Roger Penske was also involved with another 1966 Corvette number 6. Note the unique cowl induction hood design. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This special Roger Penske entered 1966 COPO Corvette wore the factory delivered Rally Red paint when raced at Daytona in 1966. Once the Corvette arrived at Sebring the paint had been changed to Sunoco Blue to reflect the sponsor. More details about this unique Corvette to follow.
Back in 1965 Zora Duntov wanted to build another special performance Corvette but in a less obvious way than what the Grand Sport program turned into. Hidden away in the budget for other automobile development in Chevrolet was a special Corvette project that only a few trusted employees knew about. In some ways it was an evolution of the original Z06 special performance package option. Things like a bigger gas tank and special HD brakes and transmission were all being assembled for this new Corvette. The engine would be the brand new 396 'big block' that had it's debut in the 1965 Corvette. Except for this project the future larger 1966 427 cubic inch engine would be employed with a special camshaft and carburetor plus hi compression pistons. Topping all of this would be new aluminum cylinder heads which removed weight from the front of the car. The special Corvette had suspension modifications and a larger gas tank fitted along with the new engine. Insulation was stripped out along with the radio and door trim. Headers and a side mount exhaust were also utilized. All this work was done by Chevrolet Engineering in Warren MI. to prepare the Corvette for testing out in Arizona away from prying eyes. One employee volunteered to drive the modified Corvette out to Mesa AZ himself. It would be an interesting drive! Further testing would take place back east with the promising results. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The next step was to get a special COPO order to build a production Corvette with the new engine package that would be offered for 1967 retail customers. That was where Roger Penske entered the picture with his Central Office Production Order for a prototype L88 Corvette to race at Daytona and Sebring that year. For production in 1967 model year Corvettes there would be a number of mandatory options like the M22 transmission and no radio or heater would be available. The engine would get the option code ' L88 ' and be under rated at 430HP to discourage customers who demanded the highest horsepower engine when the were checking all the boxes. As a compromise the L71 435HP engine would be available as the L89 option when aluminum cylinder heads were ordered but the horsepower rating remained at 435HP. The 1967 L88 option only saw 20 orders and the L89 aluminum cylinder head even fewer customers with 16 Corvettes ordered.
The Roger Penske prototype 1966 L88 Corvette race number ' 9 ' was later purchased and restored to it's Sebring race specification. It still wears it's special cowl induction hood > Image Unavailable, Please Login
For 1965 along with the work on special future options like the L88 engine there were quite a few performance options already available if your Corvette salesman knew the right people at Chevrolet. One dealer Gorries Chevrolet in Toronto Ontario Canada had those connections. For a rush order they received this 1965 Corvette coupe wearing Tuxedo Black paint and a black interior. All the important boxes were checked on the order including the new for 1965 L78 396 cubic inch 'big block' engine with 425HP. Backing up this engine was a special new HD 4 speed transmission with the option code 'M22 '. For better handling the ' F40 ' suspension and for stopping the ' J50 ' disc brakes package was ordered. Then to go even further the larger 36.5 gallon gas tank ' N03 ' plus ' K66 ' transistor ignition and getting that power to the ground required ' G81 ' positraction. Since this Corvette would be raced the radio was deleted. All these option codes created a unique 1965 Corvette coupe that has been restored to factory delivery condition after much hard use as a race car! Image Unavailable, Please Login
View attachment 2568731 [/QUOTE] Do you know whether the M22 was available with the small block or only with the big block engines? Thank you.
Do you know whether the M22 was available with the small block or only with the big block engines? Thank you.[/QUOTE] Because the M22 transmission was not 'officially' available it was likely limited to the orders for the new L78 396 425HP version motors. There were only 41 orders for the N03 large gas tank in 1965 so the availability of the M22 option transmission was even less well known. I will check some notes as well for any changes and advise.
