Another 67 L79 Corvette story.......
 

Many of you probably recall Dave and I often refer to our Dad's former 67 L79 Air Conditioned roadster when conversations about similar cars come up - Tim (NAPA68 ) has had many spectacular ones recently. Dave refers to Dad's car as our "tap root" car - the one that got us interested in cars. In addition to getting us interested in cars, we have meet many wonderful people as the result of Dad's car over the years. I will eventually get into the details and history of the car as this thread develops but the long and short of it is that I was able to purchase the car back. We flew down to Sarasota FL this weekend and closed the deal. Once the auction frenzy for transporters calms down in the coming weeks Reliable should have the car back in my garage and next to the 409 for the first time since 1980. To say we are thrilled is an understatement. Many thanks to Tim for letting me bounce some information off him and the many converations we had regarding the car in the last week. This all came together pretty quickly (10 days ago I was notified the car was available) so it has been a bit of a whirlwind. I'll share some current pictures from our trip and some taken by the seller for me prior to us going down. Couldn't have asked for a better seller and luckily the quick overnight trip went off without a hitch. The car still retains it's original tags, tank sticker, transmission, door panels, seats, and many of the major underhood components. While it is a St. Louis bodied car the sidepipes were added (ugh) after Dad sold it. It needs some cleaning and a relatively small puchlist of items to get it to where I want it to be but overall is a pretty solid car. One of the coolest things is that Dad's 3 ring binder of documentation and his handwritten notes survived the 4 subsequent owners since 2004 and remains with the car.

This is SO filled with win! I think it is so awesome that significant contributors to the site, have the opportunity to get one of their Dad's cars back. Jake was so much more composed that I would have been if the circumstances were reversed.

Congrats guys!

On a personal note, this has been hard not to let the cat out of the bag:wink:

Congratulations on getting the car back into the family after all these years. Looking forward hearing more about it. :biggthumpup:

It was a great trip with an even better outcome!! Down the rabbit hole we go!:beers:

‘

W:eek2:W car and story, looking forward to seeing/hearing more about it.
BIG Congrats!:headbang:
:beers:
~ Pete

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What Tim said!! Glad to see this one coming home!!

Congrats guys!

Good score - they'll have some catchin' up to do ...!

Awesome...and congrats!:worship:

Some more pictures....... The car was originally sold from the south (Huffstatler Chevrolet in Leeds Alabama) and had an amazingly clean and rust free chassis when Dad got it back in 1976. It has remained in good shape and just needs a thorough cleaning. The car was repainted around the 2012 timeframe. The paint is way better than when Dad sold the car in 2004 (it needed paint then) but probably a 7 out of 10 so definitely not perfect. I believe the paint in the door jambs to still be original based on my recollection of when Dad had it and what I saw this weekend. When Dad bought the car it had a CE block in it but all of the peripheral components where still original to the car. Around 1982 he found a correctly dated block and had it stamped. Knowing what we do now he should have probably left the CE block in there but we can't go back and it is what it is. Not going to hide the truth. He also swapped out the differential with a 3.55 posi (originally a 3.36 open). I did not check the diff codes but I don't believe any of the subsequent owners changed that. The carb that is on it is a later service replacement 3810, so I will need to source a February dated 3810 if anybody has one in their stash. Dad added the tele column and that is still there today. The seller just spent about $21k on maintenance of various mechanical and cosmetic items (brakes, A/C, fluids, power steering repairs, new carpet, paint correction, weatherstrips, and other misc. items) so other than the general clean up and going through the car to see what might not work I don't think I will have a huge list, but time will tell. There are a few more reproduction items on the car than I would like but I can look for originals and swap them out as time goes on. The seller drove the car frequently in Florida which is probably a good thing as he kept it maintained as a result.

One of the interesting things I learned going over the old paperwork was that Dad bought the car from Jack Douglass Chevrolet and not Classic Motors as I assumed and understood all these years (see previous pic of the sales contract from Douglass listing Richard Buxbaum as the salesman). I sent that paperwork and current pics to Richard this morning and he replied right away with happy memories.

Great story and nice car!

What a great car, I love those L79's.

This is a picture from the day Dad brought the car home in October of 1976. The neighbors made a congratulations sign that Mom is holding.

I think it is better to have the correct block that your dad bought for the car. My guess is the casting date and casting number are correct whereas the CE motor was probably not as correct. It you have the car judged; this would be a benefit to the car the way it is.

