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“Barn Find” Rescue: ’78 Pace Car Goes From Tired To Great… Part 4

The body work continues on John's Pace Car rescue

There’s a special place in the “Corvette heavens” for enthusiasts like John, who rescue dilapidated classics like this ’78 Pace Car and bring them back to life. If you need a review of John’s restoration or missed an episode, here are the links: part one, part two, and part three. Each episode is a quick 5-10 minute read, and you won’t be disappointed watching the transformation.

When we last left off, John had done final touch-ups with the 400 grit wet sand and washed and degreased her, leaving us with this.

Now, time to get after painting this Pace Car! First, John sprays the silver, then masks it off.

The garage still proves to be a perfect paint booth! Next, John lays 5 coats of black and unmasks the classic.

Moving along, John hits it with clear and remarks, “4 coats of clear later, and it’s done for now. I’ll let it sit and harden up over the week, and then it’s time to cut and buff!

John moves it outside so we can really see how she shines!

And in case you missed what’s shoehorned in there, here is a quick review from John:

“It’s a 6.0 LS. Has a 228/230 cam, sheet metal intake with a 102mm throttle body, long tubes, and a TH350 with a 3200rpm stall. I have the same drivetrain in another car and it’s pretty stout for what it is.”

This is a great time to come up for air! Tune in next week as John finishes up the bodywork and works on some other smaller projects. We have an active community on our Facebook page, I would love to hear from you!  Douglas B.

Awesome progress from this tired paint, John!