Too Fast: Custom 1968 Big Block Corvette
It is a 1968 customer Corvette that doesn’t get any more complicated than that. The seller claims that it is too fast and his wife won’t ride in it. You can find out just how fast it is in exchange for $13,000. It is located in Santa Barbara, California. A VIN is listed along with a clear title and 65,000 miles. Thank you, Rocco B., for the tip. You can view more on craigslist.
A built and balanced, big-block V8 with an 800 CFM carburetor is producing all the too fast power this car is claimed to have. It has a four-speed manual transmission and headers as well. Beyond that, absolutely nothing else is listed about this car. There are also no pictures of the engine provided.
There are a handful of photos of the interior. That looks to be in good condition. The seats do not appear to be torn or ripped and all the gauges, dials, and buttons appear to be accounted for. It is nice that they removed the t-tops for the photo of the interior to maximize the amount of it we can see. None of the photos provided show the t-tops in position so you might want to ask the seller if they are included just to be sure.
From the looks of the photos, the customization of this Corvette starts with the fixed headlights. Those are fixed to an entirely custom front end and hood. There is no information on when the customization occurred but it does appear to be an older build. You Vette specialists out there can help determine all the modifications done and help to identify if the rear end has had custom bodywork applied as well. A custom car can be a drawback to some buyers if it is not a custom that fits their taste. At the price listed, this Vette might have a hard time being sold because the right buyer might be niche. It would also need a lot more information in the listing to clarify unanswered questions that are also very important questions.
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Comments
I don’t usually like custom Corvettes (hard to beat the stock chrome bumper cars) but this is different and I think cool. It could use paint so white with red stripes and call it the Mach 5….kidding.
“Motor built and balanced, low miles, been garaged, 4 speed, headers, 800 cfm carburetor. Too fast-wife won’t even ride in it”
Nice write up compared to the craigslist description.
Wife won’t ride in it. Most would consider that a plus. Yet, someone drove it 60+K miles..
Corvette Summer meets Darth Vader…..
Could turn out to be a mega deal for a local buyer if the car and drivetrain turn out to be better than the skimpy ad.
If your wife wont ride in it then thats your fault for not toning it down and not respecting her if she doesn’t like speed.
I have muscle cars but when the misses rides with me it might as well be a four cylinder as i am not going to drive like I stole it.
My motorcycle 🏍 every-now and then has her on the back and yes its got the power of a moped on those days too.
When i ride with my guys on their bike the line is keep it under 80 on back roads and under 100 on interstates.
We usually cruise interstates 75-80 with the flow.
The Corvette is not my cup of tea 🍵 as i like original body lines but again every one has their own tastes. I have a split window all numbers match but have had C3 and C4 converts too.
The pins on the fenders would indicate a tilt nose. Just a bit too much going on with the scoop, air extractors and stripes for my tastes.
Too fast but no shots of the mill?
No mention of engine size either.
Who knows, maybe you could talk the seller down on the price enough to add another pair of taillights.
I kind of like it. Certainly does LOOK fast, although the paint appears to have more orange peel than can be found in a supermarket fruit aisle.
Get documentation on the drivetrain, and stand on the gas pedal!
Mako front clip, hence the headlight mod, scoops and tilt.
Looks like a model I built way back when. Similar build quality and all.
The story is..he doesn’t want to sell it and I don’t blame him..but the boss (the wife) wants it gone..sounds bout right eh. Would love to see the heartbeat though. I guess I’m blessed because my wife loves speed and smokey burnouts 🤣👍
You are a lucky man Stangalang!!
I’m thinking you know when & how to drive fast.
Wife won’t ride in it . I’d have to drive it all the time .
Most customs like this start out as a wreck in my experience. Like it needed a nose, let’s put a mako nose on it. It is easy to do at least for me. Check what you don’t see.
No such thing as “ to fast”.
Kind of like saying….”it has too much horsepower”
Love the old school deep dish slotted wheels. At a glance they seem to be in great shape. If this car is sold, modified or not, it is the right money in my opinion. 427 with a 4 speed!!. I wonder what the original motor was? If this is numbers matching I would buy it now if I didn’t have a kid in college (#3 of 3 !) I have had quite a few stock 68-73 Corvettes and this mod is quirky but cool. I like the Mach 5 Idea. Put a license plate on it S RACER, or RACER X even better and you could leave it black for a while. Could be fun.
Kind of cool until we get to the “snout” Good luck parking it.
“It is a 1968 customer Corvette that doesn’t get any more complicated than that.”
What?
I think he meant “custom”. Threw me too.
last picture on craigslist ad shows speed-o at 150mph
That’s not the speed-o needle pointing to 150, its the speed warning set needle. I like the car, its Black, a 427, 4 speed, reasonable price. A few more good outdoor pictures & a more detailed description would probably help sell it. It could use a set of Chrome side exhaust headers to hear that big block rumble.
Think about it. The guy can now tell his wife, I tried but the car just would not sell. I guess we will have to keep it. I know I would if it was mine.
How could you see that? The pic is all blurry.
Yeah its a blurry picture but the speedo needle is RED and even thru the blurry picture you can see it on Zero whereas the YELLOW speed warning needle is on the 150 area. What I find interesting is all the “keyboard experts” commenting on things they assume they know and actually know very little about, such as the comment on how the C3 Corvettes rode and how their suspension was a new thing,,,,,,,,,, dont think so , the C2s had the same stuff. Yeah they were not the smoothest riding cars but pretty far from buckboard. If you want or need a decent handling car sometimes you have to pay the price, hence a stiffer, firmer ride.
Too fast?
I’d be willing to bet this thing barely gets out of it’s own way. I’m sure it’s loud, rides poorly and handles like a UPS truck. So wife probably gets worried husband is going to run out of “talent” driving this fiberglass sled around and stuff it into a phone pole.
Heck, I’d be willing to bet this thing can’t even run a 14 in the 1/4 (since everyone here seems to be all about the time slips.)
Why? Why spend so much money to make such a nice car so ugly? I’d want to get rid of it too.
Maybe some day there will be a huge following of over-customized vehicles…like some kind of adult hotwheels collector club, but today there is a very, very small group that will like this car…which explains the low price. All you can do is take this car to shows because it isn’t practical to drive. The slightest tap on that snout and the car is totalled. 1968 was the first year of the C3 corvette and the suspension on them was absolutely rock-hard awful (that’s why the wife won’t ride in it.) It was also, I believe, the first GM T-top, which leaked like a sieve. And most of the mods, including the paint, look like they were done at the local vo-tech high-school. To answer the author’s question, the rear lip spoiler has been added and the tail lights look to be aftermarket lenses. Pass…at least until the Hotwheels club arrives.
I like it, I wish he lived on the East Coast instead of the West Coast
I wonder if the headlites are at a legal HEIGHT – & where those seats came from.
With that fragile long pointy nose, i would not wana try parallel parking that thing.
Ditto for the superbird & daytona.
Plus the worry about who’s parked in front of or opposite you.
This thing was wrecked. Its still wrecked. Later…………….JIMMY
Most of the time I like original cars….however I do like the way this car looks a lot.
What big block does it have??? Limited information!!! I like the looks of the car even though a corvette in my opinion looks good enough stock it doesn’t need mods like this!!
You could have bid on this one, but $200K wouldn’t even buy it!
https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0120-397423/1969-chevrolet-motion-corvette-mako-shark-ii/