Still have my 1969 L-71 3x2 Holley 427/435. Bought it in 1970 and the car has been simply awesome to own and drive. IMHO these are still the most "fun" cars on the market. They certainly aren't high tech but when it comes to pure driving enjoyment, they are hard to beat.
My uncle worked for GM in Michigan and used to drive new cars up here to see us in Sudbury. One time he showed up with an amazing 70s Corvette and took me for a spin. I was 16 years old and was blown away by what it could do. I can't imagine that 427 version! I'm sure it could get up over 170mph. Great Video!
Frozen Canuck Patrick James that's how I was last week when I first found this channel. it's an awesome channel, great cars, great presentation of information and no nonsense.
oh maan this so awesome to look at. i believe this is one of the most underrated youtube channels regarding muscle cars. keep up the good work guys and bless you.
I bought my 71 corvette, back in 1982 . Still working on it . I’ll be putting a small block 427 engine soon . Can’t wait to start enjoying it again . I also have to mention that , before I bought my 71 , I had a change to buy a 1960 corvette, fuel injection... I wish that I would have bought that one instead . Still happy with my 71 !!!!
Nice video. I remember a kid in my HS used to brag on his Dad's 67 Vette L-88. When i got him to show me i saw the Tri-power iron head 427. Asked him who said it was an L-88. He said his Dad and i just let it go, nice car. Couldn't call his Dad a liar......just mis-informed..😉
Outstanding Phenomenal Awesome I could go on . Always wanted the L88 '68 . That 427 was just Tits 😊!! I had a '68 convertible with the 327 and that was plenty fast ! It was a bit "rare" itself with factory a/c and a 3-speed Saginaw manual transmission. I could do 60-65 in first , 110 in second and by the time I hit third , I was gone . I got I up to 150 once out on highway 41
I agree I had a 69 350/350 and a 70 350 LT1 with 370 hp and they were a blast to drive never mind the L88 beast, can you imagine in 1973 I paid 4000 dollars for the 350/350 it needed some lite bodywork but was mechanically sound and just over 20000 miles on it, I don’t remember what I paid for the LT1 but back they they were so common who would have thought they would be Worth a small fortune in the 2022
I had a 68 camaro 427 L72 450H.P....4 speed....turned it into a higher H.P. L88..with lower compression for the street. Used it for a daily driver. With something between 625 and 650 H.P. never lost a race.........
A friend of mine bought one in the early 70's for $2800!!!! The guy he bought it from, sold it because it didn't have A/C. I KNOW he wishes he kept it!!!
There were quite a few more L-88 engines made than cars. You could buy an L-88 long or short block from a dealer for not much more than an L-71. I bought an L-88 short block for my '68 SS 396/375 Camaro in 1971 for about $700 and picked up a complete pair of open chamber aluminum heads for a couple hundred bucks. It didn't have the snob appeal of an L-88 Corvette but was just as crazy fast!
best looking corvette ever. my dad had a 68, and a white 59 with gray concave body panels. I was five- years- old, and i was frightened when he told me it drove itself. he was talking about the cruise control.
I subscribed to Hot Rod magazine in 1986, and I remember they ran an article on one of these back then. I also remember an article about a '70 Hemi Cuda convertible. These cars were valuable in the mid-80s, but we are talking about tens of thousands of dollars (I believe they mentioned the Cuda being worth a whopping $25K!) rather than, even taking inflation into account, them appreciating to hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions.
Zora Duntov the engineer that produced the first corvette back in 1953 and remained with GM until he retired in 1967. He was very upset with the new 68 corvette and said all true sportscars have mechanical gages. The 68 came with a really stupid vacuum tank that operated the pop-up headlights and wiper cowl. The rubber hoses that snake their way through the 68 body would get hard and crack after time which caused a lot of vacuum problems for those who couldn't figure out why the cars headlight would not open, or wiper cowl stuck. I have owned five corvettes in my life and bought a new 1970 454 big block that ran the quarter mile in the high 12's back in the day. I got rid of that car and returned to the C2 corvettes 63/67. I have been certified in corvette restoration by Bloomington Gold Corvettes since 1985. Today at 78 years of age I have a 63 roadster with an early LS1 engine. Just my two cents worth about the 1968 corvette.
That's a lie. Zora didn't like the C2. He quoted it as performing like a bad airplane. He depised the shape. Get your facts straight However, he was impressed with the C3. Read. He also hated the 63 split.
