For Corvette fans of a certain age, the 1978 Indy Pace Car Edition still carries a special kind of magic. I’ve always loved the look myself — the black and silver paint, the red accent stripe, the fastback glass that debuted that year. I remember the frenzy when these cars were new, one of my first stories as a professional journalist was about the Pace Car in the showroom of my local dealer, and a few years back I even went hunting for one. But the examples I found were tired, their lacquer paint showing every nick and scratch.
That’s why a 3,600-mile Pace Car now up on Bring a Trailer immediately grabbed my attention. It’s not flawless, but it’s far closer to the dream than anything I saw in person. And with the auction sitting at $21,000 with six days left — and no reserve — it’s already drawing plenty of eyes.
This Pace Car spent 47 years with the same family before the current seller acquired it in December. Since then, he’s tackled a list of sensible maintenance items: draining and cleaning the fuel system, flushing the cooling system, replacing three brake calipers and the sun visors, and converting the A/C to R134a.
The car retains its factory correct look — black over silver, red stripe, glass T tops, eight slot alloys — though the seller notes “hairline cracks in the lacquer finish,” a common issue on these cars.
Inside, the silver leather cabin appears remarkably preserved. The odometer shows 3,600 miles, roughly 500 added by the seller.
Under the hood sits the 350ci L48 V8, factory rated at 185 horsepower. It wears L82 style valve covers, which immediately caught the attention of one commenter.
nyybronxbomber: “I love the L-82 valve covers, but do you have the original blue L-48 ones? GLWTA”
The seller responded candidly:
“The original valve covers were replaced by the prior owner. They were not saved.”
As always, BaT commenters dug into the details. One asked about the tires and service history:
croderique: “Original 49-year-old tires? Date Codes? When was the last time the oil was changed? Thanks”
The seller replied:
“The age of the tires are unknown. I can’t imagine them being original given the condition they are in. The oil was changed less than 2 months ago. I used Valvoline VR-1 oil due to its high zinc formula.”
Documentation questions came next:
“The only documentation I have has been posted. The graphics did not stay with the car, however good quality replicas are available.”
The low mileage impressed longtime BaT watchers.
Bmarcum: “Wow this is a great car!!! Clearly a low mileage example unlike some recent examples. Congratulations to the next owner!!!”
Others chimed in with how they’d enjoy it:
RickMZ06: “With the low miles but base 350 & AT, I would drive this and enjoy it. Maybe not drive it a lot, say less than 1000 miles per year. Wouldn’t store it away in a collection never to be seen on the road.”
And the seller closed out the early comment thread with a bit of showmanship:
“Enjoy this no reserve auction. Here is your chance to win a beautiful low mileage classic. Happy bidding!”
For anyone who remembers the 1978 Pace Car craze — or who simply wants a sharply preserved C3 with a story — this listing checks a lot of boxes. Low miles, long-term ownership, tasteful upkeep, and a seller who’s transparent in the comments.
It may not be perfect but compared to the tired examples I once walked away from, this one feels like the real deal — a survivor that still carries the glow of the era that made it famous.
And with no reserve, someone is guaranteed to take it home.
Source:
Bring a Trailer
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I bought a 1979 brand new and was able to get the front and rear spoiler same as the 1978. The 1978 Corvette people thought would be worth a lot of money when it never got there.
It may be a funky reflection, but the T-tops look discolored or something.
Also, even with ultra low miles.and it being a Pace Car, 21K is a lot of money for an L-48 automatic.
Since then one is so nice and has so much going for it I would be asking the owner why he’s selling it after owning it for only five months.
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