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I thought I would create this post for any owners that want to list their 1966 L72 cars here.
I will start with a format as to how to list them, here is my car.
V.I.N. 194676S115365 this is optional as some don’t like to show their V.I.N.
Nassua blue with bright blue interior convertible A O Smith built body so no SE available from the factory.
OPTIONS: L72, TI (required option) leather seats, teak, tele, power steering, power brakes, radio, repo KOs—-ps, pb, teak added by me.
Car came to me with an installed 1969 427 AND the ORIGINAL block as well.
NCRS shipping date report shows the car with production date of 3/1/1966 delivered to VV Cooke in Louisville , KY.
It was restored about 15 years ago but seldom driven.
Still working on it and as of this date and putting 3.73 gears and original solid lifter cam in as well as several other things.
No real documentation other than the original block proving it as an original L72 car from the factory.
My parents grew up in a small town in North Central Montana. My Dad was into cars, '55 Chevy, then a '62 Impala....... Then one day a Nassau Blue '66 L72 Corvette showed up on the local Chevrolet Dealers lot. Story was that the son of the owner of the dealership ordered the car, and just wanted a car to drive fast....... No PS, PB, PW, Radio, but he did check the boxes for Leather, Teak Wheel and Side Exhaust...... when the car showed up, the dad asked who ordered it, and the son said he did..... The dad asked if he could pay for it, and the answer was apparently no..... so, the car went on the lot...... Dad decided he should have it, so he went down with the '62 Impala and worked out a deal......
I came along shortly after the car, and it has been in my life ever since...... The car was our Mom's grocery getter when we were kids..... she was less than 5' tall, and she would sit on one pillow, with two behind her, so she could push in the clutch...... It was the daily driver, and I still remember being in elementary school, and being able to hear her pulling into the school parking lot at pick up before the bell rang...... Dad liked to drive the car, and he drove it..... drove it like he stole it..... freeway on ramps were always fun, and even before I could see over the dash, I knew that when we were getting on the freeway, hold onto the door handle...... after going through Downtown Bellevue, on Southbound I-405 there is an off ramp that gets you onto Eastbound I-90.... there is a tunnel where the curved ramp takes you from one freeway to the other, and Dad used to just blast through that tunnel..... the sound of the 427 through the side exhaust, ricocheting off the tile walls of the tunnel have been etched in my brain ever since......
My brother and I got bigger, and at some point my Mom decided she needed a grocery getter that could get groceries AND haul kids around..... she got a Corvair and the Corvette got parked in the garage..... life got busy and it did not get driven as much...... then in the early '80's Dad decided he wanted to have it painted, same color, and had the motor rebuilt..... it has always been the same car, no modifications, other than the Ansen Top Eliminator wheels that he put on it shortly after buying it, and installing a radio.....
Later on, Dad was busy with projects around the house, we were adult kids, and the car was in his garage, jacked up so he could someday take out the transmission for new syncro's, and he wanted to have the radiator re-cored...... other projects came in line ahead of the car, and it stayed there for a couple of years...... then, in June of 2004, Dad had a stroke..... he was home alone, working in the yard when it happened...... he eventually got himself into the house to call 911, and then he called our house..... we ran up to his house as the ambulance was taking him to the hospital.... at the hospital, they kept asking how much time went by since the stroke first happened..... none of us had an answer to that..... two days went by, and things seemed to be improving.... then all of a sudden it was not, and things started going in the wrong direction...... I stayed in his room, watching numbers on monitors for two more days, hoping they would get better.... they never did, and the day after my Birthday, his story ended......
In the time that followed, we worked through Dad's stuff, and the car sat on jack stands..... then my brother and I decided that we should do the things to the car that Dad wanted to....... first order of business was to get it de-jacked, and get it running..... we got it on the ground, and then spent the rest of the day getting it started..... new battery was needed...... gas was old, and after some work, we got it started....... it ran rough, but then started to clean up....... I told my brother, let's go, we are going for a drive..... he mentioned that the tabs were expired, and wondered if we should drive it on the street..... I said get in, we are going....... as we drove through Dad's neighborhood, 1st gear, RPM's up, all the memories of riding in the car came flowing through...... then we got to the end of the street and I turned on the right blinker...... the sound of that blinker...... just struck me..... I have never been in another car that had a blinker that sounded like that...... I just sat there, listening to it, the light on the dash goin on and off....on and off...... on and off...... I had heard that sound my entire life...... and nothing sounds just like that.......
We did the work that Dad wanted to do..... and we drive the car....... each drive is a trip down memory lane..... and each time I wrap my fingers around that thin teak steering wheel, I think about my Dad, and my Mom..... and how they did the exact same thing....... same places on the wheel...... and it gives a feeling that cannot be described....... a feeling of connection...... but even more than that....... a feeling that I hope they still feel...... through me.........