Zora liked the C2 far better than the C1 for sure, with a big company like GM even Zora couldn't get all he wanted but the C2 was an obvious major improvement. Anyway, Zora retired in 1975 and took a 74 454 automatic Coupe with him into retirement.
This is an absolutely amazing Corvette and the presentation of facts and information about the car was definitely on point. I just came across this RUclips channel via a redirect from the CovSport article and I am so glad that I did. I have viewed several of the videos that you posted on your channel and am glad to add my name to the list of subscribers.
Pretty cool, I have one 68 the same color 327/350HP Turbo 350 auto. Raced and beat a new stock 1979 Z28 302 4 speed once , he was a car length ahead and when I hit second at 60 I jumped past him and left him in the dust. Cant beat the late 60s and early 70s cars. It broke the tires lose at 60 hitting second gear. Fun Fun.
I find it difficult to stop drooling over this Corvette. Amazingly difficult.. I made the mistake once a bitching about how restricted the Corvette engines are due to emissions.the owner of the Corvette I was talking about was sitting next to me and told me come on we're stepping outside. I thought I was in for a fight. He handed me the keys and told me drive it. This was Arlington MA.this gentleman took me on the road with me driving I'm doing 50 miles an hour in a 35 zone at 1000 RPM He tells me you can shift into 2nd gear anytime. I brought it around the onto what we call route 2. Which has an amazingly high-level steep climb of about 6 miles. I laid into that Corvette shifted gears and drove back to where I came from. I got out of that 400 cubic 1978 Corvetteand had to shake this man's hand and completely apologize for every word I ever said absolutely the most amazing ride I've ever had in my life even to this day, even to this day..
How did you go 50mph in 1st gear at 1000 rpm? That 400 wasnt factory installed, best youcould get in 78 was the L82 which was a pretty puky small block
Another great video Kevin. Years ago I remember hearing the "tales" of the L-88 Corvettes and one was that the 67 Stingrays were more streetable with their infamous overheating issues because of the cars bodywork. The More square nosed 67 could have the radiator stand up straight getting more and better airflow through it whereas in the 68 and 69 because of the new sloped nose the radiators were sloped back allowing more air to flow over them than through them. I know many guys that had regular big block 68 and 69 Corvettes that had the same overheating issues in city driving. Was this issue more of just a side effect of the cars new styling causing a radiator mounting position versus just the hot running engine itself.
+MrCapi55 - I believe you are referring to the EGR Unit or Smog Pump. Yes even the L88 came with a smog pump to comply with emission standards. Racers quickly removed it and put on headers. The other Cylindrical canister coming out of the firewall on the passenger side is a vaccum canister used for the hide away windshield wipers. The cover moved out when the wipers were in use and retracted back behind the hood when turned off...
+Brian Cabral The overheating issue related more to the 12.5-1 compression and absence of the Fan Shroud. High compression engines don't like lugging around in stop and go type street driving; one of the reasons Chevy Engineers didn't go any higher than 11-1 static compression on the optional HP Street Engines...
+steve matz And many of the performance numbers back then were heavily fudged...cars sent to Hot Rod and other magazines for testing were far from what you got off the showroom floor. many had sound deadening removed...for lighter weight along with "highly prepped" motors with differant cams installed along with prepped heads....Mopar was infamous for these tricks with their Hemis which is why a showroom Hemi in a Cuda got eaten alive on the street by many other makes.
Your correct Brian, just like the New Model year Chevys at the Detroit and Chicago Car Shows. The ones on display are not what you receive from the production line (fit /finish) Kind of like seeing a McDonalds or Burger King Commercial. Your Big Mac or Whopper doesn't really look like the one on TV ...
+steve matz Absolutely Steve. The horsepower wars were highly incorrect from underrating to keep insurance companies happy to overrating to make buyers think they were paying for that extra horsepower that wasn't there. like you mentioned about the 375 hp 327's....when you look at actual quarter mile slips in real production cars was it worth a few extra grand for the high profile showcased big blocks that were only a tick quicker and the added weight made them nose heavy and handle poorly. a stock SS 396 chevelle was only capable of low 15 second quarter miles but this folklore of the mighty 396 is mostly of legend. The quick ones you came across on the street had bigger cams in them, headwork, overbored, headers, bigger high risers with huge Holleys on them packing 4:56-4:88 rear spools in them. And 350-350 Corvette would smoke most big blocks. And give the Hemis and L-88's and Cobra Jets a good run for the money.
