2 questions i have a 1976 corvette stingray?

[tlegott]

I have been restoring it for 4 years now, all back to factory except i updated the a/c and had the motor totally rebuilt and beefed the HP to 325 instead of the stock 180hp. I was trying to figure out the production date to see if its a late or early model and have found some clues to determine the two apart. the radiator support for one, and if it had a center light on the t-top separator in the interior. is there any other way to tell?
i pulled the t-top inner cushions of and it had april of 1976 printed on them.
also why do people put matching number corvette for sale on a 1976 corvette and its Black? they didn't paint corvettes black in that year. look it up...

 

[swabmung]

to tell if you had a center lamp you should just take the headliner off the t-tops are and look under it to see if you can find a wire running to it if you see a wire it was probably there for the light sooo meaning you did have the light unless it was optional for that year then idk

 

[jumbobret]

Call Chevrolet with vin.

 

[69canam]

Other than decoding the VIN, I don't know the differences in the appearance of the 1976 to tell you how to determine if it was early or late production.
As for the numbers matching, it has nothing to do with color. It refers to the VIN matching the rest of the components on the car, specifically the motor.