4.1 ORIGINAL MILES - 1978 CHEVROLET CORVETTE SILVER ANNIVERSARY L82 - INCREDIBLE

1978 Chevrolet Corvette Silver Anniversary Description

1978 Chevrolet Corvette L-82

Special Ordered Silver Anniversary Corvette for an NCRS & Bloomington Judge
Stored Carefully From New - Just 4.1 Original Miles - Never Dealer Prepped
Original Window Sticker Still Affixed, Invoice and Ordering Documentation On Hand
This Garage Find Was Just Released From His Estate - Never Before Offered Publicly For Sale

Please Wait For All Pictures to Load!

Stored on blocks in this location since the summer of 1978, this 25th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette was owned by early NCRS member and Bloomington Certification Board judge W. Paul Adams of Florence, Alabama. Paul worked for Ford Motor Company in the Muscle Shoals aluminum casting plant, but also after hours as a Corvette and Mustang parts vendor and technical expert out of his large garage behind his house. When the two special edition Corvettes were announced for the 1978 model year, he knew he had to have one.

As it happened, Paul's brother-in-law E. Bart Smith, was a GM Executive Sales Representative in Fredericksburg, VA. Paul asked Bart to order him whatever he could get at the GM Employee Price (invoice) and Bart put the order in during late 1977. However, GM was not keen on 'giving away' any special edition Corvettes and stalled Bart's request for nearly 5 months. Finally, they accepted the order for this car in March and built it in May of 1978, shipping it by the end of that month to Sites Chevrolet in Franklin, West Virginia. Bart Smith took title to the car in Virginia as a private person and had the car shipped to Paul's home in northwest Alabama. Documents that prove these assertions are towards the bottom of this listing. Per Paul's brother and estate executor John, the car was backed into the garage, the engine fogged and then put up on blocks in one of the garages behind Paul's home. Also per John, it was not driven since that time and he was further not aware of Paul starting it up on any regular basis, though they were not close during much of that time. The original Delco Heavy Duty Freedom battery would seem to indicate that this is correct.

Last year, we became aware of the remaining cars in the Paul Adams estate collection, purchasing five other cars for clients as well as an amazing collection of new old stock Pantera parts that have since been returned to circulation after many years in storage. I considered adding this Corvette to the purchase, but we were going out on a limb as it was and so I left it behind. Fast forward to a few months ago: I had a client in mind for this car and thus occasion to call John to see if the car was still available. By the time it made sense to go get the car, our client had lost interest, but this time we did not!

Pictured is the Corvette's first time out of the garage in almost four decades. The wheels all turn freely, but the Go-Jaks made it easier to get it out of the corner and lined up to the trailer.

Getting ready for the trip to Augusta! The late Paul Adams' brother John on the right says a final goodbye to the Corvette.

Our combined rescue party helped get the car back on the ground and the soft strap on to be winched into the trailer.

About ready to close the door and go for a ride!

Now unloaded and home in my Augusta, GA showroom, I did not clean the car or do anything to it in preparation for this offering. I have taken numerous photographs to document its present near-untouched condition throughout, including areas noted by the factory, shipper or receiving dealer with yellow wax crayon that indicate damage or non-functioning items. This car was never dealer prepped but it did undergo a 1978 Virginia safety inspection. I have rocked the engine back and forth slightly via the alternator pulley and belt and I suspect that it turns over as it is not locked up solidly but am not going to push my or your luck further without pulling all spark plugs, borescoping and oiling cylinders and making other preparations to get it running, something I will not do at this time. Should the eventual purchaser wish that we recommission this car in our shop after completion of purchase, we would be honored to perform all needed work to make this a running, driving and stopping car.

I suspect that the crayon mark on the right front corner of the bumper may have indicated this light damage to the front spoiler that may have occurred in transit back in 1978.

The 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette was one of the last design decisions made by styling director Bill Mitchell before his retirement from General Motors.

In the interests of full disclosure, these two small scuffs are the only two areas of physical damage to the paintwork that go into the fiberglass and are atop the left front fender. It looks like something fell on the car a long time ago.

You can see these scuffs at about 10:30 around the wheel arch at the top of the point of the fender line.

Original crayon marking on the driver door window.

Perhaps this taillamp was out when it arrived at the dealer?

