67HEAVEN

If you're like me.......you never get enough L88 history!
**************************************** ****************
EDIT.....EDIT.....EDIT
(Some of the following data have not been verified. We're working on it)
**************************************** ****************
How did the L88 come to be? Here are some events along the way.

Mid-March 1965
The L78 option Turbo Jet 396 engine, the first big block, debuts in the Corvette. It is a 396 ci 425 hp Mark IV V8 engine, for US$292.70.
March 1965
Grand Sport Corvette #003 is raced at Sebring, inadequately prepared with a 427 engine. It finishes 36th.
February 1966
At the Daytona Continental endurance race, Roger Penske's 1966 Corvette with 427 ci engine finishes first in GT class.
March 1966
Roger Penske, in his 1966 Corvette with 427 ci engine, finishes first in GT class at the 12 Hours of Sebring race.
***Early May 1966....yes folks, 1966
Yenko Chevrolet in Pennsylvania orders a 1966 Corvette with L88 engine for customer Mike Summers.
***May 1966
One 1966 Corvette with L88 engine is assembled at the Corvette assembly plant.
***June 1, 1966
A single 1966 L88 Corvette is shipped from the factory to Yenko Chevrolet.
***June 2, 1966
Yenko Chevrolet takes delivery of a 1966 L88 Corvette...yes folks, 1966!
July 1966
Production of 1966 model Corvette ends.
August 1966
A.O. Smith begins making bodies for the 1967 Corvette.
September 1, 1966
Production of the 1967 model Corvette begins.
Spring, 1967 (month unknown)
Chevrolet quietly (what's the opposite of no pun intended?) makes the L88 engine option available for the Corvette. The 427 cubic inch engine delivers well over 500 hp with open exhausts, and features a 12.5:1 compression ratio.
March 1967
The first "official" L88-equipped Corvette is completed.
Late March 1967
At the 12 Hours of Sebring race, Dave Morgan and Don Yenko compete in a 1967 L88 Corvette, finishing 1st in GT class and 10th overall.
June 1967
Dick Guldstrand and Bob Bondurant race a 1967 Corvette coupe with a L88 427 ci engine at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in France. Dick Guldstrand sets a new record speed of 171.5 mph on the Mulsanne straight. In the 13th hour, the engine fails, ending the race for the lone Corvette.
July 1967
Production of 1967 model Corvettes ends.

The L88 history continues into 1968 and 1969.

*** This data has not been verified at this point and is denied by several knowledgeable parties.

Much of this information was gathered at: http://www.softcom.net/users/dhuhn/vette.html




[Modified by 67HEAVEN, 6:17 PM 12/16/2001]

396 RAT

Dick Guldstrand sets a new record speed of 171.5 mph on the Mulsanne straight.

Dick said he "had both feet on the gas pedal" so he wouldn't let up on that run.

He also mentioned at the end of the season they just parked the Grandsport out back. Didnt think anything of it. "We never dreamed it would turn out like this? Who knew?"

Nice write up :cheers:


[Modified by 396 RAT, 7:30 PM 12/15/2001]

SWCDuke

I'm always skeptical about information on the web. The page shows what appear to be reference footnotes, but the key isn't there, so who knows where the information came from.

Penske's '66 Daytona/Sebring Sting Ray Coupe has been fairly well documented, including a contemporaneous article in Corvette News. The car was ordered with the intent of turning it into a racer (L-72, M-22, J-56, C-48) and Guldstrand picked it up at the plant and drove it back to Penske's Pennsylvania shop for preparation including a number of Chevrolet prototype parts including a cold air induction system built into the hood. The car was qualified with the production L-72 engine, then a "special engine prepared by Traco" was installed for the race. I believe this engine contained prototype L-88 parts and the Daytona and later Sebring races were shakedowns. Guldstrand drove Penske's Grand Sport roadster at Sebring, also with what I believe was a prototype L-88, but was forced off course by a backmarker and DNFed. The String Ray Coupe won the GT class, as it did at Daytona.

