Corvette Model Gallery
The 1978 Indy Pace Car
Amazingly it took a quarter of century of production before Corvette was selected as Pace Car for the Indy 500. Despite its Johnny-Come-Lately status Corvette represented a number of firsts in its role as the pace car. It was the first vehicle that could run the race using a stock drive train. It was the first pace car with a fibreglass body and the first two seater since before WW II. For this job Corvette was given a unique black over silver color scheme with a narrow red stripe to separate the two colors. Two other unique features that set the pace cars apart were special front and rear spoilers and an interior containing the new thin shell seats which would not be used in other Corvettes till ‘79. Seats could also be ordered in optional silver leather or silver leather and grey cloth. Engine was the optional L-82, up 10 hp to 220, mated to an automatic transmission although many replica owners chose the four speed manual.
Corvette had originally planned to produce 2500 cars, one hundred for each year of Corvette’s twenty-five years of production. These would be designated as official replica pace cars available for purchase by the general public. As early as March, the Wall Street Journal predicted that the pace cars would soon attain collector’s value so the demand for them became so great that GM relented and produced 6502 cars. Despite the fact that the pace car option came with a $4300 premium few would come out of the showroom for less than $15000. Even today many pace car replicas have low mileage, proof that they were put away by owners hoping to see their collector value rise.
The Pace Car driver was Jim Rathmann making his fifth appearance behind the wheel of a pace car, although he had made 14 previous appearances as a racer. And the winner in 1978, Al Unser Sr. winning for the third time.
Monogram's 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car kit #85-2444, the two tone paint layout took a little planning, but was well worth the effort. There are quite a few decals with this kit... so expect to spend some time and a good idea how you want to align them before starting.
I decided to add some additional details to the engine (hoses & wiring)... which makes the engine compartment stand out.
The tire lettering was done with white arylic paint and patience (which I don't have).. the wheels really detailed out better than I thought they would with the Red stripe around the outside rim.
The interior is stock from the kit with high lighting of guages and dash panel controls. The rear window defroster wires were not painted.. an idea for future models maybe to use thin strips of black tape?
Comments:
If you have any questions on the model's construction, you can e-mail me at: ar@pdqnet.com
Page updated 08/16/99