Can anyone lead me to the fender tag on my 79?  I'm looking to validate the option codes to verify originality.  There is a paint tag in front jamb of drivers door (and it doesn't look original) but can't find anything else.  Appreciate your inputs!

Trim tag is all there is. All it tells you is date of prod.(approx.), interior color and paint color. I have the same color combo on one of mine:"Trim 722(red leather), 10L paint(white)". Why don't you think the tag's original? No paint on it? Normal. You probably know the VIN will tell you what motor you have, L48 or L82. What options are you looking to verify? You can pull numbers off the motor and even the carb if original that will verify the 4speed. You can also purchase a copy of the dealer invoice from a GM authorized jobber for $50 that will give you a lot of info. Or see if you can reach the build sheet on the gas tank. I was able to grab 2 of mine without dropping the tank, not the best condition for low mile cars but still readable. If I can help with any numbers let me know.   Mike

John, the trim tag will only give the info as mkapp7879
has described. The vin will give the engine code, but not any other options. mkapp7879(Mike) will probably be the most help on this one.
I'm curious as to why you believe the trim tag may not be original, also.

Mike, do any of your cars have paint on the trim tags? I have seen some (original)80-81-82 cars with painted tags, and was curious about earlier cars. Possibly started that at BG plant?

Joel, my white 79 and the Pace Car have tags without paint. Black79 and 78SA have paint. Was told it's because the tags are installed after the body gets primed, so no primer on the tag leads to paint peeling off. I see remnants of white paint around the rivits on the white one but that's all. The paint on the 2 painted ones seem pretty durable, tho.  Mike

Thanx for that info, Mike!! Another mystery solved!

Thanks Mike! That explains allot.  Guess my old Mopar philosophies I tried to apply to Chevy.  My trim tag does look like the one in your photo so it may be the original.  Will hit the web to further my Chevy education and purge myself of the Mopar thought processes.  Love these forums and Thanks again for the education it's appreciated!

Big John

Just a little more info on that tag.  My '69's tag has no paint on it and I know for fact that it's original.

Enjoy that car!

None of the trim tags were painted, until the later 70's. Obviously, the 78s were, as Mike has shown. I knew the later cars were painted, just didn't know exactly what year that was started.

Upon further research, I have found this about the trim tags, and paint...

The trim tags that were painted were all done at the St. Louis plant, not at the BG plant.
The best guess as to why, is that the assy line was running hard to keep up with the demand for the 78-79 cars, so...they simply applied the trim tag after the primer, but before the paint, just to save time.
Once the assy line was moved to BG, they reverted back to installing the tags after the paint.
So...some '81 cars will have painted tags(St. Louis buids), some will not(BG builds). All 78-80 cars would have been painted. Adams' Apple38945.7795138889