For any classic car enthusiast, there’s something intrinsically special about stumbling upon a rare barn find tucked away for decades. For classic Chevrolet fans, the L88 is often cited as the holy grail of classic Chevrolet Corvettes, and this 1969 example is one of the rarest in existence. Only 118 L88s were produced in 1969, and this example is only one of seventeen ever fitted with the M20 Hydra-Matic transmission.
The guys from the Horsepower Depot YouTube channel get the lowdown about the history of this L88 from owner Kevin before purchasing the car – with plans for a full nut and bolt restoration project.
The Chevrolet Corvette L88 Was GM’s Race Car For The Road
Developed under the direction of Zora Arkus-Duntov, commonly referred to as “the father of the Corvette”, the L88 was a track-ready race car for the road. The L88 took Chevrolet’s 427 cu. in big-block V8 engine and upgraded it with a forged crankshaft and forged pistons, aluminum valve heads, and solid valve lifters, along with upping the compression ratio to 12.5:1.
Chevrolet advertised the L88 as having only 430 HP, which was actually 5 HP less than the L71, despite the L88 costing over $1,000 more. According to Hagerty, this was all actually a ploy to discourage casual consumers since Chevrolet wanted most if not all L88s to end up in the hands of race teams.
The actual power figure for the L88 is around the 550 HP mark, and all the upgrades meant that the engine required 103 Octane fuel to run without damage. The L88 also had a slew of weight-saving measures, including no A/C, radio, or power steering, as well as an upgraded rear differential, brakes, and suspension.
How Much Is A L88 Corvette Worth?
The owner of this L88, Kevin, bought the car in 1971 at the age of 18 and has kept it ever since. He says he originally bought the car after the original owner’s wife told him to get rid of it due to flames coming out of the hood on start-up, which covered the windshield and scared their newborn baby. Unfortunately, due to family and life getting in the way, the car has been sitting in pieces in his garage since the 1970s.
Kevin has worked for GM and has an enormous amount of knowledge and original documentation on this car, including why the engine codes for the L88 with the Hydra-matic transmission were never documented.
Understandably, for such a rare car, prices for the L88 can hit seven figures quite easily. The 1967 C2 L88 is the most valuable, with only 20 produced. However, prices for the C3 models average at around $436,000, according to classic.com.
This particular example is in rough shape and in need of a full restoration. While the guys from Horsepower Depot have experience building clone drag L88s, they might ship this example off to a specialist to ensure everything gets done to the highest standard. There’s so much history around these cars we can’t cover it all here, so we recommend watching the full video for a deep dive into one of the rarest Corvettes of all time.
Source: YouTube @ Horsepower Depot, Hagerty
