Vehicle Description
The all-new Sting Ray (now two words in the early years) hit the
market in 1968 and totally transformed America's sports car for
decades to come. You can still see echoes of this 1968 Corvette in
today's design, but this 1968 Corvette L89 Wide Body is in a league
of its own that's not easy to mimic. With an ultra-rare Wide-Body
set-up that hints at a road-racing pedigree, this 427 L71 L89
Corvette has only 52,075 believe actual miles, and may be the most
desirable Corvette on the market today.
The important stuff is all here: an ultra-rare drivetrain, great
colors on the killer Wide Body, and an NCRS-verified pedigree.
Silverstone Silver was the second most popular color in 1968, and
the way this finish looks over the beefy 427 hood, the beefy
aggressive wide stance, and the pronounced ducktail spoiler is
something to truly behold. With miles that low and a pedigree so
special, this 'Vette obviously spent a good chunk of its life in
storage, but it still looks great today. There are a few very minor
swirls and light scratches in the finish, but with a professional
buff-and-polish, it could easily be knocking on the "show-quality"
door again. For now, we'll categorize it as very high-driver
quality presentation, that way the experts that come crawling out
of the woodwork will know what to expect. The bodywork doesn't need
any attention, and that's what's great about fiberglass: it doesn't
rust. So, the slick paint does most of the talking, and over the
straight panels and tight gaps, the high-gloss finish simply glows
in the sunlight. Chrome trim was part of the C3 package and the
shiny bits like the bumpers, 427 badges and Corvette emblems are
all in wonderful shape, and the factory side pipe exhaust is a
perfect complement to the Wide Body set-up on this beauty. Bottom
line, this is the ultimate chrome bumper Corvette.
The interior is just as dialed-in as well, starting with the
beautiful, factory-optioned leather bucket seats that are every bit
as comfortable as they look. And yes, those GM shoulder harness
seatbelts are further proof of this Corvette's racing past. Crisp
door panels and plush carpets give it that highly-polished showroom
look and the woodgrained steering wheel adds just a touch of warmth
to the otherwise all black driver's compartment. Desirable options
include power windows and the original radio that's remarkably
still in place, and it's also worth noting that the fiber-optic
headlight monitors are fully functional. Clear gauges show crisp
markings and bright needles, both ahead of the driver and in the
center stack, and the middle console and dash pad show only slight
wear, likely from someone holding on for dear life while the
monster under the hood ate up the race track. T-tops give even the
coupes an enjoyable open-air experience and with tight
weather-stripping throughout, the car seals up well and doesn't
rattle like many 'Vettes do.
We believe this to be the car's original L71 L89 427 cubic inch V8
with the very rare L89 aluminum head factory option, and it's
curious how Chevrolet offered a handful of different 427s,
including the ultra-rare Tri-Power induction big block in this one.
It's race ready (the story is that a total of 600 of these cars
were built to compete in a road race) yet still street-friendly
with great throttle response and bottomless reserves of torque,
which is why you buy a 427 in the first place. The engine bay is
perfectly dressed with a correct triangular air cleaner and chrome
valve covers over a Chevy Orange engine block. It's believed to
only have 52,075 miles on the clock, so it runs superbly,
particularly with those tuned carbs and responsive distributor. The
Muncie 4-speed manual gearbox is also believed to be its original,
numbers-matching piece, and as long as you're looking around under
there, please note that the side-pipe exhaust system is in great
shape, and that the sparkling undercarriage is almost clean enough
to eat off of. The tank sticker/factory buildsheet has been
NCRS-verified and backs up the claims (although the 600 road-race
Wide Body cars do not carry a lot of documentation), and this
amazing specimen rolls on correct Rally wheels with Cooper Cobra
G/T radials all around.
Documented with a factory buildsheet this is an insanely rare
Corvette that would easily be the coup-de-gras of any collection.
Call today!
