I am wondering if the air cleaner lid is to be chrome on a 81. The judging manual says yes but we have a 81 2 owner car and the lid is black. Owner said he never changed it. Just curious what the answer is.
Thanks
Joey
Thanks
Joey
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Joey------
Only 1 air cleaner was used for 1981 Corvettes and this was GM #25040289. However, I think the specifications for this part changed during the model year. Just when, I do not know. However, my expectation is that early 1981 had the version with the black lid whereas later had the chrome lid but I do not know that, for sure. This may not be recognized in the judging guide but I believe the 2 different lids is how it was.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Thank you Joe. I am planning on having the car judged in the Spring and want to make sure I have it correct. It is a early 81 St Louis car. I appreciate the reply.
JoeyComment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
The September 1980 issue of Vette Vues, has the introduction of the 1981 Corvette in it. The chrome air cleaner lid is listed as one of the new features for 1981, but there is a picture of an 81 engine on the back cover, with a black air cleaner lid on it.
This could be explained by the fact that the "long lead press preview" probably took place around May 1980, before all of the details were finalized. This happened quite often. For magazines to have their new car issues on the news stand at the time the cars came out, they needed to photograph the cars months ahead of time. As a result, the cars used for the press preview were usually pre-production or pilot line cars, and didn't always accurately represent the final production model.
I have an internal Chevrolet "Product Program" packet dated September 10, 1980, and it specifies using the chrome air cleaner lid on all 81 Corvettes.
I looked at a lot of original 81's, back in the 90's, when we were working on the first and second editions of the "1980-1982 Corvette Judging Manual", and I never saw one with a black air cleaner lid.
I won't say that some very early 81's didn't come with a black lid, but I would be very suspect of one built after the first or second week of September 80, that had a black lid.Comment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Hi Joey,
We had a 1981 of about 20 years. It was a low vin numbered car (10xx). We were not the original owners, but the car was very original when we purchased it. It had a chrome air cleaner lid.Comment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Thank you very much. Looks like I need to find a chrome air cleaner lid. I really appreciate all of you replying.
JoeyComment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Joey-------
Well, you might need to find a chrome lid to make your car pass judging but, in my opinion, you'll be making your car "non-original in order to make it original". There are four reasons I say this:
1) The 1981 air cleaner assembly was unique to that model year;
2) As I mentioned previously, I have seen 1981 air cleaners that had black-painted lids. I feel confident that they were original and did not have a replaced lid;
3) Why would anyone ever have replaced a chrome lid on your car with a black-painted lid? These things don't wear out and are rarely damaged in a way that makes them unserviceable. Also, generally folks want to ADD chrome underhood components, not replace them with non-chrome pieces;
4) The air cleaner lids for 1975-82 Corvettes were never available from GM separately in SERVICE.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Joe
I agree 100% . I may like you said and get a chrome one to pass judging but still keep the black one as well.
I agree why would anyone get a black one to replace a chrome one. Thanks again
JoeyComment
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Leif
'67 Coupe L79, M21, C60, N14, N40, J50, A31, U69, A01, QB1
Top Flight 2017 Lone Star RegionalComment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Ok. Thank you all for the advice. I may just leave it with the black one and see how it is judged.
JoeyComment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
I think this is an area that needs to be further researched. My wife's '81 was delivered to her new on Oct. 20, 1980. It has a chrome lid. I'd like to know from owners of Aug or early Sept cars if they had chrome or black and can document that a black lid wasn't replaced for judging. What's the build date of the car in question?
TomComment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
It was built on Nov 5th. Delivered to White Allen Chevy in Dayton Ohio on Nov 11th. The original owner was a GM employee. I have a copy of the dealer invoice which includes his name.
JoeyComment
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Re: 81 air cleaner lid
Well that kind of shoots the very early car theory. Must have been an availability issue.
TomComment
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