the housings were all loose. I’d say it’s totally up to you but I left it right where the folks in bowling green left it. I thought it was too cool to remove it from its home.

 

Yeah.... It's still in place.

For those who may not realize, the sheet is stuck between the fuel tank and the retaining metal belt. I'd have to loosen up the tank just to get the sheet out... Hopefully in one piece.

 

I'd try to remove it and preserve it. Will it last another 10-20 years there? I see the build sheets from 60s cars and they look like documents from an archeology dig.

 

I believe you've a '96 so there's very little need to actually attempt to remove it. A dealer can actually print an 'option/RPO' list for you and you should still have your SPID so just leave it be. There's generally 2 for all builds, the one you found and one stuffed into the suspension member up front.

 

Where exactly? I looked for it a while back but couldn't find it.

Yes, It's, a 96 CE.

 

I think its an incredible find and I wouldn't personally disturb it. You'll likely ruin it when trying to remove it unless you loosen the fuel tank strap.

I found the build sheet in my 84 and removed the remnants of it when I replaced the fuel tank. My 95 is a low mileage car and it's possible that it's still there. If it is, I'll leave it. I just order the window sticker and build sheet from the NCM for all of my Corvettes and have a perfect copy of each.

 

I’ll be doing that soon for my car. Membership to NCM is a worthwhile cause in my opinion anyway.

 

So, here's a pretty neat story for all of you regarding documents left behind on the production line...

I was playing around on eBay and saw a '76 Cosworth Vega listed. Never had one but in the day they were pretty interesting cars with great stories behind them. I did not win the auction, but later got a call from the seller to let me know that the winner bowed-out and did I want the car. "As long as my last bid works, yes"...and we bought a barn find Cosworth that sat in a garage since 1979. The seller claimed that it was put in the garage, covered and never moved. It was rust free and needed some TLC but for $4.,000? Why not?
What began as 'clean-up' turned into a complete restoration. The original paint was intact, and after some 100+ hours of color-sanding/polishing it looked absolutely amazing. The entire drive train and interior was removed and repaired/refinished. The engine? Well, it didn't run as I was told. Sure, he shut the key off AFTER he tried power-shifting the car, breaking a shift fork in the gearbox...which allowed the car to over-rev and have the timing belt skip a bunch of teeth...which permitted the exhaust valves to hit pistons....which then BENT the exhaust camshaft. Yep, just shut it off! When the car was completed, I listed it on BAT, and a fellow offered me HIS '76 Cosworth plus cash. I was dismissive until I learned it had under 3,000 miles on it and was in need of a clean-up.

Well, I went through the same process again (except the engine was sound and just needing cosmetics). Original paint color-sanded back to perfection. When I removed the interior and pulled the carpeting and then the jute padding, I found a piece of yellow ruled paper with signatures on it. No one in the Coswoth community had ever seen something like that, so I figured that it must have been someone on the line that left it there. I searched for the one signature I could decipher and located the name some 30 miles away from the Lordstown plant. Given his age, I figured they had a land line and I called the number. A gentleman answered, and I immediately begged him not to hang-up as I was not a telemarketer but a guy who just bought a Cosworth Vega. "Did you work at the plant?". He replied cautiously "yes, I did for over 30 years."

"Sir, I bought a metallic blue Cosworth with a white interior and in the process of restoring the car, I found a piece of paper under the interior padding with, I believe, your signature on it. Do you recall doing that?"

Stunned, he answered: "Oh my God!! When that car came down the line, I thought it was such a beautiful Cosworth in blue that I gathered the production supervisors on the line that day and we all signed that piece of paper hoping that one day someone would find it...and YOU DID!! Oh my God!!"

That Cosworth was a time capsule. In the end, they were (and still are) really great deisigns...with poor build quality BUT one hell of a neat engine. The car ultimately sold at a Mecum auction for a then record $26,000.

 

That is a great story.

I pulled the seats out of my car so I could pull the carpet and clean it in the backyard.

I found, among the change and roasted peanuts, the original owner's country club card... Picture and all.
How do I know it belonged to the original owner? My car is a 96... His card expired in 97.

 

When I tore apart my 88 found and kept the sheet on the fuel tank. Survived ok...but when I had the front end apart, the K member was about to get blasted and painted untill I heard something..finally got in there and besides the 2nd build sheet (that was a mess and not salvageable) I found a 32 caliber fired shell. Interesting it had a double d firing pin imprint..there is no way that shell got there on its own.

 

Where exactly is the sheet on the k member?

 

Was IN it. If I didn't take everything apart I'd never have known it was in there.