Chassis No. 194676S111114

Engine No. T0106P 6111114

Could the 1966 Sting Ray with the optional L72 427 cu-in engine be the most powerful Corvette of the swinging 1960s? For a fleeting moment, when introduced in August 1965 as the highest performance option of the new 427 "Big Block" engine available for the 1966 model, Regular Production Order L72 was rated at 450 horsepower. Factory documents and even the car's air cleaner sticker stated "450 hp" until October when the number suddenly, without fanfare, changed to "425 hp" everywhere, making it 10 horsepower less than the 1967–1969 L71. It would seem General Motors was acting as good corporate citizen by downplaying the L72's potential.

This 1966 Chevrolet Corvette L72 Convertible was owned by two families for 41 years. By chance, Angelo Bazzo saw this Corvette finished in striking Silver Pearl while traveling on historic Route 66, and a conversation with the original owner resulted in him purchasing it in March 1969, showing just 15,000 miles. It is well optioned, with four-speed manual transmission, side exhaust, AM/FM radio, clock, seatbelts, full wheel covers and Firestone Deluxe Champion blackwall tire. It also was equipped with the factory matching removable hardtop and black vinyl soft top. The original owner stated he had the Corvette upgraded by the performance experts at Yenko Chevrolet in Pennsylvania, and for $3,300 it was now Bazzo's, who turned an amazing 11.39 second quarter mile at Pittsburgh International Raceway later that year. After 4,000 additional miles Bazzo put it in storage in 1974, then sold to brother-in-law, Dennis Sochacki, in August 1987, who, during 1991, began the painstaking process of returning the L72 Corvette to its factory condition, for which an album of photographs and receipts documenting the work remains on file. Since the Corvette was in such low-mile condition, only those components needed to bring it back to its original state were replaced, with the original interior mostly untouched. The Top Flight award from the National Corvette Restorers Society in 2008 confirms this Corvette has been restored to 95.2 percent "as the car left the factory of origin." It is an excellent example in every regard.

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