A look-see of Larry’s Big-Block Sting Rays and his C3 ’68 427/435 L89 Big-Block
Dateline: 12-9-22 – This story was first published in the October 2022 issue of Vette Vues as part of their ongoing “Reader’s Rides” series of stories. Last month we told you about Larry Lipsitz’s beautiful collection of vintage performance Corvettes. When Larry Lipsitz started planning his Corvette collection, he wanted the best of the best “performance” optioned Corvettes. Each of the four Corvettes in Larry’s collection represents, from a performance perspective, the Best of that year’s offering.
This month we’ll look closely at Larry’s 1965 L79 396/425 big-block Corvette Convertible, his 1967 427/437 L71 big-block Corvette Coupe, and his 1968 L89 427/435 big-block Corvette Coupe with lightweight aluminum heads. Let’s start in chronological order.
1965 L78 396/427 Corvette Sting Ray Convertible
1965 was the end of one era and the beginning of another. From 1957 to 1965 the Fuelie was the toughest stock Corvette you could buy. But in 1962, Chevrolet started work on a replacement for the W-Block 348/402/427 truck engines. The new Mark IV engines were bigger and stronger than the small-block engine. Although Duntov didn’t like the added weight, he sure liked the horsepower and torque.
The new 396 big-block arrived in the spring of 1965 and was the performance option of the year! The L84 327/375-horsepower Fuelie was a $538 option, whereas the L78 396/425-horsepower big-block only cost $292! Engineers discovered that cubic-inches were the least expensive way to get more power.
By the close of the year, Chevrolet sold 2,157 396 Corvettes. Big-Block 1965 and 1966 Corvettes all have the revised hood design with a large center bulge needed to clear the taller engine and functional vents on the sides. In all, the big-clock weighed about 200-pounds more than the small-block Corvette.
Larry is only the car’s second owner and says, “It’s a keeper!” The 396 Vette was originally purchased in 1965 in San Luis, California by a doctor. The car was originally Silver Pearl, but the doctor had it repainted red. When the doctor passed, in 1984 his widow sold the car, and for four years was exchanged between dealers, but untitled.
Dealer Steve Shambaugh, from Indiana, did a full restoration and returned the paint back to Silver Pearl. After the restoration, the Sting Ray made a few more rounds with dealers. Finally, in 1988 Larry Lipsitz became the 396 ’65 Corvette’s second titled owner. Continue reading “The Larry Lipsitz Classic Performance Corvette Collection, Pt. 2”
Two excellent examples of this at both ends are the 1960 Cunningham Le Mans Class-winning Corvette and the John Greenwood Widebody Sebring ’75 race car. The Cunningham #3 Corvette is estimated value is in the millions. In 2015 the Greenwood Corvette auction stalled at $300,000. Why? The Greenwood car is a beautifully restored racer, but it was never a champion car.
As the years rolled on, the ZO6 was just a damaged old racer that was no longer competitive. No one wanted it. The only interest the car received was from vandals. The theives broke into the storage facility and helped themselves to the seats, seat belts, door panels, radio, and other small parts that they could steal quickly. 
From the factory, the Z06 was Sebring Silver with a red interior and had several juicy options, including; N03 36.5 Gallon Fuel Tank (the “Tanker” option), Power Windows, and an AM/FM radio. The build was in February 1963. The Z06’s suspension was rock hard and not a car one would like to drive on the street, especially on rough, potholed North Jersey roads. And the exotic fan-cooled brakes were almost useless until they were hot from heavy braking on a race track. We’ll get to Dave’s one-time-only harrowing experience driving his restored Z06 at the end of this article. 
Duntov had the kind of expertise that only comes from putting it all on the line in a four-wheel drift. Throughout the Corvette’s development, he always had racing on his mind. Bill Mitchell called this quality “having gasoline in your veins,” and in Duntov’s case, it showed. No sooner had he stuffed the new 265 small-block into the 1955 Corvette than his secret plans were hatched to build the first Corvette Le Mans racer, the Corvette SS. 
For years the Corvette was Lance’s daily driver and along the way, he personalized the car with lots of typical ’70s street machine features, including; Hooker Header Side-Pipes, Mags, a diamond-tuft interior, and numerous other bling-things. Hey, it was the ’70s and Lance had a blast with his Corvette.
Glenn met Lance Mallow in 1981 when they started working out of Fire Station 27, in Phoenix, Arizona. Firemen spend a lot of time training and maintaining their equipment to be ready in a heartbeat. Along the way, Glenn and Lance learned of their mutual interest in cars and Corvettes. Lance’s Corvette was his daily driver, so Glenn got to see the car every day and got to know the car well. 
