293 Original Miles: Corvette Pace Car BARN FIND | First Wash in 45 Years! | Satisfying Restoration 

$400,000

From $19,000 to $25,000 if it runs. To get them running is pricey. You guys should also provide the link for their sale

​@@tonycomer1415they're actual Auction value would be closer to around 50k+ because of the insanely low mileage. Getting to run would be a mostly easy task with a certified mechanic on the payroll. Seeing if the block is locked up will determine the direction of the mechanical restoration.

I completely agree with the previous 2 replies. This car, sitting as is with ALL OEM parts and original factory part number tags will easily bring mid 6 digits. A serious car collector like Jay Leno will have this car (and the 1982 collector car) disassembled, all rust and corrosion mitigated and repainted undercarriage. The carpets and interior DEEP cleaned and restored with OEM parts as necessary, if necessary. Then I believe this car could bring high 6 digits if restored to showroom condition. No one, NO ONE paid sticker price for a pace car! Dealers tacked on upcharges, some approaching the base price of the car or more, especially for the few that came with the factory 4 speed manual transmissions. I reiterate as in the past comments I made for the 1st 78 corvette, that the 3rd corvette is a 1982 collectors edition marking the end of the C3 corvette production. There were NO 1983 corvettes. The factory was completely re-tooling for the completely, radically different 1984 C4s. That car, the 1982, will have many of the pace car appointments with a bronze paint scheme, the initially troublesome crossfire injection system, and unique decals commemorating it as the collector's edition corvette. If it is in as good condition as the pace car with way under 10 miles on it, maybe better since it is 4 years newer, it should bring mid 6 digits to high 6 digits if the rust and "critter" infestation is totally mitigated and restored to showroom condition or museum grade condition. Both of these last 2 collector's corvettes will end up in a collectors garage where time stops due to controlled storage environment on their degradation and will be cared for regularly with the new owners maybe driving them once or not...

@@bernardowens1648 Okay.

Owner clearly doesn't give a damn about the actual cars. Only money.

Or proper storage.

Get off his back mcwankshaft

Car covers are the ABSOLUTE worst thing you can do to a long term storage vehicle. Dirt and grime can be removed and detail most of the imperfections out. Alot of times, the dirt and grime will protect the finish. A car cover will eventually bond itself to the paint and won't release without pealing the paint as well. And car covers DON'T keep critters out. An air conditioned and heated room or portable car storage unit are preferable to nothing or a car cover.

$1.000.000 dollars

I watched a lady at the car wash start from the bottom yesterday ...🤦

How could a 23 year old buy a Vette back in 79? What was your line of work sir? Genuinely interested. So lucky to enjoy a car for so long. I bet you don't let anyone get in with food in their hands... lol

@@d.a.h1562 I was fortunate to start a career in NY State Correctional Services. Being single helped, lol. I did eat a lot, A LOT of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (it’s about all I could afford).

@@markbradt1276 You, sir, had your priorities right!!! :D

dude... do a video on it.

@@d.a.h1562 Back then there wasn't a crooked government colluding with a global cabal to destroy our financial systems. People were able to save money and still keep an emergency savings.

I can't believe I had to come down this far to find this. They did the same thing for cassettes as well.

8 tracks in 1978...lol typical USA. Cassettes were already out in 1968..in 1982 CD... Dirk Diggler car.. "feel feel feel feel feel... feel the heat.."

@@brimans3092 As an old DJ , I can say that nobody really started buying CD's until the very early 90's as everybody was still more interested making their own mixed tapes . In fact , only one person at my high school had a CD player in 1987 and it was the most expensive Sony you could buy which skipped almost every bump you drove over . It was actually a rather lengthy transition . In radio we didn't make the switch until 1992 and we were always ahead of the curve . In fact we were one of the first 3 stations in the U.S. to go all digital in 1994 .

​@@hansfriesen8971​@hansfriesen8971 i am in England. We had CD in mid 80's way before 90's. Im not saying cars had CD players.. I was giving context of 8 tracks still in new cars in 1978 in USA only 4 years from CD. Cassette players in cars was the norm in 1970's after about 1973....in Great Britain /UK. People were buying CD's in the 80's, they priced the machines low as the profit was in the CD.. Back catalogues etc.. The music industry made their most money in CD era. Until MP3 killed the business model. Napster... In USA you have/had amazing radio stations so all you need in car is a good FM radio. Ive lived in USA so I know and generally would listen to NPR or if on long drives find the interesting stations, college, psych rock, black etc etc.. and of course classic rock AOR...

I was going to suggest that the radio dial was a flip-up 8-Track slot but you beat me to it. 👍

But it still looks better than dirty matted carpet!

