{"id":33521,"date":"2023-10-28T16:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T15:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hemmings.com\/stories\/how-did-this-1968-l79-chevelle-remain-barely-used-for-decades\/"},"modified":"2023-10-28T16:00:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T15:00:03","slug":"how-did-this-1968-l79-chevelle-remain-barely-used-for-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/28\/how-did-this-1968-l79-chevelle-remain-barely-used-for-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"How Did This 1968 L79 Chevelle Remain Barely Used For Decades?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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During the heart of the original musclecar era, the vast wealth of steadily escalating high-performance offerings meant that some of the day\u2019s otherwise appealing hardware could become overshadowed. Chevrolet\u2019s hot L79-code 327 engine serves as an excellent example. When Chevy made the Corvette-derived 350-hp small-block available in some of its more mainstream models, it created the potential for stout performers, but in the wake of a growing array of big-block options, relatively few buyers took notice. <\/p>\n

Chevy had introduced the L79 version of the 327 for 1965, creating an interesting sort of \u201cin-between\u201d small-block offering for Corvette buyers. Previously, the lower-output 327 variants\u2014the base 250-hp and optional 300-hp engines\u2014had been relatively tame in their behavior, owing to mild hydraulic camshaft profiles that made for smooth idle quality and which worked well with automatic transmissions and\/or air conditioning. Those seeking more serious performance from their Corvettes selected from the hotter solid-lifter versions, like the L76-code 365-hp 327, or even the 375-hp L84 that came topped with fuel injection. <\/p>\n

\n \"1968<\/p>\n

Photo: Thomas A. DeMauro<\/small><\/p>\n

But the new L79 managed to bridge the gap, offering a stout 350-hp rating while using a hydraulic cam, albeit one with an aggressive profile. The L79 got the 64-cc chambered cylinder heads with the same 2.02\/1.60-inch valves as the solid-lifter engines, and it even used an exotic aluminum intake manifold and a Holley carb at first; it also had domed pistons and 11.0:1 compression like the higher-output 327s. Yet, the L79 was a more tractable engine\u2014enough so that you could even order A\/C with it. You could not, however, pair the L79 with an automatic. <\/p>\n

An interesting quirk was Chevrolet\u2019s decision to offer this new small-block variation in the still relatively new Chevelle during that same model year of 1965. There were already two other 327s offered in the Chevelle for \u201965, including one with a four-barrel rated at 300 hp. But for those wanting something a bit rowdier, the L79 was available, so long as you were willing to order a manual transmission. If you did check off the top 327, opening the hood of your new Chevelle would reveal a neat chrome-plated dual-snorkel air cleaner and \u201cflash chrome\u201d plated rocker covers, in addition to the aluminum intake and Holley four-barrel. Chevy would even let you order the L79 in a four-door sedan or a wagon.<\/p>\n

The following year, however, the L79 was curiously absent from the Chevelle\u2019s option sheet, with speculation suggesting that perhaps Chevrolet\u2019s product planners thought offering a 350-hp 327 wouldn\u2019t jibe well with the new, regular-production SS 396 and its base 325-hp engine. The better news was the availability of the L79 in the Chevy II, and this may be the engine\u2019s best-known home outside of the Corvette.<\/p>\n

For 1967, the L79 would lose its aluminum intake and Holley carb, using an iron manifold and a Quadrajet, and getting a new 325-hp rating. At a glance, the more pedestrian induction setup might be seen as the reason for the power decrease, but in reality, the Q-Jet was rated at 750 cfm while the Holley\u2019s rating was just 585 cfm. Enthusiasts generally agree that the re-rated L79 ran just as well, and it\u2019s often felt that, since the option returned to the Chevelle in \u201967, perhaps this was a numbers game, as the base SS 396 was still rated for 325 hp too. For \u201967, the hot L79 Chevy II would essentially disappear (six are said to have been built). In the Corvette, however, it was business as usual, as the L79\u2019s 350-hp rating remained.<\/p>\n

\n \"1968<\/p>\n

Photo: Thomas A. DeMauro<\/small><\/p>\n

Things were happening at Chevrolet for 1968, with a complete restyling of both the Chevelle and the Chevy II Nova, and the L79 was available in both revamped models, again with a 325-hp rating. But the muscle car wars were in full swing by this time, and big-blocks were de rigueur; in fact, GM\u2019s own restrictions limiting engine displacement to 400 cubic inches for intermediates and compacts was already putting the automaker at a disadvantage to its crosstown rivals, who were offering 440-powered GTX and Coronets and 427-urged Fairlanes. <\/p>\n

This naturally meant that demand for the little L79 was on the wane as performance buyers stepped right up to the 396 Super Sport Chevelles and Novas, with some lobbying for a 427 option. Still, there remained some gearheads who perferred a rev-happy small-block. <\/p>\n

One of those people was the man who ordered this 1968 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, though we don\u2019t know exactly what his motives were. He even went to Don Yenko\u2019s emporium of speed to special order his new Chevelle, so we can assume he was well aware of what else was possible, even beyond the factory order form. And our man wasn\u2019t just looking for a little extra power\u2014he also checked off the M21 close-ratio four-speed, M01 Heavy-Duty clutch, and 4.10 gears. Then he dressed the car up with bucket seats, floor console, simulated wood steering wheel, and rally wheels with redline tires. And then he parked it in his garage.<\/p>\n

