Hello everyone. This is my first post to the technical board. I just purchased a 1978 Light Blue/Blue leather corvette with 18,000 miles (documented). I was able to purchase it from the owner for the last 24 years. I have a question in regard to the body. As you look down both sides of the corvette, on the front fenders and the rear quarters, you can almost see a seam between the top of the car and the sides. It is about three inches down from the body flare. This seam can also be felt very slightly as you run your hand down the body. I have seen other vettes like this, but I did not notice it until the light hit the car just right. What do you all think? Is this normal? Thanks, Chip
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Re: 1978 Corvette Body
Chip-----
Where did you find a leather Corvette? Just recently, Roy Braatz posted about a copper Corvette. For years, I thought that all Corvettes were fiberglass and now I find out that some were made of leather and some were made of copper. OK, OK, enough of this nonsense.
The fiberglass bodies on Corvettes were not a one-piece sort of affair as some folks think. They were made up of many individual pieces which were bonded together to form the complete body. What you are seeing on the body sides of your car is bonding seam "show-through". This is a very common thing on older Corvettes. It should not cause any serious problems. However, if you ever get the car painted, you will want to have someone experienced in Corvette body repair properly address and repair this problem prior to painting the car.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: 1978 Corvette Body
Thanks Joe. I appreciate the information. I am VERY impressed by many of your answers on the threads. Thanks again, ChipComment
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Re: 1978 Corvette Body
A neighbor has a '77 - 150K miles, one repaint and the seams are showing. This appears to be more common on C3s than C2s. Since your car is original and has low miles I would not get too worried about it. With time the seams will slowly become more apparent, but consider it as a "patina" on a fine piece or vintage art.
With such a low mileage original car, your focus should to to preserve its condition as best you can without doing major "restoration". They're only really original once!
DukeComment
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Re: 1978 Corvette Body
Chip,
It's been a few years, but I once owned a 79, 81, and 82 models and this "seams" to be fairly common for those model years (there were fiberglass vetts not leather):-). I can't explain why the seams are more noticeable, but I remember it being a common "feature" of those late C3 cars. It also "seams" that when those cars were repainted (for what ever reason) the seams would get additional attention so that they were not as noticeable....Comment
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Re: 1978 Corvette Body
Chip,
Those seams are a good indication that the car still has it's original paint. They are factory original quality seams. If you found a 1978 Corvette with out the seams showing I would feel that indicated that the car had been repainted since it left the factory. Many of these era cars were so "bad" that dealerships would actually try to repaint them before they hit the showroom floor. Therefore, from the collector's point of view, the "seam show through" is a verification of originality for the paint.
Question to you: Is there evidence of black paint on the chrome trim around the back window? A no answer tells you that the car was an "early" car. A yes answer on 1/2 the width of chrome trim tells you it is a late car. A yes answer on the entire width of chrome trim tells you it is a 1979 car!
Does it have the glass t-tops? Then it is a later car. Congrats on finding such a nice car.Comment
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Re: 1978 Corvette Body
jack
i was interested in your post regarding the black/chrome trim around the back window. I own an original 19,000 mile 1980 original owner claret vette that has a half black, half chrome rear window trim that i have never seen on another 1980. it is vin 13000 (early). do you know of any other 1980's with this feature, because i have never seen one. this car was picked up at the dealer with this trim, so i know for a fact that it was never changed. any thoughts?Comment
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Re: 1978 Corvette Body
chip,
one more thing, i am the original owner of a 1980 claret vette and it also has very pronounced seams. as others have said, this is a good thing, not bad. I love seeing mine, confirmation panels and paint are original. would'nt want it any other wayComment
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