olredalert

Duke,

-----While the L-88 in question may have been briefly owned by someone in MN.I can assure you that it was owned by at least two people in WI.as well.I dont want to bring thier names up here on the forum but Im still good friends with one and good friends with the others son.The first time I saw the car was in my friends warehouse.All types of parts were missing,down to the throttle pedal,and including the original shifter.Im still a little fuzzy on where the original engine went,but to the best of my knowledge it came with the car out of Seattle,and left while the car was in Wisconsin.
------It goes without saying that the car was put back together by Dave perfectly,right down to the drivers door that is badly out of line just as it came out of St.Louis.Last time I saw it was at Bloomington Gold next to my booth and on a rotating stand in front of the main door.Always wondered where he came up with the original TI setup.Now I know.
------Speaking about 67 L-88s does anyone know a guy from Oklahoma City named Jim Whitmore?I just ran across an article in a 1976 issue of Motor Trend that I cut out years ago about a supposed 67 L-88 that he tracked down.The color is never mentioned(maybe green or maroon)and the article is in black and white so I cant get a feel for which of the twenty this car might be(if one at all).Would be interesting to track him down!.............Bill S

olredalert

Clem,

-----I have seen late 65,66,and 67 intakes with the plenum cut down by Winters to GM specs.I believe they all started out as"5069"(going by memory here)with some of the cast numbers milled off and other numbers stamped in thier place.They are not much good on the street and since there are now much better performing race manifolds,these are mostly conversation items!.................Biii S

clem zahrobsky

yes they were restamped and i have some in my collection along with the engines they came on. :chevy

olredalert

Duke,

------Its funny,the timing of these messages.Just as I finished up that last one my partner in my race car called and during our conversation reminded me that he actually went out to Seattle at the behest of the 2nd WI.owner and met with the original owner to secure all the paperwork as well as some sort of title as I believe the car had never been titled.He said that the orig.owner had some sort of idea to video-tape every run and in that vein had spent an exorbitant amount of money on state of the art(at the time)video equipment.My partner said that he got the idea that by the time the 1st.owner got done with all that he was broke.That was just his take on it,but I thought you might find it interesting!
------He also said that the engine was popped by Lincoln at the time and replaced with some sort of high horse 396.Im not sure if he is correct about that one,but he seemed to be posative!.............Bill S


[Modified by olredalert, 2:49 PM 3/25/2002]

427 Mitch

396 Rat,

I got this car by accident a few years ago. I had seen an ad in Hemming's for an upcoming auction that was featuring this car. I put a bid in as lark, never
thinking I would win. When they called me to tell me to send the money I almost fainted. I told them I couldn't afford it , but they were very unstanding as they threatend me with law suits.It took me 3 month to raise money.

Included in all the documention they sent me was a program from the 1992
Bloomington Special Collection. It was a celebration of 1967 corvettes which
had L-88's, L-89's and many other note worthy 67's. Also on display was an
original L-88 motor which had the VIN for the car I now owned. I tracked the owner down who said he sold it to a friend who built an L-88 clone around the motor. This person was very willing to sell me the motor but for a price. Finally
after 2 years, I gave in and paid his price plus he now wanted my block.

Anyway, I do drive the car to local shows but it scares the hell out of me. The car has bias plys and wanders all over the road.

The car is now being restored to "factory correct" at Kevin Mackey's shop in
Long Island. It was restored it in 1988, but there are a still some problems that have to be resolved.

As for pictures, I actually have never taken a pictures of this car. It was professionally photographed and was in March 2002 Corvette Fever.

Mitch

67HEAVEN

427 Mitch,

First, congratulations on owning an amazing piece of Corvette history. I am EXTREMELY envious.

Yours is a situation that I would (1) love to be in and (2) a dilemma that I would hate to face.

1. Obviously, most Corvette fanatics would near die for a real 1967 L-88. If they don't feel this way, they've never heard, ridden in or driven something like this.

2. Here's the tough part. Resale value and loyalty to originality means that the owner must rarely drive a car like this (in order to keep the odometer reasonable), never deviate from original (numbers-matching, yada...yada), and therefore severely restrict the pleasure of ownership (at least as far as driving is concerned). I remember what driving my car was like on bias-ply 7.75x15" tires in the late '60s....very scary.

My '67 will never approach the special status of your L-88, no matter what I do to it, but I won't be sweating any bullets when I drift into a sweeping right-hander at Mosport.....(and certainly not with bias-plies :lol: :lol: )....or rack up the miles back and forth to the cottage in the summer.

To wrap this up, let me say again, I am very, very envious. :cheers: Good for you!



[Modified by 67HEAVEN, 9:19 PM 3/25/2002]

SBR

Oleredalert, When 67 heaven posted the article a while back about Jim Whitmere's 67L88 survivor I could not believe what I was reading because he told me the story word for word six months ago when I was in the process of documenting my 69. I cannot remember the color of the car but he seemed very knowledgeable on L88s and told me the car was in an accident and its original motor missing. I do however believe that this was a real 67 L88.

SBR

67 Heaven, Vette Vues reprinted a great article on L88s and according to them King Hussien of Jordan ordered a white 67L88 roadster new and was totalled shortly after so I do not think that you will ever see all 20 REAL 67 L88s.

67HEAVEN

You mean this one?

...more if anyone wants it.

