firstgear

bought a 78 pace car....now what? My dad, you are a knucklehead....it just adds to the fleet of cars.....the car is a 4 speed L82.....about 48,000 miles....I haven't seen it yet, just pictures...but am going to pick it up on Saturday....I am wondering what things to look for, if need by, I would back out of the deal if the car is not as advertised...but am hoping that everything is fine, here are some pictures.....









Also, I have been looking long enough at these cars to realize that there are not very many Pace Cars with 4 speed....I have read that there are about 200 of those....is that something that is confirmed or only guessed at?....at this point I am not planning to do anything to the car other than make it road worthy and drive it.....I have a C1 in the garage that is getting all my do over attention these days, but have always liked the way that the pace car looked from '78....and felt that this was at a good price and couldn't resist....my gal didn't throw me out....so must be ok with her too.....Other comments that anyone might have is appreciated!!!!!

Retro78

Check it out to make sure it really is a pace car and not just the paint job. There are a few things that do not seem correct to me....eg the seats. VIN number for the standard Corvette and pace car replica is in the eighth digit, the pace car replica has a 9, the Corvette a 4

Corvette ED

From the photos that doesn't look like a real pace car. The seats are wrong and pace cars had bright silver interior. That car has the oyster interior.

PROSOUTH

I'd say this is a black '78 Vette with a two toned lower and a set of stripes.

The interior is incorrect, but then there is the Limited Edition emblem on the console below the shifter.

The air cleaner of course is wrong.

Check the numbers you were given above and see.

Stranger things have happened, but it looks suspect to me. Still if it is a reasonable price I would not pass it up if I wanted it to drive. j

75 Stingray!

Gas lid emblem is not centered, incorrect seats and interior color, chrome trim around T-roof and rear window should be black (only 75% sure about that), rear 1/4 Indianapolis decal seems too low. Sorry but I think you have bought a fake Pace car. If you got it for a good price it would make a good driver.

Edit: It looks like the T-roofs are painted fiberglass, I'm under the impression the pace car got mirrored glass roofs.

firstgear

does this help at all with is it or isn't it?????

swtato

That has fake written all over it! Wrong interior. Check the lst 6 of the vin# it should be between 900000 & 906502. If anything else is in the last 6 of the vin # it is a clone.

kdf1986

Hello,
I would like to add to Carguy4sure comment on the seats.

It is my recollection also that the true pace car seats were the same seats that were offered in the 1979 model. These seats folded about 1/3 the way up the back. The bottoms were more like buckets than what is shown. What is shown in the photos are standard 1978 seats, and not the upgraded Pace Car seats. That would lead me to believe that this has been painted.

Check out the seats at this site.
http://corvetteactioncenter.com/cgi-...4.jpg&img=&tt=

Chevrolet built limited edition Corvettes with their own VIN number sequence.
Code Description Quantity
1YZ87 Base Corvette Sport Coupe 40,274
1YZ87/78 Limited Edition Pace Car 6,502

kdf

rihwoods

Check also the trim tag on the drivers side door jam.Yeah,it could have been changed,but you can compare that to data from the Vin.By the way,Oyster is 122 . If that is on the tag,you have found a fake,maybe.
Less than 10% of ALL Vettes sold in 78 had manual transmissions.

Edit:It is the only model C3 Pace Car.

The design features and build quantities of this car led to considerable confusion. Initially, The "Limited Edition Pace Car"
was to have been two-tone silver with red striping. It was to have special Goodyear tires with white "Corvette" sidewalls
and the build quantity was reported to be 1000 cars. After several changes, the final paint scheme became black
over a silver bottom with red striping. The Goodyear "Corvette" tires were dropped as unfeasible.
Finally the build quantity became on for each Chevrolet dealer (approximatelty 6000) plus extra's.
The final count was 6502.

The '78 Pace Car Corvette can also be recognised by the front and rear end spoiler.
Originally The "Limited Edition Pace Car" had 'Offical Pace Car decals on the doors.
Another feature are the standard magnesium wheels. These wheels were an option on earlier models and standard
for the 79-82 models. The Pace Car wheels can be recognised by the red pin stripe on the wheels.

Equipment on this package (RPO Z78) include also special silver interior with new lightweight seats, 255-60-15 tires
and silver glass roof panels.

Increased horsepower and torque are achieved for the special performance engine (L82 220HP) over the base engine
(L48 185 HP) as a result of improvements of the induction and exhaust systems.
The base engine uses a Muncie 4-speed manual transmission while the special performance engine (L-82) uses a Borg-Warner.
Both engines use the same Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.

Eddie 70

According to the Corvette Black book the Trim Code 12C is for Oyster Cloth interior. The Paint 19 Code is for Black.

A pace car would have a paint code of 19/42

GDaina

That's what the trim code reads on thjis car...12C...

Sure hope you didn't pay an arm and a leg.....

page62

On the plus side of the equation, it does appear to be a genuine L82 4-spd. But it does not appear to be an original Pace Car.

Half the fan shroud is missing, as is the dual-snorkle intake system. The A/C compressor is not hooked up, and the AIR pump is missing.

Check the exhaust system, too. I see dual tips...it might be some kind of "monza"-type system.

So how much are you paying for this car??? It needs TLC...

firstgear

Haven't paid anything yet....and won't pay anything if it is not really a pace car....and everything that all of you have pointed out indicates that it is not.....should be an interesting conversation I have with this guy tomorrow.....I had asked him yesterday for the VIN and thought he was sending it to me today.....

firstgear

was going to pay 12k, felt that even though it was missting some things, if it was a PC, that it would have been worth that....but not being a PC....IMO is way too much.....agreed?

75 Stingray!

Could you post the link to the auction? I'd be interested to see the description.
Thanks

firstgear

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=45399 48899&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT

tzeller

The VIN number will answer the question as to being an original Pace Car. However, it does look like a nice C3 and hopefully worth the money. Good Luck.

Red73

Here is the description from ebay....no claim of it being a Pace Car.

Vehicle Description

THIS IS A 1978 CHEVY CORVETTE 2 DR COUPE. THIS IS BEING SOLD THROUGH AN ESTATE SALE AND I DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT THESE CARS. THE CAR RIDES AND DRIVE FINE AND LOOKS VERY NICE. IT HAS BEEN IN A POLE BARN FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND. THE OWNERS WIFE TOLD ME 47000 MILES WERE ORGINAL AS FAR AS SHE KNOWS. PLEASE EMAIL ANY QUESTIONS.

page62

Check for frame rust!!! If the car is clean, you're not TOO far off the mark, especially with the L82 and 4spd...

firstgear

I am much smarter than I was before I asked my questions....thank you to everyone that provided comments....I sent the seller an email letting them know that a number of C3 friends have indicated that the car seems to be a clone and that the only way to really clean up the issue was through the VIN #. I gave him the range of VIN #'s 900001 - 906502 as well as the link to PaceCars.com that I recently found as well.

http://www.pacecars.com/vettefacts.shtml

So, I will keep looking for one.....I want the 4 speed version...L82......but I don't want a clone....I want the real McCoy....so...will keep looking.....and thanks to all of you....I really do appreciate your help!!!!