My 1966 L72. Nassau Blue with Bright Blue per trim tag. No supporting documents, but was stored for almost 40 years with every indicator that it was an original 425 HP including LB on dash cluster, F41 suspension, fuel line, gas pedal linkage, gauges, sway bars, etc. Currently has non original bbc with a black interior, PW, PS, telescopic column, teak wheel, leather seats, hazard lights, day/night mirror, side pipes, power brakes, and a Tremec 5sp. I have original numbers matching transmission along with original 3:70 gears. Love the overdrive!
Mine was originally Nassau Blue with a black vinyl interior. I bought it in the 80s with records of a cosmetic restoration in the late 70s and records on two engine builds. I’ve also talked to the owner who bought it in the mid 70s and owned it for about 10 years. It had the correct gage package and all the L72 or BB gas line, diff yokes, accelerator lever, sway bars, etc but had lost its original drive train and had a built 427 motor with HD and L88 parts. The chassis had a few old mods, an extra leaf added to the rear spring and some real tall front coils out of something. The front clip was replaced at some time. When I took it all apart in the late 80s, I didn’t find anything suspicious as to its BB L72 origins and I don’t think many people were trying to fake BB cars in the late 60s and early 70s to the point of substituting fuel lines, accelerator rods, instrument gage clusters, sway bars, etc. But no actual docs to support prior to 1975. I didn’t like the Nassau Blue lacquer repaints I was seeing in the 80s and always admired a Sunfire coupe I had seen so when I restored the car I changed it to yellow and installed leather covers. Basically it’s a throw back to the 80s before all the interest in maintaining originality had fully taken hold.
Mine is Nassau blue with bright blue leather interior. I changed the wheels to 17” radials for a better look and handling. Here are the options and numbers. I paid $93k summer of 2021.
I used to own this Silver Pearl '66 L-72. I found D. Randy Riggs' (original owner) '66 L-72 back in 2007 and forwarded him the information of the auction it was going through. He had written in VETTE Magazine one time that he would like to see it again and so he sent me a picture of the reunion.
Here's my old girl. No stranger to CF.......original Laguna Blue paint with some neat paper and unique options. Real knock off / goldline car. Tried to buy it 10 years ago when it went to auction and then I purchased this last year from a forum member. .
Bought this L72 Roadster about a year ago. VIN#25227. St Louis built, Nassau Blue over Bright Blue Vinyl.
Shipping Report showed a Production Date of 6/28/66 and it was sold at Laird-Johnson Incorporated in Rutherford, New Jersey and spent all but the last 6 years in New Jersey before the PO, who owned it since the 80's, moved to The Villages in Florida and now resides here in Northern Arizona.
Factory Options: L72 427 (now MIA, replaced with a mild 396), Close Ratio M21 (again, MIA, replaced with a Wide Ratio M20), TI (also MIA), Power Brakes, Power Windows, Radio and Aux Hardtop.
Owner Added Options: Side Exhaust, Power Steering, Teak Wheel, KO's and Hazard Flasher.
PO did a body-off back in the early 90's and it's the cleanest car I've ever bought but...since Vettes sit for long periods, it's needed the usual attention here and there.
No Documentation but has the LB Dash Cluster, correct frame fuel pipe, FA Code 3:70's, Rear Sway Bar, U-Joint Caps,
etc.
Current 396 runs fine but not overly exciting so I asked around and a friend happened to have a June 66 #942 4-bolt 427 block and a pair of '67 vintage L-88 Heads sitting in his garage and I've already run them through the machine shop and
also ordered a Comp Cams equivalent Solid Lifter Cam (nitrided and rear journal groove added) and when I finish up a couple of other projects that 427 will be next up.
Mike T - Prescott AZ
Ok. Had I been able to order any car at the age of 14 it would have been my '66 L72. I love personalizing all my "stuff". No interest in the judging gig. But don't judge folks into judging. No PS, PB, PWs. F41, 3.70, with a wonderful TKO with .64 OD. The engine's sorta an L88 Tribute. 942 4-bolt, Callies crank and rods, ICON forged pistons with CR reduced to 10.5 for current fuel. Comp roller cam designed to idle like the original L72 solids. RaceRite aluminum heads with stock intake and original 3247 Holley. Engine about 90 lbs lighter than stock L72. 560hp at 6500 on the dyno. HighFlo 2.5" stainless pipes. A 14 YO's wet dream now a 69 YO's thriller. Proud L72 owner!
Last edited by Lotsacubes; 06-23-2022 at 08:40 PM.
My parents grew up in a small town in North Central Montana. My Dad was into cars, '55 Chevy, then a '62 Impala....... Then one day a Nassau Blue '66 L72 Corvette showed up on the local Chevrolet Dealers lot. Story was that the son of the owner of the dealership ordered the car, and just wanted a car to drive fast....... No PS, PB, PW, Radio, but he did check the boxes for Leather, Teak Wheel and Side Exhaust...... when the car showed up, the dad asked who ordered it, and the son said he did..... The dad asked if he could pay for it, and the answer was apparently no..... so, the car went on the lot...... Dad decided he should have it, so he went down with the '62 Impala and worked out a deal......
