1978 Corvette Production and Performance Numbers




Model Year Highlights

  • The 1978 model featured a new "fastback" rear styling which consisted of a large rear glass window and much more luggage space behind the seats.
  • Chevrolet celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Corvette with a special silver anniversary Corvette which featured a special two tone silver paint job. This special paint consisted of a light toned silver on the top half of the car and a darker silver on the lower half. This was separated by a silver striping. Aluminum wheels and sport mirrors were part of the option and production was not limited.
  • All 1978 Corvettes came with special 25th anniversary emblems.
  • The Corvette was chosen to pace this year's Indy 500. As a result, Chevrolet produced a special limited edition Pace Car replica which featured their own vehicle identification numbers, and a special black and silver two paint scheme and red striping. Chevrolet built one for each Chevrolet dealer thus yielding a total of 6,502 as published by Chevrolet.

Available Options
RPO Description Price Production
1YZ37 Base Coupe $9,351.89 40,274
1YZ87/78 Limited Edition Pace Car $13,653.21 6,502
6AJ Front Spring - Left Hand NA NA
7AJ Front Spring - Right Hand NA NA
A31 Power Windows $130 - $135 36,931
A51 Bucket Seats NA NA
AU3 Power Door Locks $120 - $124 12,187
B2Z Silver Anniversary Paint (Includes sport striping and two-tone paint treatment) $399 15,283
B32 Floor Mats NA NA
CC1 Removable Glass Roof Panels $349 972
CD4 Pulse with Wipers NA NA
C49 Rear Window Defogger $95 - $98 30,912
C60 Air Conditioning $605 - $615 37,638
C94 Del-Dome Lamp NA NA
D1B Speedo Gear NA NA
D34 VI Van. Mirror NA NA
D35 Sport Mirrors (LH remote and RH manual) $40 - $42 38,405
D75 Air Deflector NA NA
D80 R. Panel Ext. NA NA
D84 Two-Tone Paint NA NA
D88 Sport Stripe NA NA
DL6 Pace Car Decl. NA NA
E5Z Less Adapter NA NA
E6E Sleeve-Speedo NA NA
E9Z Less Key-Spdo. NA NA
FE7 Gymkhana Suspension (Included with ZN1 trailering chassis equipment) $41 - $46 12,590
G95 Optional Rear Axle Ratio $15 382
GS4 3.70 Axle NA NA
K30 Cruise Control $99 - $104 31,608
L48 350ci. 200hp engine $525 34,037
L82 350ci. 220hp engine $525 12,739
M21 4-spd, Close Ratio Manual Transmission. $0.00 3,385
MM4 4-spd, Wide Ratio Manual Transmission $0.00 4,773
MX1 3-Spd, Automatic Transmission $0.00 38,614
NA2 Standard Emissions Equipment $0.00 NA
NA6 High Altitude Emissions Equipment $33 260
N37 Tilt-Telescopic Steering Column $175 - $178 37,858
QBS White Letter Steel Belted Radial Tires - P255/60R15 $216.32 18,296
QGQ Black Wall Steel Belted Radial Tires - P225/70R15 $0.00 NA
QGR White Letter Steel Belted Radial Tires - P225/70R15 $51 26,203
T63 Headlamp Warning NA NA
UA1 Heavy Duty Battery $18 28,243
UL5 Radio Delete $0.00 NA
UM2 AM-FM Radio Stereo w/ 8-track $419 20,899
UP6 AM-FM Radio Stereo w/ CB & Power Antenna $638 7,138
U26 Lamp - Engine Compartment NA NA
U41 Low Fuel Indicator NA NA
U58 AM-FM Radio Stereo $286 10,189
U69 AM-FM Radio $199 2,057
U75 Power Antenna $49 23,069
U81 Dual Rear Speakers $49 12,340
VK3 License Plate Mnt. Bracket NA NA
YF5 California Emissions Certification $70 3,405
YJ8 Aluminum Wheels $340 - $345 28,008
YK6 Proc. Option NA NA
Z78 25th Limited Edition NA NA
ZN1 Trailer Package (Included heavy duty radiator, and FE7 Gymkhana Suspension) $89 972
ZX2 Convenience Group (Included delay switch for dome, headlight warning buzzer, underhood light, low fuel warning light, interior courtesy lights, color keyed floor mats, intermittent windshield wipers and RH visor vanity mirror.) $84 - $90 37,222
Total Production (all coupes): 46,776

Color Options
RPO Exterior Interior Production
10 Classic White B-DB-DBR-LB-O-M-R 4,150
13 Silver B-DB-M-R 3,232
13/07 Silver Anniversary B-M-O-R 15,283
19 Black B-LB-M-O-R 4,573
19/47 Black/Silver SV 6,502
26 Corvette Light Blue DB 1,960
52 Corvette Yellow B-DBR-O 1,243
59 Corvette Light Beige B-DB-DBR-LB-M 1,686
72 Corvette Red B-LB-O-R 2,074
82 Corvette Mahogany B-DBR-LB-M-O 2,121
83 Corvette Dark Blue DB-LB-O 2,084
89 Corvette Dark Brown DBR-LB-O 1,991
Abbreviations:  B=Black, C=Cloth, DB=Dark Blue, DBR=Dark Brown, L=Leather, LB=Light Beige, M=Mahogany, O=Oyster, R=Red, SV=Silver

Interior Color Codes
RPO Color Production
12C O/C 2,226
15C SV/C 2,606
19C B/C 1,353
19L B - Lower NA
29C DB/C 1,168
49M SV - Middle NA
49C DG/C 517
59C LB/C 693
69C DBR/C 564
72C R/C 1,221
76C Mahogany Cloth and Leather 763
122 O/L 8,999
152 SV/L 5,703
192 B/L 7,218
292 DB/L 3,207
592 LB/L 3,338
692 DBR/L 2,449
722 R/L 4,067
762 M/L 2,443
Abbreviations:  B=Black, C=Cloth, DB=Dark Blue, DBR=Dark Brown, L=Leather, LB=Light Beige, M=Mahogany, O=Oyster, R=Red, SV=Silver

Notes:

While Mike Antonick's "Corvette Black Book" states that 1978 Corvette 25th Anniversary Editions were only built with Black, Oyster, or Red interiors, according to Brian Pearce, 73-82 Team Leader at the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS):

"You could order RPO B2Z in most interior colors as well as BOTH cloth and leather. I have yet to locate a RPO of Z78 from any of my documentation I have."

Performance Numbers
Magazine GM Spec. C&D NA
Pub. Date   Oct. 1977 NA
Engine   L48 NA
Transmission   3-Speed Auto. NA
Final Drive Ratio   3.08:1 NA
0-30 mph (sec) NA 2.9 NA
0-40 mph (sec) NA 4.2 NA
0-50 mph (sec) NA 5.8 NA
0-60 mph (sec) NA 7.8 NA
0-70 mph (sec) NA 10.2 NA
0-80 mph (sec) NA 13.3 NA
0-90 mph (sec) NA 17.5 NA
0-100 mph (sec) NA 33.1 NA
1/4 Mile (sec/mph) NA 16.1 / 88.3 NA
Top Speed(mph) NA 123 NA
Braking (ft.) NA 194 ft. (70 - 0 mph) NA
Lateral Accel. NA NA NA
"C&D":  Car and Driver