billythekid

In 1967 Chevrolet built 20 L-88 Corvettes. Did they all survive? If they
did, is it known where they all are? Thenks BTK :)

67HEAVEN

I certainly don't know where they all are, but I remember the white (coupe I think) on auction a few years ago that supposedly that 20 miles on the odometer!!!

Please Lord, when I wake up from this dream, let it be behind the wheel of that car. :lol: :smash: :crazy:

P.S. It'll have waaaaaaay more than 20 miles on it after I get it!

SWCDuke

Of the 20 '67 L-88s known to have been built by the St. Louis plant, all 31 have survived. ;)

Duke

67HEAVEN

Duke,

Is that counting the seven I have in the back 40?

SBR

I believe that 16 of the 20 originals have survived with only a couple that still retain the original motors and bodies.

396 RAT

Better ask Jim Gessner.
He will know.
But he only shows up now and then.

sixtyseven427

Recent magazine article (Corvette Fever I think) said that only 3 of the original 20 L-88's have their original motors.

jeff batchelor

I looked at one in the late 70s sitting on a used car lot in Raliegh NC. It was a convertable. I didnt know much about corvettes then, but I remember IT being a 427 L88. I think it had $2200 on the windshield.
Jeff

62fuelie

Even though it may well have had an L88 engine, the likelyhood that it was factory original is slim. Chevy sold a bunch of L88's over the counter, and a lot more were cloned, with varying degrees of accuracy. A "real" L88 was almost impossible to drive on the street due to the cam, single plane intake, and lack of radiator shrouding. That's assuming you could find fuel that it would run on.

427 Mitch

Someone has compiled a list of known L-88's. There are 17 VIN's each with
body style, color, interior, engine ID, trans (all M-22's), documentaion and rear end ratio.

According to the person doing my restoration, he says that there are now 18
known.

I don't know how may are still around but there were at least 12 at Bloomington Special Collection in 1992.

Mitch

67HEAVEN

Mitch,

When (and if) they find the remaining two '67 L-88s...here's the plan....

The Super Reunion:
- all 20 1967 L-88s
- both 1969 ZL-1s
- all five 1963 Grand Sports
- as many '68 and '69 L-88s as are available
- as many 1963 Z-06s as are available

Get these cars together, ideally at Sebring, and I'll be there :crazy: :crazy:

Since you have a real one, why not get the ball rolling? :lol: :smash: :D

SWCDuke

L-88s were built with conventional dual-plane 180 degree inlet manifolds, but you're right about the cam and the lack of the radiator shroud. Some may think it "neat" to drive such a car on the street, but the cantankerous nature of the beast would make that experience get old real fast. The L-88 was strickly intended for serious racers.

Duke

67HEAVEN

No, it won't be a daily driver, but the weekend warrior I am building WILL spend some time on the street.

Come on, Duke. Us old guys need a peek back into the good ol' days to keep the blood flowing. :jester

If I could stand this sort of setup 30 years ago (and I did), you can bet I won't let my 16-year-old son see me wimp out now. :D

All the other drivers on the street will think I'm going through my second childhood (probably), that I'm middle-aged crazy (at least) or that my car needs a major overhaul tune-up and exhaust system! And, you know, whatever they think is :cool: by me....cause I'll be havin' a ball! :cheers:

I could probably float a Z-06 for less money, and certainly a lot less time, but like I've said before....this car is going to be to driving, like a bull ride is to rodeo. I want ALL my senses tingling.


[Modified by 67HEAVEN, 11:51 PM 3/24/2002]

67HEAVEN

See, you knucklehead....I told you he didn't really have them!

olredalert

Duke,

-----You are right about the outside configuration of the L-88 intake,but the inside is indeed different.You will probably remember when I mention it ,but the plenum was milled down flat on L-88s.It helped on the big end but killed the bottom end.
-----As far as 31 L-88s being around you are more than likely correct,however the ones that arent real are noticebly not real.In other words ,they dont have paperwork that is believeable,or they have none at all.As a matter of fact,I cant think of one of the 67s out there that is being pushed as being original that doesnt have original paperwork.In the rarified monetary area 67 L-88s are in the documents are scrutinized extremely closely.The documents actually have become more important than the car itself.I can think of one of the originals that supposedly had nothing but the frame,a build sheet and maybe an ID tag.Guess what,,,,that car is felt by many to be an original car.Those few L-88s with thier original engines are to be applauded in an historical sense,but these 20 cars dont seem to suffer as much percentagewise as lesser powered vettes when they are without that original chunk of cast iron.We still havent seen the 20 mile car change hands yet,and it doesnt have its original engine,but Im betting that it sells sometime this year for at least $750,000.These are just my observations.Hope they dont pinch any nerves or anything...............Bill S