1965 was a time of change for the Corvette with the introduction of disc brakes for the first time on that model. Very few customers (only 316) deleted the disc brakes in order to get the older drum brakes. The drum brakes would no longer be available for the 1966 model year Corvettes. With the arrival of the more powerful 425HP 396 engine the sales of the L84 327 375Hp fuel injection engine suffered. Only 771 Corvettes were built with the fuel injection engine in it's final year of production. With a cost of $538 for the L84 375HP engine the L78 425HP big block engine seemed like a bargain with 50 more horsepower and also a lower option price of only $292 dollars. However one customer saw the merit in ordering a 1965 Corvette with the soon to be discontinued fuel injection engine. He specified Glen Green paint (code GG 3,782 sold) for the exterior and saddle leather (code 421) for the interior. The convertible top color was beige and the auxillary hardtop was also added. The L84 fuel injection engine backed by an M20 4 speed transmission also was complimented with the P48 cast aluminum knock off wheels mounted with gold line tires. The owner felt the Corvette because it was the last year for fuel injection could be valuable in the future. He drove less than 1,600 miles and then stored the Corvette away in the fall of 1965. Fast forward more than a decade to 1976 and the Corvette was sold to a collector for $42,000 dollars. To put that value in perspective you could buy 4 brand new 1976 Corvettes for that price. The interior was so perfect that Al Knoch used the car's interior as the sample for the color of his reproduction saddle leather which he sold to other Corvette owner restoring their 1965 Corvette interiors. The Corvette was in spectacular condition and won many awards over the years. In 2015 the 1965 fuel injection Corvette was again offered for sale and sold for $390,000 dollars this time. For some collectors original 'time capsule' Corvettes are the ultimate find! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The Grand Sport was restored by Bob Ash and is owned by Harry Yeaggy. The 1966 coupe was restored and is owned by Kevin Mackay of Corvette Repair.
The two roadsters and three coupes today> Image Unavailable, Please Login 002 is particularly nice> This Corvette had a huge amount of time and knowledge invested in the correct restoration of this particular car. The unique design features and construction details of these 5 Grand Sport models can't be stressed enough. Image Unavailable, Please Login this is how 002 looked for Sebring > also note the white w blue stripe Ferrari parked against the fence in the background! Image Unavailable, Please Login
002 today is part of the Simeone Collection in Philadelphia. It appears as it did in the Sebring photo with its original white(rough) bodywork. The spectacular silver body by Bob Ash is mounted to a rolling chassis for display purposes; alongside it is a 377 engine with cross-ram 58mm Webers. 002 has a L88 as last run by George Wintersteen. BTW the car against the fence in the background, white with a blue stripe is a Porsche 906.
Still in 1965 here so a bit more about the M22 transmission Corvettes. The black 1965 Corvette coupe ordered through Gorries Chevrolet seems to be the first production Corvette to receive the HD transmission. All the M22 transmissions were assembled in a single day at the Muncie factory. The total number of M22 transmissions ordered by customers for 1965 Corvettes was 29. It seems unlikely that any Corvettes built with the small block engines received this transmission. The transmission was for 'heavy duty' use and the only motor that fit that requirement was the new 425HP 396 version. Built on June 2nd , 1965 the black big tank Corvette was raced for a year and then traded back in at Gorries Chevorlet, still with it's original M22 transmission after a season of track use. The shop employees were offered the Corvette for $1,200 but all declined. A couple of small pictures showing the Gorries Chevrolet 1965 Corvette's black interior and the 396 engine. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The 396 cubic inch engine was not the first choice for the big block engine's introduction in 1965. Back in 1964 there was a different plan but then politics got in the way. How that plan changed with some help from the Chevolet Chevelle, next...
$1200 for a car that stickered for $5000 the year before sounds awfully cheap, it must have been pretty rough.
Is that a Riverside Raceway decal on the back window? I have one on my 67-best track I've ever driven and a tragedy that its gone.
Yes exactly, that is why none of the mechanics wanted to buy it! A diamond in the rough but none of them saw it that way.
