AutoHunter Spotlight: 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L68 Coupe

Featured on AutoHunter, the online auction platform driven by ClassicCars.com, is this 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe.  

The C3 Corvette is one of my all time favorite U.S. car designs. Sure the C2 cars are a more iconic design, but the C3 is of my generation and I still remember seeing these cars when they were new and thinking how cool they looked, something hard to say about many U.S. cars of the era. The C3 has a real European-like design and if you squint your can easily see how the C3 design was influenced by cars such as the Ferrari 250 GTO. To my eye, the best era for the C3 was from 1969-1972. I leave out the original 1968 editions due to the fact that the car was not fully baked until 1969, when the door buttons were replaced by the slick door handles that incorporated the latch in the handle itself. It is those little things that make a difference to me and that small change made the car perfect.

This 1969 Corvette was also the era where performance was king, and you could get a C3 Corvette with a myriad of engine, gearbox, and rear end options. This made these early C3s the last true high performance Corvettes we would see until the mid-1980s.

Our AutoHunter Spotlight is for this 1969 Chevrolet Corvette coupe which is equipped with its original and numbers-matching L68 427cid tri-power V8 with 400HP and 460 ft/lbs of torque backed by a Muncie M20 four-speed manual transmission (you could still get this awesome combination in 1969).

It is a well optioned car and includes power steering and brakes, air conditioning, a tilt and telescoping steering column, rebuilt carburetors, and removable roof panels. The car is painted in Cortez Silver with a black vinyl interior.

There is even more to like about this Corvette as the seller states that the car still has its original factory-applied paint in Cortez Silver (code 986), though they add that some paint touch-up work has been performed at the rear. Being a 1969 Vette, it still features chrome bumpers and the great looking side vents with chrome trim. It also has the iconic C3 hide-away headlights, a big-block hood, color-keyed removable roof panels, dual mirrors, and a rear-mounted antenna. The seller adds that the original luggage rack has been removed and the holes have been filled with black plugs.

Let’s move on to the interior. The seats were recently reupholstered in correct black vinyl and it also has new black carpeting. The selling dealer adds that the windshield wipers do not function and the air conditioning system does not blow cold.

The car features its iconic dash with a 160-mph speedometer, a 7,000-rpm tachometer, a clock, and gauges for the fuel level, coolant temperature, oil pressure, and battery located ahead of the driver. The odometer reads 63,136 miles, which the selling dealer reports to be accurate.

As stated earlier, this 1969 Corvette is powered by its original and numbers-matching L68 427cid V8 equipped with tri-power and backed by the numbers-matching Muncie M20 four-speed manual transmission. Features include chrome valve covers and an air cleaner. The selling dealer states that the carburetors were rebuilt, a compression leak-down test was performed, the spark plugs were changed, and the engine mounts were replaced 868 miles ago.

This 1969 Corvette is one to buy as an investment and also make a fast and fun car to drive. Able to be shown or used regularly, the fun to be had with this car is practically limitless.

The auction for this 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe ends on Friday, July 21, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. (PDT)

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and photo gallery