EBay L88 Tanker

[Mike G.]

Pretty interesting listing with an NDT report on the block grain structure.
Surprised there isn't already a long thread discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of the metallurgical "opinion".

[Joe L.]

Re: EBay L88 Tanker

Mike-----

After seeing your post, I checked the eBay listing; I do not normally follow ANY complete Corvette car listings on eBay.

The "laboratory report" doesn't really speak to the block grain structure. It speaks mostly to the "authenticity" of the stampings and the pad broach mark "grain". As a matter of fact, any sort of metallurgical analysis would be absolutely menaingless as far as "authenticating" a 1967 L-88. That's because exactly the same block was used for other 1967 big blocks. In any event, I regard the "laboratory report" as absolutely meaningless. Just a "smoke screen" or "red herring" put up by the seller to lend credibility to the car. There are any number of ways that a block stamping could be "authentic" enough to be "verified" by this sort of "analysis". In my opinion, it's 100% meaningless. Frankly, the fact that the seller offered such a thing as "documentation" makes the car FAR more suspect, in my mind.

As far as the pad stamping goes, IN MY OPINION, I do not believe it to be authentic, at all. It just doesn't look "right" to me. Al Grenning might be able to offer a much better informed opinion IF he had a good "straight on" picture of the pad. The frame stamping may be authentic, but I don't think that the pad stamping is, either with respect to engine code or VIN derivative.

I also note that the seller does not mention any other sort of documentation in the item description. As I've said many times before, for a car like this (and ESPECIALLY like this one) to be considered authentic it would have to have ABSOLUTELY INCONTROVERTABLE DOCUMENTARY PROOF (i.e. ORIGINAL PAPERWORK and NOT "testimonials" from previous owners). Otherwise, I would consider such a car a replica ONLY.

Also, I note that the seller states that the car is sold AS-IS without him gauaranteeing ANYTHING.

[Tracy C.]

Re: EBay L88 Tanker

I doubt seriously that someone willing to sell a "REAL" 67 L88 would need to resort to an eBay auction to rid themselves of the car. Pretty sure by now that all these are accounted for and the waiting lists of buyers already formed.

tc




L88 Tanker on eBay

[Mike G.]

Re: EBay L88 Tanker

Another case of "of the 20 originally produced, only 38 remain accounted for.."??

[Clem Z.]

notice,the block has been "O" ringed *NM*

[Joe L.]

Re: notice,the block has been "O" ringed

clem-----

Yes. Plus, he pictures this "high dollar, one-of-a-kind" car without front bumpers.

It does look like a nice car, though, and someone must have spent a ton of money to make it up. Some of the 1967 L-88 only pieces are pretty hard to come by and very pricey. Also, the big tank and related components are rare and expensive. So, there were a lot of dollars spent on it. However, as I say, without ABSOLUTELY INCONTROVERTABLE DOCUMENTATION, it's just a replica.

[Joe L.]

Addendum

clem-----

Also, it could be that the correctly dated and numbered block with an unstamped pad that someone found for the "project" was already o-ringed. So, they had no choice but to leave it that way.

[mike cobine]

Re: EBay L88 Tanker

The description is of L88 Corvettes in general, nothing is about the history of THIS car, other than the 4 year restoration.

Did it race, or someone's garage queen?

The o-ringed block suggests serious engine work, however, why? If the engine was seriously built, there should be some racing history. Of course, that provides a means to prove or disprove the authenticity of the car. So there should be evidence of welding a roll bar to the frame.

I would expect a seller to brag on the racing history, if it were real. No one bought them for collectibles back then.

Shouldn't there be a gas tank cover? All this work and leave it off? I can understand the front bumpers off, as I always liked the look better.

Back to serious racing. If one was seriously raced, in a car that could expect a 10 year racing history, what are the odds it would still have both the orignal engine and transmission?

[mike mccagh]

Re: EBay L88 Tanker

i was under the impression only two NO3 tankers were built in 67. pad broach marks suspicious at best. as others discussed, cover should be present over the fiberglass 36 gal tank.no photos of the tank's plumbing disallows inspection of unique to NO3 hose clamps. also absent are photos of backside of rear quarterpanels that help confirm or disprove real NO3. all this baby needs are shoulder harness to be worth 175K. mike

[Mike L.]

Re: EBay L88 Tanker

This looks alot like a car that was in the Connecticut area, many many years ago that was made up from a 1966 Vette that had a Big Tank. The car ended up I believe in the PA. area. You can't sell me this one!!!!!

[William V.]

[mike cobine]

Re: EBay L88 Tanker

I am not saying that this is the case with this car, but people have built clones and replicas for years.

We are all familiar with the Grand Sport replicas, starting with Dan Garner's red roadster back in 1980. Based on a stock frame that was modified, it missed a lot but also followed a lot of the GS characteristics. Then there was a blue coupe built in the 80s by a guy from Naples, FL, whose name I have forgotten, who did go the extra step to a tube frame, 200 mph speedometer, stamped a-arms, and such. Since then, there have been many, some mass-produced, some individually produced. They build them because they can't afford a million bucks for a real one, if one was even for sale.

Same with L88s. It was easy enough to get an engine, or at least duplicate the engine sans numbers, and many did. Some went further. I remember in the late '70s a '67 Lynndale convertible in St. Louis with an L88 and AC. He claimed he added the AC to the original L88, but many around claimed it started as a 390 hp with AC and was converted to an L88.

Some take their replicas further than others, depending on the money they have to spend, their desire to be accurate, their desire to achieve what the factory produced, and other reasons. Some do it for themselves; some do it for the reaction from others.

So a car could have well been produced to look like an L88 and 20 years later, be passed off as one, or be confused for one.

Corvettes are one of the most commonly modified cars ever made. What you see today on any given Corvette may or may not be what it began life as or even what it spent much of its life as. That is what makes it so important to examine every detail when paying big bucks for one.

It was a lot easier when they were $2000 cars. If you stuffed a 435 hp in a small block car when they cost $2000, no one worried if it was original, just how fast it went.

[Geoff C.]

[mike cobine]

Re: Tank This

He could be sore over all the documentation questions from people. It seems no one accepts anything today without a stack of papers, and there are good reasons for that, thanks to many counterfeiters and less-than-honest sellers.

However, there were lots of cars that didn't have any paper back in the '70s and '80s and they sure aren't going to have any today, at least not real paper.

So people who own real cars with no paper are faced with a dilemma: take a nothing price, suffer abuse that it isn't real, or obtain "paper".

I wonder about a few cars I have known long ago that were real cars, but had no paper trail. I wonder if they have paper today.

[Jon S.]

Re: Tank This

Since this is "1 of 1", it is also apparently listed in Hemmings, priced at $1.2M.