Our family had a new 1968 with the track tops my mother drove this car back and forth from Annapolis to Baltimore for more then a decade she revered to it ad her five thousand dollar bath tub the tops leaked all the time 327 - 350 - muncei four speed car ! Thanks for the memories
The narrator was incorrect on the number of 1967 L88's built. Only 20, not 30 as he stated. Total L88 Production was 216 Units....1967 (20) 1968 (80) 1969 (116) He also stated it had a solid lifter cam; well so did the L71 427/435hp engine. In fact all the producton HP Chevy engines used the same solid lifter cam P.N.3863143 (i.e.L71,L72,L78,LS6) which was a .500" valve lift cam on both int & exh. The L88 cam #3925536 had .540" int. .560" valve lift. It was not a streetable Cam and was meant to be used with an Open Exhaust System (headers) The L88 Engines also used a Transistorized Ignition System(no points) which could also be ordered on other HP Chevy Engines. Some Accurate Dynos have gotten as much as 540 BHP ...
I owned a 71 with a 350, Thrush headers, Hurst competition plus linkage , BF Goodrich TA radials, Bilstein shocks, THAT in my opinion, was the perfect Vette, good power, superb handling , and quick shifts
If you lowered the compression a notch and did some modifications to the L88 you got up to 650 H.P and very steerable.. .and at that point as a strees racer it was unbeatable......
It's interesting that they rated it 430 hp to discourage novice buyers. Any non-car guy looking for power would have bought the 435 hp option, thinking he was getting more for less money.
I've had my L-71 since 1970. There isn't a dimes worth of difference between my car and the L-88 except that the L-88 is rare. The L-71 has solid lifters and will not do 170 mph and neither will the L-88. I have enjoyed MY CAR for almost 50 years. How many guys can say that about an L-88?
I guess the L88 could just have been prepared either to be tuned to higher HP or it was just built to withstand operating at maximum power for longer time than other options.
@@piotrmalewski8178 Aluminum heads and intake plus the engine spec's make this the racers choice. Either roadrace or dragrace. The L71 is the hot street Vette that could see some passes down the quarter mile come the weekend.
@@edwardalamo2507 My dad had a 69 Caprice with just the base 427 (don't recall the compression). I remember him buying barrels of gasoline, because during the gas crisis you couldn't buy premium. It was only the 335hp base 427, but knocked on regular gas. I also remember one of the worst designed gas filler pipe ever from GM. It went up before it went down to the tank. So it would splash gasoline on you when filling.
@@SvenTviking The 430 hp rating was at 5200 rpm, and in street trim was actually more like 540-550 at around 6200-6500 rpm. A set of headers and a good tune could produce 560-580 hp. 600 hp was a stretch without some mods.
Thanks for telling me what the t tops are all about I never know that it was a traeger top and I own a Corvette and I am related to Louie Chevrolet mine is not a like the ones you show it's a 1977 L48 but it has a lot of things that no Corvette ever had on one
Joseph Monaco Joseph Monaco 0 seconds ago A 1968 427 with a 4 speed Muncie M-21 Tranny and a 4:11;1 Posi is my all around my favorite Corvette, Next to the 1967 L-88 2nd generation L-88 like the one that was in the 1969 all Aluminum ZL-1 motor. But this is the cleanest, prettiest 1968 I've seen. How much are you asking for it? Please email me! With the 12:5:1 TRW DOME TOP Pistons and that 600.intake and 600 exhaust Solid Lifter Came and Aluminum heads that were ported and CC'd for only these engines, they were really putting out about 650 HP. Even the 1967 L-88 1st generation L-88 with 540 intake and 600 exhausrt solid lifter came was putting out about 600 HP also. No cars on the road even today can touch them except for maybe the ZR-1 427 that went in the Lingenfelder Corvette or Camaro. Those were the good old days. Thanks Joseph
My dad’s best friend was one of the “lucky 80.’ My dad HATED that car (it was red, his friend used to insist on loaning it to him). That it required Sunoco high-octane added insult to injury (he was a Marathon dealer).
The 427 425 and 435 versions ALSO had a solid cam about 520 lift but the L-88 was MUCH more radical and no the 12.5 isn't easy to live with, even in those days you probably needed Sunoco 260. I heard they deleted the heater, is that true?
@jim dandy No, it isn't true. All cars sold in The USA with a production date of Jan. 1st., 1968 or later, were required by federal law to have a defroster. I owned a 1969 L88 Corvette from 1970 to 1972. It had a heater/defroster. All of the 20 1967 L88 Corvettes built, left the factory without a heater.