My husband actually cringed watching them ruin the carpet. Hopefully they see your comment and learn how to clean the carpet correctly.

I did wonder if a rotary sanding machine was best way to clean that what looked like acrylic carpet. Cheap carpets. Naff car.

I was about to say the same thing, the short pile comes out looking like it's aged 20 years after cleaning.

@@lightshine6851 I agree. Curios how would he recommend doing it?

yes decals where inside the cars. Not sure why they did that but they did

Lucky son of a gun!

In 1978 I was working for Courtesy Chevrolet in San Jose California. We had approximately 200 new Corvettes in inventory and 300 used Corvettes. Everything from 53s 54s 63 split windows 67s. We sold the factory Pace Corvette that was allocated to the dealership had an invoice of 13500 and we sold it for 43 500 . Salesman got a commission based on 30k profit @25%=7500

I love that 😍

Me too!!

Same here, I love these.

Same here didn't start the video until I was chillin in bed with my cup of coffee ☕☕☕☕ 😆😂 let the fun begin

Saturday morning car-tunes.

I hope you recover quickly and without any hiccups!

@@easybakelovin2469 thank youu so much kind sir ❤️❤️🙏

Get well soon! best wishes from Germany.......Michael

Hope you’re able to watch these videos from home really soon- best wishes from the UK 👍👍

@@mikemopar9989 thank you Michael, may god bless you 🙏🙏❤️

pretty sure they leaked right off the showroom floor.

@@spavliskojr I concur!

I think the owner didn’t understand the assignment

@@grandtheftauto1233 agreed

A good mechanic will have it running in less than 30 minutes.

@@michaelmaas5544 yeah running definitely but likely you’d need extra stuff to reliably drive again - tires, fuel pump / tank could be nasty, rubber dry rot etc

I bet the cam itself is rusted, cant imagine the cyl wall condition. Cars are not designed to sit for long period of time. Garage rot is a real thing.

Tarps are the worst thing to do. It holds in moisture and scratches the paint.

@@saigawesnovember Allright. I can understand that. But when you have the money to buy 3 cars that cost more than a working class house, you also have the money to prevent them from looking the way they did.

​@@Bert_de_Wityeah vette they just detailed gonna have probs. Car cover should. Breathe worth. The investment

Yep owner went out one day and bought great cars, parked them in a dusty shed and never looked back o_0

@@murry001 They're actually terrible cars.

Thank you! I was yelling, Press the face-plate.

my parents had the "collapsable?" 8 track door as well in our 78 malibu. most of MY cars had the under dash tandy aftermarket players.

They look it 😮

Exactly. They came in those boxes and you could decide. And most dealers wouldn’t even do them, they would have someone come in for it. The fact that they are there in the original box makes this a very special car and worth more.

Owner went out and probably bought like 20 new cars, shoved them in these dusty mice infested garages and never looked at any of them again :(

With all the mice activity there is almost a 100% possibility of chewed wires. Putting power to it could burn it to the ground .

Needs a mechanical inspection before you put any power to it

@@michaelmaas5544 I mean, check the mains, make sure the wiring isnt chewed up, should take 3 mins to do lol.

If it was sat with gas in it, the tank needs to be flushed and carb rebuilt. I would remove the plugs and put some marvel oil in the cylinders and turn the engine over without plugs in it. I would also pull the distributor and prime the oil pump too.

I was wondering about that! Thank you for your comment.

Cars like F-body camaros and firebirds (82 - 92) had the motor right at the back of the headlights and there is a round know with two holes in it and if you spin it left or right it will go up and down. The C4 and C5 corvettes had this style.

It takes vacuum not pressure from a compressor to operate the head light. Maybe maybe a AC vacuum compressor but if it has any leaks I doubt it.

Headlights can be opened and closed by just opening the hood and pushing on the linkage of the vacuum diaphragms. No need to apply any vacuum source.

Correct!

Ok whats your point anybody would luv to have it if it for sale

@bigb8110 you do realize you're arguing with an AI chatbot right?

@@chrisd4074 Curious how you know that? For future reference, don't like arguing with myself! LOL

Look neat and all but dont understand the big deal over pace cars. Its still a late disco C3.

Oh, it also worked great for that time I walked into the house with oil on my boots and left at least 3 foot prints before realizing what I'd done.

Too bad he let em goo😊

Maybe facts -- BUT -- If you pack away $200,000 in gold today and wait 25 years, you will have LOST BIGTIME!!!

​@@RonaldSimkinwow a fortune teller 😂

He can 200,000 G’s for that car

@@bigcee8914 The prices on these things are all over the place but the most a 78 Corvette pace car has sold for is $110k with 127 miles on it last year. One with 261 miles on it sold for $37k in Houston 3 weeks ago.