I came along shortly after the car, and it has been in my life ever since...... The car was our Mom's grocery getter when we were kids..... she was less than 5' tall, and she would sit on one pillow, with two behind her, so she could push in the clutch...... It was the daily driver, and I still remember being in elementary school, and being able to hear her pulling into the school parking lot at pick up before the bell rang...... Dad liked to drive the car, and he drove it..... drove it like he stole it..... freeway on ramps were always fun, and even before I could see over the dash, I knew that when we were getting on the freeway, hold onto the door handle...... after going through Downtown Bellevue, on Southbound I-405 there is an off ramp that gets you onto Eastbound I-90.... there is a tunnel where the curved ramp takes you from one freeway to the other, and Dad used to just blast through that tunnel..... the sound of the 427 through the side exhaust, ricocheting off the tile walls of the tunnel have been etched in my brain ever since......
My brother and I got bigger, and at some point my Mom decided she needed a grocery getter that could get groceries AND haul kids around..... she got a Corvair and the Corvette got parked in the garage..... life got busy and it did not get driven as much...... then in the early '80's Dad decided he wanted to have it painted, same color, and had the motor rebuilt..... it has always been the same car, no modifications, other than the Ansen Top Eliminator wheels that he put on it shortly after buying it, and installing a radio.....
Later on, Dad was busy with projects around the house, we were adult kids, and the car was in his garage, jacked up so he could someday take out the transmission for new syncro's, and he wanted to have the radiator re-cored...... other projects came in line ahead of the car, and it stayed there for a couple of years...... then, in June of 2004, Dad had a stroke..... he was home alone, working in the yard when it happened...... he eventually got himself into the house to call 911, and then he called our house..... we ran up to his house as the ambulance was taking him to the hospital.... at the hospital, they kept asking how much time went by since the stroke first happened..... none of us had an answer to that..... two days went by, and things seemed to be improving.... then all of a sudden it was not, and things started going in the wrong direction...... I stayed in his room, watching numbers on monitors for two more days, hoping they would get better.... they never did, and the day after my Birthday, his story ended......
In the time that followed, we worked through Dad's stuff, and the car sat on jack stands..... then my brother and I decided that we should do the things to the car that Dad wanted to....... first order of business was to get it de-jacked, and get it running..... we got it on the ground, and then spent the rest of the day getting it started..... new battery was needed...... gas was old, and after some work, we got it started....... it ran rough, but then started to clean up....... I told my brother, let's go, we are going for a drive..... he mentioned that the tabs were expired, and wondered if we should drive it on the street..... I said get in, we are going....... as we drove through Dad's neighborhood, 1st gear, RPM's up, all the memories of riding in the car came flowing through...... then we got to the end of the street and I turned on the right blinker...... the sound of that blinker...... just struck me..... I have never been in another car that had a blinker that sounded like that...... I just sat there, listening to it, the light on the dash goin on and off....on and off...... on and off...... I had heard that sound my entire life...... and nothing sounds just like that.......
We did the work that Dad wanted to do..... and we drive the car....... each drive is a trip down memory lane..... and each time I wrap my fingers around that thin teak steering wheel, I think about my Dad, and my Mom..... and how they did the exact same thing....... same places on the wheel...... and it gives a feeling that cannot be described....... a feeling of connection...... but even more than that....... a feeling that I hope they still feel...... through me.........
Last edited by Dad's '66 427; 06-07-2022 at 06:18 PM.
Scott - Loved reading your story. It's always hard to lose a parent and there are so many 'reminders' that bring their memory back to us which is a very good thing.
And it's amazing that your family kept the car all the way from new.
You mentioned it wasn't originally ordered with a lot of options but curious about the rear gear ratio.
Mike T - Prescott AZ
Scott - Loved reading your story. It's always hard to lose a parent and there are so many 'reminders' that bring their memory back to us which is a very good thing.
And it's amazing that your family kept the car all the way from new.
You mentioned it wasn't originally ordered with a lot of options but curious about the rear gear ratio.
Mike T - Prescott AZ
4.11's......
I added a photo of the window sticker, and one from us driving into an event last year......
Small world, my neighbor has a Nassau Blue over Bright Blue
L72 Coupe and it was originally sold in Poplar Montana.
I guess it shouldn't be a surprise to see so many of these L72's were ordered in Nassau Blue...it was the most popular color in 1966, I believe.
Mike T - Prescott AZ
PS, sidepipes, teak, and knockoffs added. Painted over the brownwalls and flipped. Saving for Diamonbacks. Very little in way of documentation but All indicators point to original Nassau Blue two-tone L72 car. Sold new at Hauser Chevrolet in Bethlehem, PA.
98k miles. It gets driven.
Okay guys, another Nassau Blue! Like so many of them, the original block is long gone, so since it's not matching I removed the muncie and tucked it away and installed a Tremec TKO-600 for better drivability at speed. I know, I know, the hideous zip ties in the engine pic. They are no longer there
06-03-2022, 03:36 PM
1966 L72 count