Because they were working on the LS7 which was similar to the Chevelle LS6 except the camshaft was to be .520/.550 so a little more lift on the exhaust side and a little more duration. Also the 074 second design aluminum heads off the L88 and a new low-rise aluminum intake to fit under the stock big block hood. Contrary to popular belief the Corvette LS7 was not going to be a 454 version of the L88. Why didn't it happen? Well with the 69 strike from April to June 69 pushed everything back and the 70 models didn't even start rolling out until January 70 and still having to do emissions testing and they just ran out of time. If 69 would have ended in June 69 like normal then we would have seen the LS7 but it was not to be. They did release it for 71 but they dropped the compression and special cam and called it the LS6 since it used the same streey solid cam that all except L88 used. Oh what could have been.
One of the most beautiful cars ever made!
Entièrement d'accord 👍🏽
💯💯💯
I had a 68 I bought when I was 19 now I'm 65 what an amazing time to be young. Love these videos Kevin is the perfect guy to do them!
Do you still have it?
L88's were monsters!💯
We have one bolted in a 67 Chevelle, and can attest , they are indeed.
Still have my 1969 L-71 3x2 Holley 427/435. Bought it in 1970 and the car has been simply awesome to own and drive. IMHO these are still the most "fun" cars on the market. They certainly aren't high tech but when it comes to pure driving enjoyment, they are hard to beat.
I’m looking to get one as my first car any advice
My uncle worked for GM in Michigan and used to drive new cars up here to see us in Sudbury. One time he showed up with an amazing 70s Corvette and took me for a spin. I was 16 years old and was blown away by what it could do. I can't imagine that 427 version! I'm sure it could get up over 170mph. Great Video!
I found this channel three days ago and I have watched 30 videos so far. I have no life, so I should be all caught up by Sunday.
+Frozen Canuck Patrick James Welcome aboard Patrick! We hope you enjoy your stay!
Frozen Canuck Patrick James that's how I was last week when I first found this channel. it's an awesome channel, great cars, great presentation of information and no nonsense.
@@MuscleCarOfTheWeek P z,
A
Thank you for sharing this beauty with us! 👍👍👍
The absolutely perfect Corvette, right down to the gorgeous blue and the red line tires.
This is the one that made my hands shake i was 17 years old . one just like it changed my entire perspective about cars . I was hooked for life. LoL
in the process of restoring a 69 corvette. thanks for sharing.
You have a gem and the most beautiful Vette years to date🇺🇸🇺🇸👍
Heard about his car when I owned my first 1978, but never saw one until now. Thanks for sharing :)
A huge thank you for showing us, this superb original manual transmission Corvette.
Very appreciated.
These Brothers have real taste!Not seen a bad car yet.....
oh maan this so awesome to look at. i believe this is one of the most underrated youtube channels regarding muscle cars. keep up the good work guys and bless you.
+sabufinisher Thank you so much! Why not share the channel with your friends, everyone likes Muscle Cars!
Well said!!!!!
I bought my 71 corvette, back in 1982 . Still working on it . I’ll be putting a small block 427 engine soon . Can’t wait to start enjoying it again . I also have to mention that , before I bought my 71 , I had a change to buy a 1960 corvette, fuel injection... I wish that I would have bought that one instead . Still happy with my 71 !!!!
Love that color and that Corvette!!! is a Dream Car even Today! The best of the best in design from GM Golden Years!
Nice video. I remember a kid in my HS used to brag on his Dad's 67 Vette L-88.
When i got him to show me i saw the Tri-power iron head 427. Asked him who said it was an L-88. He said his Dad and i just let it go, nice car. Couldn't call his Dad a liar......just mis-informed..😉
Outstanding
Phenomenal
Awesome
I could go on . Always wanted the L88 '68 .
That 427 was just Tits 😊!!
I had a '68 convertible with the 327 and that was plenty fast ! It was a bit "rare" itself with factory a/c and a 3-speed Saginaw manual transmission. I could do 60-65 in first , 110 in second and by the time I hit third , I was gone . I got I up to 150 once out on highway 41
The 69 L88 is my favorite Vette out of them all. Love the 67-68 L88 cars too but the 69 L88 is King of Corvettes in my book
430 horsepower at only 4600 rpm....wow! Gotta be pushing 525-550 at 5500-6000 rpm
I agree I had a 69 350/350 and a 70 350 LT1 with 370 hp and they were a blast to drive never mind the L88 beast, can you imagine in 1973 I paid 4000 dollars for the 350/350 it needed some lite bodywork but was mechanically sound and just over 20000 miles on it, I don’t remember what I paid for the LT1 but back they they were so common who would have thought they would be Worth a small fortune in the 2022
@@jeremythompson9895 no actually between 560 to 580 hp @ 6,400 🏁
@@jeremythompson9895 THAT is EXACTLY what GM did. L88s did make 430hp, at 4,000-4,500rpm!!
