Ex-James Garner AIR 1968 Chevy Corvette L88 Race Car Up For Auction

In response to the 1955 disaster at the 24 Hours of LeMans that killed 84 and injured over 120 others, General Motors signed an agreement with the other auto manufacturers of America to abstain from involvement in competitive motorsports. After the 1957 signing, almost all the AMA members began clandestinely providing parts, engineering assistance, and cars to privateer racers. In 1963, with the possibility of the government ruling General Motors as a monopoly and possibly breaking up the company, GM execs came down hard on the clandestine racing efforts. They didn’t want to attract any undue attention, and thought that getting out of racing would help. This killed the Chevy Corvette Grand Sport program. Corvette Godfather Zora Arkus-Duntov would have to find another way to get competition caliber Corvettes into the hands of racers. He did it with the L88 option.

The Chevy Corvette RPO L88 option would get the buyer an iron-block, aluminum-head 427 Big Block engine that was deliberately underrated at 430 horsepower, or five fewer than the L71 427 Big Block that was intended for regular road use. The truth was the L88’s output was more like 550 to 600 horsepower with a set of headers and a bit of tuning. Intended strictly for competition use, the L88 had four-bolt mains, a forged steel crank, forged internals, 12.5:1 compression, a radically aggressive solid-lifter cam, transistorized ignition, a Winters aluminum intake manifold, the aforementioned aluminum heads, and a Holley 850CFM four-barrel carb.

Opting for the L88 in the Chevy Corvette required a number of other options as well. J56 Special Heavy Duty power brakes, a Positraction rear differential, F41 Special Front and Rear Suspension, and the Muncie M22 “Rock Crusher” manual gearbox were all mandatory with the L88 engine package. Beginning in 1968, the three-speed Turbo Hydramatic automatic transmission could be ordered with the L88, but you could not get a radio, power windows, power steering, or air conditioning in the L88 Corvette.

Our feature 1968 Chevy Corvette is one of the L88-optioned cars that made it into the hands of competitors. One of two L88 convertibles that were sold to James Garner’s (that’s right, Rockford was a racer) American International Racing team, the Corvette was then modified by Dick Guldstrand’s racing shop, with engine modifications performed by Travers and Coons. The car was then raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona by Guldstrand and Ed Leslie. It was then sold to a privateer who raced the Corvette at Riverside Raceway. The next owner was the head of the Zollner Corporation piston manufacturer. He raced the Corvette in SCCA competition. His son bought the car for SCCA-A Production and IMSA racing in the West Coast region. During this time, a replacement Chevy 454 was fitted, but the original L88 engine was retained. The Corvette was retired from racing toward the end of the 1970s, but was partially restored prior to a 1991 National Corvette Restorers Society show. The restoration was completed sometime before the late 1990s, and the car appeared at historic racing events at the Laguna Seca Historics with Dick Guldstrand returning to piloting duties.

In 2016, the 1968 Chevy Corvette L88 was bought by its current steward. It now features an LS7 454 Big Block, M22 four-speed, 3.90 rear diff, color-matched hardtop, staggered width alloy wheels, side pipes, roll bar, two racing bucket seats in black vinyl, and its original LeMans Blue AIR livery. Included in the sale are the original American International Racing L88 with Traco stamping, the original bill of sale, a collection of historical photographs, and various magazines featuring the car.

This unique 1968 Chevy Corvette L88 convertible is currently for sale on auction website Bring a Trailer, with the sale concluding Friday, June 20^th.