I'm skeptical about claims that a L-88 was installed at St. Louis during the '66 model year as I don't think all the parts associated with RPO L-88 were released at that point.

If indeed there was a real L-88 built in '66 that would be a rather historic car and I would think that its VIN and whereabouts or ulitmate fate would be known.

Duke

67HEAVEN

Could be, Duke, but have a look at another source (I know, it's an Internet source ;)
http://www.zlx.com/Corvette/l88.htm http://www.zlx.com/Corvette/l88b.htm

SWCDuke

This new internet source conflicts directly with the contemporaneous Corvette News article on Penske's car that I have in my library. Believe me it was delivered with a production L-72, not a L-88 and the L-88 was never rated at 425 HP!!!

The internet is a great resource, but it has an awful lot of junk history and junk everything else for that matter. Too bad these web page authors aren't as good at researching and documenting FACTS as they are at coding slick graphics.

To try to settle this matter the following quote from Vol. 9 No.4 Corvette News that has an article on the '66 Daytona race is offered:

"Well publisized driver Roger Penske entered a red #6 Vette as owner and pit manager soley. Sticking to his avowed driving retirement Roger left the piloting to Dick Guldstrand, Ben Moore and George Wintersteen. Both the driving and car management were professional in every degree. The car was highly refined (within FIA-SCCA limits), starting with extra-large side stovepipes. A unique hood configuration allowed exceptional engine breathing (roughly 20 horses added power) through an air intake at the base of the windshield. [This was installed at Penske's shop as part of the race prep, but you can bet that the parts came from Chevrolet.] Overall, weight was lightened a couple of hundred pounds or so over showroom condition."

"Practice for #6 went fine on Thursday using a stock engine. For Friday's qualification, however, a new Traco-prepared powerplant was installed and Dick Guldstand qualified the Corvette at a highly respectable 2:10 lap time."

Now, you have to draw an inference as to what this "Traco-prepared" engine was, but I think you can bet that it was more than a blueprinted L-72, and there were essentially no aftermarket parts for the BB at that time. It was no secret that Penske was part of the "back door" racing effort (and Traco was Penske's engine preparer) that Chevrolet was clandestinely involved in so as not to offend management on the Fourteenth Floor, who still officially supported the AMA ban on racing, which Ford was openly ignoring.

Now, you have to decide if an article from Corvette News prepared during and after the race is more credible than a web page written 35 years later.

There was another '66 that raced at Daytona that year carrying race number 67. The entrant was George Cornelius, and he was a co-driver along with with Dick Boo and Bob Brown. The Cornelius car was essentially a stock production L-72 with sidepipes and only had additional lighting and racing tires on aftermarket wheels. Number 67 finished the race fourth in the GT class and was still on its original brake pads - a very respectable showing for a private entry that was showroom stock car except for racing tires. They didn't even take off the bumpers. :)

Duke

67HEAVEN

Duke,

I bow to your knowledge in this area.

396 RAT.......do ya think Dick might have something to add here?

396 RAT

I will e-mail him with your questions,
(Send 'em to me via e-mail)
I know he raced a 66 with an L88,
But who installed it is beyond me.......
Bob R owner of these 2 cars also knows quite a bit about L88's http://www.67fso.com/ http://www.airl88.com/
I can ask him too.
I have always enjoyed reading about mid yr. L88's but owning one
is on the wish list right up there with the GT40 or a real FIA COBRA.
But its nice to dream...........:D
Jim Gessner could also help out I am sure.....
Are you reading this Jim?


[Modified by 396 RAT, 10:15 PM 12/15/2001]

67HEAVEN

396 RAT,

You have mail!

67HEAVEN

396 RAT,

Thanks for the copy of the eMail to Dick Guldstrand. His reponse should prove interesting.

SWCDuke

Remember, for a COPO to be built at the plant, all the parts had to be released and the plant had to have instructions on how to install them. That's how the COPO 427 Camaros were built in the late sixties. The 427 Camaro package wasn't really different from any RPO, but making them COPOs allowed Chevrolet to control who got them, and they wanted them in the right hands so to speak.