Jeremy Thompson, they were kings....until they ran into the ZL1s!!!
Gorgeous car,wow 550 hp,what a beast.😍❤
You can have your Chargers, Mustangs, Camaros, etc, etc. The C3 L88 Corvette aka my favorite all sports/muscle car.
I had a 68 camaro 427 L72 450H.P....4 speed....turned it into a higher H.P. L88..with lower compression for the street. Used it for a daily driver. With something between 625 and 650 H.P. never lost a race.........
I'll take a convertible 71 Hemicuda in Curious Yellow, thx.
A friend of mine bought one in the early 70's for $2800!!!! The guy he bought it from, sold it because it didn't have A/C. I KNOW he wishes he kept it!!!
In reality. It had a round 550 horses. Worked for GM in Detroit! 🤠🐎🇺🇸
Memories, Back in the day I had a BRG 1968 427, 435 hp with side pipes A true beast.
Freshining up my L88 engine for my 1970 Vette. Roller cammed, stroked out to 496.
There were quite a few more L-88 engines made than cars. You could buy an L-88 long or short block from a dealer for not much more than an L-71. I bought an L-88 short block for my '68 SS 396/375 Camaro in 1971 for about $700 and picked up a complete pair of open chamber aluminum heads for a couple hundred bucks. It didn't have the snob appeal of an L-88 Corvette but was just as crazy fast!
They should've offered the L88 as a COPO option in Camaros, Chevelles, and Nova's too
Performance guys at that time knew that the L-88 was fantastic. I remember hearing them talk about it.
Awesome
Best looking Vette of all the generations imo. They can keep the C8+.
Great review of an awesome, rare MUSCLEcar.
Thanks!
top of the food chain as far as Corvettes go! Very nice!
5:54 it's a bad machine.
best looking corvette ever. my dad had a 68, and a white 59 with gray concave body panels. I was five- years- old, and i was frightened when he told me it drove itself. he was talking about the cruise control.
I subscribed to Hot Rod magazine in 1986, and I remember they ran an article on one of these back then. I also remember an article about a '70 Hemi Cuda convertible. These cars were valuable in the mid-80s, but we are talking about tens of thousands of dollars (I believe they mentioned the Cuda being worth a whopping $25K!) rather than, even taking inflation into account, them appreciating to hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions.
Zora Duntov the engineer that produced the first corvette back in 1953 and remained with GM until he retired in 1967. He was very upset with the new 68 corvette and said all true sportscars have mechanical gages. The 68 came with a really stupid vacuum tank that operated the pop-up headlights and wiper cowl. The rubber hoses that snake their way through the 68 body would get hard and crack after time which caused a lot of vacuum problems for those who couldn't figure out why the cars headlight would not open, or wiper cowl stuck. I have owned five corvettes in my life and bought a new 1970 454 big block that ran the quarter mile in the high 12's back in the day. I got rid of that car and returned to the C2 corvettes 63/67. I have been certified in corvette restoration by Bloomington Gold Corvettes since 1985. Today at 78 years of age I have a 63 roadster with an early LS1 engine. Just my two cents worth about the 1968 corvette.
That's a lie. Zora didn't like the C2. He quoted it as performing like a bad airplane. He depised the shape. Get your facts straight
However, he was impressed with the C3. Read. He also hated the 63 split.
Zora liked the C2 far better than the C1 for sure, with a big company like GM even Zora couldn't get all he wanted but the C2 was an obvious major improvement.
Anyway, Zora retired in 1975 and took a 74 454 automatic Coupe with him into retirement.
THE 435 HAD SOLID LIFTERS, TOO.
Loved the Mako Shark body style!
This is an absolutely amazing Corvette and the presentation of facts and information about the car was definitely on point. I just came across this RUclips channel via a redirect from the CovSport article and I am so glad that I did. I have viewed several of the videos that you posted on your channel and am glad to add my name to the list of subscribers.
Pretty cool, I have one 68 the same color 327/350HP Turbo 350 auto. Raced and beat a new stock 1979 Z28 302 4 speed once , he was a car length ahead and when I hit second at 60 I jumped past him and left him in the dust. Cant beat the late 60s and early 70s cars. It broke the tires lose at 60 hitting second gear. Fun Fun.
