Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad Rhodes
My dad also had one of the 67 427/435 M-22 cars. He ordered it brand new in 66. After he picked up the car he found out about the L88, he would have ordered one of those had he known about it. His was marina Blue with both tops, no side pipes. Said it had a tag ( i believe on the shifter) that said not for highway use, off road only.
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My 67 435 HP car was also Marina Blue with a black interior but with "off the road" side pipes. Both tops. AND the speed warning buzzer. A friend had a yellow(Ugly) one (435 HP) with the rare "J-56" brake option and a standard M21 Muncie. The M-22 trans was OK for the street but was loud. Not to bad with the side pipes sounding off in my ears. It "whined" a lot with the straight cut gears. Never saw the tag on the shifter on mine. The L-88/430 HP option was way to expensive for a single young guy at almost $950 unless you had a rich mom and dad. Plus living in Md. a heater was more important in the winter time than the L-88 option. I could NOT hear the radio anyway with the side pipes but who cares. it was a rough riding car (rode like a dump truck) that sucked gas especially after I changed gears to 4.88's and got 4 1/2 MPG but at .39 cents a gallon for SUNOCO 280 so what. It was HOT as hell in the summer as A/C was not avaliable with the solid lifter cam engines. Back then what self respecting car guy would have A/C anyway. To much extra weight and used precious HP. Most good restored REAL 435 HP cars go for around $125,000 to $250,000 today. Maybe a little more for a really nice one with the right color and options. A REAL L-88 with the original engine brings approx $3,000,000 to $5.000,000. (Thats million). If we only knew. There are probably many more 435 HP cars today than Chev. ever made with all the bogus stuff out there like restamped blocks etc. One 435 HP car was traced to have begun life on the assembly line as a 300 HP powerglide car a few years ago. Im sure there are a cpl. of BOGUS L-88's out there but harder to fake. Not as many and most are accounted for. I ended up running 10.97 (Best) with mine with a cam (L-88 gear drive cam) change and 8 inch slicks and open headers. Mostly 11.0's and 11.teens in A/SP class at Aquasco and Capitol. My favorite Corvette was a 1966 roadster. Maroon with black interior and a white top. 327/350 HP with a 4-speed muncie. All Id need today is A/C in it because Im old. My 73 was the first with automatic and A/C. It was a John Lingenfelter look alike. Ugly green and (UGH) a tan interior. My latest is a 2010, 430 HP LS-3, 6 speed auto, A/C as all of them have, rides like a Cadilliac and "The way it was". Looking for a nice 67 small block (less expensive) Coupe to "CLONE" as a 435 HP look alike with a pump gas friendly big block with vintage air and a 5 speed tremic. Maroon with american spoke torque thrust mags. Who cares about numbers matching !