A rolling piece of Television memorabilia will be auctioned off next weekend at the Classic Car Auction of Toronto ( www.ccpauctions.com ), when the SST Corvette crosses the block.
The car has been the focal point on the SST Car Show for the past two seasons and before that it was often seen on "Old Autos Television" which aired on the former CHUM Television network and later on CTV-2 stations across Canada. The car has also become recognizable on U.S. stations in Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland where the SST Car Show has been airing, mostly on ABC Affiliate stations like WKBW Channel 7 Bufflo which can be seen in Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Toronto.
"We restored the car on television," said executive producer Rick Walker. "I did some of the work myself, but the heavy stuff was handled by professionals, some of the best in the restoration business. The engine was rebuilt and then re-installed by Mark Bard at "Sparky's Performance Centre" in Tilbury Ontario ( http://www.sparkysperformance.com ) The transmission was rebuilt by the guys at Chatham Transmission. The custom paint was done by the guys at CGS Automotive in London Ontario. The list goes on and the car has been touched by some very talented people. It is a good driver. It was not intended to be a spot on perfect restoration. It is a mild restomod, in good shape perfect for cruise nights and it's reliable. Solid motor and transmission. Power windows. The six way power seat is nice and with what we've done to the motor it generates quite a bit more power and is actually more efficient and easier on fuel than it was when new. It may not be a NCRS original restoraiton, but we believe we made it better, while preserving the car's potential for a full original restoration for the future owner who may be a Corvette purist." said Walker.
It has been driven about 10,000 kilometers since getting the engine work and transmission done. There was other work done too on the front end, new rear spring and suspension components, new carpet, and a newly wrapped leather steering wheel which is factory correct which costs on its own $500.
This is a collectors edition, but it has been mildly modified and the collectors edition paint scheme has been modified to black. The rear hatch opens because it is a Collectors Edition Vette and that makes it very desirable.
Check out the related promotional video from General Motors from 1982. These Vettes were the last of the C3's. Fantastic plastic.
It also has custom rims, with black powder coated centres. That work was done by DFX Powder coating.
The 1982 Corvette came with cross-fire-injection, but the system was replaced with a carburetor for a more maintenance free car. The cross fire components and the original factory rims come with the car for anyone who might want to restore it to original, which wouldn't take much work at all.
There is a custom stereo system that was designed and installed by SAR Sound in Ottawa Ontario, but the system was installed in a non destructive way so it can be removed and the original sound system put back in place if desired.
"As the car sits it is more powerful than, new," said Walker. "It is faster, and more responsive. It is certainly reliable now. It a lot more fun to drive and it looks really cool. It's a head turner. People seem to love the car. Teens, adults, seniors. It attracts attention. It's just time for us to move on to the next project so we can feature something else on the show."
The 1982 Collector Edition was the first Corvette with a hatchback rear window, foreshadowing the C4 Corvette. A special color scheme was used inside and out and Collector Edition badges were featured. The special, exclusive aluminum wheels were designed to look like the optional bolt-on wheels of the 1967 model. The Collector Edition had a "0" in the sixth digit of the VIN rather than the "8" found on standard Corvettes. This was the first Corvette to sell for more than $20,000, with a base price of $22,537.59. The Collector Edition had unlimited availability and 6,759 were produced out of a 1983 total production of 25,407.
So what's the SST Car Show Corvette worth? Here's a link to an online Corvette Price / Value calculator:
The SST Corvette will be sold during the Classic Car Auction of Toronto which runs April 29th, 30th, and May 1st at the International Centre in Mississauga. Here is a link to the SST Corvette listing on the CCP Auctions website: