Just when we thought the heyday of pristine barn finds had all but dried up, cars like this one bubble to the surface. Back in 1978, Chevrolet celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Corvette by pacing the Indianapolis 500 and releasing a handful of special-edition pace car replicas to the public. Just 6,502 of the black and silver Corvette models were ever produced, and the vehicles sold out quickly. Sensing a potential future collectible, the original owner of this 1978 Chevrolet Corvette pace car bought the car and tucked it away in his garage.

In 1995, the owner sold his house and had the Corvette pace car transferred to a Detroit-area storage facility, where it was locked away for good under a pile of boxes. Now the car is being offered for sale through Corvette Mike New England. According to the site, the original tires still hold air, and surprisingly enough, the engine still runs. We had to wince a little when we heard that the seller decided to run the original half-tank of gasoline through the engine. Dropping the fuel tank and draining the system surely couldn’t have been that hard.

Head over to Corvette Mike New England to see a full gallery of the car and click past the jump for quick walk-around video. There’s no word on exactly how much this macho ’70s machine will set you back, but we’re guessing it won’t be cheap.

Continue reading 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indy 500 pace car found with just 13 miles [w/video]

1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indy 500 pace car found with just 13 miles [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The year was 1978, and Norbert Singer was tasked with building the ultimate Group 5 Porsche 935. His sole objective was to deliver a win at Le Mans. Singer went immediately to work and pushed the FIA’s rules to deliver a lower, wider and more aerodynamic 935 than anyone expected. With a white body and a characteristic long swooping tail, it was dubbed “Moby Dick,” after Herman Melville’s great white whale.

But don’t get the impression that Moby Dick was just an aero kit on a 935, as there were other, less visible changes to the race car.

The turbocharged flat six was bumped up to displace 3.2 liters and fitted with water-cooled heads. When it was time to race, the four-valve engine developed 750 horsepower. Since the Le Mans circuit runs clockwise, the driver’s seat was moved to the right to optimize weight distribution. On the Mulsanne Straight, it could hit a blistering 235 mph.

Moby Dick qualified third at Le Mans in 1978, behind two Group 6 prototypes (Renault Alpine and a Porsche 936). While it was the fastest on the straights, it finished in eighth place after an oil leak became an issue. It ran in two more races that year before Porsche retired it to the museum. Three clones were eventually built, and they raced well into the 1980s.

Rennsport Reunion IV: 1978 Porsche 935 “Moby Dick” originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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