VIN 194678S418803

Car Year:	1968
Car's approximate birthday:	May 10, 1968
Owner:	John Forrest
City:	Buffalo
State:	New York
Country:	United States
Purchase date:	07/01/1975
Status:	Current Owner
State:	Nice Driver
Exterior:	976 LeMans Blue	(16.53%)
Interior:	414 Medium Blue (Vinyl)
Softtop:	Black
Wheels:	Other Color
Delivery Dealer Zone:	Unknown
Delivery Dealer Code:	Unknown
Options:	RPO	Option	Percentage Sold [%]	Sales Price [$]
	19467	Base Corvette Convertible (300hp)	65.22%	4,320.00
	C07	Auxiliary Hardtop (for convertible)	30.58%	231.75
	M20	4-Speed Manual Transmission	37.67%	184.35
	U69	AM-FM Radio	86.15%	182.75
	Total		0.000126386570358% (1 Cars)	4,918.85
Factory job nr.:	Unknown
Export Car:	Non Export Car
Car history:
It is my 1968 Corvette; I will not bore you with the history of the Corvette nor expound on my vast knowledge of the auto. I will, however, tell you the history of this particular car. This is a numbers-matching ‘68 convertible. The build tag says J09 (or May 9th). The engine casting is 3814678, VO425 HE, which means April 25 and 300 hp, Head casting is 18S418803. I am the third owner; it was sold new to Leroy Kunth in Aurora, NY on May 28, 1968 as a base convertible. The options that he chose include a 300hp 327, 4 spd transmission, leather seats, tinted glass, a hard top, white wall tires, and an Am/Fm radio. It is Le Mans Blue with a bright blue interior. Leroy sold the Corvette to John Forrest in Buffalo, NY in the summer of 1975. John promptly drove it to California, where it stayed for the next 21 years seeing only occasional use. While John owned the car, he replaced the gas tank, the rear control arms, the carburetor, and the soft top including the frame because someone stole his. He also installed stainless steel brakes. While in John’s possession, the car was involved in two separate fender benders. The first hit was to the right front, around the wheel well, and the second hit was on the left door. Both were repaired at the local Chevy garage, and despite the fact that John thought the repairs were done well, they were not fixed properly; you can still see where they were. In 1996, John was transferred back to Buffalo, so the Corvette made the move from California back to New York. It sat in his garage for the next seven years. Very little was done to this Corvette during those years. The odometer broke when it was showing 38,274 miles, and John did not fix it. Over time the original air cleaner and distributor cover disappeared. John told me that his best estimation on mileage was around 50,000 miles at the time I purchased it in August of 2003. John was, and is still, a friend of mine and had no reason to lie about the condition of the Corvette. I intend to do the same here. Bad news first… the paint is original; it needed repainted 20 years ago. It would be considered a 20/20 (looks good from 20 feet or at 20 mph!). Body work has always been last on my to-do list. Both door panels and the windshield trim pillars should be replaced, as well as some rubber trim. Good news: I have done all the other work. I have a list of over 100 things I have fixed, replaced, or refurbished. If you like, I can fax the list. Here is what I have done: I have rebuilt the suspension, front and rear. I have rebuilt the engine (I upgraded the cam, so it now puts out about 340 hp). I have replaced the clutch, and I fixed everything that did not work. I replaced the fuel lines, the brake lines, and all hoses and belts. I have replaced all the chrome except the front bumper, which I do not think requires replacing. I rebuilt the steering and have replaced almost the entire interior. I have all the receipts to show all of this work. This Corvette runs and handles VERY well. I estimate that I have put 10,000 miles on the Corvette while I have owned it. The complete engine rebuild and clutch have only about 2,500 miles on them. I still have not fixed the odometer, and it is still showing 38,274 miles. I have over $5,200.00 in parts and many, many hours of my own labor invested in this Corvette. My intent was to do a rolling restoration on the car, drive it during the summers, and find new projects to work on through the winters. I always intended this car to be a driver, not a show car, which is why the paint was last on the list. This summer I took a great road trip in the Corvette from my home in Pennsylvania, to Ashville NC, and then on to Myrtle Beach, SC and back home over the course of ten days. While following friends back from Myrtle Beach, I was able to figure gas mileage and was pleased to discover I was getting 19.8 mpg, while maintaining 70 mph with passenger and bags. I was having more fun than my friends in their suv and was also getting better gas mileage. This Corvette has been garage-kept since day one; I have been caught in the rain several times in the past five years, but I never decided to take it out when it was raining, nor has it ever been out in the snow. I have the hard top, orgional owners manual, Assembly manual and repair manual all of which go with the Corvette. ~60,000 miles. Colors from the owner. January 12, 2009.
For Sale:	No
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