As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

[Brandon T.]

I was looking for a 68 or 69 big block convertible 4sp in pretty original condition and it had to be a no hit body, matching numbers, and alteast meet the required above and any options more a plus.

well I ended up with a 68 instead of a 69 found it by word of mouth and bought the car when it had not even been advertised and have been happy with it.

thing is I knew ahead of time 69's are for most more desirable and I'm aware of why. Most people perfer the stingray badge, the gill inserts, wider 8" wheels and the other minor changes.

I personaly like most of the changes added to the 69 myself! infact I have found myself wanting to add the chrome gill inserts but I don't want to put holes in the body of my car for them

anyway I haven't seen any issues with my car that would make me think hey it's because it's a 68..then again I bought mine in 05 and I'm the 3rd owner so any issues that were 68 only probably were fixed long before I got it thats why I wanted to ask were there really any issues..

OR is it about the same thing as the whole 64 isn't a good year to buy thing which IMO is rubbish...

well just curious to hear from original 68 owners, thanks!

[Kurt B.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

Brandon,
I bought my 68 coupe form the original owner in 1972 and still have it.
He was a personal friend of mine so I know the car and the fact that neither he nor I have any of the problems, (to this day) that everyone complains about 68s about.
Mine wa sbuilt in May so maybe some of the 68s that everyone is bad mouthing were built earlier in the year, but I love my 68 and I will keep it until I die and then my son gets it.
Kurt

[Jack C.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

Brandon, my 68 is well documented with dealer and service station visits from way back when. The only item that sticks out in the sevice records are the constant rebuilding of the carbs and the LOF (lube, oil, filter) changes as well as plugs. My early 68 has about 54,000 miles on it and seems to have been spared from the gremlins.

[Brandon T.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

Good to hear,

My build date on mine is D07 which is nov 7th 1967 and mine doesn't suffer from anything like bad body fit etc either so who knows..same thing with the 64 IMO 64 is a good car it's pretty much the same as the 63 but with tweaks that improved it. I do perfer the disc brakes and te gills on the 65-66 better but out of a 63 and a 64 I wouldn't care which I ended up with.

[Wayne M.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

Brandon -- I've never owned a '68, and by the sounds of the replies you've gotten so far, it seems the original owners had late production cars or were very lucky .

But to peruse the tech service bulletins for 1968 provides a much different story.

[Paul H.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

I'm not the original owner of my 68 but consider it the nicest Corvette in my garage and maybe that I have ever owned. Alot of the bad rap the 68 got was attributable to the early, and not ready for prime time, cars that went to the car mags. Those cars had problems and the press was quick to point them out. The production cars were far better. Certainly, the cars that are around now have been sufficiently sorted out to be every bit the car the 69 is. I also prefer the unique features the 68 has like the ignition key on the dash.

[Brandon T.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

I'm not the original owner of my 68 but consider it the nicest Corvette in my garage and maybe that I have ever owned. Alot of the bad rap the 68 got was attributable to the early, and not ready for prime time, cars that went to the car mags. Those cars had problems and the press was quick to point them out. The production cars were far better. Certainly, the cars that are around now have been sufficiently sorted out to be every bit the car the 69 is. I also prefer the unique features the 68 has like the ignition key on the dash.

I agree with that from what I've seen, I also like the key on the dash. I do however like I said like a lot of the add on's the 69's brought so I'm not one of those guys that runs down a 69 in spite from the bad rap of the 68 I own (seen guys do that).

Either was fine with me when I was looking I looked at 69's I turned down and 68's I turned down. Was just the right car that showed up in the right shape etc.

Glad to hear there are more out there without any 68 issues rather than learning there were actually problems with them.

what people need to understand when looking at the 68-69 body style is this you only get that sleeker body (if you perfer it without the wider rock guards on the 70-72's) then you only have 2 years to get it and thats 68 and 69.

If you want a 427 you only have 2 years of the c3 to get it 68 and 69

want the 3 carb duce setup guess what only 2 years to get it in the c3 68 and 69.

you get the picture..

So to me due to the age of these cars give me the one that meets my requirements and in the best shape frame wise, body not busted up etc.

But you still see some that will overlook a nicer 68 and buy a 69 in worse shape. Which made me make a thread on this to find out if there were infact issues worth avoiding or not.

thanks

[Gene M.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

QUOTE: ...... If you want a 427 you only have 2 years of the c3 to get it 68 and 69

want the 3 carb duce setup guess what only 2 years to get it in the c3 68 and 69...........

But the most important one is last and only year of a "327" in a Corvette c3.

[Anthony S.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

Brandon,

I've had my '68 convertible for about 5 years now.

I had to have a '68 or '69 because I like the "gill" vents over the "egg crate." When I found my car, I knew it was the car for me, it is a highly optioned car in the "rare" tuxedo black.

The '68 has some cool features - the cleaner passenger side dash, ignition on dash, wood grain wheel, the lap belt pockets (I have no idea why they changed that in '69), and the all red tail lights.

Of course, it does not say STINGRAY on the side, and my buddy always busts my chops about that. He even tried to black out my soft fender covers that have the cross flags and say Stingray. I tell him that it's easier to wax that way, after I tell him to kiss my butt.

All I know is that I did not settle for my '68.
Anthony

[Brandon T.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

Yanno I never noticed they took the seat belt pockets away in 69's..they really should have left those I always use mine and like that feature.

[Jim B.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

I also am an original owner of a 68. Mine was my daily driver for the first 6 years I owned it as well as a fun weekend SCCA car. In the 40+ years I owned it I have never been sorry and it has performed flawlessly. It is a very late car and has some of the structural improvements that were started in 68 and inherited by the 69's. I like the 327 engine and the dash ignition as well as the button door opener. The clean look of the gills and the grill I like also, although I would like a better grill design than the plastic that is on both the 68 and the 69.

I now have two other, newer Z06's as well and they are amazing as well.

ALL CORVETTES ARE GREAT CARS!

[Dennis O.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

I have had my May built small block convertible for over 20 years. When I bought it, I talked to some very knowledgeable people who told me to avoid early build convertibles, because they lacked the cowl bracing of the later cars. I did, and I've been very happy.

[Brandon T.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

I have had my May built small block convertible for over 20 years. When I bought it, I talked to some very knowledgeable people who told me to avoid early build convertibles, because they lacked the cowl bracing of the later cars. I did, and I've been very happy.

hmm, mine is build dated nov 7th 67 so I wonder if mine has the bracing or not could you describe what/where it is. thanks

[Tom S.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

I bought VIN #19467S421697(see c-3registry) new off the showroom floor. At the time it was heaven but turned into a real dog with some paint issues, windwhistles, throwing belts and my biggest disappointment of not being able to run in the 14's in pure stock at the drags with the smog pump removed (took it off after the 1st week and put it to the curb). After a few months the interior mirror fell onto the console at an intersection and the radio got static sometimes. In the 2nd year the rear fibre optics sometimes wouldn't work if it was cold out. This car might still be out there somewhere and I still have original sales doc's and GM Canada microfische paperwork for the current owner if wanted. Some fond memories of good times gone by.

[Dale C.]

Re: As a owner of a 68, to those that bought them new where they really any issues?

Maybe I’m crazy, but I like the novelty of many of those one year only components. It can be a challenge, striving for a car with all original parts but that’s kind of the fun of it also. I probably put too much into it because I had become too reluctant to drive it. I now plan to go ahead and enjoy it for was it was built to do, drive. Bottom line is I like it and I don’t plan to part with it.