I think the Chevy 302 engine ended in '69 or '70...
79s came with a smogged out 350. No 302s made after 69
I find it difficult to stop drooling over this Corvette. Amazingly difficult..
I made the mistake once a bitching about how restricted the Corvette engines are due to emissions.the owner of the Corvette I was talking about was sitting next to me and told me come on we're stepping outside. I thought I was in for a fight. He handed me the keys and told me drive it. This was Arlington MA.this gentleman took me on the road with me driving I'm doing 50 miles an hour in a 35 zone at 1000 RPM
He tells me you can shift into 2nd gear anytime. I brought it around the onto what we call route 2. Which has an amazingly high-level steep climb of about 6 miles. I laid into that Corvette shifted gears and drove back to where I came from. I got out of that 400 cubic 1978 Corvetteand had to shake this man's hand and completely apologize for every word I ever said absolutely the most amazing ride I've ever had in my life even to this day, even to this day..
Man great story..made my day.🇺🇸
How did you go 50mph in 1st gear at 1000 rpm?
That 400 wasnt factory installed, best youcould get in 78 was the L82 which was a pretty puky small block
Awesome piece of history! I'm sure Jay Leno would love to have this car in his collection, if he doesn't have one already.
Gorgeous! and the right color too!
I learned the true meaning of a “T” top. Thank you, sir.
Great inside information!
Its design to me at least is very futuristic for its time holds up styling wise to me.
Another great video Kevin. Years ago I remember hearing the "tales" of the L-88 Corvettes and one was that the 67 Stingrays were more streetable with their infamous overheating issues because of the cars bodywork. The More square nosed 67 could have the radiator stand up straight getting more and better airflow through it whereas in the 68 and 69 because of the new sloped nose the radiators were sloped back allowing more air to flow over them than through them. I know many guys that had regular big block 68 and 69 Corvettes that had the same overheating issues in city driving. Was this issue more of just a side effect of the cars new styling causing a radiator mounting position versus just the hot running engine itself.
+MrCapi55 - I believe you are referring to the EGR Unit or Smog Pump. Yes even the L88 came with a smog pump to comply with emission standards. Racers quickly removed it and put on headers. The other Cylindrical canister coming out of the firewall on the passenger side is a vaccum canister used for the hide away windshield wipers. The cover moved out when the wipers were in use and retracted back behind the hood when turned off...
+Brian Cabral The overheating issue related more to the 12.5-1 compression and absence of the Fan Shroud. High compression engines don't like lugging around in stop and go type street driving; one of the reasons Chevy Engineers didn't go any higher than 11-1 static compression on the optional HP Street Engines...
+steve matz And many of the performance numbers back then were heavily fudged...cars sent to Hot Rod and other magazines for testing were far from what you got off the showroom floor. many had sound deadening removed...for lighter weight along with "highly prepped" motors with differant cams installed along with prepped heads....Mopar was infamous for these tricks with their Hemis which is why a showroom Hemi in a Cuda got eaten alive on the street by many other makes.
Your correct Brian, just like the New Model year Chevys at the Detroit and Chicago Car Shows. The ones on display are not what you receive from the production line (fit /finish) Kind of like seeing a McDonalds or Burger King Commercial. Your Big Mac or Whopper doesn't really look like the one on TV ...
+steve matz Absolutely Steve. The horsepower wars were highly incorrect from underrating to keep insurance companies happy to overrating to make buyers think they were paying for that extra horsepower that wasn't there. like you mentioned about the 375 hp 327's....when you look at actual quarter mile slips in real production cars was it worth a few extra grand for the high profile showcased big blocks that were only a tick quicker and the added weight made them nose heavy and handle poorly. a stock SS 396 chevelle was only capable of low 15 second quarter miles but this folklore of the mighty 396 is mostly of legend. The quick ones you came across on the street had bigger cams in them, headwork, overbored, headers, bigger high risers with huge Holleys on them packing 4:56-4:88 rear spools in them. And 350-350 Corvette would smoke most big blocks. And give the Hemis and L-88's and Cobra Jets a good run for the money.
Fantastic channel. Very tasteful classics. Subbed!!
I personally like the L88 Hood-Scoop when it's Put on a Camaro, I had one on a 1980 Z28. Loved It.
I was going to buy a '71 RS 383 car that had the L88 style hood. Tuxedo Black with white stripes.
