Hey all, I just purchased a 1977 L48 one week ago. It had been sitting in a barn under a tarp for about two years, but was still in fairly good shape. I've gone through the brakes (surprisingly inexpensive!) and I am now replacing gaskets and weatherstripping. The Vette was a southern Vette, so no rust problems (whew!)

I've been looking for weatherstrip kits for my 1977 Vette, and I've been noticing a distinction made between 77E and 77L Vettes (especially in regards to T-Tops). How do you identify which Vette is Early 77 and which is Late 77? One place says count the pins in the strips, and another says if there are two levers, then its an Early. Somebody clue me in before I buy the wrong kit!

Thanks,

The best source I would think would be the VIN of the car. It should give you an idea of when the car was assembled (early in ght year or later in the year). Another clue would be the body trim tag on the driver's side front door pillar. That will tell you what month/day the body was put together, which is usually within a day or two of being mated to the frame.

Post the VIN and Trim Tag info. We'll try and help you sort out which side of the fence your Vette is on, early or late.

VIN: 1Z37L7S421772

Trim Tag: Chevrolet C07
Trim 272 Paint 28L

No year on the tag.

Thanks for all the help!

Marc,

A quick check in the Corvette Black Book by Mike Antonick is a little confusing to me. Your VIN points an early February, 1977 vehicle assembly date (Jan.'77 end 21118 - Feb.'77 end 24662) but your Trim Tag date points to October, 1976 (A - Aug'76, B - Sept'76, C - Oct'76, etc) body build date. That seems like a pretty wide gap in time as I don't think bodies were stock-piled that much before being mated with the frame/engine.

There's a couple of other places to check so I'll look around some more. Anyone else out there up on body vs assembly dates?
____________________________________

Jim O.
Save the Wave...!!!

Yes, but I think the original question has been answered. I've got an Early 77. As far as the trim tag goes, I don't know enough about all that yet. I've only been a Vette owner for a little over a week.

It is a good idea to go on a part by part basis if you have a "L" or "E" concern, as your new ride may or may not have some "late" items as well as some "early" parts. If they tell you the difference in the 77E and 77L parts, take a minute check yours, it can't hurt.

Sorry for being late. For t-top weather stripping, in one of my books it says that early 77's have 19 plastic push in fasteners. Late 77's have 18 fasteners and a metal reinforment in the weatherstrip above the door glass. This info is from Corvette America. If you have a Alarm key in the fender you are an early 77. Tom

Ok, I've counted fasteners. 18. Metal strip over the window, and I have the Alarm key. I have a Vette with multiple personalities!

Thanks for all the help!

Tom,

Know anything about window adjustment? I've got a thread in the Body section you may wanna look at...

Who spotted the similarity between Contrail & Bcliff? Both are Tom and both found their Vettes buried under bales of hay in a barn!

Sorry dude, My name is Marc...

Always check the barns, though...