1966 L72 Big-Block Corvette
With 425 hp and a four-speed, it doesn’t get much better than this
If you want to talk collectable American classics, it really doesn’t get much better than Corvettes. They were never intended to be commuter cars bought as the only means of transportation and driven into the ground. Heck, they only have two seats so you can’t even take both kids for a ride, let alone your significant other and the family pet. Whether you’re living the single life and you’ve saved up for months to get your dream ride or you’ve got a family and years of hard work have afforded you a new toy, Corvettes have always been intended for fun. Combine those elements with legendary performance plus a rich history in racing and you can bet these cars will accrue significant value over the years.
As with most things in life, there is a hierarchy of sorts when it comes to what makes a Corvette collectable. Usually it’s the combination of rarity and performance that moves any given car higher up the list. The more performance-oriented options the car has, like a bigger engine and fine-tuned suspension, the more desirable it is. Likewise, the fewer copies that were made (and thus fewer that exist today) the more people are usually willing to pay. Assuming there was such a distinct ranking scale for Corvettes, the big-block 1966 coupe owned by Ted Stevens of Los Gatos, California, would certainly be near the top.
Stevens’ coupe was ordered with just about every desirable option available at the time, and he even has the original window sticker to prove it. The heart of the Corvette is the biggest and baddest engine available for 1966: the 425-horsepower 427ci big-block. If you’re really savvy with your Corvette options, you’ll recognize this as an L72, which added $312 to the original sticker price of $4,295. 1966 was only the second year Chevrolet offered a big-block in Corvettes and it was the first year for 427ci engines. It was also the only year the L72 was offered, making it pretty rare with just over 5,000 total Corvettes ever produced with this engine. Stevens’ coupe was also ordered with the K66 transistor ignition to deliver a stronger and more reliable spark to the high-horsepower engine. The final piece of the power puzzle for the coupe was the N14 side dual exhaust, a $131 option worth every penny.
The rest of the drivetrain was no slouch either. While it wasn’t ordered with the holy grail, ultra-rare M22 heavy-duty, close-ratio manual—only 15 vehicles were sold with this option in 1966—it was equipped with the M21 close-ratio four-speed. Pair that with the Chevrolet Positraction rearend and it’s clear that this Corvette was built to perform.
