When does a Corvette with cracked, flaking paint around the headlight door still pull more than $150,000?
When it’s wearing an L88 badge — or at least claims to.
A 1969 Corvette L88 convertible, one of just 116 built that year and 216 total from 1967–69, has surfaced on Bring a Trailer for the first time in 25 years. The listing has already hit $150,000 with 11 days to go, and the comments section is…lively.
According to the Bring a Trailer listing, this Monza Red convertible:
• Was delivered new to Bob Peck Chevrolet in Arlington, VA
• Was restored in 1985, including a repaint
• Earned Bloomington Gold certification that same year
• Spent years on display at Otis Chandler’s Museum of Transportation and Wildlife
• Is powered by a 427ci L88 V8 with aluminum heads, 12.0:1 compression, a Holley 4 barrel, and mandatory transistor ignition
• Uses a Muncie M22 4 speed and 4.56:1 Positraction rear
• Includes heavy duty suspension, power disc brakes, and an L88 specific hood
• Shows 2,770 miles on the odometer (not actual)
• Comes with Bloomington Gold paperwork, NCRS shipping data, photos, and a clean New Jersey title
• The seller says the car was purchased in 2001 and has been tucked away ever since.
The L88 package was the brainchild of Zora Arkus Duntov — a way to sneak a race ready Corvette into customer hands despite GM’s corporate racing ban. The cars were intentionally under rated at 430 horsepower, omitted creature comforts, and were marketed as “off road only.”
In reality, they were monsters.
The car’s 1985 repaint is showing its age, including cracked paint on the right headlight door. But cosmetic flaws aren’t what’s driving the conversation. Bring a Trailer commenters quickly raised red flags.
Several well known Corvette experts — including the operator of the L88 Registry — claim the car is not a real L88, but a clone built in the 1980s by restorer Roger Gibson for collector Roger Allwood.
Comments by @Survivor69, who runs Corvette Validation Services and is widely regarded as a top authority on C3 authenticity, include:
• “I have this car listed in my L88 registry as a clone.”
• “It was originally silver and not a factory L88.”
• “Serious bidders need to do their research on this one.”
• “The Corvette hobby has come a long way since 1985.”
• “It passed the judging criteria in the ‘90s but we have a lot more knowledge about these cars now.”
The seller, meanwhile, stands by the car’s history:
• “It really is an epic car.”
• “I first saw this car in the Otis Chandler museum and fell in love with it.”
With the bid already at $150,000, the auction is shaping up to be a showdown between:
• Collectors who love the car’s museum pedigree
• Purists who question its authenticity
• And spectators enjoying the fireworks from the comments section
As one commenter put it, “Everybody in the world has an opinion on this matter. More pictures aren’t going to solve it.”
Whether it’s a genuine L88 or a well executed tribute, one thing is certain: this Corvette has become the most talked about listing on Bring a Trailer this week.
And with 11 days left, the drama is just getting started.
Source:
Bring a Trailer
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I would need a whole lot more documentation to consider this car. A fraud is worth half of the current bid. This country is full of get rich quick fraudsters.
BaT withdrew this car from their action yesterday.
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