Deal of the Year? The “Ed Cole” 1967 Corvette Coupe L89 sells for $205,000

Aug 15, 2009

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Mecum is still the middle of their Monterey auction but once we saw the 1967 Corvette Coupe equipped with the 1 of 16 L89 aluminum heads on the 427/435 hp V8 sell for $205,000, we’re proclaiming that the deal of the year. Known as the “Ed Cole” Corvette, the car was ordered in 1967 by the neighbor of GM’s General Manager Ed Cole who recommended the rare L89 option.

Ed Cole took care of his neighbor by outfitting the Corvette for the ultimate driving experience. In addition to the L71 427/435 V8 with the L89 heads, the Corvette was also optioned with finned wheels, F41 suspension and a 3.55 positraction rear end. The result was a final price of nearly $6,500.

When the car was delivered to Frank Driver Chevrolet in Wilmington Delaware, employees recall that it was accompanied by more special handling instructions than anyone had seen previously, all of them directly from Ed Cole.

The Cole Corvette most recently appeared at the Bloomington Gold auction just two months ago where it was bid up to $550,000 but failed to sell as the reserve was reportedly $1 million. At the end of the Corvette’s auction at Monterey, the ring announcer called the reserve was off and mentioned that it was also set at $1 million.

Because of the huge difference in the numbers and especially the difference between Bloomington’s high bid and the sale price at Monterey, we have to guess that this was a distress sale. We have no word yet who the buyer was.

The Corvette has been restored to Concours condition and comes with a ton of documentation including copies of the paperwork and the Protect-O-Plate. Also included is a letter from 1982 from the original owner answering a questionnaire about the Corvette.

Read the entire auction catalog entry about the history of the 1967 L89 Coupe known as the Ed Cole Corvette.