[Daffynition]

1978 was a special year for Corvette. Not only was the sports car celebrating its 25th Anniversary, it was chosen to pace the Indianapolis 500. GM celebrated the event with a special Indy 500 Pace Car replica, a fully optioned Corvette painted Black and Silver and featuring silver interior and polished aluminum wheels. When the Wall Street Journal published a front page story on March 27,1978 reporting on the special edition Corvette, prices went wild and many of the 6502 replicas were purchased as investments by collectors.

And such was the case as this 1978 Corvette Pace Car that pulled from a Store and Lock last month in Detroit, Michigan. With just 13 miles on the odometer, the interior still has the factory wrapper and that new car smell is still evident.

[ColdOne]

Cool!

[Daffynition]

Let's not forget: Peter Max's 36 Vintage Corvettes rotting in a NYC garage for 20 years: The Full Story

[CSI007]

What a waste. The engine will be shot in another couple years. To run it you would need seals on everything.

[Yossarian]

Obviously rot has gotten to the tires (probably wasn’t up on blocks)...

... and although I’m no mechanic, I’m pretty sure the engine and/or gas storage & delivery systems are going to need help if the oil wasn’t drained and gas was just allowed to sit and stratify into its components for 33 years.

[yarddog]

I know where an original 1955 1 ton pickup is. It has less than 5000 miles on it and everything is original including the tires. I would have thought they would have rotted after all these years but they look almost new.

The truck was used as a firetruck for years and now is a welding truck. Obviously wasn’t run very many miles.

It still looks almost new. I think the maintenance crew purposely keeps it in good shape.

[rickmichaels]

Is there such a thing as a 1983 Corvette?

[TSgt]

I’ve got a 2005 Silverado Duramax with 38K miles on it.

For a diesel that’s like a vette with 13 miles. ;-)

[depenzz]

I have a 1993 40th anniversary edition and I only have 27,000 miles on it, guess thats nothing compared to this one. I had a 1981 which I put 80,000 miles on, traded it on this new 1993 and only lost about $1,300 dollars on it, I’m sure that won’t be the case with this 1993.

[Jim Scott]

Interesting find for Corvette buffs. Unfortunately, by ‘78 the once-mighty Corvette had been basically de-tuned to the level of a boulevard cruiser that looked fast but could be outrun by many muscle cars of the era. The L-48 350 cu. in. V-8 put out a measly 200 H.P. and, with the automatic transmission and lame 3.08 rear axle ratio, ran the quarter mile in just over 16 seconds. Hardly impressive for ‘Americas only sports car’. Still, a 33-year-old Corvette pace car replica’ with only 13 miles on it is still a cool collectors item.

[ontap]

I’d be more impressed if it were a ‘58!!

[VeniVidiVici]

The 25th Anniversary edition sported a 454. I wonder why they didn’t put a 454 in the Indy Pace Car?

[Amberdawn]

I had that exact same poster on my wall as a kid for years. My favorite Vette!

[brivette]

I owned one. I shook and rattled like crazy.

[brivette]

I owned one. I shook and rattled like crazy.

[brivette]

I owned one. I shook and rattled like crazy.

[Armedanddangerous]

my cousin bought one of those when they just came out. It was $25,000 from a dealer in Charleston, WV. I thought that was a fortune in 1978

[hattend]

Cameron: He knows the milage Ferris.
Ferris: So, whatever miles we put on, we'll take off.
Cameron: How?
Ferris: We'll drive home backwards!

[ThomasThomas]

I have commemorative bottle of Dr Pepper San Diego America’s fineness city from 1978. Never opened.

Trade?