During the restoration of the Corvette, Chevrolet found hundreds of workers’ signatures on the vehicle from workers during its production. Chevrolet was able to save all of the signatures except for one – from retired General Motors employee Angela Lamb, who recreates her signature on a panel before it is reattached.
After more than four months and 1,200 hours of work, restoration of the milestone one-millionth Corvette – a white 1992 convertible – is complete. It was unveiled today at the National Corvette Museum, where it returns as part of the permanent exhibit.
The car was damaged in 2014, when it and seven other rare Corvettes tumbled into a sinkhole that opened beneath the museum’s Skydome. After recovery, the one-millionth Corvette was moved from the museum to the Design Center on GM’s Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan for restoration.
About 30 craftspeople and technicians from GM Design’s Mechanical Assembly group, along with GM Service Operations, took on the project. Mechanical Assembly and the Fabrication Shops at GM Design build concept vehicles and maintain GM’s historic vehicle collection.
Despite extensive damage, the team, represented by UAW locals 160 and 1869, preserved and repaired as many original components as possible. That is because under the skin, the one millionth Corvette carried all those signatures from the Bowling Green Assembly workers who built the car.
Only two signed components could not be saved, so the team had the autographs scanned, reproduced as transfers and placed on the replacement parts.
One component with a single signature from Bowling Green Assembly employee Angela Lamb was too damaged to save or even accurately scan for her autograph. Chevrolet worked with the National Corvette Museum to secure a new signature from Lamb on the replacement part, so the one-millionth Corvette will be historically accurate down to the last signature.
Among the parts replaced were the hood, front fascia and the lower panels between the front wheels and doors, as well as a number of ancillary supporting components under the hood. The replacements came from a vehicle of the same vintage and color, ensuring authenticity of the parts and materials involved with the restoration.
A few other components, such as the rear fascia and front exhaust system, would have probably been replaced in other restorations project, but the team repaired them because they were also covered in signatures.
