Tweet
A buddy of mine has acquired a '67 coupe with an original tri-power 400hp/427 with air conditioning. The car still has all the original smog equipment on it as well. We have read that there were only 76 of these cars produced by the General. I'm not a C2 kind of guy (give me a straight axle anytime!) so we're curious....the smog option does in fact make this a California car.....right? Does anyone out there have a car similar to this one? Does the smog option affect it's desirability? What else can anyone tell me about this car?
-
-
Re: C2 - '67 California Car?
i've got a 67 435 k-19 smogger. hollar if you all need details on the smog. mike -
Re: C2 - '67 California Car?
Brad-----
There's no way that anyone can say with any certainty just how many 1967 Corvettes with L-68 and C-60 were delivered to California. Any number that anyone comes up with is just a "guesstimate". When you're dealing with a COMBINATION of optional items, it's very difficult to calculate just how many may have been built. In fact, as I've said many times before, when you consider all the possible combinations of options, body style, interior trim, and exterior color, just about every Corvette of the 60s is unique. So, when you get down to it, whether there were 6, 76, or 276 of the 1967 Corvette with L-68, C-60, and K-19 made, the car, as a whole, is likely unique or one of a very small number built exactly the same way. Another way of looking at it is when every car is unique, no car is unique.
As far as K-19 goes, for the 1966 model year its availability was limited to California-delivered cars. It was required on those cars (except L-72) and it was limited to those cars. For 1967, I don't know if that order restriction was removed with the K-19 thusly available anywhere. Mo matter, it's a relatively moot point; I doubt that many would have been ordered where they were not required, except by "accident". Even though it was new at the time, the "smog pump" was less popular in 1967 than it is now.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
-
Re: C2 - '67 California Car?
So, from the standpoint of value in today's market, is a C2 car (any engine)with SMOG of more, equal, or less value? Is it worth the money and effort to go track down all the SMOG parts and get them back on a car that originally had it? Most folks pulled the smog parts off years ago and tossed them...Comment
-
Re: C2 - '67 California Car?
Tim------
All other things being equal, I'd say that a K-19 and non-K-19 car would have about the same value. RESTORING a K-19 car, previously stripped of the K-19 components, could prove a lot more expensive than restoring a non-K-19 car in the same overall condition, though. There's no law that says that one has to get out of a restoration the same or more dollars than one puts into it.
Were it not for the different engine suffix codes, I expect that a lot of K-19 cars would be restored as non-K-19 cars. As far as "created" cars go, I'll bet that no one ever "created" a K-19 car. So, if you find a K-19 car, then I'd say that it's a better than even chance that it's original.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
-
Addendum
One other thing: NCRS and NCCB have been a LOT more effective than the government in ensuring that K-19 (and later across-the-board A.I.R. systems) be maintained on cars or restored to cars once stripped of them. When only government regulations were involved, many of these systems were unceremoniously (and, gleefully) removed from the cars. Now that NCRS and NCCB have "gotten into the act", the systems are going back on cars that have been "long-seperated" from AIR. I mean, how dare someone show up on the judging field with a 66-67 car with an AIR suffix code or a later model known to have been built with AIR but with the AIR system missing? How incredibly gauche!
This presents a real problem (and expense) for Corvette restorers, in particular. Many of the Corvette AIR system components were unique-to-Corvette pieces. These systems, many indescriminately "trashed" by Corvette owners of long ago, are now VERY difficult to put together.
Also, what about this: as part of the Performance Verification (PV) process for all Corvettes perhaps there should be the requirement for the presentation of an emissions system tail-pipe measurement inspection report to verify the operation of the emission system and make sure that folks aren't trying to pass off a "gutted" or otherwise performance-deficient emissions control system as "originally delievered". After all, we wouldn't allow a car to have a normal appearing, but disfunctional, radio to pass PV. So, why not check to ensure that the emissions control system is "as-delivered", too? It shouldn't be required for normal Flight Judging, of course, but PV is another matter. For PV, the car's components and systems are checked to ensure that they perform AS ORIGINALLY DELIVERED.
Even for cars not required to be inspected as part of a State's emissions inspection program, it is possible to obtain an inspection at an inspection station. No problem, at all (of course, you have to pay for it). The "tamper-proof" process which most states utilize to ensure that there's no "skull-dugery" involved should be protection enough to ensure that emissions inspection reports presented for PV are accurate. So, there's a "built-in" protection and certification there for an "off judging field" component of the PV process. It should "fit-like-a-glove".In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
-
Re: Addendum
Joe,
If Roy decides to make emissions check part of the PV, it is no big deal. We have several portable five-gas analyzers at school that I can borrow. The only problem might be getting them through airport screening. I doubt the TSA folks have ever seen anything like the hoses on those things. Even if borrowing becomes an issue, the cost of them is dropping. More shops are using them to diagnose emission failures on OBD I vehicles, but as the OBD II vehicles become more prevalent those old testers will become dirt cheap.TerryComment
-
Re: C2 - '67 California Car?
Brad,
I'm in SoCal and have a 427/400 A.I.R. If you need info, pictures, and/or assistance let me know.
GunnerComment
Comment