1978 Plenum panel

[Bill Wilkins]

My car was missing the plenum panel. It's way back in the right side of the wiper compartment and holds the plastic door that controls fresh air to the fan. I found one in a junkyard over here but now I can't figure out how to get it in that little hole. The fenders were off the donor car and I'm not real interested in taking my fenders off to replace this part. Any body have any ideas?

Bill

[Tom R.]

Re: 1978 Plenum panel

When I did my heater core replacement this past summer...I checked all plenum doors and actuators and took the time to learn and find the location of each component to complete the project. The one your speaking is tough just to find and I believe the shop manual indicated fender removal. The manual is in the shop and I can confirm when the sun comes up.

I'm curious, what's the build date on your 78?

[Bill Wilkins]

Re: 1978 Plenum panel

I found an estimator online somewhere that told me based on my VIN that it was built late in 78. How can I find out that information for sure?

Bill

[Jack H.]

Re: 1978 Plenum panel

You estimate the build date of your car by taking the VIN and interpolating from the end-of-month production data that's available. This is listed in each NCRS Judging Guide as well as in other references like the 'Corvette Black Book'....

The reason I say 'estimate' (instead of calculate) is there's an art to knowing how many days in a given month the factory actually built cars (holidays, strikes, Etc.). Plus, there are unknown factors to contend with....

Were swing shift(s) added to meet revenue goals? Did the line 'really' run at a constant rate or were there speed-ups, slow-downs and temporary line stoppages? I don't believe anyone really knows these tidbits of information, so I always refer to the process of calculating a 'born on date' as an estimate....