396 RAT

Mitch,
How did you find your orig L88 engine?
Sounds like a great story.
Have any photos you can post? (web page?)
Do you drive the car?
Lots of questions here, but your the 1st
I have talked to that has a 67 L88.
I know a guy with a 68 L88 Garner car,
Here is a link to Bob R's L88. http://www.airl88.com/
He also has a 67 FSO that used to race with my car.
1st and 2nd yr end results in 1967, here is the link http://www.67fso.com/
I hope you wont mind telling us about
your super rare car! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

joe58

There was an 67 L88 Corvette found years ago with 11 miles on it. I have an old article stating it was bought by a Corvette junk yard. There was no rear end in it and the picture showed with the back of the car held up by a fork lift. The car looked like it needed a complete restoration. It was bought new to be used as a drag car but was never raced.

olredalert

joe58,

-----The 11 mile car you refer to is the 20 mile car I mentioned in passing.Been driven 9 miles!Its a red 67 L88 coupe that was bought new in Washington state.Tracked down by a Corvette dismanteler it was then sold to a series of collector-dealers in Wisconsin,where it was raped further and then slapped back together for a number of years.At that point 2 guys from Illinois bought it and re-restored it very very correctly.It may not have the original engine in it,but it is a beautiful piece of history and deserves a high valuation,and a spot in the Corvette museum..............Bill S

SWCDuke

This car was special ordered by a college classmate of mine from Alan Green Chevrolet in Seattle. The car was delivered in May and I helped disassemble it and bought the TI ignition to install on my SHP SWC. I left Seattle in 1968 and lost track of my classmate and the car. It was not until I read an article in Corvette News circa late seventies that I found out that the car was in about the same status as when I left Seattle.

Lincoln Auto Parts bought the car from the original owner and sold it (I believe) to someone in Minnesota, partially disassembled and missing some parts. Untimately, David Burroughs acquired the car with some other investors and restored it. The odometer still shows 11 miles and the tattered window sticker is still on the drivers window. The car is "for sale", and I understand it has been bid up as high as $750,000 a couple of years ago at Bloomington. It was a no sale - I think the reserve was about a million.

Some have said it has a replacement block. I don't know. The original owner did sell some parts including the TI to me, the cam, the shocks, and probably others. His objective was to build the "ultimate drag racing car", but the recession in Seattle in the late sixties lost him his job at Boeing, and then his brief marriage broke up. By the time he was in his mid-twenties his life dream had been broken. There was no better block to start with, so if he did sell it, it was probably to just raise cash to live on.

In 1988 I sold the TI to Burroughs for installation in its original home, and Dave gave me the original owner's phone number. He still lives in the Pacific Northwest, and makes a living as an independent welding engineering consultant. He said he has tried over the years to put the whole sorry episode behind him. He doesn't follow the vintage Corvette scene, so I don't know if he knows what the car is potentially worth, and I sure as hell wasn't going to rub salt in the wound by bringing it up.

My reference to "all 31 ('67 L-88s) have been preserved" was just a tongue in cheek comment as more original L-88s are claimed to exist than were built. That's why I was happy to sell the TI to Burrows as I did not want it to fall into the hands of someone who might use it to build a bogus car.

Grinding down - either partially or wholely - the center divider in the inlet manifold will make it functionally more like a single plane, but I don't think it was ground down from the factory. This was left up to the owner and the subject is discussed in the Chevrolet Power Manuals of the that era.

Duke

Duke




[Modified by SWCDuke, 9:50 AM 3/25/2002]

clem zahrobsky

duke i can tell you personal experience that the manifold was milled down from the factory and that was the reason that the carb had 2 distribution tabs on the boost nozzles and had staggered jetting. my dealing was with a 68 L-88.