67HEAVEN

Rather than limit this amazing story to this thread, I've put it up as OUR CORVETTE HERITAGE #32, 1967 L-88 Corvette with 11 miles!.

See it at http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=265253
:smash:

67HEAVEN

396 RAT,
Have you seen the four-page story (with photos) on Bob Wingate from Corvette News in 1976? It's entitled, "Bob Wingate...from lot boy to car broker". If you haven't, you've gotta see him in his used-car-salesman's checkered pants and white belt....classic! :lol:

He's certainly done it all when it comes to buying and selling Corvettes.

396 RAT

I missed that one, I have a huge stack of those old mags
I will look for it.
You can see him on page 4 of my web page
from last summer.
He still works for GM,
And still dresses that way! :lol:
Not really Bob, just kidding.
He is in the tan pants with the dark shirt.
He brought a couple Videos that were converted from 8mm.
Slalom Racing in the late 60's and a few GM Vette Demo
ad's. One he was filming on his back in the middle of the street
and 2 Midyrs came racing by at over 100 mph with him
laying on the yellow line! It was nuts.
Even he said so. :yesnod:

joe58

427 Mitch is not joking about driving his L88. I was at a local cruz night and saw a blue 67 there with a BB hood. The rumor was that it is a real L88. I of course did not believe it but spoke with Mitch and he showed me some of the paper work. This was on High Ridge RD in CT. about 2 years ago.

boerio

Talked to someone who was at the Laughlin, NV NCRS regional meet. 2 legitimate L88 cars were there! Wish I could have made the trip.

- Jeff

sixtyseven427

I always thought it was crazy that people didn't drive and enjoy their cars but one day I saw this phenomenon close up. At a flight judging on Long Island last September I saw a C1 fuelie (among other cars) get loaded off a truck and pushed into place for judging. It was one of those cars that had celebrity signatures all over it (GM execs, etc). It was a beautiful car but I thought to myself "What a shame-that car needs to be driven!". Later that morning, the only other '67 427 at the event drove into the parking lot after the registration for judging had already begun. After my car was squared away I wandered over to this Lyndale Blue beauty and took a look into the interior (the top was down). I said to myself "What is that sticker on the shifter console?". It said something about running on high octane fuel ONLY. Then I spied one of those laminated signs that people put next to their cars at shows behind the back seat. Does that say L-88???? It was Mitch's L-88 and my neighbor and I rode the ferry back to Connecticut with him after the judging and heard the whole true, but "unbelievable", story of how he came to own it. Looking forward to seeing that car again when its all done.

jimgessner

Just for fun, two of the real twenty 67 L-88 cars were at last weekends NCRS Western Regional in Laughlin.

Doug Dewar's Marina Blue DANA Chev convertible from Los Angeles and two year owner Bill McDowagh's white / blue convertible from San Francisco formerly owned by Krughoff, and restored by Dave B.were both on display.

And to add a little spice, Bob Wingate's 67 green/ white stripe COPO Joe Pike car was parked in between the two racers.

I had a lot of fun on Saturday morning watching people ask questions about all three cars. Bill.....Duke.... " Are we getting old?" There are very few people left that understand what these cars were.....and are today. At times, I think only Zora and the few that raced them really understood what the L-88 was all about.

Garrett........you know first hand. Let's take them all to Laguna Seca in August for a party.
Jim
PS: Per Drew Papsen' s survay 18 of the 20 have been accounted for and 4 bogus cars have been found. That number, however has grown since the November 1991 survay.

jimgessner

67 Heaven,
Talked to Bob Wingate this morning. we are having lunch next week. I see him about once a quarter. We need to get him back to Bloomington or Carlisle. A great Corvette history lesson will be had by all.
Jim

67HEAVEN

Jim,

Ask if Bob remembers the four-page spread they did of him in Corvette News, Oct/Nov. 1976? It included seven photos.

It'd be great to see him at Carlisle.

Y'all have booked your rooms already, right? :lol: :lol:


[Modified by 67HEAVEN, 9:02 AM 3/28/2002]

joe58

Jim,
You are on the Wingate web site looking at the 67 at a shop in Culver City, 5/8/01
here is the link
http://www.67fso.com/

SWCDuke

Hmmm... I prefer "seasoned veteran" - like an old soldier from a mostly forgotten war. I began studying Corvettes went I was eleven years old, so I've been a student/historian of them for nearly 45 years. Maybe when I start collecting Social Security I'll feel "old", but not now. :)

Duke

ajtorsiello

Duke, are you sure it was 31 that survived, I though it was more.

jimgessner

Joe 58,
That was a fun day at Jeff Reade's shop, "American Motoring Memories"
Kevin Mac Kay and Chip Miller were out on business and wanted to see Bruce Meyer's 60 Cunningham LeMans car which Jeff was servicing.

Mike Scott and I were in on the original find of the #2 car when Mike Pillsbury bought it at an Irwindale junk yard for $300 in 1978. We also watched and helped Pillsbury restore it, so Chip and Kevin wanted our help with questions they had about Chip's #3 restoration.

about 15 minutes into our viewing of the car, Dick Guldstrand and Fred Yeakel showed up. Now the race chat started.........5 minutes later, Wingate and Radke pulled in unannounced with the "green winnie" ......

At 9:00 PM after a great steak at Patrinnie's, a bunch of overstuffed Corvette racers slowly made their way home.

It is unscheduled meetings like this that keep the old cars ...and older drivers still going.
Save the Wave,
Jim

67HEAVEN

Jim,
What a great evening that must have been. You couldn't plan it any better!
:cheers:

olredalert

Gessner,

------As I sit here in the cold damp Michigan weather,you are beginning to **** me off.I guess I should try to live vicariously thru you but all Im doing is getting an attitude.If you dont stop telling us stories like that Ill make you work for us at Bloomington(Pheasant Gold).
------By the way have you heard about Piscatellos party?I think he is going to have George Lucas direct the filming.Pheasant Run is shaping up to be quite a wing-ding!!!!!!!!!!Bill S

SWCDuke

That was just a number I pulled out of the air to illustrate that there ARE bogus cars out there. I think elsewhere on this thread or on another thread someone gave a count of surviving '67 L-88s along with a number for claimed originals that are suspect.

Duke