L88
ULTIMATE
Not One Minute of Ownership, One Piece of Paper, or One Alteration is Unaccounted For.
L88
ULTIMATE
WHY ISN’T THIS CAR
SHINY?
Unlike show cars prepared to win Concours trophies, this one was restored to match the “look� of the original components with which it raced. Many of the Daytona race day components remain in place and have been left unrestored to this day. Historically, 1960s race cars were neither glossy nor without battle scars. However, during the early 1980s, Corvettes were being restored to better than factory original. Therefore, it was counter-intuitive that David Burroughs, founder of Bloomington Gold would take such a dramatic departure in 1983 when he restored this vehicle to reflect its less-thancosmetically-perfect racing days of 1967-1975. This is one of the first (if not the first) Corvettes to inspire the growth in popularity of restored Corvette race cars, today. However, Burroughs style restorations which focused on historic accuracy instead of cosmetic perfection-- remains a practice rarely ever seen.
There are many ways to define a great automobile. Rarity, aesthetic beauty, historical significance and success in competition are some of the most common. Many cars can lay claim to a single measure of greatness. But few can lay claim to them all. This Corvette was one of only twenty L88’s produced in 1967, and the last Corvette of its model year to leave the factory. It enjoyed an eight-year career as a full-time race car in the hands of original owner Cliff Gottlob, for whom it scored nearly 300 podium finishes and over 150 outright wins. Fifty-two of those wins came consecutively; a staggering record that places the car among the all-time elite of motorsports.
As a relatively obsolete, three-year-old race car, Gottlob entered Corvette #21550 in the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona against a multi-class field that included defending Indianapolis 500 champion Mario Andretti, 1969 Le Mans winner Jackie Ickx, and a host of world-class drivers. Gottlob could boast of no such background. A Kansas engineer who had attended a school for beginning race drivers just three years before, Gottlob and his pit crew had to drive the Corvette 1,636 miles to the Daytona racetrack because he had no trailer capable of hauling it. There was no semi rig, no factory support and no major corporate sponsor. While crew members, Jack Blatchford and John Wanko drove the L88 to Daytona, Gottlob slept in the El Camino driven with spare parts stacked in the bed like firewood.
Gottlob was more than the team’s primary driver. He was the owner, engineer, mechanic and sponsor. His sisters, father and friends completed an allvolunteer, makeshift crew. Despite being voted by his competitors as the most likely team to drop out of the race first, when the green flag fell Gottlob began working his way through the field from his 34th-place starting position. Corvette #21550 reached speeds of 186 mph on the straightaways and turned consistently quicker laps than the GT class leaders.
Were it not for an undersized stock fuel tank that required frequent pit stops, Gottlob’s Corvette would almost certainly have scored a class win. Still, they shocked the racing world by finishing 2nd in GT and 11th overall in the grandest long-distance race in North America. After their stunning performance at Daytona, Gottlob drove the Corvette back to Kansas and topped off a history-making season by winning the SCCA Midwest Division championship title.
Unlike many race cars that have been re-created or cosmetically rebuilt, #21550 underwent a rehabilitation as the overall objective. Many of the original parts were left original and unrestored, while other parts were restored or replaced as needed to remain in sync with the original unrestored components that were on the car during its magnificent Daytona run.
Even the rock chips seen on the re-painted car today are precisely designed to match the minor cosmetic damage that resulted from the Daytona 24-hour event.
With only four owners in its history, Corvette #21550 is among the most accurately and thoroughly documented automobiles in existence. Through the personal diligence of Bloomington Gold founder David Burroughs, the car’s original bills of sale, factory inspection form, dealer invoice, tank and window stickers are but a few of the documents that testify to the car’s authenticity.
Original Fuel Tank Sticker
Original Window Sticker
Original Dealer Invoice
Original Order Form
Original Factory Inspection Form Original Shipper Copy
Original Factory Ident Card
Corvette #21550 stands today as a living tribute to the golden age of American auto racing... an age in which a blue-collar Kansas engineer with no trailer could drive an outdated race car to Daytona to challenge the world’s elite racing drivers. It may also be the greatest single sports car ever to roll off an American production line.
Consider that the Corvette marque stands as the undisputed American sports car, with 1967 versions considered the finest vintage. The L88 was the premier version available in 1967. And Corvette #21550 holds a stunning record as the most successful 1967 Corvette L88 race car and most meticulously documented car of its type. This automobile is one of the few that can stake a legitimate claim as “the ultimate U. S. production sports car.�
1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 convertible Vin #194677S121550
Preservation / Restoration Legend
Exterior
ORIGINAL REPLACED Stored Since New Unrestored Refinished
Bird Cage X Cabin bulkheads X Door glass X Vent windows X Doors X Hood X Cabin floor pan X Rear deck X Tail light panel X Tail lights X Windshield stainless trim (slight gravel pecks) X Headlight buckets & motors X Hardtop & stainless trim X Hardtop back glass X Hardtop back glass seal X Hardtop front seal Ft. fenders Windshield Headlight bulbs Grille American 200S wheels Good Year Blue Streak tires Bill Thomas headers
X X X X X X X X
Interior
ORIGINAL REPLACED Stored Since New Unrestored Refinished
Console w/ L88 sticker X Carpet X Carpet board X Seat Belts X Kick panels X Fresh air panels X Convt. Top Panels X Radio speaker grille X License plate bezels X Instrument Gauges X Glove box door X Dash X Seats X Door panels X Door hardware X Sun visors X Trim Tag & VIN Tag X Heater block off panel X Clock X Dash pads (eyebrows) X Steering wheel X Horn button X Shifter X Floor color X Emerg. brake handle X Hardtop interior painted trim X Accelerator pedal Clutch & brake pedal pads Seat belts & harness Rollbar
X X X X
Engine Compartment
ORIGINAL REPLACED Stored Since New Unrestored Refinished
Exhaust Manifolds & bolts X Fuel line from pump to carb X Pass. valve cover w/ IT tag X Original engine block & water pump X* Cylinder heads (driver & passenger) X* Engine stampings and castings X Hood underside & wx stripping X Firewall & block off plate X Road draft tube X Air cleaner base X Intake manifold X Alternator X Alternator bracket X Coil X Coil bracket X Windshield wiper motor X Distributor X Distributor cap X Ignition wires X Overflow tank X Pulleys X Clutch housing X J56 proportioning valve X 50% of main wiring harness X Ignition amplifier X Power brake booster X Wiring harness (main) X TI harness X Starter X Fan X Radiator support (received slight re-coloring) X Valve Cover (driver side) X Valve Cover (pass side) Fan clutch * Includes original crankshaft, rods, pistons, cam, lifters, valve train
X X The only known remaining 1967 L88 engine
ORIGINAL REPLACED Stored Since New Unrestored Refinished
Engine Compartment continued
Carburetor Radiator Air cleaner element Hoses Fan belts 50% of main wiring harness and tape Battery Battery cables
X X X X X X X X
Chassis
Spare tire tub X Off road exhaust & hardware X Tail pipes & hardware X Wheels (Steel) X Beauty rings & center caps X Frame X Control arms X Steering / relay rods X Steering gear box X Steering shaft X Ft. Springs X Rr. Spring X J56 brake calipers X Drive shaft X Half-shafts X Positraction/Differential X Trailing arms X Stabilizer bars X Ft. Hubs X Rr. Hubs X Fuel line Fuel tank Brake lines
X X X
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