1978 Corvettes got a 24 gallon fuel tank, replacing the prior year's 17 gallon unit.

Original window sticker in the passenger's window along with the USEPA ticket. The option list is extensive and is as follows:

AU3 - Power Door Lock System - $124
A31 - Power Windows - $135
B2Z - 25th Anniversary Paint - $399
C01 - Removable Glass Roof Panels - $349
C49 - Electro-Clear Rear Defogger - $98
C60 - Four-Season Air Conditioning - $615
D35 - Sport Mirrors LH Remote, RH Manual - $42
FE7 - Gymkhana Suspension - $46
K30 - Cruise-Master Speed Control - $104
L82 - 350 Cubic Inch V-8 Engine, 220bhp - $525
MX1 - Automatic Transmission - $0
NA2 - Standard Emissions System - $0
N37 - Tilt/Telescopic Steering Wheel - $178
QBS - 255/60 R15 White Letter Radial Tires - $216.32
UA1 - Heavy Duty Battery - $18
UP6 - AM/FM, Stereo CB Radio & Power Antenna - $638
U81 - Dual Rear Speakers - $49
YJ8 - Aluminum Wheels - $345
ZX2 - Convenience Group - $90
13L - Silver - $0
722 - ARR2 Red Leather Bucket - $0

All four hubcaps are with the car in their original bag and have never been fitted. Note crayon marking on right front tire "21" indicating likely pressure setting.

Right rear.

Left Rear.

Left front.

Close-up of crayon marking on driver door window.

As-new driver's door panel.

Original manufacturer's sticker and tire pressure indication.

Trim tag fitted on A pillar below windshield inside driver door jamb.

The horn button and contact were in the glove compartment wrapped in newspaper, I suspect they were in a bag that deteriorated. They do not appear to have ever been fitted to the wheel. Photo of them farther down in this listing along with the wheel center caps.

Not quite to 4.2 miles from new.

Seat bottoms are still wrapped in plastic, the plastic was removed from the seat backs. It looks like very early dealer prep was started and then stopped abruptly. The Corvette-marked cardboard carpet protectors are definitely unusual!

There's a very small nick in the leather at the top of the driver's seat back.

Plastic still wrapped securely on the seat bottom.

Rear compartment is as-new throughout.

Original high-output Delco Freedom Battery thankfully did not explode!

The little storage bin in the middle held the bag with the center caps which have been removed for safekeeping.

Original glass roof panel bags in the right hand compartment.

Pulling the liner out of this bin reveals the jack and lug wrench.

The rear cargo cover deploys as it should!

The passenger side door panel is just as tidy as the other side.

The right hand floor covering protects the perfect carpet beneath.

The plastic on the right seat is likewise draped over the seat back but firmly sealed on the bottom.

Optional CB radio mike rests gently against the console, the hanger was never affixed.

The console shows all the options this car was fitted with - AM/FM CB Stereo, Rear Defog, Four Seasons Air Conditioning and more.

Even the hood release handle is still wrapped in paper.

Underside of glass top and sun visor, driver's side.

Passenger's side.

Note attached to both inside panels.

Hang tag for "flash to pass" signal lever. Note factory cruise control stalk.

The original floormats were in the rear compartment.

The original horn button, screws and contact were wrapped in this vintage funny paper. The hubcaps were in their original bag in the rear storage compartment.

Complete original owners manual packet with license plate bolts, warranty VIN stickers and everything else seen here.

Both original sets of keys with their original knock-out key codes.

Roof panels are dirty but undamaged.

Original windshield and wipers are untouched.
Engine Compartment

The engine compartment is virtually untouched as you will see in the above and following photos.

This particular style of factory cold air induction and twin-snorkel air cleaner was still exclusive to the L-82 in 1978.

Heavy duty cooling, smog system et.al absolutely intact as you would expect.

Underbody Photos

Apart from spot corrosion from having been parked above a concrete floor for nearly 40 years, the underside of this Corvette is in excellent condition.

Even the mufflers are date coded!

There are a few small cracks in the spare tire carrier (not shown) at the trailing edge near the left-hand brace. Not sure how that happened, it may have been damaged during one stage or another of its delivery in 1978. It's fiberglass and certainly repairable; I nearly bought a similar part out of the Paul Adams stash but without verifying that it would fit and work, I did not - besides, it was not in comparable condition overall as it was a well-used example.

Supporting Documentation

We also have a clear and open 1978 Virginia title that conveys with the sale of this Corvette. We recommend you preserve this title along with the above paperwork and allow us to sell you the car on Georgia Bill of Sale and Sheriff's Inspection forms as we are legally allowed to do that with a car this old in Georgia. We will of course do whatever you request if you want the car reassigned to you, we are a licensed Georgia motor vehicle dealer, but losing the title would be a shame.
Proof of ownership by Paul Adams is also in documentation that will convey with the car in the form of copied financial instruments from 1978.

