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Topic: 1979 Early or Late?

in Forum: C3 General Discussion

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1979 Early or Late? (1/8)
1/16/12 7:16pm

Dragonswan
Former Member
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Ridge Manor, FL - USA

Vette(s):
1979, Just purchased. Previous owned by two individuals. Garage kept entire life. 47K Miles

Joined: 1/1/2012
Posts: 7

I'm looking at interior improvments and find items that are 1979 early specific. How do I tell if my 79 is 'Early'?

Thanks,

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Re: 1979 Early or Late? (2/8)
1/16/12 8:35pm

lukesvette

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HOWELL, NJ - USA

Vette(s):
1979, Targa Blue (72 Color), Pace Car rear spoiler, L88 hood, Dark blue factory interior, 525HP 406, HD 700R4, 370 gears,Steeroids, composite rear spring, TT IIs wrapped in T/A Radials.

Joined: 5/18/2004
Posts: 6812

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-general/2871538-early-late-1979-identifcation.html

Informative thread. My 79 is vin # 6770 out of 53,000 plus, so I always considered it to be "early".

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Re: 1979 Early or Late? (3/8)
1/16/12 8:37pm

Jaws79

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Sykesville, MD - USA

Vette(s):
1979 Corvette Coupe Corvette Light Blue Midnight Blue interior Mirrored Glass T-tops

Joined: 4/27/2008
Posts: 4238

If you have a 3 compartment rear storage unit it's early. Late 79's had 2 compartment units as 80-82 do. The early 79's had the 140 MPH speedo, late 79's had the dreaded 85 MPH unit. Thats the 2 big differences in the interior. Also, the late 79's were available with the lighted vanity mirror on the passenger sun visor. The rear compartment is the easiest way to tell.

Barry

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"Down on the Boardwalk...

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Re: 1979 Early or Late? (4/8)
1/18/12 8:38pm

Thanks! That makes it an early 79, as I do have the 3 compartments and the 145 mph sp. Now if I could just find a safe place to open her up.

Any tips out there on Leather repair? I would rather try to repair a couple of small tears than replace the entire seat covers.

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Re: 1979 Early or Late? (5/8)
1/19/12 1:16pm

ebo

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Holland Patent, NY - USA

Vette(s):
#1 *1980 White, Red interior 14,000 mile #2 *1980 Red, Oyster interior 93,000 miles Resto project car, rebuilt to 383 stroker

Joined: 6/3/2008
Posts: 4421

Jon welcome aboard!

I have used the leather repair kits in the past on some seats in a Tahoe. It was right where you slide in and out of the drivers bucket. It worked well for me.

Hardest part was getting the shade right. The heat iron with the leather pattern design worked well also.

Most large Auto stores sell the kit.

Good luck, and nice looking shark you have there...only 47K! Nice find!

ebo

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LIFETIME MEMBER 151

ebo

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Re: 1979 Early or Late? (6/8)
1/19/12 1:17pm

ebo

Jon welcome aboard!

I have used the leather repair kits in the past on some seats in a Tahoe. It was right where you slide in and out of the drivers bucket. It worked well for me.

Hardest part was getting the shade right. The heat iron with the leather pattern design worked well also.

Most large Auto stores sell the kit.

Good luck, and nice looking shark you have there...only 47K! Nice find!

ebo

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ebo

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Re: 1979 Early or Late? (7/8)
1/19/12 3:19pm

tb2k82ce

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Lemon Grove, CA - USA

Vette(s):
1982 C3 Collectors Edition 44000 miles, sat in the sun most of its life, My wife purchased it for me for Father's Day in 2007 from her girlfriend that had it for 19 years. It is on the road again. I'm retired but it is now my daily driver.

Joined: 10/17/2007
Posts: 2041

I would think that 471 just east of you would be a good place to open it up. I bet there are not a lot of cops on that road. Can not tell what condition the surface is in but it does look inviting from Google Maps.

Of course be careful make sure your tires are less than a couple of years old. Tires sitting in one place for long periods blowout easy and a blowout is never fun. In a corvette it is a disaster as the car body comes apart quickly. I have had two front tire blowouts in my time at high end freeway speeds and did not wreck either car but it was interesting ride. You would not want to end up as alligator food.

|UPDATED|1/19/2012 12:19:36 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

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Re: 1979 Early or Late? (8/8)
1/20/12 5:28pm

Thanks,

First thing I did was drive it from the previous owner straight to a shop and had all new tires installed. Even though they looked new, they were in fact 14 yrs. old. and I'd never buy 14 yr old tires. Had the salesman show me the date codes, the new ones were only 2 weeks old.

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