1978 Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car L82 4-speed

1978 Chevrolet Corvette Description

Up for Buy It Now/Best Offer is a 1978 Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car. This is a very rare L82 four speed car; of the 6,502 Pace Cars, only 200 had the L82 four speed manual combination. This is a highly optioned, extremely well documented car in excellent condition with only 31,900 actual miles since new.
This Pace Car was ordered with every available option. '78 Pace Cars were well optioned to start with, but this one was ordered with FE7 Gymkhana Suspension and the AM/FM/CB radio, and of course the L82 engine with M21 four speed manual transmission and 3.70 posi-traction.
This car is somewhat unique in that the dealer saved all the paperwork and documentation from the ordering process through delivery, and then passed it on with the car to the new owner. Subsequent owners have saved and added to the original documentation, so everything is still with the car. The paperwork starts with the letter from GM to dealers describing the Pace Car program and signed by the dealer to "opt in". Then there are the order forms showing the options ordered on this car. When the car was delivered to the dealer, the shipping company had paperwork and inspections. And when the car went to its very first owner, it's amazing how much paperwork went with it. There was the original window sticker, owners manual, instructions for the placement of the decals, instructions for installation of the spoilers, instructions for the T-tops, battery and tire paperwork, and warranty information. All of this is still with this car, as well as old inspections and registrations from previous owners. They really did save everything. I believe I am the fourth owner, and I have had the car for about four years.
With less than 32,000 miles, this Pace Car is not absolutely perfect but it is in excellent original condition and has obviously always been well cared for. The paint is in excellent original condition with very little lacquer checking and minor flaws. The bonding strips are slightly visible, and I do not believe the car has ever been hit. The frame and bird cage are excellent with no rust. The interior shows very little wear. The original Pace Car-only blue tint T-tops and the original aluminum wheels are in excellent condition with no cracks in the glass tops.
Mechanically, the car is in very good condition and runs and drives great. It starts easily with no smoke, and the steering and suspension feel very good. The previous owner added some non-stock parts to the engine compartment, but it is all bolt-on and can be easily returned to stock if desired. The car has a Magnaflow exhaust with headers that actually sounds pretty good, not overly loud, but I have an original style reproduction exhaust with the catalytic converter that I can install if the buyer wishes. Due to there being no mounting provision for the AC compressor bracket on the headers, the part of the AC system under the hood was removed, but everything under the dash is intact. The smog system was also removed. I do not have the AC or smog parts. The intake, carburetor, air cleaner, and valve covers were replaced with Edelbrock parts. I have the original intake, carb, finned L82 valve covers, and plastic air intake box the mounts over the radiator. Also have the original fan and fan clutch. So it would be a project to put it back to original configuration, but the car comes with many of the parts and everything that is missing is regular production Corvette L82 parts and it's all bolt-on.
This Pace Car comes with all the documentation, the original Goodyear Eagle GT tires in good condition (although I would consider them for show use only), the T-top bags, an Evolution 4 car cover, and the factory parts listed above.
This is a rare opportunity to own an L82 four speed Pace Car with low mileage and pretty much unmatched factory documentation. Drive it as-is, or have fun hunting for parts and putting the engine compartment back to factory condition and making everything just right. The car is located in Albuquerque, NM, and I am happy to help arrange shipping.