This should be interesting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

[Tracy C.]

https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0520-414684/1967-chevrolet-corvette-l88-convertible/

Cliff was a quest speaker at one of our chapter meets a few years ago...I was spellbound for his 2 hour recounting of the Daytona story.

tc

[Mark E.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Wow. 300 podium finishes including LeMans, the last '67 built, AND the only '67 L88 with its original engine.

That's amazing. Did the engine really survive that use? Or maybe with incredible foresight by the owner that the car would be worth a fortune in 50 years, the engine was set aside when new?

[Larry E.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Truly an amazing car with all the paperwork except for one thing. Wonder why there is no "Wholesale Invoice"
shown? Whoever lent the initial money to buy it from GM should have been sent this. eg.>Local Bank;Dealer
itself(Self Funded);GMAC; or ? . Just wondering FWIW>Larry

[George J.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Great story, from what I could read so far.

[Tracy C.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Wow. 300 podium finishes including LeMans, the last '67 built, AND the only '67 L88 with its original engine.

That's amazing. Did the engine really survive that use? Or maybe with incredible foresight by the owner that the car would be worth a fortune in 50 years, the engine was set aside when new?

While his was a very late build (possibly the last 67 L88), it wasn't the last 67 Corvette built, but it was the last to leave the factory as it sat in the parking lot waiting for him to pick it up and pay for it well after the 68 production was underway. He had some connections among the General's brass.

I recall that Cliff told us he was driving the car home to Arkansas City KS from St Louis after taking delivery and dropped a valve due to a faulty keeper. The original engine was replaced and stored away. I also seem to remember that most of the racing/winning was done with a hopped up small block while the original engine sat back in his shop.

I haven't read the book "Against all Odds" , but all of this is likely written about there.

[Michael J.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Mr. H displayed the last '67 built at the NCRS San Antonio National, this L88 is not the last. They should correct that claim.

[Tracy C.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

The "last 67 built" was a big block but not an L88. There was a lot of hoopla over that car several years ago and I think the engine case was a replacement.

[Mark E.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Mr. H displayed the last '67 built at the NCRS San Antonio National, this L88 is not the last. They should correct that claim.

That's a big and expensive "mistake". Dana Mecum should be more careful with the facts, especially when he's the owner and auctioneer.

[Loren L.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Does the story include Both restorations, ie, the one to BG/TF "stock" status and then the one back to "race car" status?

[Tom D.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

Does the story include Both restorations, ie, the one to BG/TF "stock" status and then the one back to "race car" status?

Here is the Mecum.com description/story.

• 26
• 1
• 6

• Engine
  
  427/430 HP
• Trans
  
  4-Speed

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Ultimate L88 Corvette
• Bloomington Gold Great Hall Inductee
• The last 1967 Corvette to leave the factory
• The only 1967 L88 Corvette to retain its complete original L88 engine
• Documented with the original tank sticker, window sticker, order form, shipper copy, dealer invoice, factory inspection form and factory ID card
• Purchased new by Cliff Gottlob of Arkansas City, Kansas
• Driven by Cliff Gottlob and Dave Dooley to 2nd in GT Class and 11th overall at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1970
• Driven to nearly 400 podium finished and more than 150 outright wins during its 8-year racing career with the original owner Cliff Gottlob, during that time the car took home 52 consecutive victories
• Gottlob kept the car until 1978 when he sold it to David Burroughs and Jim Krughoff
• Burroughs and Krughoff sold to car to Bill McDonagh in 1997
• McDonagh sold the car to Dana Mecum in 2013
• A freshly rebuilt, period correct L88 engine is included if the new owner chooses to preserve the original engine
• According to David Burroughs, 'not one minute of ownership, one piece of paper, or one alteration is unaccounted for.'

