stikman33

Hey guys, i am a muscle car guy and i own a 1970 Chevelle. I have been seeing this girl for a while and have also been getting to know her parents, i went and met them this last weekend. Well her dad and i hit it off great and come to find out in the garage he has an L89 motor from his 69 corvette that is at the paint shop being finished. Well he has had it for quite a while and he has to many toys, he is a pretty practical guy. He wants to keep his harley. So i am looking for information for this car in regards to selling it. This is not a for sale ad, i just need information. It is all numbers matching 1969 L89 corvette with the 4spd. It came originally with the side pipes he said but currently has straight exhaust. Interior is very good and motor has a couple hundred miles on rebuild at most, just enough to break it in.

I know muscle cars but corvettes specifically i am not to versed on. I appreciate any help with regards to value or things i should look for in regards to authenticity.... Did vettes have build sheets, if so where are they located, i understand the value of documentation especially in respect to rare cars.

Daniel

Drew M

I cant do much help but I'll bump you to the top. Is the car recieving a frame off? It seems that way. Look on top of the gas tank for the build sheet (im pretty sure, somebody confirm for me.) Also if not a full resto, what is the condition of the frame? As you probably know, a Corvette body itself will not rust, but the frame will rust right out from under you. Putting the side pipes back on can also be a help with the sale. I know I love side pipes on any c3, stock or not.

Whats the Chevelle got in it?

PRNDL

First thing you should try to figure out is if it is a real L-89 car. There were 2,722 L-71 corvettes in 1969. That is the 435 hp tripower engine. L-89 was the aluminum head option for this engine. Only 390 in 1969, so it is a much more rare option, and therefore more valuable especially if it can be documented. Typical place for the buildsheet aka "tank sticker" is glued to the top of the gas tank, but duplicate copies have also been found under the dash and even in the frame? Others can comment on exact locations where they have found buildsheets. It would help a lot if you could find one! :) MJ

sammyb

The dreaded "tank sticker" is -usually- on the top driver's side portion of the gas tank. If it is still there, it will be very tough to see, harder to remove (drop the tank and remove carefully) and even worse to read. (People have used "Nightvision" on their camcorders to see through the muck on the paper.)

L89s were basically 427cubic inch 435hp tripower option Corvettes. Could be had on coupes or convertibles with M21 or M22 4 speeds (I think also M20 wide-ratio 4-speed, but I'm not aware of any out there.) Also possible was the M40 Turbo 400 automatic. Unlike L88 optioned cars, one could get a heater and a radio. Air Conditioning was not available with L89 cars.

L89 cars are very rare and very desirable. As others have commented, the key to L89 valuations are in the -proof-...and that means tank sticker, dealer sticker and any other documentation. There's nothing stopping a guy like me from adding L89 heads to the regular 427/435hp tripower engine and calling my car a L89. Many heads existed in NOS inventory with appropriate numbers.


As with the case with most sports cars, convertibles are worth more than coupes.

Tragically, the L89 doesn't quite have the value of an ultra-rare '67 L89 Vette (if memory serves - 14 made,). For 3rd generation Vettes, the ZL1s are at the top, and documented L88s next (L88s w/out history and not restored and with minimal documentation can go as low as $30K, but add the docs, and quality and a convertible can reach over $100K.) Then come the L89s. You can get a 1969 L89 for as cheap as $20K, but a well restored, well documented numbers matching car would not surprise many if it sold for up to $75,000 in the next year or so. I'd place my expectation of a well-restored (and that means local or regional show-winning quality) L89 around $50K. If it is a show-and-shine quality, more like $40K.

Some will say I'm too low, but right now, unless you're buying C3s at Barrett-Jackson, the prices are still a little soft. (But if his car is very nice and has documentation to back it up, he SHOULD TAKE IT to Barrett-Jackson in January to sell it!)

Sam


[Modified by sammyb, 11:38 PM 10/20/2003]

stikman33

I appreciate your guys help. I saw the engine and trans and it is the manual and it for sure has aluminum heads with the tri power setup, i will check about build sheets this weekend. Any more information is sincerely appreciated. It is ironic, i found the build for my 70 chevelle under the gas tank.

BTW, i have a .060 over 427 in my chevelle, non original motor obviously. Performer RPM intake, 215 casting large oval port heads with large valves and head work, Ultradyne solid 272/282 cam, i build the motor myself. will take it to the track in a week or two after some more miles on it, previous best in the car was a 13.9@99.8 mph with my 327. The torque of the BBC will help out a lot. The 327 made plenty of power, but much more suited for the 67 camaro with a 4spd that it is in now as opposed to my th400 land barge with 3.55 gears.

Daniel

Rowdy Rat

Daniel,

As others have already mentioned, your best bet for finding a copy of the build order is going to be the top of the fuel tank... Mainly because it was glued there and was not easily removed by the line workers during assembly like most of the other copies were. That particular location also helped to protect it from the elements once the car was put into service. The best (in my opinion, the only way to access the build order in this location is to drop the fuel tank... Not doing so risks damage to a potentially valuable piece of paper.

Build order copies have been found in other locations as well (if I recall correctly, there were about 17 copies created, many of which were placed in the car as it moved down the line). For 1969, I have seen build orders under the carpet in the rear storage area as well as the front frame rail... The former is usually in excellent condition when found, the latter, not so good. :)

Ownership history also goes a long way to documenting the originality of a car. It might be worthwhile to do a title or registration search and see what you turn up.

As MJ stated, the L-89 option was simply an aluminum head option for the L-71 engine. As such, it was not a stand alone option... You had to order both the L-71 and L-89 (in much the same way that the L-68 had to be ordered with the L-36 and the ZL-1 in conjunction with the L-88). Chevrolet records indicate 390 L-89 optioned cars were produced for sale in 1969... Until better records are located, that's as good as any number to use.

Because the car was basically an L-71, all of the required options and restrictions applied to L-89 equipped cars as well. Transmission options for 1969 included either the M-21 close ratio manual transmission or a special "CY" coded M-40 automatic transmission (in the prior to years of L-89 availability, only the M-21 was offered). A positraction rear axle (G-81) and transistorized ignition (K-66) were also mandatory options... Air conditioning (C-60) was not available.

As far as value... Convertibles are worth much more than coupes... Side exhaust is a big plus too. Believe it or not, color also has a major impact on value at the price level that these cars sell for... Black or red are the preferred colors to the majority of collectors. Figure a first rate coupe that fits the above criteria to fall in the $50,000-$55,000 range... Add another $20,000 to those figures for a convertible.

Sounds like an interesting car! I'd love to hear more about the details... Perhaps some post some digital photos if you get the chance.

Good luck with your research Daniel!

Regards,