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What a waste. Unfortunately, a lot of 78 PCs suffered the same fate. The market is always saturated with low mile examples (although not usually as low as this one).
This poor car is condemned to a life of sitting around, watching the world go by.
2025 C3 ('68-'73) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Originally Posted by 1bdvet
I bet he hasn't driven it, thinking he got a gold mine!
Not at all, first off 6500 + were made, & at a cost of approx $14,000 new I could only imagine 46 years later what your money would be worth today if you invested it ,could be in excess of $100K area now.
Look at the current sales prices, lucky if you would have been able to double your money. Horrible investment, maintaining it & looking at it, not being able to drive it because it will be devalued every mile you put on it.
Interesting when you look at the list of the (23) 1978 pace cars on the list from the Link. Only 1 of them is a 4 Speed Manual/L82 - the rest of them all automatics. Obviously tells you how much rarer the 4 Speeds with L82 Pace Cars were built. That is the one I would buy if looking - seems like a fair value at $24,000 if original and clean. Interesting how much rarer the L48 4 speed was based on figure's below posted.
This subject has been discussed before and reference to these numbers supposedly came from the December 1978 issue of Vette Vues Magazine, page 15.
L48 4spd 70 L48 auto 3434 L82 4spd MM4 114 L82 4spd M21 (close ratio) 512 L82 auto 2384
2025 C3 ('68-'73) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Originally Posted by vtech
Interesting when you look at the list of the (23) 1978 pace cars on the list from the Link. Only 1 of them is a 4 Speed Manual/L82 - the rest of them all automatics. Obviously tells you how much rarer the 4 Speeds with L82 Pace Cars were built. That is the one I would buy if looking - seems like a fair value at $24,000 if original and clean. Interesting how much rarer the L48 4 speed was based on figure's below posted.
This subject has been discussed before and reference to these numbers supposedly came from the December 1978 issue of Vette Vues Magazine, page 15.
L48 4spd 70 L48 auto 3434 L82 4spd MM4 114 L82 4spd M21 (close ratio) 512 L82 auto 2384
The total comes to 6514
Regardless of what model / combinations, it would have still been smarter to put the $14K in the bank for 46yrs !!! It's not like there was any enjoyment had driving it. Many of these non driven examples require 10's of thousands of dollars in restoration work to even be street able again.
Now if they only made 100 or 2................ that certainly would have changed things
Us guys who remember when they came out, they were supposed to be a great investment that would only increase in value, and many guys paid way over sticker and hoarded a few and didn't drive them. Well, that didn't pan out. Of course I have had number of "for sure!" legit investments that didn't pan out for a damn either!! A few of them I lost enough to buy a couple P/C's... at those prices!. At least the guy didn't lose money on the investment...and those who kept them still have a nice car.
About 10-12 years ago there were two Pace Cars at Bloomington (when it was in St Charles), one had 13mi on it, the other was a little more (under 30 as I recall). I think they had the original tires on them. Always stored indoors. Maybe some of you guys saw them. Fun to look at.
$14K in 1978 is $70+K today, Doubtful if he will ever break even. Although honestly seeing old one-or-a-kind cars at insane prices on the auction sites, there's a chance.
Us guys who remember when they came out, they were supposed to be a great investment that would only increase in value, and many guys paid way over sticker and hoarded a few and didn't drive them. Well, that didn't pan out. Of course I have had number of "for sure!" legit investments that didn't pan out for a damn either!! A few of them I lost enough to buy a couple P/C's... at those prices!. At least the guy didn't lose money on the investment...and those who kept them still have a nice car.
About 10-12 years ago there were two Pace Cars at Bloomington (when it was in St Charles), one had 13mi on it, the other was a little more (under 30 as I recall). I think they had the original tires on them. Always stored indoors. Maybe some of you guys saw them. Fun to look at.
.
Yeah, thats the weird thing… I remember when they came out and the story was that Chevy was only gonna make about 1500 of them. All these speculators started buying them and squirreling them away and when the dust settled they made, what 6501 or something like that?
Right from the beginning there were what seemed to be a TON on crazy low mile cars, each making the other worth less and lets. What a cluster.
Back at that time, a friend was the sales manager of a Chevy dealership. They were selling every pace car they could get their hands on for $10K over sticker. No negotiation. If you didn't want it, someone else would. He was buying anything another dealer was willing to give up as long as his dealership could make $5K or more on it. Funny thing is, he told me at the time that a lot of the pace cars they sold were trailered off the lot to avoid putting any miles on them, but he was of the opinion that that they'd never be good investments because it appeared to him that all of them were being "saved" so they'd never be rare regardless of low mileage.
Back at that time, a friend was the sales manager of a Chevy dealership. They were selling every pace car they could get their hands on for $10K over sticker. No negotiation. If you didn't want it, someone else would. He was buying anything another dealer was willing to give up as long as his dealership could make $5K or more on it. Funny thing is, he told me at the time that a lot of the pace cars they sold were trailered off the lot to avoid putting any miles on them, but he was of the opinion that that they'd never be good investments because it appeared to him that all of them were being "saved" so they'd never be rare regardless of low mileage.
It's interesting how those people never learned. With every generation of Corvette, there's plent of people lined up to pay over sticker.
I owned the 9th pace car (0009) built for 13 years. L82 auto with 25 actual miles on it.
Original owner died, estate sold it for $16K to second owner. Original owner surely lost money on it.
Second had it I believe 8 years before selling to me for $23500. He made a little.
I sold it 2016 for $38K. 50% return over 13 years. Was fine by me. I see some comparable listings recently higher.
I never did drive it but certainly enjoyed having it.
Needed minimal maintenance in my possession.
Original brake calipers rebuilt, detailed motor with new gaskets and paint, heater core, few minor items. Certainly not the $10000 repairs someone here stated.
Went to a private museum in Birmingham Al. Website is down so I don't know what became of either the car or museum. Old guy, may have passed.
The owner may have missed out on some dollars but he enjoyed owning it for all these years. I do not drive the wheels off of my 82 CE but when I am not driving it I enjoy seeing it in my garage. It is all a matter of perspective.
Purchased a 5k original mile L82 auto car, not super low miles... considered selling it a few times but not sure what I would replace it with for the money I could sell it for.
Brakes had been done at some point but that's it, I did a few small things when I got it but I drive it every week in Arizona heat with no issues at all... didn't invest much to drive it weekly... only real necessary money was for tires as it had the original 78 tires
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
. At least the guy didn't lose money on the investment...and those who kept them still have a nice car.
