1982 Corvette Fuel Cap

[Joe L.]

Some time ago, someone inquired about the configuration of the fuel cap used for 1982 Corvettes. Attached is a photo of said cap. The top is embossed with "NDH" (representing New Departure-Hyatt, the GM division of old that manufactured these caps) and the part number "22510715".

The cap is a metal/plastic assembly.

[Joe L.]

Photo #2

Here's a side view, clearly showing the metal and plastic components.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1982 Corvette Fuel Cap

Joe, I believe there is a date code on the circumference of the white plastic that is showing in photo number 2. If you can't find it, I'll be seeing Brian Pearce (1978-1982 TL) tomorrow and I can make a point of asking him. I have seen those late C3 guys checking for the date while judging. I don't know if it is something checked during flight judging, or just for Bowtie judging because I don't usually travel in those circles.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1982 Corvette Fuel Cap

Terry-----

I've inspected this one and another carefully and can find nothing that looks like a date code. There are some numbers stamped around the bottom of the plastic section (near the pressure and vacuum relief valves), but they don't look like any sort of date code to me.

If any of the markings on the box represent a date code, then these were manufactured in 1981.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1982 Corvette Fuel Cap

Joe,
I have sent you photos of a known original fuel cap from a 7XX mile 1982 Corvette. It is entirely made of white plastic, with markings by Stant, and has a four digit date code on the threaded part. I am told the date code is what one would expect for this car.
I'm just posting this because apparently there was an alternate supplier with a different configuration for 1982 Corvette fuel caps.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1982 Corvette Fuel Cap

Terry-----

Yes, that's VERY interesting. It may be that there were 2 different caps that both had the same part number, although that would be very unusual. It's also very possible that early or late 1982 used different caps. As a matter of fact, while the 1982 AIM indicates that the 22510715 was used for 1982 Corvettes, it also shows that another cap may have been used earlier than the 22510715. Unfortunately, the "revision block" is blank (as is the case with many later C3 AIM pages, the revision block was removed from the copy for who-knows-what purpose), so we don't know when or what the change was. I strongly suspect, though, that the earlier cap, if it was actually used on any 1982's, was the GM #559346 used for 1978-81 Corvettes. However, I have NOS examples of that cap and it looks nothing like the cap in the photos you sent.

It's also very possible that the cap changed prior to the end of the 1982 model year. As always, there could have been revisions to the AIM that never got into the copy that's been distributed for years. In that regard, 1984 Corvettes used cap GM #22518911. I know nothing, at all, about this cap. It's possible that cap was used for later 1982s.

The pictures of the 82 cap you sent look almost exactly like the configuration of the 1985-96 cap, GM #22525300, except that the color is white and the 22525300 is black.

Also, of course, the pictures you sent of the 82 cap show it to be a Stant-manufactured cap. The GM #22510715 is a New Departure-Hyatt manufactured cap. I always thought that Stant manufactured all Corvette fuel caps. However, I have found that in the 75-82 period it seems that GM got into the fuel cap manufacturing business. I suppose that it was because most GM applications "standardized" on just a few caps for all applications making the caps a very high volume item. It most instances in those days, that was a pre-requisite for GM to take work in-house.

It would be extremely interesting to hear from other 1982 owners who are reasonably sure that their fuel caps are original. I'd also like to hear from 1984 Corvette owners in the same regard.