1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 convertible

This car, Lot 3101, sold for $112,500 at RM Auctions’ sale in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on April 7, 2018.

Except for the race-spec L88, of which only 20 were built for 1967, the triple-carb L71 was the highest-performance Corvette available in its day. Thanks to its relatively plentiful supply (3,754 L71s were built), it represents a vastly more accessible path than the L88 for someone wanting to own and drive a big-block mid-year. To this point, its $112,500 sale price at RM Sotheby’s was 10% under the company’s $125,000 low estimate and a mere 5% the value of the rare, one-year-only mid-year L88, which the current ACC Pocket Price Guide pegs at $2.3m.

Outwardly, to the uninitiated, the L88 and this L71 look similar, and both were available in coupe and convertible configurations. Defining the L71 was a triple-carbureted Turbo-Jet 427-ci engine producing a claimed 435 horsepower — a number unsurpassed by any other mass-produced car at the time. GM actually rated the L71 higher than the L88, which carried a lesser 430-hp label, allegedly to dissuade random customers from buying what was essentially a street-legal race car. (This rope-a-dope ploy substantially worked: In middle school, my car buddy, a Chevy guy, argued that the triple-carbureted L71 Corvette engine — and not the L88 — was the meanest dog on the street. As a Ford guy, I argued that the Cobra 427 was. In reality, the big dog could’ve actually been the L88.)

Tri-Power powerhouse

Defining this L71 convertible is its 435-hp engine, close-ratio Muncie gearbox and 3.70:1 Positraction axle. Of particular interest here is the L71’s triple-carb setup. Using a trio of Holley 2-barrels, the center carb works full time for normal city driving, and then the front and rear units open at about half throttle by means of a vacuum assist. Bottom line, whereas a typical big-block carb has four barrels, the L71 has six.

Among various superlatives, the word “ferocious” reasonably defines the L71. Its big-block power hits with sledgehammer force, breaking loose the rear tires in an instant and hurtling the car forward in a slithering frenzy of motion. The driver’s task? Simple: when hard on the gas, desperately shifting the Muncie to keep up with acceleration, nuancing the right pedal just enough to keep the narrow 7.75-15 bias-ply tires gripping the pavement, and sawing the wheel to keep the beast on the road.

Returned to original

Delivered to its first owner on July 13, 1967, by Benson Chevrolet of Roswell, GA, our subject car is a pretty desirable piece. A plentiful 2,325 Corvettes were finished in Sunfire Yellow for ’67 (the fifth-most-popular color that year), and the combination of this subtle yellow shade and black interior walks the line nicely between elegance and aggression. The RPO N14 sidepipes (a $131.65 option) and N89 cast-aluminum wheels ($263.30) add further visual appeal — although not for everyone, as they tend to clutter the final mid-year Sting Ray’s cleaned-up lines. (Incidentally, the optional wheels attached with lug nuts instead of knockoffs for the first time, a concession to advancing safety standards that would constrict the auto industry moving forward.) The black accents on the stinger hood and front fascia let traffic ahead know what was coming, just in case they haven’t heard the big block already.

According to the remnants of the original build sheet rescued from atop the fuel tank, this Sting Ray has been carefully returned to as-built status, which includes the Sunfire Yellow exterior with black convertible top, the black interior, the matching-numbers L71 engine with K66 transistor ignition ($73.75), the Muncie M21 4-speed gearbox ($184.35), the popular G81 Positraction differential with 3.70:1 gears ($42.15), QB1 Redline tires ($46.65), tinted glass, and the U69 AM/FM radio ($172.75). The original C07 auxiliary hard top ($231.75) was missing from the auction description and is presumed lost.

Concours quality, road ready

No one would expect a mid-1960s Corvette to win many build-quality awards (except within the NCRS), and this L71 mirrors this factory legacy with iffy panel fit for the headlight doors, hood and driver’s door. Although the lighting can play tricks, certain panels — particularly the lower rear fascia — appear to be a different shade of Sunfire Yellow. Both the engine bay and black interior are nicely executed using appropriate components and materials, and good workmanship. A few small cosmetic flaws exist, such as a wrinkled convertible top, a dinged aluminum glovebox door fascia and shifter surround, and mismatched fasteners. These are not necessarily bad; they lend authenticity to the car and invite further use.

Despite its recent concours award, this is not a Condition 1 car due to various flaws and its missing original removable hard top. Its sale price — $15,000, or 12%, below the ACC Pocket Price Guide — accurately reflects that. To me, it’s nonetheless an L71 worth having. The car has been restored to a good standard, is quite authentic, and appears to suffer from relatively small issues that can either be improved over time or ignored at the owner’s discretion.

Were this Sting Ray now mine, I’d most certainly drive it and enter the occasional show, rather than the other way around. And along the way, at some point I’d probably go Cobra 427 hunting to settle that now decades-old argument with my school friend — and hopefully collect on whatever it was we bet all those years ago.

(Introductory description courtesy of RM Auctions.)