427 Mitch

67 Heaven,
Thank you.

I can't look at the car in my garage and NOT drive it either. That's why I will
probably sell the car after the restoration is done. It is WAY out of my league.

67HEAVEN

By the way, read the last three lines on the first page of the article, relating to the open plenum intake manifold.

SBR

67, I would love to read the rest of that article if it's not to much trouble. Thanks.

67HEAVEN

Your wish is my....

67HEAVEN

The reference, in this article, to 16 L-88s is a common mixup between the L-88 and L-89.

For new viewers here, they are completely different options.

The L-88 is pretty much as described in this article and unsuitable for street driving (unless you're slightly :crazy: like me). There were 20 of these.

The L-89 is simply an aluminum head option added to the L-71 435hp / 427.
In fact, the common usage of the option is "L-71/L-89". There were 16 of these.

63Corvette

Duke, trust me, the L88's did come from the factory with a MILLED out center divider in the intake. The dealer installed a fan shroud on mine because you couldn't drive it around the block without it overheating. I have told this story before, but the REAL reason the L88 was not very streetable is because of the valve springs! The L88 has double round wire springs, and one flat "damper" spring. The stock GM "umbrella" type seals won't fit over the valve stem, insite of that combination...........so the General just left them off! This means I personally got from a couple hundred, to maybe 800 miles per quart on the street! The car ran very strong with new plugs, but those plugs were wet and fouled within 20 minutes of installation on the street. Another problem which popped up with my car (69's had open chamer heads and pistons) was that the stellite exhaust valve seat (sweated in) dropped out. The piston ground it up, spit pieces back through the intake manifold into the opposite cylinder (other bank) and trashed that cylinder and head too. Thats how I got at least one new engine. Before the heads were installed, I took them to a machine shop and had them cut for PC teflon seals. THAT made it more or less streetable. OK, So WHY would anyone want to drive an L88 on the street.....simple, it was the only car I owned, and therefore daily transportation. For around 20 years the only cars I owned were 1) an L88 racecar, 2) a 63 Z06 for a street car, and 3) a 750 Kawasaki, which I raced WERA and AAMRR. My wife and 20 year old daughter will confirm that I haven't grown up a bit

396 RAT

427 Mitch,
Great story!
I put a bid in, in 1989 on a real 427 Cobra.
(Closed bid Gov. auction) All I could muster up. $95,000.00
Only missed it by $100,000.00
But it was a thrill! Both thinking I may get it!
And how I was going to pay for it if I did!
Good job! When it goes, you can retire!
And build a streetable clone just like it! (502, 5 spd. etc.)
:smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash:

olredalert

67HEAVEN,

-----Thats the article all right.Dont know how I could have missed it when you posted,but I did.Thanks,by the way,for all the great posts you have been putting up.The ones I havent seen are great,and its even terrific to see the ones I remember!!!!!!!...........Bill S

SWCDuke

I recalled off the top of my head that the car was sold to someone in Minnesota according to the Corvette News article, but my understanding of its history from the time Lincoln Auto Parts sold it until Burroughs assumed possession has always a bit fuzzy.

I'm not surprised about the video setup. The original owner, as an ME undergrad at the University of Washington, was very idealistic. I suspect that if he hadn't fallen on hard times, the project would have taken years to complete, if ever, because there would always have been something new on the horizon to do - some new gizmo to make it the "ultimate drag racing car".

To the best of my knowledge, the original owner had a title to the car issued by the State of Washington, and he paid cash, but the car was NEVER registered and issued a license plate for street use while it was in Washington. It was flat bedded out to his two or three bay garage complex in the Greek district near the campus. One night we pushed the car out in the alley to change bays and a bunch of girls from the sorority house on the other side of the alley came out to see what was going on including my ex-girlfriend from the ninth grade. Somehow in the commotion we managed to bump the car up against a tree and it inflicted some minor damage on the edge of the tail above the tail lights, left side to my recollection - maybe just a bad gouge in the paint rather than a crack in the fiberglass - I can't remember, but if anyone sees the car, look to see if any paint has been feathered in above the left tail lights.

I believe the original owner fired up the engine once or twice and drove it around the block once, but that was it. Then he began the disassembly, and I never did hear it run.

Back in '88 I meet a '67 L-88 owner in Southern California through a mutual aquaintence. He talked to Burrows once in a while and asked if he could pass on the fact that I had the TI. I said fine and Burroughs contacted me. That's how the original TI found its way back home.

I just hope the car ends up at the Corvette Museum some day. That's where it really belongs, not as some trinket to be traded ever few years among speculators. Maybe someday a REALLY wealthy enthusiast with a big capital gains tax liability will buy it and donate it to the museum for the tax deduction.

Duke




[Modified by SWCDuke, 9:55 PM 3/25/2002]

joe58

Here is the 1976 Corvette news article on the 11 mile L88. Don't think you will see many L88s on a fork lift.
http://images.ofoto.com/photos217/3/...7303_0_ALB.jpg
http://images.ofoto.com/photos217/3/...7303_0_ALB.jpg

I tried to blow up just the text to make easier to read but ofoto changes the size when it uploads
http://images.ofoto.com/photos217/3/...7303_0_ALB.jpg
http://images.ofoto.com/photos217/3/...7303_0_ALB.jpg

There is a nice article in Vette Jan 2002 on a white 67 L88. It is another ex drag car and has 5000 miles on odometer

396 RAT

they must be good, there "Forbidden"