Our family had a new 1968 with the track tops my mother drove this car back and forth from Annapolis to Baltimore for more then a decade she revered to it ad her five thousand dollar bath tub the tops leaked all the time 327 - 350 - muncei four speed car ! Thanks for the memories
The narrator was incorrect on the number of 1967 L88's built. Only 20, not 30 as he stated. Total L88 Production was 216 Units....1967 (20) 1968 (80) 1969 (116) He also stated it had a solid lifter cam; well so did the L71 427/435hp engine. In fact all the producton HP Chevy engines used the same solid lifter cam P.N.3863143 (i.e.L71,L72,L78,LS6) which was a .500" valve lift cam on both int & exh. The L88 cam #3925536 had .540" int. .560" valve lift. It was not a streetable Cam and was meant to be used with an Open Exhaust System (headers) The L88 Engines also used a Transistorized Ignition System(no points) which could also be ordered on other HP Chevy Engines. Some Accurate Dynos have gotten as much as 540 BHP ...
I've heard 580, 540, I saw one person say theirs dynoed at 612
20 not 30...right you are Steve
I was scrolling through the comments to see if anyone caught that.
Cool video about an awesome Vette
This And Also The 1970 LS-7 454/460 Corvette Were The True Kings!
Too bad they only built one LS7 test car then crushed it.
this was the Dodge Demon of it's day lol
specil i had 1972 lt1 magnificent gm motors ,best cars i drove lt1 factory 400 hp excel.lent .
Love these surviver issues
I owned a 71 with a 350, Thrush headers, Hurst competition plus linkage , BF Goodrich TA radials, Bilstein shocks, THAT in my opinion, was the perfect Vette, good power, superb handling , and quick shifts
I love those cars... sexy machines!
If you lowered the compression a notch and did some modifications to the L88 you got up to 650 H.P and very steerable.. .and at that point as a strees racer it was unbeatable......
Keep the compression where it is and run race gas along with more timing and mods. This car would run hard.
GEtting 650 wasnt impossible but needed a TON of work thrown at it.
Usually takes a much better cyl head big solid roller etc.
This is awesome.
Anyone who calls this car a piece of crap needs to have their eyes checked and head checked while they are there.
I have a woody right now ! what a sweet car .....
Can’t buy one new, but one can build it out like a factory one.
Two words and I say this with all the respect in the world.......
HEMI KILLER!!!
totally cool vette glad to know it has some very nice friends to hang out with
It's interesting that they rated it 430 hp to discourage novice buyers.
Any non-car guy looking for power would have bought the 435 hp option, thinking he was getting more for less money.
I've had my L-71 since 1970. There isn't a dimes worth of difference between my car and the L-88 except that the L-88 is rare. The L-71 has solid lifters and will not do 170 mph and neither will the L-88. I have enjoyed MY CAR for almost 50 years. How many guys can say that about an L-88?
I guess the L88 could just have been prepared either to be tuned to higher HP or it was just built to withstand operating at maximum power for longer time than other options.
@@piotrmalewski8178 Aluminum heads and intake plus the engine spec's make this the racers choice. Either roadrace or dragrace. The L71 is the hot street Vette that could see some passes down the quarter mile come the weekend.
Its compression was 12.5 to 1 ,and required 103 octane lead fuel, not available today,but can be blended, 8 to 10 miles per gallon
@@edwardalamo2507
My dad had a 69 Caprice with just the base 427 (don't recall the compression).
I remember him buying barrels of gasoline, because during the gas crisis you couldn't buy premium. It was only the 335hp base 427, but knocked on regular gas.
I also remember one of the worst designed gas filler pipe ever from GM. It went up before it went down to the tank. So it would splash gasoline on you when filling.
100%pure BADASS
Beautiful
I'd love to have the 2 million that car is worth.
Superb ride.
WOW!!!!!
Nice.
Please do a video on 1969 Corvette ZL-1. They only made 2.
@Ryan Thompson Thompson They made three, 1969 ZL1 Corvettes.
Chevrolet says two, what is your evidence for three?
The L88 was rated around 560 to 600 horsepower
+Will “Ford” Butter
It was rated at 430 hp in the Chevrolet books.
That's the advertised rating from Chevrolet. What I said is the L88's actual output
Will Butter yes indeed bro 600 horsepower is certainly correct
charlesvan13 That is all explained in the video. That power rating was measured 1000 rpm below the red line.
@@SvenTviking The 430 hp rating was at 5200 rpm, and in street trim was actually more like 540-550 at around 6200-6500 rpm. A set of headers and a good tune could produce 560-580 hp. 600 hp was a stretch without some mods.
