Featured listing: The Wonder Years – 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible

This ClassicCars.com Marketplace featured listing is a 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible for sale in Dwight, Ontario (Canada). Few cars have charisma as Vettes do, and this one looks ready to party.

“Swinging Sixties” means different things to different people. In the world of automotive enthusiasts, it means the big block, 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (C3). The prior generation was big leap forward in terms of design and engineering out of the 50s and early 60s, and the ’68 is no less a revolution in comparison to the ’67. This new model captured the mood spot-on during that period. 

The swoopy fiberglass bodied 1968 Chevrolet Corvette flashed flair and a carefree attitude. Perhaps it’s because of the styling that it doesn’t have a mean, muscle car, purposeful look of the C2 Corvettes. It just has more of a friendly, flower-power feel. But, the ’68 is every inch a sports car by any measure.

The origins of the 1968 Chevy Corvette can be traced to the iconic Mako Shark ll designed by legendary Larry Shinoda during the Bill Mitchell era. Chevrolet not only benefited from the design leadership of Mitchell, but also the engineering talent of Zora Arkus-Duntov. In that same year, Arkus-Duntov was named Chief Engineer of the Corvette. 

Much of the C2 was carried over into the ’68 Corvette, which included the chassis, engines, and hydraulic, vented-disc brakes that can be found at all four-corners. A number of choices could be had when it came to the power-train. The base model started at $4,663 and arrived with a 327 cubic-inch engine and a three-speed manual transmission packing 300-horsepower. All of the 327 small-block motors were tucked under a lower-profile hood. All of the big-block motors were obvious even to the casual observer by the distinct, bulging hood that was necessary to shelter the larger dimensions. These monsters had 390-560 angry horses. The convertibles tipped the scales at just 3,220 pounds. As you can imagine, the power-to-weight ratio was crazy.

The C3 model was a bona-fide hit. The body style rolled on from 1968-82 with slight updates along the way. 28,556 Corvettes were produced in the first year, with 18,630 of those being a Convertible.

This period correct 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible is in British Green with black leather interior. This comes with the mind-blowing and tire smoking L71 427 cubic-inch (7.0-liter) motor that’s crowned with the three Holley two-barrel carbs, and also features the special performance camshaft right from the factory. This is good for 435-horsepower at 5,800 rpm, and 460 lb.-ft at 4,000 revs.

This is fully restored with a frame-off restoration, and it has matching numbers to boot. The current owners are including new tires, and this Vette has been fully serviced. Amazingly, this has only been driven 200 miles in the past three years. The current owner is just the third in the past 52 years. 

To view the listing on ClassicCars.com, click here.