As far as the mythical '66 L-88 is concerned, the package was under development in '66, and since it was designed for racing, it had to be raced to prove its reliability. That's where the Chevrolet back door to Penske came in. The cold air package parts were provided to Penske, and the prototype L-88 engine parts were provided to Traco to build the race engine. It was easier to do it that way than try to install prototype parts at the engine and car assembly plants, which could possibly disrupt production if there were problems.

Daytona and Sebring proved the package, so if was finally released for the 1967 model year. I don't know when the first '67 L-88 was built, but the one I helped disassemble up in Seattle back in '67 (This is the "12-mile L-88" now owned or at least contolled by David Burroughs) wasn't delivered to Alan Green Chevrolet, and then to the original owner until the May time frame.

Duke

427 Mitch

The "66" L-88 is in New York undergoing a complete restoration back to racing specs. It should be ready for show this coming spring.

Mitch

67HEAVEN

Whoa, Mitch my friend!

Don't drop a bombshell like that without a few details :D
:seeya

67HEAVEN

Okay folks.......lots of behind the scenes stuff going on.

I'm gonna have to get Art Bell involved in this to flush out the truth :D


[Modified by 67HEAVEN, 5:16 PM 12/22/2001]

427 Mitch

I don't know many details about the car, as it is not mine. The car was recently bought by an enthuist who is restoring it. When I saw the car last
month, it was just starting to be disassembled. The owner was telling me it was raced under two colors, red and blue. I think he was going to put it back to blue. The original motor was gone but many of the original body parts were
still there. I was a little overwhelmed by everything going on around me so I
don't remember every thing he showed me.

Mitch

396 RAT

Well, From the info I have gathered there are 2 camps.
Yes, the Factory did install a Factory L88 in 66.
Or
TRACO did the mods to the motor per Chev engineering.

Maybe TRACO did the mods & GM installed the engine prior
to pick up? Just a guess.:D

I am out of my league here, jut passing on info.
No personal knowlege of my own to add. :blueangel:

427 Mitch

The motor was a Traco but I got the impression it was not original.
Mitch


[Modified by 427 Mitch, 12:08 PM 12/16/2001]

bsanford

Dont know much about the history but my 66 assembly manual does include a page for the L88.

bs

67HEAVEN

This just gets curiouser and curiouser!

67HEAVEN

You know a scan of that L88 page would sure be welcome in this thread!

SWCDuke

Come-on, guys! RPO means "regular production option". Once released in '67 anybody could order it.

It was never released in '66, and St. Louis didn't install Traco engines on the assembly line.

Unless someone has bonafide documentation that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that they have a "'66 L-88", it's just BS.

Since there weren't any tank stickers in '66 anyone whoever makes this claim will have to have some significant original documentation along with a proper engine code on the car. So what's the engine code for a "'66 L-88"? No reputable source lists one because it's never been proved to exist.

Legitimate historians have to be skeptical and verify facts from multiple sources that are deemed reliable. A web page or "some guys says..." are worthless, and people who make baseless claims do disservice to all of us.

There are already enough fake big blocks out there. Do we have to add a "'66 L-88" to the list? Whenever you hear stories like this you should be skeptical.

Most Corvettes that were raced were modified after they left the factory. The Penske car left as a L-72, but was modified for racing. That doesn't make it a "factory L-88", but it was essentially a Chevrolet engineering prototype L-88, which makes it a very significant and unique car, especially when you consider it's very successful racing history. Swapping the St. Louis installed engine with a built up engine, or installing a racing cam in a L-72 does not make it a L-88.

One of the biggest problem with the Corvette hobby is that enthusiasts are gullible and tend to believe what they wish was true - factory 409 '63s, steel bodied Corvettes, GM is hidding the pre-'81 build records.... I guess we can add "'66 L-88" to the list of baseless myths. Too bad more of us don't have the mindset of legitimate historians.

Duke

P.S. AIM documentation on an option does not mean it was released. The '63 AIM has P-48 section, but no one has ever documented the installation of KOs on a post pilot line production '63.