Back then, in the wake of the furor sparked by a Wall Street Journal article, many enthusiasts purchased a 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car in the hope of getting their money back as quickly as possible.
That’s why even today, more than 45 years later, you can still find examples of this special edition Corvette hidden for decades, still with less than 10 miles on the clock and plastic on the seats.
Well, this car is not one of them, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Despite having driven 49,766 miles, this pace car is described by the owner as “not a perfect trailer queen, but… with excellent driving skills.”
The current owner has obviously taken good care of the car, but is now retiring from the collector market. His more mechanically savvy nephew has listed the car on eBay in his name, where the winning bid has risen to $14,100. The auction ended Saturday evening.
A video and photos in the listing show a car that does have some wear and tear from normal use, but that would prevent a new owner from getting much driving enjoyment out of it.
The black and silver paint was polished and refinished and the special red stripes replaced, the listing says. Now, “it looks original and still shines beautifully with few blemishes,” the most noticeable being the low-hanging silver front spoiler on the passenger side and various stone chips near the rear tires. Underneath that bodywork, which doesn’t bear dealer-applied stickers on the doors commemorating the 1978 Indianapolis 500, the frame is said to be “super solid” and “rust-free.”
The interior also shows some light wear, but the silver seats still look good for the most part. A few dollars for new carpet for the door panels and floor would greatly improve the overall interior look, as would a stock radio instead of the current aftermarket unit.
Mechanically, the car is in good shape with its 190-hp L48 V8 engine, with no smoke, leaks or rattles reported. “Runs and drives and stops great,” says the nephew, who adds that the entire braking system was “recently looked over” and a new Magnaflow exhaust, heater core and BFGoodrich T/A radials were installed. The sometimes problematic headlights were also upgraded to electric motors instead of the factory vacuum system.
Although the sticker is not shown on the window, all 6,502 of these cars came loaded with numerous extras and a base MSRP of $13,653.21. The biggest additional choices were a four-speed manual or automatic transmission and the L48 engine or the more powerful 220-horsepower L82 engine.
If you want a pace car that doesn’t require you to worry about scratches or rocks at night, then this 1978 model might be worth a look.
Source:
eBay Motors
Related:
Corvettes for sale: 1969 Corvette L89 Cabriolet fails to reach reserve price on eBay
Corvettes for sale: Restored 1967 Corvette Sting Ray convertible, owned for 45 years
These late-model Corvettes will go under the hammer at Worldwide Auctioneers’ annual Auburn auction
Subscribe now:
–
