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’67 L88 Convertible

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1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | June 23-28, 2020

Photo – Mecum

The legendary L88 Corvette was available from 1967 through 1969. That spanned two different generations of the Corvette, which means that 1967 was the only year you could have Chevy’s monstrous V8 in a C2 Corvette. Only 20 were sold that year, and I have no idea about the breakdown between coupes and convertibles.

The high-compression, 7.0-liter V8 was rated at 430 horsepower, even though the actual output was probably over 550. Unfortunately, the car was very expensive and required 103-octane fuel, which wasn’t all that easy to come by at your local service station in 1967. Of the 20 built for the model year, quite a few went direct to racing teams. After all, the car was essentially a race car that happened to be street legal. This one was raced, including at the:

  • 1970 24 Hours of Daytona – 11th, 2nd in class (with Cliff Gottlob and Dave Dooley)

The car competed for eight years, apparently winning 150 races. It was purchased by Dana Mecum in 2013, and he’s now letting it go, assuming it hits what is sure to be a stratospheric reserve (c’mon Mecum, have a little faith in your own event and go no reserve!). Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $3,200,000.

C3 L88s

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1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 10, 2020

Photo – Mecum

L88-powered third-generation Corvettes are among the most collectible of the era. The C3 Corvette was produced for an eternity: 1968 through 1982. But all of the good ones were in the first four or five years of production. The L88 engine was only available for three years: 1967 through 1969.

The 7.0-liter V8 was rated at 430 horsepower, though it is thought to have actually produced more than 550. It was based on Chevy’s NASCAR engine, and it was a hardcore beast. Only 80 cars were equipped with this engine in 1968, the first of two model years it could be had in a C3. This drop-top version should bring between $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $350,000.

1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 11-19, 2020

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Here is the closed coupe version of Chevrolet’s monster 427 L88 Corvette. This example comes from the final year of L88 production, a year in which 116 examples were produced. Why so few? Well, part of the reason is that these engines have extremely high compression ratios that necessitate 103 octane fuel. Good luck finding that.

This wonderful 7.0-liter V8 also added as much as 35% to the purchase price of a new Corvette back in the day, which didn’t help. That’s a lot of money for a “430 horsepower” car. While the ’67s are the most expensive, the ’69s are still desirable. This will be another big-money car in Scottsdale. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $330,000.

’68 L88 Convertible

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1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 10, 2020

Photo – Mecum

L88-powered third-generation Corvettes are among the most collectible of the era. The C3 Corvette was produced for an eternity: 1968 through 1982. But all of the good ones were in the first four or five years of production. The L88 engine was only available for three years: 1967 through 1969.

The 7.0-liter V8 was rated at 430 horsepower, though it is thought to have actually produced more than 550. It was based on Chevy’s NASCAR engine, and it was a hardcore beast. Only 80 cars were equipped with this engine in 1968, the first of two model years it could be had in a C3. This drop-top version should bring between $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $350,000.

’69 L88 Coupe

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1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 11-19, 2020

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Here is the closed coupe version of Chevrolet’s monster 427 L88 Corvette. This example comes from the final year of L88 production, a year in which 116 examples were produced. Why so few? Well, part of the reason is that these engines have extremely high compression ratios that necessitate 103 octane fuel. Good luck finding that.

This wonderful 7.0-liter V8 also added as much as 35% to the purchase price of a new Corvette back in the day, which didn’t help. That’s a lot of money for a “430 horsepower” car. While the ’67s are the most expensive, the ’69s are still desirable. This will be another big-money car in Scottsdale. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $330,000.

L88 Corvette

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1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe

The L88 Corvette is one of the most sought after Corvettes. It was only offered for three years (1967-1969) and 1967 was the only year for the second-generation bodystyle to receive this monstrous engine.

The L88 was a 427 cubic inch (7.0-liter) V-8 that was all aluminium. You could get other 427 Corvettes, but this package had lightweight everything and a really high compression ratio which required 103 octane (!) fuel. Chevrolet tacked on some additional required goodies like Positraction, heavy-duty suspension and brakes, and they graciously deleted the radio and air conditioner (so people would be less tempted to drive it on the road – it was supposed to be a street-legal race car).

All of these extras (or deletions) tacked on about an extra 35% to the purchase price. Which might explain why only 20 were sold in 1967. That makes this one of 20 C2 Corvettes with this outrageous engine and option package. Horsepower was rated at 430 but dyno’d at 560. 1968 and 1969 L88 models trade for about $500,000. 1967 models are significantly more expensive and this one should bring around $1 million. Click here for more info and here for more from Barrett-Jackson in Arizona.

