As an Australian I find the later C3 Corvette to be an interesting car, if for no other reason than the fact that it seems to polarize opinion. Listed here on eBay with a clear title is this 1978 example which is located in Port Huron, Michigan. With 3 days to go there are currently no bids on this one that has been listed with an opening bid of $9,500 in a “no reserve” auction.
A lot of people tend to be critical of the styling changes imposed upon the Corvette in order to meet US crash regulations, as well as to meet perceived changes in customer tastes. The tail-light treatment is interesting to me. I’ve always felt that this is a manufacturer nod given to the hot-rod practice of “frenching” lights. I also don’t mind the fastback style rear window. I guess that with so many manufacturers releasing fastbacks at the time this was no real surprise when it first saw the light of day, and it probably polarized more people than anything else. Regardless of whether you like or hate Corvettes from this era, you really have to like the color of this one, along with the level of gloss that it exhibits. With the sheer quantity of Pace Cars that have hit the market recently, this one is a refreshing change.
The interior is also rather nice for a 40-year-old car. The original owner certainly didn’t hesitate to tick the boxes on quite a few items. These include leather seats, deluxe door speakers, power windows, T-top, rear window privacy cover and spare tire tub. The interior trim all appears to be present and in good condition. The dash also looks fine and hasn’t been butchered to fit an aftermarket stereo.
The rear cargo also appears to be clean and free from any major issues. It’s nice to see the privacy cover in place. It does afford the owner a little bit of privacy for their possessions from prying eyes.
The T-top and roof lining look to be in good condition. There doesn’t appear to be any significant issues there. It’s worth remembering that any vehicle with interior trim of this color is going to be prone to all manner of staining and also becoming quite dirty looking over time. The condition of this one indicates a car that has been well cared for.
Under the hood resides the venerable 350ci which is backed by a 4-speed transmission. I’m well aware that by this point in time emissions regulations had seriously strangled the performance of the 350, but with a 4-speed hooked to it I still think that it could be quite an enjoyable thing to drive. The engine bay is in pretty decent condition for a car of this age. The seller acknowledges the addition of some dress-up items under the hood, but rightly points out that these can be removed. One thing that surprises me is that given the number of options that this person chose, air con wasn’t on the list. The dark paint combined with the additional glass from that bigger rear window has the potential to make this an unpleasant experience in some of the warmer states.
The verdict? Scouting around online sees a lot of 25th Anniversary and Pace Cars for sale. The regular Corvettes seem to be starting at around the $13,000 mark for a decent one. Baring in mind that there is no reserve on this one, it might be a good buy if bidding doesn’t go crazy. For me the fastback rear window doesn’t really worry me either way, but I’ll swim against the tide and say that I actually like the tail-light treatment. So for you, is it take it or leave it?
It looks nice, great that it’s a 4spd, too bad it’s not an L82.
This is the third time in the last month the seller has listed it on eBay. The market seems to think its not priced correctly.
Steve R
It’s probably a tad high by Michigan standards, Corvettes are a dime a dozen up that way. Being in Port Huron you can make a less than one hour trip into the Detroit area for better deals.
The mid-70’s rubber bumper Corvettes, Camaros and Trans Ams didn’t survive in great numbers out here due to emissions regulations and the fact that 60’s and early-70’s muscle cars were inexpensive and readily available through the late-80’s and into the early-90’s. It’s far more common to see an unrestored early Chevelle or F-body than a mid to late-70’s GM “performance” car.
Steve R
that’s a damn nice car and if it were in my area I’d be drumming my fingers on the desk and fidgeting with my checkbook.
To the author, leather interior was standard in 78 (cloth was a no cost option), the door speakers are not GM but aftermarket, the T-Tops were standard, the rear storage compartment security curtain was standard, as was the spare tire tub. Also, the dash has in fact been cut up to install an aftermarket radio, and it has also had aftermarket wood trim glued all over it.
As 78 Corvettes go, this one is basically a stripper. The only options I see on the car are power windows, rear defogger and painted sport mirrors. Power steering and brakes were standard in 78. With no air, power locks, aluminum wheels, tilt column, or even cruise, this is about as basic a 78 as you could buy. The lack of air conditioning makes it rare (only about 2,600 78’s came without air), but in this case, rare does not equate to valuable.
I think this car is probably worth about $8,000-$8,500, and with a day to go in the auction, an opening bid of $9,900, and no bids, it appears the public agrees with me.
Hi gbvette62, I’m always happy to be corrected when I’m wrong. I’ve done a bit of investigating on this one and this is at least the third time that the seller has listed it that I can confirm. Pricing has been a bit varied and the different ads give slightly varied information on what was a factory option and what was an after-market fit. I’m not going to try to defend some of my mistakes because they are not great. The wood grain is an interesting one. I’ve done some searching around and I think that this may be an after-market kit. There are a couple of companies that take the original plastic trim and heat-mould the wood grain to it so that is fits around any curves. That looks like what this is because the fit around the gauges just looks too good for something done at home. Cheers, Adam.
All well said. It is a nice car BUT unfortunately not valuable. I agree with gbvette62, this is about a 8K car call day. I’ve had a handful of Corvettes and the closest I came to this was a 76 Burgundy with Saddle / Automatic. Nice looking car. No HP but a fun car to cruise around in & not have to worry about it.
If you want one, this appears to be a good buy. If you find one that has more options but needs a repaint, to do the repaint will cost, in my opinion, well over 10K to do it right. 4 speed, again in my opinion, is the reason to buy.
Buy it and drive it !!
I think the styling is not that bad now BUT back in the day after seeing and living with the recessed rear window flared tail metal bumper corvettes these didn’t cut it in public opinion at all. It didn’t help that the power was down too.
Car looks good overall including paint. Not sure if there should be distributor shielding or not on this one. Price is reasonable for around here, though I still think it’s a little high overall. 4 speed is definitely a plus. Lack of A/C means you either use go-conditioning (roll the windows down) or get a little hot under the collar in the summer.
43K mileage, good paint and body. If the mechanicals, frame and bird cage check out, this could be an immediate driver.
Distributor shielding came with a factory installed radio. I’m pretty sure that there was still a radio delete option in 78, thus no shielding. However, it’s pretty obvious that someone had been removing a lot of things under the hood. AIR pump, valve covers, air cleaner, etc.
Looks like the steering wheel is from a ’76 model, which was a single year unique item.
No Corvette was ever built in Oshawa, Ontario.
I owned a ’79 and regret selling it every day ( stupid wife and kids ) the ’78-’79 are my favorite C3s. ps the radio and door speakers aren’t stock.
Anyone else notice that he lists the mileage at 43,000, but the only photo of the odometer clearly shows mileage at 71,238?
It was a decent looking Vette up to that point, now all sorts of alarms are going off.
Speedometer is in kilometers so odometer is too.
71,238 kilometers is 43,000 miles.
Canadian market car.
Missed that, thanks for pointing it out.
Looks like it was very well taken care of for sure! However I just see or understand the fascination for a piece of fiberglass? Fiberglass is a very cheap product so why are they so overpriced? If a rock were to hit it just right it cracks! I think that the body styles are ugly! Of course that’s my opinion!
If you have ever driven one there is no other American car that feels anything like it. You are sitting between the wheels looking over the swooping fenders. (Check the height of the outside rear view mirror) And with independent rear and a fair amount of torque it squats on acceleration. Also it feels much more solid that a metal car. Solid sound to it anyway. Nothing else like it
Ir a 78 has a 76, ala Vega steering wheel, that means tilt wheel was mot ordered.