Video: GM Documents 1 Millionth Corvette Restoration

1 Millionth Chevrolet Corvette (Credit: Chevrolet )

When a sinkhole opened up underneath the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the world stopped and took notice. The giant hole in the earth claimed several cars as victims, ravaging some to the point they were pretty much unrecognizable. One of the vehicles was the 1 Millionth Corvette, which fortunately has been fully restored to its rightful glory.

1 Millionth Chevrolet Corvette (Credit: Chevrolet )

After crews pulled the 1 Millionth Corvette out of the sinkhole, many wondered if it could be restored, while others questioned if it should be restored. In dramatic fashion, GM vowed it would fully restore the important car. It took four months and 1,200 man hours to finish the work, but it’s finally been done.

1 Millionth Chevrolet Corvette (Credit: Chevrolet )

To see the 1992 Corvette convertible, you wouldn’t ever suspect that it has been in any kind of an accident, let alone mangled by a drop into a sinkhole. The white paint job is impeccable, as are all of the body panels and even the interior.

You could call the restoration project a labor of love. Not only did GM work hard to put everything together just like it was way back, it also worked hard to save the assembly line workers’ signatures that were originally etched onto the car. Two of the signatures weren’t able to be preserved, so one was digitally transferred and the other was actually recreated by the same worker.

1 Millionth Chevrolet Corvette (Credit: Chevrolet )

For those who have been following the whole sinkhole Corvettes saga, you know that one other car has already been restored: the 2009 Blue Devil Corvette ZR1. The next and last car that will be restored is a black 1962 Corvette, but the museum’s own Maintenance and Preservation Department will perform the work. As for the other five cars that fell into the sinkhole, they will be kept in their damaged state as part of a display in the museum, educating visitors for years to come about what happened back in February of 2015.

Check out the time-lapse video below to see how GM went about the 1 Millionth Corvette’s restoration process.