When comparing the upper echelon of investment-quality collector cars, several aspects separate great cars from the rest: rarity, pedigree, provenance, racing history, originality and authenticity. This 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible exceeds expectations in every category and can be suitably referred to as “The Ultimate L88.” In fact, according to Bloomington Gold Founder David Burroughs, “Not one minute of ownership, one piece of paper or one alteration is unaccounted for.”
Just 216 L88 Corvettes were produced over three years from 1967-69, yet only 20 L88s were built in the first year offered, placing the 1967 L88 Corvette at the pinnacle of desirability for all Corvettes.
This 1967 L88 Corvette, Serial No. 21550, has an unquestionable pedigree as the best-documented example of its kind in the world. Documented with the original tank sticker, window sticker, order form, shipper copy, dealer invoice, factory inspection form, factory ID card, vintage photos, complete ownership history and a remarkable racing career, there is no other 1967 L88 Corvette with equally extensive or impressive documentation. This car is also the only 1967 L88 Corvette to retain its complete original engine, consisting of the original engine block, heads, crankshaft, rods, pistons, lifters and valve train.
This car stands as the most successful L88 Corvette race car of all time during its eight-year racing career with its original owner. At the Daytona 24 Hour Endurance race of 1970, Cliff Gottlob’s privateer racing team stunned the field by finishing second in GT Class and 11th overall. Furthermore, L88 21550 was piloted to nearly 300 podium finishes, including more than 150 outright wins, and during that time, it took home a record-setting 52 consecutive victories.
This car’s provenance begins with the original owner, Cliff Gottlob of Arkansas City, Kansas, who worked full time as an engineer and operated a self-sponsored and underfunded privateer racing team on the weekends. Gottlob graduated from high school at age 15, earned five engineering degrees from Heidelberg University and was the youngest student to attend the Carter Carburetor School in St. Louis, Missouri. While in St. Louis, Gottlob had the opportunity to tour the Corvette assembly plant and subsequently “got hooked” on Corvettes. He developed a knack for synchronizing the complex triple 2-barrel side-draft carburetor setups on early Corvettes, and when the good word spread about his mechanical prowess, Gottlob had plenty of Corvettes to work on. In the 1960s, Gottlob went on to set world records during his drag-racing career, and his early success in quarter-mile racing garnered the attention of Chevrolet’s inner circle of executives, engineers and developmental specialists.
By the mid-1960s, Gottlob was dead-set on road racing and needed a car. On June 5, 1967, his close friend and Chevrolet executive Ralph Miller arranged a discounted price on 1967 Corvette L88 convertible, and the order was executed with plans for delivery to be taken at the Corvette factory. On July 3, Chevrolet called and said his car was ready, but Gottlob had a full docket of drag-racing contract work and needed to earn the money to pay for the L88, so he pushed back taking delivery of the car. In August, Chevrolet called again. Furious that a 1967 Corvette was sitting among a parking lot of new third-generation models, Gottlob’s L88 was preventing accountants from clearing the books on the previous year’s car and was notably the last midyear Corvette to leave the factory.

Provenance continues with its documented complete ownership chain of Corvette aficionados who have carefully preserved this iconic racer. The collectively exhaustive list of owners includes Cliff Gottlob (1967-1978), Jim Krughoff and David Burroughs (1978-1997), Bill McDonagh (1997-2013) and Dana Mecum (2013-Present). In 2013, this L88 Daytona Racer was inducted into the Bloomington Gold Great Hall as one of the 50 most significant Corvettes of all time. Later in 2013, this car joined a special group as one of very few Corvettes ever invited to grace the lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Due to the original owner’s fastidious preservation of the car and its original components, this is one of the most authentic and well-preserved examples of a 1967 L88 Corvette. The original owner saved most of the original components that were removed for competition and were included with the car in its 1978 sale to Krughoff and Burroughs. After years of research, Burroughs began a historically correct rehabilitation to its 1970 Daytona as-raced configuration with special attention paid to match the “look” of its racing days from 1967-1975. Many of the original components remain unrestored to this day while other parts were restored or replaced as needed to remain in synch with the original unrestored components that were on the car during its legendary Daytona run. Even the minor cosmetic imperfections suffered during competition were precisely documented and reapplied to pay homage to its illustrious racing career. Furthermore, A freshly rebuilt, period correct L88 engine is included in the sale if the new owner chooses to preserve the original engine.
Most impressive of all is the amazing journey of Gottlob’s unsponsored blue-collar privateer racing team driving this 1967 L88 Corvette 1,636 miles from Kansas to Daytona to compete against the best in the world in America’s grandest endurance race with an amateur pit crew of family and friends. After the race, they packed up and drove the L88 race car back to Kansas.
Daytona 24 Hour Corvette race-car driver Tony DeLorenzo stated it best: “It’s a helluva story,” and we invite you to read this car’s larger-than-life legend as documented in the book “Against All Odds.”

[Tracy C.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

That's a big and expensive "mistake". Dana Mecum should be more careful with the facts, especially when he's the owner and auctioneer.

Well maybe I am missing something, where is the mistake? Last to leave the factory does not mean the last one built.

[Michael J.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

To me the wording is misleading. "Last to leave the factory" implies at first glance it was the last to be built, as the cars leave the factory after being built. If they were to make it more clear, IMO, it should say "Last '67 to be shipped".

[Tom B.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

It's interesting that Mecum describes this car to be the only one with the original engine when 2 years ago they had Corvette Mike's yellow coupe advertised at Mecum Indy as with the original engine. Corvette Mikes web still says today the yellow coupe has the original engine. Also I have seen the Lyndale Blue convertible described as having the original engine. Over the years I have seen several references to there being 3 67 L88s with still having original engines. I think 3 is the correct number unless a still undiscovered example my show up someday.

Tom

[Mark E.]

Re: This should be intresting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

To me the wording is misleading. "Last to leave the factory" implies at first glance it was the last to be built, as the cars leave the factory after being built. If they were to make it more clear, IMO, it should say "Last '67 to be shipped".

Very misleading distinction: Last built or last to leave the plant.

And how is it known which car left the factory last? Last out the door? Last on the train/truck? Last one received by a dealer? Last one purchased?
How is that known?

[Bill M.]

Re: This should be interesting - Gottlob's old L88 at auction

I read the article on one of the Vette sites quite a while ago and the article said last to leave the factory. That means last one out the door. I see no deception in that statement. Or mecums discription. But like all news today someone is always looking for a gotcha. 👀