Update: Sold $3,850,000.

Mecum Spring Classic 2012 Highlights

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Dana Mecum’s 25th Original Spring Classic Auction held May 15-20, 2012, sold a ton of cars. I mean, it has seriously taken me two days to go through the results and my mind has melted from staring at the computer screen. The top sale was this gorgeous 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible, one of 18, that sold for $600,000.

Muscle cars were the stars of the show. Numerous Hemi Mopars and big-block Chevys went across the block and brought big numbers. One of my favorite Hemi cars to sell was a 1966 Dodge Charger – my favorite Charger bodystyle. It sold for $190,000 – and it’s all original and unrestored.

Another wonderfully rare muscle car brought the second-highest price paid for a car at this sale. It’s a 1969 Yenko Nova and it’s one awesome looking car. It sold for an eye-popping $475,000.

Our featured car, the Baldwin Motion Manta Ray GT failed to sell. Interesting sales of note included this 1978 Jeep J10 Honcho 4×4 that looks great and would’ve only cost you $7,000.

Carroll Shelby’s recent passing put a spotlight on all Shelby-badged vehicles. One of the more obscure models with the Shelby name on it is this 1989 Dodge Shelby Dakota. It’s one of 1,500 built and sold for $9,500.

And finally, there was the 1964 Voisin Biscuter microcar – and it’s about as cheap as you can go on the Voisin scale. It sold for $13,000 – less than half of what it was priced at a month ago at Hyman Ltd.

There are countless – literally – other cars that sold at this sale. Check out the complete results at Mecum’s website.

Mecum Kissimmee Highlights

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Mecum Auctions held their first event of 2012 not in Arizona, but in Kissimmee, Florida – where the weather is also nice. There were a bunch of rare muscle cars crossing the block including the top sale, a 1963 Shelby Cobra Dragon Snake.

This was the 93rd Cobra built and one of only eight Dragon Snakes modified for drag racing by Shelby. Because this car won so many drag races in its day, it is the winningest competition Cobra in history. It cost $8,990 new (a lot) and sold for $850,000 at auction (also a lot).

There were also two ultra-rare 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88s – a convertible and a coupe.

These are the must-have ’69 Corvettes and you could have bought the pair. The convertible sold for $610,000 and the coupe was a comparative bargain at $270,000.

But it wasn’t all muscle cars. Of the top ten sales of the auction there were two gorgeous Packards. The first was a 1941 180 Darrin Victoria Convertible – one of 35 built. It has the Super Eight 180 engine and a good looking red and tan color combo. It sold for $220,000.

The other Packard is a very mean and sporty looking 1930 Eight Model 745 Waterhouse Victoria. If I could’ve taken one car from this sale home, this would be it:

Big pre-war Packards never really had much of a sporting air about them. But this one kind of does. Maybe it’s the slightly cambered front wheels or their hot rod look, but this car says “I want to go fast.” This is one of three known to exist. $225,000.

For complete results, visit Mecum’s website.

Russo & Steele Scottsdale Highlights

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This is our final Scottsdale auction recap. It’s been weeks since it happened but we finally caught up. Russo & Steele sold a wide variety of cars from the affordable (the lowest seller was a 1978 Triumph Spitfire 1500 Convertible that sold for $4,675) to the super expensive – the top sale was this 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Roadster that sold for $687,500. It was one of only 216 built during three years of production.

The second top seller was a 1965 Shelby GT350 that was once used as a race car at the Carroll Shelby School of High Performance Driving. It has a fresh restoration and looks amazing. I could easily imagine myself tearing around a racetrack in this car. But for $467,500, it’s a little out of my range.

Our two featured cars from this auction, a 1973 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible and a Ketchup & Mustard-liveried ’96 RT/10 Viper both sold. The Cougar brought $17,600 and the Viper $39,050.

Other highlights included a pair of rare Mopar’s: this 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona:

sold for $118,800. And a blue 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda sold for $115,500. And finally, probably the rarest car in this sale was this 1984 Knudsen Baroque Cabriolet – 1 of 2 such cars built. Knudsen built 11 total Baroques in Nebraska in the late 70s and early 80s in a variety of bodystyles. When new, these cars cost between $80,000 and $225,000. According to the consignor, this car cost $86,000 in 1984. It sold for only $12,100.

For complete results, click here.