Sadly, we\u2019ll never know just what the original owner\u2019s intentions were, as he passed away many years ago\u2014probably about a decade after taking delivery of his Chevelle. But when the car was discovered in that garage some years later, it showed just 3,600 miles\u2014that\u2019s right: three-thousand, six-hundred. <\/p>\n

\n \"1968<\/p>\n

Photo: Thomas A. DeMauro<\/small><\/p>\n

The next part of the story is the sort of thing most of us dream about: A guy goes to a garage sale in a neighbor\u2019s backyard, looks over into garage, and sees an interesting old car languishing there. The homeowner explains that she is a widow, and that the car belonged to her late husband, and yes\u2014she would be willing to sell it. <\/p>\n

This was the tale told to Brian Henderson by the car\u2019s second owner, after Brian spotted the Chevelle at a big car cruise in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Brian runs Supercar Workshop in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where top-tier Chevy muscle car restoration has been a specialty for nearly 30 years. \u201cWe were walking around, and I saw this car pull in. It was nice, and it sounded pretty good, but I could see it didn\u2019t have the domed hood. I wondered right away if it was an L79,\u201d Brian recalls of his first glimpse of the Chevelle. He managed to track down the owner, Fran Schanck, later that day, and that\u2019s when he got the back story. Schanck was a \u201cChevelle guy\u201d who was always on the hunt, so when his friend spotted the car at the garage sale, he knew who to call. Schanck didn\u2019t hesitate, and acquired the car even before he realized what it really was, as Brian related. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he was going to hot rod it\u2014he thought it was just a clean Malibu. They didn\u2019t even try to make it run since it had been sitting for years, but after he got it home, he started to realize just how original the car was. And then he discovered the L79 engine. From there, they decided to very carefully clean the car up and replace the dried-out parts of the fuel and brake systems, keeping everything they took off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian and Schanck talked more, and he showed Brian how the Chevelle\u2019s trunk mat had fallen apart when he\u2019d tried to remove it for cleaning. As a Chevy restoration expert, Brian knew where to get a concours-quality replacement, and from that bit of assistance came a lasting friendship. Years later, Brian would get a call from Schanck, who said that he was retiring, and that it was time for the car to find a new home. \u201cHe told me he was only going to make one call\u2014to me\u2014because he \u2018didn\u2019t want to put up with all the guys who are going to show up and complain about the scratches.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"1968<\/p>\n

Photo: Thomas A. DeMauro<\/small><\/p>\n

Those scratches were the minor blemishes the Chevelle wore on its otherwise excellent factory-applied paint. Brian knew the car was original and low mileage, but he didn\u2019t yet know just how low. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019d talked the time that we met, he\u2019d said the car had \u201836\u2019 when I asked the mileage\u2014I assumed he meant 36,000. But when I went to really check the car out when he decided to sell, I started getting heart palpitations when I saw the odometer had just 4,100 miles showing!\u201d Brian recalls. That was just the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen he pulled out the paperwork and he had everything\u2014the sticker, the Protect-O-Plate\u2026 He even had the bill of sale with Don Yenko\u2019s signature on it,\u201d Brian says. The car just kept getting better the deeper he looked, and though he wasn\u2019t in the market for another vintage Chevy, he knew he couldn\u2019t pass this one up. <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I\u2019d never find another one like this, but I had to get some things together to make the deal first,\u201d Brian recounts. \u201cI was supposed to be finding a buyer, and when I got back to tell Fran that I had someone, and that it was me, he said he\u2019d hoped that was what I was going to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"1968<\/p>\n

Photo: Thomas A. DeMauro<\/small><\/p>\n

After the deal was made and Brian had the Chevelle back at his place, he dug into the car. \u201cI started taking some things apart to clean it up, and I was just shocked\u2014I didn\u2019t think anyone had ever really been in this car. The wood wheel looks like it has never been touched, the back seat was probably never sat in\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n

There were a few odd details that Brian investigated. First, the car wore a set of the \u201969-style five-spoke Super Sport wheels. \u201cFran said the widow had told him her husband liked those wheels when they came out, so he went back to Yenko and got a set. I have no idea if that\u2019s what really happened, but I can say that the wheels all have the same date code.\u201d Brian wanted to put the car back to original, and fortunately had a pair of the correct XB-code 14 x 6-inch Rally wheels; a friend had two more. Brian also had a set of NOS center caps in his stash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other weird thing on this car is the grille\u2014it\u2019s black, and it shouldn\u2019t be,\u201d Brian says, referring to the fact that only Super Sport Chevelles got black grilles. \u201cI\u2019ve looked at that very closely, and I\u2019ve had other guys who really know these cars look, too\u2014we all agree that it appears to have never been disturbed. It also doesn\u2019t look like anyone ever masked it and sprayed it black. Who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n

Who knows indeed. It\u2019s a question that surrounds many aspects of this rare and incredibly original Chevelle, given the untimely passing of the man who spec\u2019ed it out new and then barely drove it. Fortunately, it was well kept, and has been in the care of people who appreciate exactly what it is since rolling out of that garage. Though Brian has owned many desirable Chevy muscle cars over the years, this one is quite special\u2014an unusually optioned car that has remained inexplicably original. <\/p>\n

Specifications – 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu<\/h3>\n

\"1968<\/p>\n

Price<\/strong><\/p>\n