Two C3 L88 Corvettes, One Amazing Offering
Daily Slideshow: Only 216 L88 C3 Corvettes were ever built. And now, this coupe and convertible are being sold as a matching pair.
Matching Pair
Among the many Corvettes celebrated for their rarity and performance, the mighty C3 L88 is near the top of everyone's list. From 1967-1969, a mere 216 L88-powered cars were built, (196 C3s) making them a rare sight these days. That makes this matching coupe and convertible offering at Mecum Auctions a pretty amazing find.
Unique Pasts
Of course, these two Tuxedo Black Corvettes haven't been stablemates their entire lives. The 'vert was originally purchased by Corvette racer Tony DeLorenzo, while the coupe has an even more interesting ownership history. Apparently, the original owner bought the car yet left it at the dealership for a long time, eventually showing up with a trailer to take it home.
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Barely Driven
The coupe wasn't driven much after that, as it now shows only 2,000 miles on the odometer, making it one of the lower-mileage 1969 L88 cars (116 built) in existence. All the original goodies are intact, including the much-coveted drivetrain, unique suspension, and power disc brakes.
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Keeping it NOS
Regardless, the coupe has been treated to an exhaustive restoration by Naber Brothers of Houston, Texas. NOS parts were used to replace worn out originals wherever needed, including the original-spec Firestone tires.
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Award Winner
Unsurprisingly, this amazing find has since racked up an entire case of awards, including Bloomington Gold, NCRS Regional Top Flight honors, and invitations to the 2008 Bloomington Gold L88 Invasion and 2018 L88 Explosion Special Collections.
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Daily Driver
It's no surprise that famed L88 racer Tony DeLorenzo would wind up buying himself a street version of his dominant racer that once racked up 22 consecutive wins. And that he did, scoring this triple black '69 convertible that he special ordered from Hanley Dawson Chevrolet to be his daily driver.
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Hot Ride, Literally
This particular car is one of only two that sport an all-black color combination, which undoubtedly only made driving the air conditioning-less Corvette even hotter. But when you race cars for a living, you obviously don't need such luxurious amenities.
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Upgrade Me
DeLorenzo wasn't content with his street-legal race car in its natural state, either. He soon added upgrades including custom headers and exhaust, Plexiglas headlight covers, fender flares, and an aftermarket bumper to his new ride.
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Street to Track
Despite this, DeLorenzo only kept the car until the end of 1969 before selling it to his pal and airplane pilot Curt Wetzel. Wetzel proceeded to race it all over Europe. The car racked up loads of wins and changed hands a couple more times before it was restored to original condition in the early 2000s.
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Million Dollar Duo
With that kind of history, you can bet this special convertible has also won its fair share of awards. And it has, including multiple Bloomington Gold awards and NCRS Top Flight honors. But now, it's just one of two amazing L88 Corvettes that promise to command well over a million dollars as a duo!
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