The new big block Chevrolet engine was a big deal for Chevrolet. They introduced the new engine in the Chevelle with the Z16 option for the 396 engine. Approximately 201 of these special option Chevelle models were built plus a couple of prototype cars which were crashed at the track. The owner of a 1965 Z16 Chevelle (the 11th Z16 built) was a young drag racer who was friends with Ed Cole the Chevrolet General Manager and Vince Piggins who was the Chevrolet Manager of Product Performance. His drag racing exploits had come their attention through the local Chevrolet zone manager Ralph Miller. The personal invitation to meet Ed Cole in Detroit, who was the Chevrolet General Manager cemented the relationship. When the new Z16 Chevelle was built it was Vince Piggins who made sure the young drag racer got his special 396 Chevelle. Vince Piggins had another surprise; he arranged for the young drag racer to receive the very first production 1965 Corvette 396 425HP car sold to the public. Sadly he could not afford both cars so the first big block Corvette was sold and he kept the low production Chevelle instead. The 1965 Corvette 396 425HP coupe was serial number 12864 and is pictured below> Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login The new big block 396 engine was introduced to the public in February 1965 and the regular production of this new engine option started in March of 1965. However the big block Corvette introduction was in the planning stages in March of 1964 a year earlier and this was when the first prototype big block Corvette was built. That prototype was especially unique...
Initially the plan was to offer a 427 cubic inch engine in the new 1965 Corvette. One of the pilot build 1965 Corvettes (serial number 00003) was chosen to be the first engineering test car for this new production engine program. From the pictures below you will see what was created for this new engine option. However an edict by General Motors management stated that small cars would be limited to 400 cubic inches or less for their engine options. The planned new 427 big block engine would be reduced to 396 cubic inches. This late development meant the prototype 1965 Corvette big block with a 427 cubic inch engine would remain a 'one off' example in 1965 Corvettes. However for 1966 the options would change and two versions of the big block engine would be offered. The mild version would displace 427 cubic inches making 390HP. The hi-performance engine version would feature many heavy duty parts. Special performance features like four bolts for the main bearing caps instead of two on the 390HP engine and a solid lifter camshaft instead of a hydraulic camshaft plus a hi-rise aluminum intake manifold topped by a single large Holley carburetor. All these improvements would be rated at 450HP. The original big block 427 425HP Corvette was photographed by midstyle> Note the unique ' MARK IV 427 ' fender emblem. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Are the 396 427 and 454 all the same block with more bore, or is the 454 a completly different motor.
All the different displacements are done with changes to the bore x stroke combinations. The iron blocks remain the same but with different fittings like camshaft and cylinder heads etc. The specs are bore x stroke for each different displacement > 396 4.09 x 3.76 427 4.25 x 3.76 454 4.25 x 4.00 For more revs typically a larger bore and shorter stroke are preferred but that can change the torque range higher or lower down ie. more power off the line vs. more power developed at higher speeds. A small displacement engine like the 1968 Z28 302 cubic inch engine was short on torque in the lower rev range under 3,000 rpm. Those engines would benefit from 4.88 axle gears and the big block engine cars could better utilize 3.36 axle gears. The 4.88 gears would limit top speed compared to the 3.36 gears which might have a 30 MPH higher top speed at the rev limit of the engine. The big block motors were mostly known for torque and didn't rev as high as the small block engines.
396 Bore: 3.935" Stroke: 3.760" 402 (called a 396 in some cars, a 402 in others) Bore: 4.094" Stroke: 3.760" 427 Bore: 4.250" Stroke: 3.760" 454 Bore: 4.250" Stroke: 4.000" Other Big Block Chevrolet Engines 366 Bore: 3.935" Stroke: 3.760" 502 Bore: 4.466" Stroke: 4.000" 572 Bore: 4.560" Stroke: 4.375" The 366 was a tall-deck truck engine using 4 rings per piston rather than the usual 3. 427 and a 454 tall deck truck engines were also built. The 502 and 572 were over the counter performance engines.
