Quip from magazine
I alwys read that the L-88 engine was made available as a component in the L-88package, but I'm sure guys got 'em OTC as well. Here's an excerpt from a typical magazine source describing early L-88 racing ventures:
"Even before they could see its distinctive quad headlamps piercing the darkness, the Sunray DX Motorsports team knew when their Corvette was exiting the final ninety-degree turn at the end of Sebring’s long back straight. Six hundred horsepower worth of big block Chevrolet generated a thunderous roar unlike anything else on the track.
This 16th annual running of the famed 12 Hours of Sebring, held April 1, 1967, marked the debut of Corvette’s L88 option package. The aluminum headed 427, in concert with an M22 “Rock Crusher” transmission, heavy duty brakes and suspension, and a host of other competition inspired hardware, turned the Corvette into the purest race car to ever roll off a Detroit assembly line.
When the checkered flag fell at 10:00 p.m. the epic struggle of man and machine was over. In the hands of drivers Dave Morgan and Don Yenko, Sunray’s L88 Corvette bested some of the world’s greatest purpose built and production based racers to finish 1st in GT class and 10th overall.
The L88 engine that powered the red, white and blue DX racer to victory became a regular Corvette option soon after Sebring. As such, it was—and arguably remains—the most powerful engine ever offered in a true production car. That alone would ensure its place in history, but closer examination reveals much more to the L88 mystique than mere savage horsepower."
Having an L-88 engine in a vehicle prior to April 1967 suggests a very special case, to be sure!
Enjoy!
TomK