Payment & Shipping Terms This car is being sold by a licensed and bonded dealer of fine used automobiles located in Augusta (where this car is located) and Savannah, Georgia. Please understand that this is an unusual 38 year old vintage car hand-built by men and not gods - and is thus sold as-is, where-is with no implied or stated warranty or guarantee. As stated above, this Corvette may not have been started or run since 1978 and while we believe it to have been stored correctly, it has been in long-term storage and should the purchaser wish to recommission the car for use, this process will need to be undertaken with extreme care. It should not be overly expensive or complicated to do correctly, but we make no guarantees of this, either. Should the buyer wish it, we would be happy to clean, prepare and get this car running in our shop at reasonable cost following receipt of full payment, but all costs and liabilities will be those of the buyer as from the time of sale.

Full payment is due within seven days of auction close unless discussed with us in advance of your bid. Your winning bid is a contract to buy, not just to look or for first right of refusal; the only reason your contract would be null and void is if it was found that we willfully and with malice aforethought misrepresented the car in the above description. If you feel you need to inspect the car prior to purchase, please arrange and have this inspection done prior to placing a successful bid, we welcome your visit.

Accepted forms of payment include a cleared certified cheque or wire transfer in the dealership's bank account, or cash in person on pickup (no cash via the mail, eBay!). We require that paperwork be completed prior to or at the time of pickup (should you do this in person) or filed back with us if done remotely prior to the car leaving, we typically FedEx paperwork out to you immediately on receiving payment so this is a quick process. The car will be sold on Georgia Bill of Sale with appended Sheriff's VIN verification or a reassignment of the original 1978 Virginia title, but be forewarned that once turned in, that document will be lost to your state's DMV and not preserved with the car, we recommend the former course of action in the interests of preserving the car paperwork. In either event, we will require a copy of your driver's license to process paperwork. We do not charge any tax to out of state buyers as this is something you handle at the DMV or, naturally, other dealers in all 50 states.

Shipping or pickup must occur within fourteen days of auction close unless discussed with us in advance of your bid. We are happy to refer you to one of the high-quality open or enclosed collector car shipping companies that we use frequently in the normal course of business - and we cannot stress enough the importance of using such a carrier and not a random transport broker or carrier you might find online, particularly as this is a unique vintage automobile. For international buyers, we can carry the car to the port of Savannah at no charge or to other ports for a nominal fee, though shipping beyond the U.S. border must be entirely arranged for and paid by you. Please contact us if you need any assistance with logistics and we'll be happy to help. Meanwhile, the car is safe and secure in our Augusta, GA location.

We reserve the right to cancel all bids and end the auction early at any time during the course of the sale should a sale occur outside of eBay as the car has been offered quietly through other channels. We typically do not do this at all and only when full payment has been received from such a buyer will the auction be pulled.

Any legal action associated with this sale from either the buyer or the seller is to take place in the State of Georgia in the Chatham County Courthouse. The bidder/buyer further agrees that any legal action will be heard in Chatham County in the State of Georgia. All legal actions associated with this auction/sale will be governed by the laws of the State of Georgia and buyer agrees to be responsible for all legal costs including, but not limited to, court costs, expenses, attorney fees, cost of process service, and all other costs associated with the normal course of business. QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS?

E-MAIL ME OR CALL +1.804.357.4926 (Cell)

On May-20-16 at 12:13:46 PDT, seller added the following information:

An astute reader caught that I made a mistake - the automatic transmission in the '78 Anniversary was not a TH400 but a TH350. 1977 was apparently the last year that GM felt it necessary to put a TH400 in the L82. Keep the comments coming - thanks! Chip

On May-21-16 at 09:25:07 PDT, seller added the following information:

A question was asked about the frame stencil. It is on the right hand frame rail behind the passenger wheel, partially obscured by the filler panel that I did not remove from the car but shows a frame date of 12 April 1978 and the trailing digits of the part number. In any event, it's here and authentic.

On May-22-16 at 14:00:22 PDT, seller added the following information:

Muffler, Tire, Shock Date Codes

Left Muffler

Right Muffler

CK Sticker, Left Front Shock

"78" is visible as well as an 8 in the Julian date. Without removing the shock I can't get a clear shot of the full date.

