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1968 Corvette Up Close

Mechanic's Review

1968 Chevrolet Corvette, Safari Yellow
About a week after the purchase, I had a PPI performed. PPI normally is short for "Pre Purchase Inspection" but in this case it stands for "Post Purchase Inspection". The original plan would be to have a knowledgeable Corvette Mechanic look it over before money was exchanged. I elected to bypass this normally important procedure in favor of securing what I could tell was a good deal. I did not want to snooze and lose.
Mike Bradley I took it to Mike Bradley of Mike Bradley Automotive, who had been recommended by another satisfied 1968 Corvette customer. I asked him to take it for a test drive and then to look it over carefully and see what could / should be done.

Mike test drove it and confirmed what I had suspected: This was a good Corvette for a fair price. He thought it ran well with the carburetion and ignition in good working order.

Speedometer, tachometer removal 1968 Chevrolet Corvette speedometer, tachometer
A top priority was to get the odometer repaired, so I would be able to track the fuel economy. Some "while your at it" reasoning resulted in having the tachometer, which is like the speedometer in that both are mechanical, rebuilt. The light switch was also replaced because the instrument panel dimmer was not working properly.

1968 Chevrolet Corvette Carburetor 1968 Chevrolet Corvette surface rust
Above left: Mike Bradley reported that the carburetor was not original, as evidenced by the EGR port which was not found on the 1968 Quadrajet carbs. Above right: Mike said that to him, the surface rust indicated that this Corvette had spent some time outside California. Fortunately the areas that mattered, such as the frame rails, birdcage and radiator support areas, were rust free.
1968 Chevrolet Corvette Chassis 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Chassis
The brakes did not feel right, so the decision was made to replace the rear calipers, which looked to be original, with rebuilt units. The front calipers had been recently replaced. Mike also noticed a carburetor leak. This was confirmed later when I hadn't driven the car for a few days. Starting required about 20 seconds of engine cranking because the carburetor fuel bowl was emptied due to the leak.

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Comments (3)

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Royal Hibbard(Vancouver, Washington, US)says...

Just wanted to add to my comments. I never thought of the C3 body style as "coke bottle" rather I referred to it as "Mako Shark" type.

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Royal Hibbard(Vancouver, Washington, US)says...

Great information thank you for all your work putting this together. I had a 1968 convertible 327/350 hp, LeMans Blue/ white top, 4spd.I bought it in 1970 and it still had the firestone redline tires on it. Two weeks later the right rear axle bearing basicly melted, what a learning experience that was. 10 years later I was the Corvette,heavy duty truck,and motorhome mechanic at lyman Slack Chevrolet in Portland Oregon.A couple of things I noticed as per differences between early and late 68's was the late's had a brace between the fender and the wheel well at the hood hinge area to help keep the Fiberglas from cracking in that area.Also the trim piece that runs under the front fender back to the rear wheel well was black on the early's but silver on the later models (as I remember it ) so I painted mine silver. My steering wheel looked to be wood and I never had a left hand clearance problem with it.

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Scotti Von Douglas(St Peters)says...

I Love Corvette Stingrays. Always have‼ i used to work at a Corvette shop in Westport plaza in Maryland Heights Mo. from 1977 to 1982. I've owned a 67 a 73 and a 79. Always something to learn. Great hobby❗


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