1968 L88 at barret jackson

[Roscobbc]

Have never been in or driven an L88 - they are generally accepted as having 550/560 'real' HP - guessing that the 'usable' power band of the engine was between 3500 and 6500 rpm - not exactly a car for daily use is it? - as Nassau65 said "it was horrible" - thing is - a car with a radical cam 'can' actually be tuned to be driveable, (well almost.........) the real issue tends to be that at typical urban speeds it will perform like a stone, requiring first gear and upwards of 2500 rpm to accelerate - or accept that you can only pootle about in urban situations.......hence the need for crazy low rear axle ratio's - problem then if that the car will be as noisy as hell at cruising speeds and you'll be typically revving at 3000 or higher rpm trying to maintain 70 mph. Car will be super responsive at this sort of speed.......a hiccup, sneeze or similar will be most unwelcome. Fuel economy will be crazy, engine will perhaps run hot......all good fun for 20 minutes or so......

 

[Nassau65]

L88’s = only now for the serious collectors to have bragging rights to owning one. As a car they are pretty useless.

 

[CaptainK]

Interesting thing about 68's (including L88 I guess) is for many years they were effectively the 'black sheep'of the C3 family.......'knowedgeable' enthusiasts would deliberatly overlook the 1968 cars in favour of '69 onwards. The 'smart money' was to invest in a '68 as collectors are finally starting to understand that a '68 is one of the rarest Corvettes out there with many differences, (both major and minor) to other years.........

Mine must be super rare then - it is a 1968 4 speed with the really, really, rare option of the base 327ci/300hp lowest powered engine for the year. I mean you see all these people with their big block 1968 Vettes, but how many do you see with the rare base model engine?

I definitely bought mine on the cheap for future investment of this rare model...... or was it just because it was blue? I can't remember......

 

[Nassau65]

Me personally has never thought of the 1968 corvette as the poor relation of the chrome bumper models. If one was available at the right money, I bought it. 28k new car buyers couldn’t be wrong. A sales success in 1968. Convertibles, the buying public loved um.

 

[James Vette]

Build your own L88.

 

[Nassau65]

4 days to go until the start of the auction. It’s amazing where they get all the cars from to auction off. You go to a BCA auction and you think they have a lot. Compared to BJ or Mecum it’s like pissing in the sea.

 

[teamzr1]

Last weekend, Mecum Auction

Anyone who purchased their C8 at MSRP did well, as values seems strong.
Here is the list from Mecum, most were used

Thur Jan 13
T90.2 – 2021 Coupe $97,500

Fri Jan 14
F18 – 2020 2LT CHT $99,000
F123 – 2020 3LT Coupe Z51 - $143,000
F317 – 2020 2LT Coupe - $99,000

Sat Jan 15
S30.1 – 2022 3LT (C8R) Coupe - $165,000

 

[Nassau65]

Yes, the C8 hype has certainly extended to the auctions. BJ has a few going onto the block next week.

 

[teamzr1]

Yes, the C8 hype has certainly extended to the auctions. BJ has a few going onto the block next week.

I like to know who pays $165,000 for a normal Z51 with decals on it, and GM calls it the C8.R model ?

 

[Nassau65]

More money than sense. There everywhere .

 

[Nassau65]

Decals used to make a car go faster , now it makes them more expensive