rare or no?

[only1erbo]

Hullo Im Eric ... How is everyone? anyway i recently bought a 68 coupe in pretty sad shape BUT I did some research and believe the car to be a low production car .. I was hoping maybe you guys could confirm or correct me .

Here is what i have..

1968 coupe 100% numbers matching down to the carb and has 27000 actual miles. It is opted out very well the engine is a base 300 hp 327 with a 400 auto it has true medium blue leather seats with head rest and shoulder harness belts , it is an ac car along with PS PW PB and posi rearend ALL windows are tinted and has rear window defrost the block has the HO stamp on it , the car also has am/stereo vrs the regular am/fm radio along with many other option . I would be happy to produce vin numbers or trim tag or pics if that would help .

Can anyone tell me how to identify the upgraded suspension and brakes plz
Thanks Eric

 

[Yoda]

Eric,

Welcome to the Corvette Action Center Community ...

At the top of the page, just below the logo you will see "TECH CENTER" within this option is the MODEL CENTER and in there you can find a whole bunch of information about your 1968, options and number produced. Here is a ShortCut Click Here to the 1968 Model Center..

The upgrade suspension ID.. see how many leaf's are on your rear spring, and if your have a sway bar that goes from the top of the spring mount on each side across the rear end.. That will give you a starting point, I'm sure we have members here that can be a bit more precise in helping ID the FE suspension on a 1968

Welcome aboard, enjoy the

 

[bossvette]

Welcome to CAC good to see another C-3 on board, what part of Indiana are you in I'm in NW Ohio

 

[only1erbo]

thanks rare81 i have already hit that part it gives the numbers per option but not combined.. IE 9936 coupes but how many coupes combined with all other options i know it starts to really cut down on the numbers when you start compounding options.. I realize there arent any hard numbers BUT was curious if any of you major vetteologist would have an idea on this for my knowledge on this is much less then 99% of you guys. It was this site where i first realized all the options this car has and that this is the site i need to call home thx again

 

[only1erbo]

HEHE i am from the indianapolis area and have family in pittsburg so we have you surrounded

 

[Yoda]

Looking at the factory options:

Option: A85 = Custom Shoulder Belts ~ 350 Built

The rarest option being
Option: J56 Special Heavy Duty Brakes ~ 81 Built

Finding the exact options for your car you will need the window sticker, invoice or the build sheet The build sheet may or may not be on your gas tank, and if it is it may not be retrievable :eek

I'm not aware of anywhere that has the total options per car documented, for anything older than 1984.. If there is a 1968 Registry they may be able to compile a spreadsheet from cars they have documented and provide somekind of statistical information from their data base, if there is a 1968 Registry

Good luck searching your cars options and history.

Bud

 

[Mac]

Since 1968 was the first year of the new body style and it's 2004, so you're talking a 38 year old car (give or take), I think you can pretty much automatically consider your vehicle to be collectible, especially if it isn't a FrankenVette (made up of bits & pieces of numerous other Vettes). Rare is debatible since Vettes were mass produced. Enjoy your new toy and welcome to the CAC!!

-Mac

 

[68Roadster]

My 68 Assembly Manual shows the following:

F41 - Suspension - Frt & Rear Special (no mention of "FE")
J56 - Brakes H. Duty
J50 - Brakes - Vacuum

Having the base motor, I'm not sure if you could have ordered F41. It appears that it was only available on cars equipped with the 427 (L71 or L88 engines)
J50 and/or J56 could have been installed on your car but the best thing you could do is order the Assembly Manual so that you can compare part numbers.

There used to be a 1968 Vette Registry but I forgot the URL and a search turned up nothing.

Don't hesitate to ask us questions.....I love digging in these old books.....makes us all learn as we go...........

 

[only1erbo]

Thanks guys for all the info i LOVE old vettes and this one is just opted out like i have never seen one before , its biggest issue is that is has sit since 79 or 80 and has the "sitting blues" soooo I am in limbo weather or not to put the old ride back to 100% factory specs cause it is opted so heavily or if the car is better suited as a nice driver . It would appear after reading your guys post the car has standard brakes and suspension but has EVERY other option available to a coupe , which may add up to a hill of beans. But worse case is i have a 68 vette with 27000 actual miles life is good as a vette owner thanks for the help guys ill do a lil more thinking and reading before i decide how ill put the car together.

 

[only1erbo]

Hey raodster is this the page you was speaking of? http://www.vettefinders.com/68Registry/ if not it may still be a good page for others or you if you want to register that sweet lil drop top you got

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

Thanks guys for all the info i LOVE old vettes and this one is just opted out like i have never seen one before , its biggest issue is that is has sit since 79 or 80 and has the "sitting blues" soooo I am in limbo weather or not to put the old ride back to 100% factory specs cause it is opted so heavily or if the car is better suited as a nice driver . It would appear after reading your guys post the car has standard brakes and suspension but has EVERY other option available to a coupe , which may add up to a hill of beans. But worse case is i have a 68 vette with 27000 actual miles life is good as a vette owner thanks for the help guys ill do a lil more thinking and reading before i decide how ill put the car together.

Not to rain on your parade, but just about every Vette made is almost 'one of a kind', and can be called 'rare' or 'low production'. Just do the math on the number of options available, the number of combinations available versus the low total number of cars made. What your car has going for it is the 'luxury' type options, what it has against it is no 'performance' options. Base engine auto trans cars are very nice, but tend to stay at the low end of the price scale.

Restoring one is almost always uneconomical because of this and especially so with a '68 which has all sorts of one-year-only components that are impossible or expensive to find.

If you're determined to restore it to factory condition, check with the NCRS (www.ncrs.org) first.