So first of all, it’s the Silver Anniversary of one very stunning car that led the 1978 Indianapolis 500. Second, and maybe more interestingly, it has only traveled 5.4 miles (8.7 km). Also, this is not a True Mileage Unknown case or another instance of a mismatched car that has had an engine swap at some time in its history.
This Corvette is completely original. It was so unique that it never left its first owner. It never left its long-term storage since arithmetic shows that the average annual distance traveled is around 17.6 yards (16 meters). Yards! My best guess is that the car was left where it was dropped off when it arrived.
The seat plastic covers, steering wheel protection ring, and the dealer’s window sticker that is still adhered to the glass reveal everything. To the last bolt, the car is factory original. But, if someone wants to buy it and use it, it will require some (or a lot of, depending on the perception) work to make it roadworthy.
The inside is so gleaming that you nearly detect the scent of a “new vehicle,” but the engine might use some attention. After all, even for a car that attracted a lot of attention, 40 years of inactivity is a long period. The engine block has some minor corrosion and some oxidation patches here and there.
This 1978 Corvette came with a set of bags and a jacket – all Silver, obviously, and wearing the complimentary badge honoring the quarter-century of Chevrolet’s iconic muscle. Which, in this ‘Vette, came in the likes of a V8 – what else? – with 350 CID (5.7 liters). From the window sticker, the engine code is – barely – distinguishable and reveals the L48 code.
That was the standard option to power the special-edition Chevy, with 180 hp, 40 less than the performance L82-equipped variants. Still, the 180 hp plant was good enough to score a 0-60 mph (0-96 kph) time of about 7.8 seconds and, if floored long enough, it hit 123 mph (198 kph) with the standard three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic.