1978 Chevrolet Corvette, 39,000 Miles, Custom Body, L82, Custom Stripes

Description

1978 Chevrolet Corvette

While it is not right-hand drive and you probably won’t meet Mark Hamill or Annie Potts while driving it, MotoeXotica Classic Cars is pleased to offer the closest thing to the car seen in “Corvette Summer,” this 1978 Chevrolet Corvette. The Vette was every school boys dream in the day being the ultimate “Macho Man” car, complete with the L82 power plant!

This particular example, like all ’54 through ’81 Vettes, was made in GM’s St. Louis, Missouri assembly plant. It has since been enhanced with an Eckler turbo-designed body package with International Motor Sport Association (IMSA) body flares and NACA ducts in front and a louvered backlight. The paint and trim are in overall excellent condition, as are the glass panels, including the rear window with electric defroster. There are some spider cracks in the paint upon very close inspection but overall very hard to detect. The car’s lights are very good order with the factory, round pop-up headlights replaced by recessed quad rectangular units covered by transparent plexiglass.

This ‘Vette rolls on BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires, size P255/60R15 in front and P275/60R15 in back and each radial surrounds a Tru-Spoke wire wheel with center spinners. The tires and wheels are in very good condition.

The car’s bodywork is straight and solid; including the silver reflective glass T-tops. Ralph Eckler began as a one-man body shop in Rock Island, Illinois in 1961. Eleven years later, he published his first catalog, offering fiberglass and other Corvette body parts. The engine bay is very tidy, the battery appears new, the cargo area behind the bucket seats is in good order and the car’s bumpers fit well to the rest of the body.

Under the hood is a naturally aspirated 350 CID V-8 with electronic ignition that breathes through dual side-exit exhausts and is hooked to a Turbo Hydramatic 350 three-speed automatic transmission and back by a 3.55:1 rear end. Driver convenience features include air-conditioning, cruise control, power steering, power four-wheel disc brakes, and power windows.

Inside, the car’s red interior is eye-popping. Pair of red Royce Limited red bucket seats replaced the factory seats and are in overall very good order. The matching red carpeting is in very good shape, too, while the red instrument panel, with its full instrumentation, three-spoke steering wheel, red inner door panels, mirror glass, center console and shift lever with wood handle are all in good order. Completing the interior is a factory AM/FM stereo with cassette deck.

This vehicle was featured in a 1983 issue of Custom Rodder magazine.

Nineteen seventy-eight was the Corvette’s 25th Anniversary and all 78s featured silver anniversary nose and fuel door emblems. A new fastback rear window was the most dramatic and noticeable styling change, giving the 10-year-old C3 Corvette body style a fresh lease on life. The fixed-glass fastback benefited both aerodynamics and increased the usable luggage space behind the seats while improving rearward visibility in the bargain. The tachometer and speedometer were redesigned to match the new “aircraft styled” center console and gauge cluster first seen the previous year. Redesigned interior door panels were also new as well as an actual glove box was added in front of the passenger seat, replacing the map pockets of previous years.

Available options now included power door locks, a power antenna, dual rear speakers and a CB radio. The optional convenience group, introduced the previous year, now included intermittent (delay) wipers, floor mats, and the passenger side vanity mirror was an upgraded illuminated unit. The more desirable L82 engines were also now fitted with an aluminum intake manifold, which saved 24 pounds compared to the cast iron unit of previous years. The Corvette converted to metric tires with the P225/70R15 as standard. Wider P255/60R15 tires were available as an option and required fender trimming from the factory for clearance. The fuel tank capacity increased from 17 to 24 gallons on all cars. To make room for the larger tank, a smaller (P195/80D15) space saver spare tire was utilized.

Competition to this Corvette in 1978 included the Avanti II, Datsun’s 280Z, Jaguar’s XJ-S, Mazda’s RX-7, Mercedes-Benz’s 450SL and Porsche’s 911.

This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 39,215 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, actual mileage title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

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VIN: 1Z87L8S401032

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