1977 colour options

[Dwight Blok]

Hello from Canada!

I have a couple of questions to ask any of you, but before I do so, I'm going to summarize my car and it's history.

My car is a 1977, white exterior, with white leather and blue trim. It has 57K and I'm the second owner. I have a GM Canada spec sheet on this car that I recently obtained and it shows it as being deliverd as : Classic white exterior (10L), blue leather interior (272), with a "ZP2 trim & colour override".

I know this car is all original. The owner of the dealership it was ordered from sold it to me. The paint is all orignal, and the hardware under the seat still has the factory plastic stuck to it, as does the rear seat button. I can vouch for authenticity in this regard.

When I noticed that the car was ordered usuing unauthorized colour combo's I began asking questions - including the original owner/dealership, and confirmed this was done with this car as a "favour" sort of thing by GM.

What I would like to know is this: Is the colour combo unsual? Did GM let dealerships do this sort of thing very often? Would the NCRS penalize this car because of it's "special" order in that it was made with unauthorized colours? Would you consider this car an unusual find, especially for this year?

I know you might think I'm one of those types who believes that my car is 'rare'. I'm not that type. I stumbled upon the car and bought it because I liked the style and it's minty shape. With over 49,000 1977 vettes made, this must have happened to others????

Many thanks in advance for your time & patience.

Dwight.

[Terry McManmon (3966)]

Re: 1977 colour options *TL*

So long as there is a code for the selection override it is not a real "rare" event. There is no listing for 1977 for the number of ZP2s produced (but then you probably knew that). 1972 is the only year it is listed in the material I have. This code was a signal for St. Louis to check back with the zone office, which checked back with the dealer to be sure this was the combination ordered and not a case of someone checking the wrong box by mistake.

I know of one 1973 with the new owner's name on the gas tank build sheet stating non-standard colour combination approved by: xxxx. (Of course they spell colour a little differently, but we can handle those small things.)

NCRS judges are not likely to notice the colour combination is non standard and even if they do it will not concern them. So long as the numbers on the trim tag indicate the colours that are on the car they will be delighted. Things get a little tight when the numbers and the car presented don't agree.

Enjoy your Corvette.

Terry

[Joe Lucia (12484)]

Re: 1977 colour options

Dwight------

The only thing that I don't understand is the reason for the "ZP2 trim and colour override". As far as I know, for model year 1977, white exterior with a blue leather interior was an available color and trim combination.

[Allan Hickey]

Re: 1977 colour options

Joe, the pocket spec guide shows that the White exterior ordered with the White interior, will receive Smoke Gray trim. The White/Blue combo it appears was used with the Blue exterior. In 76, it shows the White exterior as being had with the White/Black, White/Blue-Green, or White/Firethorn, but in 77, it shows only the Smoke Gray, and says all combos are restricted. Is this an error in the guide?

Terry, the car is coded 272, which is Dark Blue Leather, so wouldn't this show as an incorrect color interior?

[Joe Lucia (12484)]

Re: 1977 colour options

Allan-----

I was just referring to the interior/exterior codes. The white (code 10) with blue leather (code 272) was an available combination. I do not understand how a car with white leather seats could have received a 272 trim code. However, perhaps the trim code primarily refers to the trim color EXCLUSIVE of the seats. But, if that's the case, why would there be different codes for leather or cloth trim inasmuch as the leather only applies to the seating surfaces?

In this case, I guess, it was a toss-up whether to call this interior code 112 (white leather) or 272 (blue leather), so they flipped a coin and called it 272. It would be interesting to know if white leather interior cars with the standard 'smoke gray' trim were known by the 'smoke gray' leather code (152)

[Terry McManmon (3966)]

Re: 1977 colour options *TL*

I was only addressing the ZP2 issue. I didn't even look at the spec guide for the colour. I'll leave the answer to that part to someone more familiar with 1977s than I am.

Terry

[Dwight Blok]

Re: 1977 colour options

Thanks for the info folks!

Does anyone know if this was a regular thing to do, in regards to colour overrides (anyone work at a dealership before?). Has anyone seen this particular colour combo before?

Thanks in advance,

Dwight.

[Wayne Midkiff (3437)]

Re: 1977 colour options

Dwight --- As Terry M. has indicated, the model year 1972 is the only one for which we have the ZP2 coloUr override numbers (490 coupes, 164 convertibles, out of 27004 production), so that will give you some idea as to how "common" it was. I'll bet it's also in the same ballpark for '77. My only new car [Gorries Golden Mile, Toronto] was a ZP2 ('72 convertible) due to Steel Cities Gray on blue. It was dealer inventory -- probably some sales manager with a sense of adventure. On the same GM Canada microfiche page as mine, there was a ZP3 (Special Paint on deluxe tan interior), which is much rarer still. Greetings from Calgary.