1969 Corvette L88
Monday, October 30th, 2006
In its day in age, the L88 was top secret. GM’s brass had banned Chevrolet from racing, so it was private individuals rather than factory-backed teams who ran the risks. When these top-secret Vettes were built, they had no carpets, they came with magnesium wheels, and they were all hardtop convertibles hardly comfortable by today’s standards, but this was a strictly-for-racing, hush-hush Corvette.
Questioned about the lightweight aspects of his original L88, owner Kevin Mackay informed us about an esoteric option that included an oil cooler, headers, and a headlight kit in the trunk for owner installation. “Most utilized closed-chamber aluminum heads,” says Kevin. “The open-chambered version breathed better and produced more horsepower.” These better-breathing heads were finally offered to the public in June 1969, whereas this L88, a one-of-four car, (which Mackay loosely refers to as a prototype) was built in January of the same year.
This particular L88 originally went to Orlando Costanzo. Now in his eighties and living in Tampa, “Or” wasn’t your average hot shoe. He raced at Daytona and Sebring and had connections at Chevrolet. He ordered his then-Daytona Yellow L88 through Ferman Chevrolet in Tampa. As amazing as the Vette’s racing history is (including the highest finish ever Fourth overall for a Corvette at Sebring and back-to-back wins at Sebring and Daytona).
What’s even more unbelievable is that Mackay unearthed this history piece in a junkyard in 1991 and bought it for $7,000 after tracking down the owners one by one.
When Mackay finally got to view the ex-racer, he noticed the rear glass on the hardtop still had the ‘72 Le Mans race-team sticker, all the original panels, steering wheel, gauges, shifter, seats, and much more.
After a quick restoration, the L88 was back on the road. That paint? Well, as you may know, John Greenwood painted his L88 Vettes with the American flag. Previous owner Toye English decided to use the Confederate flag to draw attention to their rivalry not to mention the Greenwood Vette was the tire-test car for BFGoodrich, while Rebel was the tire-test car for Goodyear.
So, who won the North or the South? That’s up for argument. The Greenwood Vette is the faster car, but the Rebel was more durable. Sebring and Daytona, of course, were endurance races. So, it depends on the venue. But if you ask Team VETTE, it doesn’t matter. They’re both Corvettes, so everyone’s a winner.
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