Crayon Marking at bottom of left shock

16th Week of 1978 Date Code, Left Front Tire

CK Sticker, Right Front Shock

Julian Date visible on the Right Front Shock, 108 78 = 18 April 1978. About 4 weeks prior to assembly.

16th Week of 1978 Date Code, Right Front Tire

Right Rear Shock. Very difficult to see date as it is facing the brake backing plate.

Best I could do with the "78" and a 9 in the Julian date - (probably "099" as is the left rear shock) as I could just make it out with the naked eye but could not get a clear shot. That would be 9 April 1978.

Beautiful 17th Week of 1978 Date Code, Right Rear Tire

Date Code 099 78 (9 April 1978), Left Rear Shock

16th Week of 1978 Date Code, Left Rear Tire. No charge for the dead spider.
some further notes
As regards authenticity of this car, I hope that the above puts to rest any further questions about this Survivor Corvette. If you require any further confirmation of this car's authenticity, I require you to visit and make inspection in person or send a qualified agent (such as Jason Phillips from Auto Appraise, for whom I perform detailed pre-purchase inspections) along with placing a bid on the car and showing me some sort of confirmation that you are a qualified bidder. I am sure that there are a lot of Corvette fans out there who are curious about this car but not in a position to place a bid and I'm not here to help with the next C3 authenticity guide; Tom Russo's (NCRS Judge) is quite good and he appears to be more than convinced of this car's authenticity based on numerous e-mail communications we have had over the last 2 days.

I will hold an open house for interested viewers of this car from 12PM to 3PM EDT on Thursday, 26 May 2016 here in Augusta. An RSVP is required. Please contact me directly if you'd like to attend.

As this auction has received more page views (over 60,000 as of this writing Sunday afternoon), watchers (over 2,800 as of this writing Sunday afternoon) and a record-breaking bid thusfar, I have been aggressively checking the veracity of bidders on this auction. There have been some suspect bidders who have removed themselves or been removed. I suspect that I'm not done with this process and in the interests of fairness to all participants I will continue to do this right up to the end of the auction, Saturday, 28 May 2016 at 9PM EDT.

Once upon a time, eBay qualified their bidders above $15,000. Now anyone can bid on any listing. When I was in the live auction collector car business, I required bank letters of authorization to register a bidder I did not know or whose abilities I was aware of. Based on those requirements, I think that this is a very reasonable requirement from my position.

Here's what I'm going to do from this point on:

I require of all bidders from this point on to send me a direct message, eBay Message or a phone call to +1-804-357-4926 during daylight hours EDT either prior to or immediately following the placement of successful bids. If you do not do this, I will assume that you have not read this message and will attempt to contact you directly for confirmation of your ability to follow through with your bid. If I am unable to communicate with you in a reasonable amount of time as above, your bid will be removed and you will be blocked from bidding on any of my auctions until we clear up your qualifications to my satisfaction.

On May-22-16 at 15:54:26 PDT, seller added the following information:

Folks, this listing is not a game, not an option to bid later (see below), not a place for children to place bids for fun. I know eBay no longer cares about the validity of bids on this site, but I'm trying to give this a shot. This is a serious auction for a serious piece of automotive history. I have now removed three "fun" bidders who either wrote back and said something like:

No I am not qualified. I had read about the car from an article on MSN or Yahoo and followed the link to the listing. I thought there was another step still to confirm an actual bid on the car.
It was an accidental bid. Apologies.

Or their contact information in eBay was not valid and they could not be tracked down (and I am very good at tracking people down).

I cannot be clearer than I have already been, so I'll repeat myself. As stated above under Payment & Shipping, your bid is a binding contract to purchase this car for the final bid price at the close of the auction. Failure to perform will result in prosecution. There are many bidders who have expressed their seriousness about owning this car. Let's make it a fair deal for all parties concerned. I am a very fair trader and I expect you to be as well. Please play by the rules. Thank you!

On May-23-16 at 10:46:34 PDT, seller added the following information:

My friend Bob Waldman at Cascadia Classic in Oregon just sent me this nice note regarding our recent "price drop" as I've been vetting our bidders this morning and weeding out a lot of trash:

Hi Chip, I've been following this auction (like everyone else in the developed world) and just wanted to send a note saying it's good you're staying on top of the validity of the bidders. Ebay's become a little tricky lately and some folks do see it as a fun little game, not realizing it's a business to us. You've got a great car there and I'm confident it will find a great home.
Best,
Bob
Cascadia Classic

I take the integrity of this auction very seriously and I'm glad it's been recognized by a great colleague in our industry.