Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 194679S706998
For those custom ordering a 1969 Corvette the freedom of choice
provided must have been eye-opening. Ten exterior colors, six
interior colors, two different body styles and 15! different "Power
Teams" ranging from a base 300 horsepower engine mated to a Turbo
Hydra-matic up to the fantastically powerful RPO L88 with a special
four-speed manual meant that there was a version of America's
Sports Car for everyone. Certainly, each of those excited customers
had their preferences, and Craig Murdock, who ordered this Stingray
Convertible via Valley Motors Chevrolet in Brookville, Indiana made
some very welcome choices.
Murdock ordered his new Stingray Convertible in LeMans Blue, the
most popular color that year with just over 17 percent of Corvettes
so finished. Smartly, Murdock chose RPO L36 that day which endowed
his Stingray with the 390 horsepower 427 cu-in big block "Turbo
-Jet" engine for an additional $221.20. Rated at 460 lb-ft of
torque, the L36 featured the same low-down grunt as the other big
blocks and came with hydraulic valve lifters, a high performance
cam, and a Rochester Quadra-Jet carburetor. Further options listed
on the original window sticker include Soft-Ray tinted glass, head
restraints, Positraction (3.55:1 ratio), full-transistor ignition,
red stripe Firestone tires, AM/FM pushbutton radio and the M21
close-ratio four-speed manual transmission.
A letter drafted by Murdock to the consignor on 3 July 2009 details
its early history. The car's first owner notes that he took
delivery in November 1968 (confirmed by the original
Protect-O-Plate and warranty foldout) and shortly thereafter
returned to Valley Motors with a special request to install RPO N14
side mount exhaust system. Murdock recounts that the work totaling
$328.56 was completed to factory standards and the consignor notes
that, as expected, the big block rumble is much different than
those fitted with the standard rear exit exhaust system. Murdock
notes that he owned the car until 1980 and accumulated only 50,000
miles with the exception of a period of 18 months where he sold and
then reacquired the car, and that it was never painted or modified
and always garaged during his ownership.
According to Ohio state registrations, it is believed that Dennis
Isaacs of Dayton acquired the car from Murdock becoming its third
owner. Isaacs would own it for the next 18 years placing only 7,000
miles on the car in that time before selling to James Marlow of
Brookville, Ohio. The LeMans Blue big block would accrue just over
3,100 miles under Marlow's ownership by 2009 when it joined The
Stingray Survivor Collection. An appraisal document drafted at the
time of purchase notes that it is an "All original numbers matching
unrestored car. One of the finest I have seen to date."
Surrounded by the best-of-the-best original third generation
Stingrays, this example stood out, not only for its factory-applied
Le Mans Blue lacquer paint, but for the original documentation that
accompanied the car that included its original Protect-O-Plate,
window sticker, and owner notes. In 2011, the car appeared in
Hemmings "Irreplaceable Icons," magazine article about The Stingray
Survivor Collection and also earned the coveted Best in Class
Sports Car award and Top Corvette Bill Rudd Trophy at the Ault Park
Concours d'Elegance. In April 2024, the L36 Convertible received an
NCRS Second Flight award - just missing out on Top Flight
certification by 2% with a 92.2/100 score.
While an original paint unrestored Corvette Stingray may be "de
rigueur" to enter The Stingray Survivor Collection, that does not
mean examples like this are common by any means. No, it must be
said that this well-ordered and unrestored '69 Convertible Stingray
with a slew of desirable options like its L36 "Turbo-Jet" engine,
four-speed manual, finished in a popular racing-inspired color with
side exhaust and original documentation is a rare car indeed and
just as desirable today as it was 55 years ago.
