Dropped the tank to find the build sheet
How rare is this car?

 

You have side exhaust which is really desirable. Its a 390hp, 4 speed, convertible. Rare means different things to different people. L88's with original drivetrain are rare. Yours does not fall into that category in my opinion. ( I also have a 69 427 4sp roadster with sidepipes with original drivetrain and tank sticker) but that being said, your car is uncommon. Is it the same one in your avatar? Does your car have the original drivetrain? Those things make it even less common. I see you have an L88 hood and non factory exhaus if that is the car in question. Also the sticker says Daytona yellow. So if that is your car its modified from stock. That is common...

They only made something like 4355 cars with sidepipes. Add the other great options like 427, 4sp in a roadster body and you have a combo that is not very common.

The word rare is overused, like matching numbers. People use that word and it makes me cringe. It almost means nothing anymore. Everyone who has a 427 corvette thinks its rare. It isn't. They made lots of them. If your car has the original drivetrain and you restore it back to near perfect condition you will have a great car with very desirable options that can be documented. That's more uncommon.

As for realistic numbers of how many had those similar options its pretty hard to work out without just guessing. But here it goes.

They made 10531 L36 390 HP cars. If you extrapolate that around 11% had pipes than that puts the number at around 1160. Around 3/4 had 4sps. So put that around 870. 40% were roadsters, 350ish. Of those how many have there original drivetrain and have docs to prove it. How many were factory yellow. It can get down to very few but what does it really mean? One interesting feature is your car doesn't have tinted glass. That's unusual.

You can do this with lots of cars and they all can get down to the "hundreds" just because of the many combinations of options available.

You have a great car, enjoy it.

PS: What is the cars build date on the trim tag? I am guessing early March?

 

It's a fairly unusual combination of options, which makes it relatively rare. Nobody can tell you how rare since GM didn't track option production combinations for these cars. A lot of people confuse rare with valuable, but they're not necessarily synonymous. Originality and condition are more important when considering value. However, a 4 speed, L36 convertible with factory pipes is a very desirable combination.

 

Thanks for your replies they gave me lots of answers. Yes it is the car in the avatar and you're right wrong color wrong exhaust but most everything else seems to match numbers.
I have a lot of history with the car since buying it from the 3rd owner in Las Vegas in 1996
With the help of this badge from the engine bay i managed to find the original owner and met him, his wife and members of the club at Corvettes at Carlisle in 2009. We also went to the supplying Chevrolet dealer Sutliff Chevrolet in Harrisburg PA
He also told me that the same year he bought it new he had it customised by adding flares, 2 extra taillights, a large rear spoiler and spider web paintwork then took it to shows




He gave me the 2nd owners details but after talking to his son i found out unfortunately he had died but that the son remembered the car and that during a divorce he had to sell it to the owner i bought it from
As for numbers... i have had the engine/gearbox and rear end rebuilt and got all the numbers on paperwork attached
Looks like the left cylinder head is dated L17 8 and the right B7 9
Intake is 3947801
Alternator 1100881

 

Nice.
Your car was built Feb 19, not October 19. You have the trim tag as showing C19 but its actually a G19. The G stamp has a broken crossbar and looks like a C. If your car was built in October then a Feb engine build would be a problem. I am sure your tag is a G which makes everything correct.

My car is also a February built car vin 716665 and my engine and trans have the exact same build dates as yours.

You have yourself a very desirable car.

 

Thanks again for the reply
Would you if doing a frame off restoration change the body back to original and lose the flares, spoiler etc?

 

Salutations to 'ol blighty'

You might say that it's rare....insofar as I'm pretty sure its the only one in LONDON.

You might not want to go down the 'rare' rabbit hole.....unless I miss my guess the car was yellow...now it's silver.....so the 'string of rarity is ruined'

I have also a 69 two top side exhaust convertible....with the thousands and thousands of various permutations available with RPO's....I gave up on the one-of-XXX bit decades ago.

Unkahal