How much value does it add to a vehicle if it has been owned by a celebrity? That’s a question that if you ask 10 different people you’ll get 10 different answers. Maybe if the vehicle itself isn’t that sought after, or if it’s is in poor condition, the celebrity factor might be the biggest selling point. But if the car can hold its own, perhaps the celebrity status is still high but could be only one of many things to consider. To say that this 1966 Chevrolet Corvette can hold its own is an understatement, and while the fact that it was once owned by John Schneider sure doesn’t hurt things, this would be a pretty awesome ride even without his DNA. If you’ve been looking for a C2 with the right stuff, this 1966 Chevrolet Corvette 427 L68 Convertible may be a great car for you. Located in West Hills, California, it can be spotted here on eBay with a current bid of $61,550.
I’m guessing every one of our readers knows that John Schneider was one of the stars of this famous TV show, but you may not remember that he went on to have a semi-successful Country Music career, which included this hit song. The seller of this Corvette says that he bought the car from a friend of John Schneider and has owned it for about 4 years, and the story goes that John used to race the car back in the seventies. The wide-body is said to have been done from Chevy back in ’68, and the color combo is original although the body is wearing a fresh coat of paint.
The 427 is the Corvette’s original engine, and it’s fully built with a bigger cam plus some other goodies and is said to run great. The car also retains the original 4-Speed manual transmission. The ‘Vette has recently been serviced and tuned and has a lot of get up and go, and with the side pipe exhaust, it’s loud and said to make a presence wherever you are. If you need to slow down in a hurry, the car also has four-wheel disc brakes for quick stopping power.
The Corvette has a new interior and things are looking as good inside as they are outside. New items include seats, door panels, dash, carpet, and convertible top. There’s no photo of the underside, but the seller says this is a true California car and that there is absolutely no rust on the underside. What are your thoughts on this 1966 Chevrolet Corvette 427 L68 Convertible?
I like it. That kit was initially supplied by Chevy for use on the road race cars. Roger Penske’s car he raced didn’t have the kit but shortly after his racing days every Corvette in the country had them as the wide slicks came into being and required all the room you could get. There were better looking kits out there but none provided what the road race cars needed, thus the factory kits filled the bill.
The flares on that car were not made or supplied by Chevrolet. Those are Thumper Flares, which were developed in the 70’s by a fiberglass company for people who wanted to put bigger tires on 63-67’s, and still meet the SCCA rules that required the wheel opening itself to retain the stock profile.
Chevrolet didn’t make flares for 63-67’s, the flares Chevrolet developed and made came out in 68, and were for the 68-82 body. They are commonly referred to as “L-88 flares”, because they were first seen on the L-88 test car that Corvette Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov built to develop Corvette race and performance parts.
Here is a link to a post on the Corvette Forum, discussing the Thumper Flares, as well as similar flares.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c1-and-c2-corvettes/3813637-thumper-style-wheel-flares.html
Thanks for the update gbvette62. Didn’t race the Corvettes but a lot of the drivers referred to the flares as “factory”. In those years the modifying of street cars to race cars and the subsequent updating of safety requirements was ongoing chaos and hard to keep up with as each of the organizations had different ideas on the proper equipment. Good information.
I once bought a car my neighbor owned, he was our town code enforcement officer, does that count ?
Only if his name was John Wayne.
Damn…..so close, his initials are JW and his first name is John, but alas his last name is not Wayne…..there goes the retirement……
Why would a 427 need a different cam? That’s like John Holmes lamenting that he needs, “..just a few more inches!”.
The correct RPO is L36 for the 390 horse 427 in 1966, the L68 is a 400 horsepower tri-power (three 2bbl carburetors) 427 engine offered from 1967 through 1969.
and it is gone!
I wonder if Daisy Duke 🌻 ever went for a ride in this Corvette after a show ?
Great driver. But I prefer original body cars. When I was 19 in 1975, many C2s looked like this. Go back and look at the covers of Hot Rod and Car Craft.
I like it also, I’d change the wheels out to a set of Torque Thrust D’s, maybe reverse the white letters and swap the T-Handle for a classic white knob. Sweet Vette, piss off the purists!!!
Raced in 70s possible dragstrip or illegal street I would think road course would require roll bar of some sort.
Road racing rules did require roll bars in the late ’60s and ’70s. Car pictured in ’72 required a rear hoop with supports going into the back of the car. Richard Petty upped the protection with a “Petty bar” that went from the center of the hoop down to the right side floor. Didn’t take long for all the other race organizations to follow suit. One of our race cars built in ’66 had the Petty bar installed shortly after it was built to meet the safety requirements.
How many times did he jump it though? :)
Only Once! After the glass started to break.
Schneider just popped up playing Bob Guccione in the Pam & Tommy mini-series and (I thought) pulled it off.
The ’67s had the back up lights in the center. Might be a ’66?
Sorry, I missed the article saying it was a ’66 model.
this is a 1967 hood.
Fun car. Blows my mind that this much detail is put into the car YET they can’t find the center caps for the wheels? All but one of the photos are taken so you really don’t notice they are missing. The Tan top is good for the hot climate but , butt ugly (my opinion). Black makes more sense for the car based upon the black interior and the exterior color which I too am NOT loving.
That’s ok
Sakingsbury 20
John Wayne wasn’t his real name either.