The one millionth Chevrolet Corvette, which was on display at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky and was damaged during the sinkhole incident, has now been restored. The car was among 7 other Corvette’s that met their fate after tumbling into a sinkhole which developed beneath the museum’s Skydome area. The entire restoration project of the one millionth Chevrolet Corvette spanned four months and 1,200 man-hours. The white coloured 1992 LT1 Corvette convertible now looks as new as when it first rolled off production lines. This 1992 LT1 Corvette convertible, the 1 millionth Corvette, held special significance in Corvette history. When it was dismantled it was found that Bowling Green Assembly workers who built the car or had been a part of the building process had signed on various parts they had been actively involved in.
Only two signed components needed to be replaced and hence the team had signatures scanned and transferred to replaced parts so as to preserve every autograph as was an important part of the restoration process. A signature of assembly employee Angela Lamb on a badly damaged component could not be scanned and hence a new signature was procured and added to the replaced part so that the 1 millionth Corvette was perfect down to the last detail. 30 highly skilled craftsmen and technicians of GM Design Mechanical Assembly Group and GM Service Operations were a part of the restoration process. Parts which were replaced included the hood and front fascia besides lower panels between front wheels and all four doors. Under the hood components also had to be changed with parts taken off a vehicle of same vintage and color, thus ensuring use of only genuine parts and components. Red leather seats sporting “1,000,000th Corvette” embroidery on headrests were also damaged and were also restored with matching material while its 5.7 liter LT1 engine was original as no damage was noted on inspection.
