Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 194379710994
Visit any car show in North America that features America's Sports
Car and you'll undoubtedly see rows of immaculately prepared
Corvettes with their hoods up. General Motors designed the Corvette
with the engine as the star and with wide open roads and big
American race tracks it's easy to see why. In fact, in 1969
Chevrolet offered six V8 engine options for both Coupes and
Convertibles. The rarest, naturally would be the off-road
application only L88, but just behind it was the big block 427
cu-in 400 horsepower L68 optioned in just five percent of 1969
Stingrays. The L68 engine began life as a L36 390 horse big block
and was upgraded by the factory with L68 "390 to 400-HP Equipment."
That L68 upgrade featured the legendary "Tri-power" triple
two-barrel Holley carburetor and intake from the L71 435 horsepower
engine adding ten horsepower on top of hydraulic valve lifters, a
high performance camshaft, and 10.25:1 compression ratio. In
effect, the L68 was a little-known sweet spot for the additional
$326.55. Perhaps most notably, the 427/400 was the most powerful
Corvette on offer in 1969 with 4-Season air conditioning, just what
Steve Hough had in mind when he visited Floyd Hughes Chevrolet in
Council Bluffs, Illinois in late 1968 when he ordered a new
Stingray Coupe in Riverside Gold.
Riverside Gold would remain a one-year-only color for 1969,
selected on just 11.8 percent of Corvettes that year. Along with
the uncommon paint selection Hough would, according to the original
Corvette Order Copy (better known as the tank sticker) order his
coupe with, not only the rare L68 427/400 big block, but 4-season
air conditioning as well. This rare combination of options is noted
to be just one of only 352 ordered as such in 1969. Further options
ordered by Hough included full-transistor ignition, Positraction
(3.08:1), four-speed M20 wide ratio manual transmission, Goodyear
white stripe tires, AM/FM pushbutton radio, Soft-Ray tinted glass,
power windows, head restraints, power steering, power brakes,
tilt-telescopic steering wheel, front fender louver trim, and audio
alarm system. A serious list of additional extras amounting to just
over 25 percent of the total with the C60 4-season air conditioning
the most expensive option at $428.70. The original Protect-O-Plate
naturally lists Hough as the original owner and includes the dealer
stamp for Floyd Hughes Chevrolet, yet it also records the
serendipitous, hand-written delivery date of 24 December 1968 -
Christmas Eve. It is unknown if this was a planned occurrence, but
either way it was certainly a very Merry Christmas for Steve
Hough!
According to research provided with the car and included in the
history file available for review, this uniquely ordered Stingray
was owned by Hough for a short time until it was acquired in July
1971 by Henry Stupenski of Omaha, Nebraska just across the Missouri
River from Council Bluffs. Rather than roar across the Great Plains
in air conditioned style, Stupenski placed his new Stingray into
storage until 2013! After his passing, the car was removed from
storage and quickly passed through another Nebraskan's hands before
landing with the fourth owner, Dewayne Lang of Papillion who kept
the car until 2021 at which time it featured just 31,393 original
miles. In 2022, it joined the exceptional Stingray Survivor
Collection bearing all the hallmarks of a third-generation Corvette
qualified to enter. Yes, it's an unrestored, low-mileage (just
31,447 miles at cataloging), original big block with born-with
drivetrain that features a four-speed manual, but it also retains
its factory applied Riverside Gold paint, factory fitted options,
and original documentation including its tank sticker and
Protect-O-Plate along with prior owner statements. Furthermore, in
April 2024, it received an NCRS Second Flight award scoring
92.9/100 narrowly missing the 94 percent required for Top Flight.
The critical deductions? An incorrect battery and oil filter
costing 48 points and a sure-fire Top Flight score. So, to the
future owner of this special Tri-power 427/400 Stingray Coupe,
another crack at NCRS Top Flight or perhaps a cruise across America
with the air conditioning on full blast? Why not both?!
