Back in the day, in the hoopla created by a Wall Street Journal story, many enthusiasts purchased a 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car, hoping for a big return on their money.
That’s why even today, more than 45 years later, you’ll find examples of this special edition Corvette that have been hidden away for decades and still have less than 10 miles on the odometer and plastic on the seats.
Well, this car isn’t one of them, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While it’s been driven 49,766 miles, this Pace Car is described by the owner as “not a perfect trailer queen but … as excellent driver quality.”
The current owner obviously has been a good steward of the car, but he’s retiring from the collector car market now. His more tech-savvy nephew, on his behalf, has posted the car on eBay, where the high bid has risen to $14,100, with the auction coming to a close on Saturday night.
A video and photos with the listing show a car that has some wear and tear from normal use, but nothing that would prevent a new owner from enjoying it as a driver.
The black and silver paint has been polished and detailed and the special red striping replaced, according to the listing, and now it “looks to be original and still shines wonderfully with few blemishes,” the most notable being the low-hanging silver front spoiler on the passenger side and various rock chips near the rear tires. Underneath that body, which doesn’t have the dealer-installed decals on the doors in recognition of the 1978 Indianapolis 500, the frame is reported to be “super solid” with “no rust.”
The interior, likewise, shows some minor wear, but the silver seats still look good for the most part. A few bucks spent on new carpet for the door panels and floorboard would go a long way to improving the overall look inside, along with a stock radio instead of the current aftermarket unit in place now.
Mechanically, with its 190-horsepower L48 V8 engine, the car remains in good condition, with no smoke, leaks, or rattles reported. “Runs and drives and stops great,” is the word from the nephew, who adds that the entire brake system has “recently been gone through” and a new Magnaflow exhaust, heater core, and BFGoodrich T/A Radials have been installed. The sometimes-troublesome headlights have also been converted to electric motors instead of the factory vacuum system.
While the window sticker isn’t pictured, all 6,502 of these cars came loaded with lots of options and a base MSRP of $13,653.21, with the biggest additional choices being a four-speed manual vs. an automatic transmission and the L48 vs. the higher-powered 220-horsepower L82 engine.
If you want a Pace Car that won’t keep you awake at night worried about getting a scratch or chip on it, this might be a ’78 worth checking out.
Source:
eBay Motors
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If I wanted a 78, this is the one I would want. Enough miles that it won’t be dead – those plastic wrapped ones are one seal away from being a melt down!
The paint looks GREAT! Considering the paint of the day looked bad on the showroom floor… A dear friend had a 78 with like 20 miles, and the OEM paint was horrid. Flat, lifeless and just plain tragic. I offered to do a good polish, but we never connected. A little Maguire’s (sp?) fine cut, and a good carnauba wax to protect it woulda gone a long way.
The L82 is a nice option, puts some punch back in the car. We forget that what killed HP numbers wasn’t emissions as much as the change from SAE Gross to SAE Net. That dropped numbers like the Titanic hitting an iceberg… Sure, emissions did their damage, but it was a slower decline, vs the cliff fall!!
The perfect option here would have been the 4spd. A 5spd conversion could still be added. A nice OD would make this a great highway car, and up the rear axle to 3.45:1 or so. Sweet ain’t strong enough!!
At the right price, I suppose this wouldnt be a bad deal – but lots to consider here. It’s an L48 but has had L82 valve covers replaced(what else is going on?). Electric motors replacing the headlights? Heater core replaced….just do you due diligence….
For the money this car has plenty of potential. It would be a great driver quality older Corvette to have fun in and look good while doing it.
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