S123 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible 1967 NHRA A/Sports Nationals Champion, Documented with Tank Sticker, 1 of 20 Produced Purchased new at Lyman Slack Chevrolet by Jim Elmer of Portland, OR, this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 convertible is one of twenty L88 Corvettes produced in 1967. Elmer bought the car to race; he made his first pass with the new car fresh out of the box at Puyallup Dragway in Puyallup, WA, running a scorching 11.47 with the sole additions of exhaust headers and 7-inch slicks. That set the tone for the car’s extensive drag racing career, which first made headlines when it captured the A/Sports class win at the 1967 Indy Nationals. Elmer ultimately ran a best of 11.12 at 127.45 MPH, but soon after his Indy win he damaged both the transmission and the rear end, only to have his warranty claim rejected when he showed up at the dealership with the car in full competition trim, including sponsorship decals and elapsed time stickers
on the windows! Unwilling to pay the costs of repair, Elmer sold the car to his friend and fellow racer Rob Robinson in February of 1968 for the princely sum of $5,000. In partnership with local GM parts man Clayton Cotardi, Robinson campaigned the car in NHRA A/Sports through 1968 and 1969, running all the popular West Coast venues - Irwindale, Half Moon Bay, Woodburn, Seattle, Puyallup and sometimes in Boise, ID. Described by Robinson as “totally impressive for its era” and “in a class of its own”, the car consistently ran between 11.1- and 11.3-second times at 125-130 MPH and placed among the top 4 or 5 in NHRA national points standings. In 1970 Robinson returned the L88 to street trim. It was later purchased by well-known Corvette restorer Tim Thorpe of O’Fallen, IL, who began restoring the car before selling it to Buddy and Nova