[VIDEO] Derek at Vice Grip Garage Works on a Long-Neglected 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette

Derek with Vice Grip Garage is back on his YouTube channel with a nearly three-hour-long look at what it took him to get a long-neglected 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette back on the road after a 37-year respite.

Thanks to his humorous take on the automotive world, it really doesn’t seem that long, though we do recommend using the ol’ FF button periodically to make watching more manageable in this hectic world.

As a favor, we’ll give you the CliffsNotes version here. It seems that this special edition ‘Vette has been in the same family since 1980, the last several years owned by a good buddy of Derek.

His friend’s grandmother started the chain-of-ownership way back in 1980, drove it sparingly before then passing it down to her daughter or the buddy’s mom, who also drove it sparingly before letting her son take possession. The odometer shows 60,584.5 miles now, and the most recent license plate on the back shows a May 1987 Alabama decal.

That’s where Derek comes in, buying it from his buddy with the goal of getting this classic up and running again and driving it all the way back home.

A first inspection outside reveals the special two-tone silver over charcoal paint job and the body to be in fairly decent condition underneath a thick coat of dust. By the way, the Silver Anniversary paint was a $399 option chosen by 15,283 customers (out of a total run of 46,776).

The awful smell emanating from the interior, however, nearly knocks Derek out when he opens up the driver’s door. “I don’t even have to breathe it in hard,” he quips. “It’s like an armadillo shell full of wet cardboard, potato peelings, with a real heavy low tone of mice feces.”

“I feel it entering my skin,” he jokes as he walks around the car to open up the passenger door to let it air out some more.

Underneath the hood, he spies a brown recluse spider and then spots the base L48 engine, sadly not the more powerful L82, but with a few hours of labor, Derek has the 185-horsepower engine running good enough to take the car to a nearby carwash to try to remove decades of barn dust off the body. After two free-of-charge runs through the scrub, Derek discovers that this car might be one of the few C3s that doesn’t leak, believe it or not.

Watch all the way to the end, and you’ll also see Derek get some good news about his fuel gauge and power steering pump, both of which turn out to be alive and kicking.

All in all, it’s always good to see another classic Corvette brought back to life, just like this one that can trace its history back in the same family for 44 years! Check out Derek’s comments in the closing minutes of the video to hear the mighty good things he has to say about this rejuvenated C3 after driving it back home.

Source:
Vice Grip Garage

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