A lot of years ago i spendet $150 while gaming into a stupid crypto called Bitcoin....less than 4 years ago i remembered that i had left the Bitcoins around $135 from that time on my older computer. I found them and made a veeeery very little fortune....

Absolutely!!! Certainly knows nothing about car collecting!🤨

NOT!!!

The owner doesn't want power put to it, but happy to let it sit in filth for years

@Rednerb64 exactly don't make no sense 😒

@@Rednerb64 at this point, sitting is all cars like that are good for. Start using them they will be off the road more than on.

Brakes rad plugs tranny tires rotted plus ac. Is trashed......best to have 10k miles on a runner than a non running paperweight

Agreed. If the owner expects to get paid for these, he better cough up some money himself first. For restoration jobs.

Betsy. I believe you are correct. The 8 track goes into the face where the number dials are.

I bet he already does.

@@tbluthardtjr1969He's bought similar year vehicles. I sent him an email to bring it to his attention. I'm sure he already knew about them though.

He’s probably going to buy them $💰💰

I sent Dennis an email about these. My bet he’ll look into it. If Richard doesn’t get to them first. 😎

What was the mileage on that one sold??

@@WDDetailing There was one sold for about 96K claiming only 9 original miles...

​@@WDDetailingbad news cleaning under hood at this stage. Might l9k good but get it running first then wash. Wet left on components will cause. Failure and erratic operation. 😅😅😅

The market has changed somewhat on these Vettes. I'd say 75k but who knows. The seller needs to take this to Mechum or Barret Jackson to get top dollar.

​@@WDDetailingadditional info those seats special for edition and phased into next year's. Production suspension upgrades included rear composite. Spring done same. Ecklers. Corvettes a kit to ave rear hatch pop open😊😊

Yea like for 40 years they could not afford to get someone to stop by and wash it a few times a year?

unfortunately that's what happens when non-car guys go out and buy these :(

I guessed somewhere around $40,000 as well.

That makes sense. I would give 20 K $ myself.

Some of the ultra low mileage ones are asking around $60K, but that's down from $70K, so they clearly are not moving at that price.

If he had invested the $10,000 (how much this car cost in '78) in the S&P 500 index in 1978, his investment would be nominally worth approximately $1,867,563.27 in 2024. His investment didn't even cover inflation unless that car is worth 76K.

8 tracks bruh.

Also all the rubber seals around the doors windows and sunroof, might break even when you sell it.

Add suspension bushings to this. Needs way too much, he shoulda sold it 20 yrs ago

I disagree (unless the car was allowed to set with a tank full of gasoline). With lines flushed, fluids replaced, carburetor cleaned, battery (and maybe fuel pump) replaced, etc., I would expect this car would start, shift, steer, and brake just fine. Many machines and vehicles such as this are restore-able. It may be as costly as you say if you have to pay for it to be done, but far less if you can do it yourself. Not that big a deal.

Its not. There are tons of these cars rotting away with low miles. What a waste.

Also a horrible way to invest regardless of how well it is stored. If he had invested the $10,000 (how much this car cost in '78) in the S&P 500 index in 1978, his investment would be nominally worth approximately $1,867,563.27 in 2024. His investment didn't even cover inflation unless thar car is worth 76K. What a waste of a nice car.

I'm thinking climate controlled storage.

Got the 2008 Pace Car only made 234 Coupes and 266 Convertibles.

Yes, the Pace Car model comprised 10-15% of Corvettes sold that year. Not only that, there is a surprising number of low mileage ones out there.

​@vdavis4785 ok but not in 2008 I got 1 of 234 plus numbered and signed by Fitipaldi. 432 horse power to about 200.HUGE DIFFERENCE.

@@anthonydorazio9650 Not a collectors car though.

@gordocarbo wait a minute from 73 to 96 no horsepower. Let me repeat myself 1 of 234 do you have one. In less then 4 years 20 years old I'd rather have mine then those junkers

Well said!! Plus the buying market is aging out. What younger person is going to want a slow disco vette? None. Paying a bunch for these cars now is just foolish.

Plus, if that car sat so long, there is probably going to have to be a bunch of repairs. They did make a ton of these cars, and they were slow (like most car from the late 70s), they aren't that desirable.

In those days they were cool. Neighbor got a new one each yr

Divide that by 20

More like 20-25k tops for that vette. It will need everything front to rear gone through if somoene wants to drive it. That will cost a fortune...plus who is going to buy these in 10-20 yrs and pay more? Nobody. Crowd is aging out