This 1968 Corvette race car started out rallying in ’68, then went on to spend decades racing in IMSA competition.
Oftentimes, when we come across cool old Corvette racers for sale, they’re not really period builds with history, but rather, cars that have been modified recently to look the part. Every once in a while, however, a real-deal historic racer pops up for sale, and that’s precisely the case with this incredibly cool 1968 Corvette race car that’s currently up for grabs at Bring a Trailer.
This 1968 Corvette race car has lived its entire life on some sort of track, having started out as a rally car in 1968 before it was converted for IMSA competition in 1972. It went on to compete from 1975 all the way to 1995, which is an incredibly long life span for any race car. Regardless, the cool C3 received a refurbishment back in 2014, and as a result, it looks as good or better than new today in its white and green paint with a Kelly Services livery.
It certainly looks the part thanks to a host of modifications including Greenwood-style widened bodywork, a rear spoiler, functional vents on the front fenders and rear quarter panels, side exhaust, Quality Inn decals on the rear quarter panels, quad headlights and taillights, a cowl hood with hood pins, pillar-mounted mirrors, safety straps on the rear window, and a set of three-piece 16-inch wheels wrapped with Avon racing slicks.
Underneath, this vintage Corvette racer rides on Bilstein shocks and a transverse leaf spring rear suspension, though more modern Wilwood six-piston brakes help slow it all down in a hurry. The cabin is all business, featuring a pair of racing buckets and harnesses, a roll cage, window netting, a Cool Shirt FC-1 driver cooling system, MSD ignition, a Hurst shifter, gauges, steering wheel, and nothing else, really.
This C3 is powered by GM’s tried-and-true 350 cubic-inch V8 that was rebuilt along with the refurbishment and is fitted with a four-barrel carb, a high-performance water pump, a custom cowl air induction system, MSD electronic ignition, Brodix aluminum cylinder heads, tubular headers, and an aluminum radiator with an electric fan. On the dyno, the V8 cranked out 537 horsepower and 517 pound-feet of torque, which flows to the rear wheels via a Muncie racing four-speed manual transmission.
Personally, we’d love to have something like this to use in vintage racing events, and we imagine that we aren’t the only ones. After all, a car that’s lived its entire life on the track deserves to continue doing so.
Photos: Bring a Trailer
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