I am a Corvette novice and need some help. I have what I think is a 1978 Silver Anniversary in terrific condition. I have read a lot of people have taken 78 vettes and painted them with the two tone Silver Anniversary paint and placed on them the appropriate emblems to make the car to appear to be Silver Anniversary when its not. How can I tell if my vette is a Silver Anniversary?

My second question is I have a bad back and need extra foam seat support in the mid-back and low-back and seat.I also need to raise the backrest to a more upright position. Will nicer later model vette seats 1982-2003 fit in my vette or could they be made to fit? If so what would need to be done to make them fit and how much trouble and expense am I looking at. Also what year model seats would best meet my needs and where can I obtain the seats?
Thanks for your help! Gary

I have a '78 Silver Anniversary as well. The only real way you can tell if it's original is to have the original window sticker (they can be faked) or the build sheet attached to the top of the gas tank, but after all these years, it may not be readable of it's still there.

The other thing to look for is the trim tag on the drivers door jamb above the hinge. If it's the original trim tag, it will give the paint code of 13/07. Also, the Silver Anniversary cars came only with aluminum wheels, dual sport mirrors, and the only interior colors available for them were black, oyster or red. There were combinations of all leather or leather/fabric interior combinations for those three colors.

The later '79-'82 seats will bolt right in if you decide to change to them, but later seats can and have been made to fit...it just takes a bit more effort. Fom what I understand you have to eliminate the power mechanisms in them, but it's not supposed to be a particularly tough swap.

Just to add, all 78's had the anniversary emblems, nose and gas door. Also, dark blue and mahogany interiors were available, probably see a "XXX Customer Order" notation on the build sheet with either. Mine's dark blue.
You can also adjust the seat backs a little more vertical with the adjusters between the back and seat bottom, two large bolts you see when you flip the back forward. Might be more comfortable til you find new seats.
Mike

|UPDATED|8/28/2004 11:55:15 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Thanks Gunslinger for the help. My 78 has all the identifying items including the 13/07 paint code so I guess I own the real thing. I would have always wondered without your help. Thanks a lot.

Do you know how comfortable the 82-92 seats are? I have recently joined a local corvette club and I guess the best way to know is see if any of the members have one of these year model vettes and check out the seats.

I found in Corvette Trader an ad for 1979-1993 "Preinstalled Leather Seats on Foam" from Al Knoch Interiors. If I remember correctly they told me in order to make them to fit in my 78 I would have to find the seat frame I think they called it from a salvage dealer. It's Sunday and I can't call them right now but do you have any idea what they are talking about? The picture of the seat looks very comfortable and better than the 1994-1996 seats. Where else can I look for the 1982+ seats? Since I am a computer novice I am not very good at using search engines on the net so what keywords do you suggest?

By the way your vettes are absolutely beautiful. Mine is like your silver on silver. Why is it the 78 Silver Anniversary doesn't command a lot higher price as an antique/collector car? Most of the ones I've seen advertised are in the $10,000.00-$15,000.00 range and it would seem that a 25th Anniversary automobile with such a beautiful design and color scheme that only had approximately 13,000 made would bring a higher price. What do you think? I very rarely see one on the road and I read an article that said the reason you didn't see many on the road is because most owners have them garaged or warehoused. The car originally sold for about $9,000.00 so at least its kept its value. Do you think if we keep our vettes another 10-15 years the market value will significantly increase?

A member in our local club has one with a rear spoiler like the one on the pace car. Was that an option you could order or is it an aftermarket?

Sorry to hit you with so many questions. I am trying to learn everything I can about my vette which I dearly love.Everytime I take it out for a drive it turns heads and invokes compliments. I have thought about selling it and buying a newer vette but quite frankly both myself and my wife like it better than the C-4's,& C-5's. The new C-6's convertible with the 400 HP engine is sure tempting though.

I have some extra play in my steering wheel. Do you know anything about the C-3 steering and suspension or should I post that under that forum?

Thanks again for your help.

Gary

A buddy of mine has a '92 and the seats in his are comfortable, but the "wings" on them make it difficult to get in and out of his car...at least for me they do. You might consider obtaining a pair of '79-'82 seats...they bolt right in, weigh less, and are supposed to be more comfortable.

Thanks for the comments on my cars...much appreciated. If you look in the value books, the Silver Anniversary are supposed to get a 10-15% premium over values of standard coupes. Whether they do in the real world is up for argument I guess. They're certainly not rare. When I bought mine, I considered that there might be some future increase in value due to being a Silver Anniversary, but as much as anything, I like the look of the two-tone colors. I think it's more attractive than the '78 Pace Car...at least not as gaudy.


The spoiler was standard on the Pace Car, and I believe it was optional on the others. I'm sure many have installed the spoiler themselves as well. They're probably available through aftermarket sources.

I don't much know anything about the steering. Better ask some questions that someone else can better answer on that one.

I think the C4's and C5's are superior automobiles technically, but a real pain to repair and they have some very sophisticated systems that are difficult and expensive to diagnose and repair. I think the C3's are the last generation of Corvette that can be serviced, modified, repaired, etc., by the average owner with average tools and knowledge.