PORSCHE LAWYERS ARE WATCHING
Thanks for telling me what the t tops are all about I never know that it was a traeger top and I own a Corvette and I am related to Louie Chevrolet mine is not a like the ones you show it's a 1977 L48 but it has a lot of things that no Corvette ever had on one
Like what things did it have that no others did
Joseph Monaco
Joseph Monaco
0 seconds ago
A 1968 427 with a 4 speed Muncie M-21 Tranny and a 4:11;1 Posi is my all around my favorite Corvette, Next to the 1967 L-88 2nd generation L-88 like the one that was in the 1969 all Aluminum ZL-1 motor. But this is the cleanest, prettiest 1968 I've seen. How much are you asking for it? Please email me! With the 12:5:1 TRW DOME TOP Pistons and that 600.intake and 600 exhaust Solid Lifter Came and Aluminum heads that were ported and CC'd for only these engines, they were really putting out about 650 HP. Even the 1967 L-88 1st generation L-88 with 540 intake and 600 exhausrt solid lifter came was putting out about 600 HP also. No cars on the road even today can touch them except for maybe the ZR-1 427 that went in the Lingenfelder Corvette or Camaro. Those were the good old days.
Thanks Joseph
L88s never made 600-650 if they were pushed off a cliff .
The L88 started right up. The suspension ain't that bad.The brakes work real good.the cooling is a bit of a chore.Buy one if you can.
Cool new 7000 now 1million
It’s a race car of course it’s gonna be finicky
Love that hood
I like it!
Love it!
These are amazing engines period. Better Than the 454 all day.
Also came in LS7 454" version...
@@BuzzLOLOL The 427 is quicker
@@bluesky-ud9wg - Even if HP is the same, 454 has advantage of more torque...
@@BuzzLOLOL That doesn't guarantee a win. It's about efficiency and the 427 is better. We will go back and forth and I'm not doing that
@@bluesky-ud9wg - I joined GM/Chevrolet engineering in August 1966... retired now...
I'll trade one of my kidneys for that car.
It's a full race engine 12-1 compression 7/16 push rods
The same motor I had in my SS Nova copo L88 4 speed with a 411 Gear in the rear end and yes it was very cold blooded but super fast really fast 💯💯👍👍😎
The sting ray is my dream car!!!! One day, one day.
Mid year Sting Ray's never could keep up with the FORD Cobra,they were to heavy , high wind resistance, to narrow tires,poor brakes
You have a new subscriber dude
Your videos are awesome
That would be the only car that would be close to the ZR1 ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
These motors are not to be babied they scream to be run and run fast 💯💯👍👍😎
Who are the brothers thats what we all want to know.
Wow 😮
Bad ass
They wer like the 2019 ZR1 😮😮😮monsters look at what they cost now
My dad’s best friend was one of the “lucky 80.’ My dad HATED that car (it was red, his friend used to insist on loaning it to him). That it required Sunoco high-octane added insult to injury (he was a Marathon dealer).
LOL, temperamental engine, poor build quality, noisy, irregular idol...LOVE IT!
That's the one...
Awesome Car! wish I had the $$$ to buy one. Do you have any "65 Olds 442 info - used to owe one.
The 427 425 and 435 versions ALSO had a solid cam about 520 lift but the L-88 was MUCH more radical and no the 12.5 isn't easy to live with, even in those days you probably needed Sunoco 260.
I heard they deleted the heater, is that true?
@jim dandy No, it isn't true. All cars sold in The USA with a production date of Jan. 1st., 1968 or later, were required by federal law to have a defroster.
I owned a 1969 L88 Corvette from 1970 to 1972. It had a heater/defroster.
All of the 20 1967 L88 Corvettes built, left the factory without a heater.
didn't know why they didn't put a ls6 in the 1970 corvette
Because they were working on the LS7 which was similar to the Chevelle LS6 except the camshaft was to be .520/.550 so a little more lift on the exhaust side and a little more duration. Also the 074 second design aluminum heads off the L88 and a new low-rise aluminum intake to fit under the stock big block hood. Contrary to popular belief the Corvette LS7 was not going to be a 454 version of the L88. Why didn't it happen? Well with the 69 strike from April to June 69 pushed everything back and the 70 models didn't even start rolling out until January 70 and still having to do emissions testing and they just ran out of time. If 69 would have ended in June 69 like normal then we would have seen the LS7 but it was not to be. They did release it for 71 but they dropped the compression and special cam and called it the LS6 since it used the same streey solid cam that all except L88 used. Oh what could have been.
Yes Richard
We just bought one😍
Do you still have it?