That's awesome!! Congratulations!!!

It Top Flighted at a Florida Chapter meet in 2004 when David B. had it judged - so it passed muster at that time. I believe the judging sheets are in the file I received, just haven't got that far yet to look at those in any detail.

----Thanks to Jake I had a little early info on this purchase. So many, many memories. So many nights at my house and others for the "tune up parties", and all the trips all over the place with Jake senior and his wonderful wife, Birdie. This 350hp was always a runner with Seniors tune-ups, and beat me more than once when I thought I had stouter ride. Jake knew that car like the back of his hand, and if there was anything amiss he was on the case.
----Jake,,,I wonder if the rocker panel tabs were cut off or just bent back, as personally I'd like to see your Dads car back with under car exhaust, maybe off-road underneath (N11). I know one of the vendors actually make the front piece that has to be cut off....But that isn't even remotely my decision. In all, I'm just ecstatic that you have it back in the Dykstra collection. Kudos, you two!!!!.....Bill S

I saw this pop up on eBay a few days ago.......
https://www.ebay.com/itm/177800316724

I remember the car from that meet, it had the current block in it. I was able to get a pad picture at that time.

Browsing through the paperwork tonight it appears that the tabs were just bent back which is encouraging. The 4 cut off fiberglass corner tabs and rear valance were sent along to the subsequent owner after the pipes were installed but they did not make it to the seller I bought from. I too would like to see the N11 exhaust back on it as it was when Dad had it. Will be looking to acquire the parts to do this.

In looking at the judging sheets from 11/6/04 it did not receive any deduction for Assembly stamping/VIN derivative or Stamp pad surface finish in the Cylinder Case section.

Also interesting is that without the 2.5 points received for driving points it would have missed a Top Flight (91.84 + 2.5 = 94.34)

This is a crude pic of Jake(12) and me(9) around 1982 next to "The Red Car"
:haha::haha::haha:

I think that was in a hotel parking lot in Bloomington one year before heading out to dinner?

Indeed, I think Mom's '81 is next to the red car.

----Good to know, Jake! those pieces make the return to N1 a bit less of a hit. Ask Stretch about repro N11 stuff. I seem to remember some thing about that in a conversation a couple of years ago....Bill S

I confirmed via a phone conversation earlier this week with the PO that did the side pipe coversion that the metal tabs were in fact just bent and not cut. Stretch said he has a set of real GM fiberglass repair tabs - he just needs to find them :grin: He likes the Corvette Central N11 systems as he has installed a bunch and thinks they sound and look right.

Thanks to Tim I have a set of real GM head pipes already. I'll keep looking for a set of GM welded N11 pipe/muffler assy's.

Got a text last night - Reliable called the seller and is picking the car up today. Hopefully here early to mid week next week.

Congratulations!
I personally like the look of the car with the rallies on.

----Just read this and actually got goose-bumps. Things are coming together, and the right, original people are involved. Really wish sometimes that we still lived in Ill. I miss every one of you!....Bill S

Such a cool story !! I’m subscribed to this thread.

What a site this should be ….. 409 next to the L79 ….. as it should be.

Jake, I sure hope you are able to install the Original type of exhaust (a nice clean look) as side pipes just look wrong on a roadster IMO.

Your new avatar looks great!

Congratulations, Chris.

Hey, is that a chamois hanging on the antenna?

That’s all I used when wiping off my Corvettes in the 70’s when living in Springfield Illinois.

Yes sir, it is!

Loaded......

I just saw a complete '67 Corvette L79 engine for sale on Facebook yesterday. The numbers matching car got LS swapped. So sad! Another one ruined.

----Headed home! Need pics in your driveway, Jake....Bill S

Shipping update - the car went to their Florida warehouse for a few days and then to their Michigan warehouse for a few days, hoping to have it no later than midweek next week.

----Have been to the Michigan warehouse. It's just a bit over an hour from my house. Saved a hundred bucks picking up a car there as opposed to having it delivered....Bill S

Car showed up last night. I was able to spend a couple hours on it fixing some of the low hanging fruit items - put the sway bar links in correctly, tightened up upper control arm cross shaft bushing bolts, installed correct radiator cap, adjusted the passenger side igintition shielding so it is installed properly, installed an A212C Delco air filter to replace the generic one. Vacuumed veverything out and wiped the car down to see what I have to start with paint wise. I also reunited Dad's old brown leather tool bag and Mom's blanket with the car like they were back in the day.

Winning!:beers: