by: Hib Halverson
Description: In the restoration side of the Corvette hobby, "build sheets" or, more properly, "production manifiests" are an important topic of discussion. A new booklet by NCRS Master Judge and Bloomington Gold Certification Judge, Thomas P. Russo, is the ultimate reference for 1973-1982 Corvette deep geeks wanting to know all there is to know about buildsheets. Corvette Buldsheet Book: A Study Guide for 1973-82 Build Records explains in the great detal Chevrolet's production manifestsââ¬âhow they orginated, their make up, how they were derived and where they were located on the cars. For this reviewer, reading Russo's 52-page book was an education. I had no idea there was so much to learn about buildsheets. Up to now, I understood them to be 11x14 computer printouts listing the broadcast codes or RPOs of various parts of the car. I had no idea, for instance, that all tank stickers are not buildsheets but most buildsheets are tank stickers. As I said earlier, this book is a late C3 deep-geek's delight. Clearly, the research for this book was an arduous task taking several years. That, in part, is responsible for the book's lofty price tag, $42.00, an incredible sum for a fifty-two page title. The other side of that "coin" is Russo's Corvette Buldsheet Book: A Study Guide for 1973-82 Build Records seems more like a college graduate level science text rather than a typical, softcover Corvette book. For that reason, considering that there is a tremendous amount of information in a small package, the price is not all that unreasonable. In reading the book I found a few quirks, such as Mr. Russo's use of the vernacular term "motor" when discussing engines. One can only wonder if that's an attempt at humor or a legitimate mistake. Also, there are a couple of instances were RPO YK6 is misprinted as "YJ6". Surely those shortcomings will be corrected in the next printing. In short, if you are a serious 73-82 Corvette freak who's main interest is restoration and you're pursuing the various NCRS awards or Bloomington Gold certification, then Corvette Buldsheet Book: A Study Guide for 1973-82 Build Records is a title you may want to buy. The author sells it direct. for information, <a href="http://www.hunt4cleanair.net/Articles/bsbweb_2013.pdf">click here.</a>
