Did Corvette build a 69 L88 with an automatic?

 

Yes they did. Turbo 400

 

17 L88 Corvettes were optioned with the M40 automatic transmission in 1969.

 

An L88 automatic? Thats like fat free mayo, or a soy burger

 

On the dragstrip the mayo "got an extra helping of fat"...............

 

Dont get me wrong, I put a 9" 4000 stall in my last BBC street strip adventure....but now Im rowing my own gears in a significantly slower car, and I enjoy it so much more. Its the Hellmanns in a world of miracle whip

BTW that #2 car is one bad lookin sexy mama!

 

They were beefed up TH400s and very solid. If you read the history of the L-88 and ZL-1 you'll come across accounts of the long lead press reviews cars with the TH400s. They were rockets.

 

Mike, I dont doubt for a second how well an automatic can perform, but for the lack of making it obvious that I enjoy eating, I cant see having a burger without cheese, milk without chocolate, fish sticks without tartar sauce, and the list goes on and on. Perhaps I have some food issues. Well I have had milk without chocolate, and its ok, but its better with it. What were we talking about?

 

You mentioned soy burgers.

 

If I could afford a L88, I'd buy either.

 

I would say a mountain of muscle with the stall converter necessary....T 400`s didn't need much, they had already proven there use in the first 'Funny cars before the 'Lencos arrived....If you wanted to go fast, use a T400....other wise stay home with those wobble shifting 4 speeds or prepare to tape your doors on or get them blown off........

call them anything you want but without one against a BB forget about trophies and stick to bench racing ...its safer

 

I could be wrong, but Id say at the time the L88 came out there really wasnt much in the aftermarket torque converter market. Outside of a switch pitch converter, I'd be willing to bet that many automatics got their a$$ handed to them by comparably equipped 4 speed cars.

As previously stated, Ive backed a BBC with a 4000 stall converter, so I know how effective that such a machine can be, but this is well after the heyday of muscle cars. The first motor I put that converter behind was a 396 that went 12.45 @107 with a 1.72 60 ft. There is no way I could have done that with a 4 speed in the place of that auto. The 454 that eventually ended up in the car never made it to the track, but I suspect it was a deep deep deep 11 second ride, and Im sure that I could not match numbers at the strip by driving it as a 4 speed.

For me personally, Im so over the whole converter flash to 4K and destroy tires down the street thing when the car is being used as a street car...Id rather bang some gears these days. To each his own.

And if I had the money to buy an L88, there is no way it would be an auto. In fact, it probably would be a Cobra, and Id take it out for a cheeseburger and a milkshake

 

Luckily that's why cars have options. .. some hate autos, some hate convertibles, red paint, etc

 

The L-88 cars came with a higher stall converter than was normal at the time. I can not say for certain but the 2300 rpm sounds right. Couple that to a 4.56:1 rear gear and you certainly have a rocket. The L-88 turbo also had shift points altered. Automatics are difficult to match with a four speed. Back in the day, my drag car had a TH400 with a 5000 stall speed converter.

 

Were any of the L88 convertibles?

 

Absolutely. I have personally spent serious time in one. It was a rocket, too. White, tan interior, no power anything and a big sticker on the console. It was a four speed car and was and still is the most brutally powerful car I have ever driven. I remember that you had to hit the starter BEFORE touching the gas or it would catch the carb on fire every time. My friend took it to the local paint shop to have it touched up and the guy at the shop hopped it, pumped the gas, hit the starter, and burned the hood off it. Expensive mistake.
Did I mention that it was a rocket?

 

 

Yes. Google James Garner. Yep. Movie star James Garner. You can also drool here: http://www.thel88corvette.com/

 

Everyone knows Rockford drove a bronze firebird. In some episodes he even manually shifted that puppy

 

I don't go to the drags and I don't race on the street. Banging gears and working the clutch is what makes me enjoy taking my big block for a ride. Driving an auto around town would be boring, not much more fun than driving my Yukon. If I had the money to buy an L88, it would only be driven on rare occasions. Real L88s cannot be regulary driven on the street, even if one was foolish enough to do so. I've driven both a '67 and a '68 (that belong to someone else) and let me tell you...I was nervous as hell. They overheat in traffic and consume large quantities of race fuel. Can you imagine sitting at a red light and some texting turd smashes into you?