The SR2 is not exactly "random";)
I would like to see more of the Lincoln in the second shot. So what's with the bungee cords for Mark Reuss's Grand Sport tribute?
Same blue 1856 Corvette out for a 'road test' story > Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Note the 'washboard' style hood adopted later for the 1958 Corvette and fuel injection which didn't become an option for the Corvette until the 1957 model year.
No shots of the Lincoln, sorry. Bungee cords? Missed his entrance, so didn’t see the need for the bungee cords. Maybe they make it go faster
It has to be out there somewhere. Maybe some old grandma has it tucked away in the barn under a load of rubbish.
Typically it was a hi-performance Chevrolet dealer like Yenko with 'factory connections' that got the special performance models. This was also the case with the aluminum ZL1 1969 Camaro models to. Only two of those aluminum 427 Camaro models came to Canada. One was a special order by GM of Canada to a specific account and the other was a special order done by Chevrolet in Detroit for a Canadian delivery to a race team. One customer for a 1967 L88 Corvette had his order turned down by Chevrolet as he didn't have the right factory contacts to get approval for his Corvette order. This selective allocation process had been going on for a long time. Even going back to the original 1963 Corvette Z06 performance option. Chevrolet only selected certain customers to receive those cars. Those cars didn't typically go to Utah. More likely the ZL1 Corvette is hiding in plain sight...
http://www.superchevy.com/features/corp-0603-1969-chevy-corvette-zl1/ http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2013/08/12/pics-monaco-orange-1969-zl1-corvette-convertible-at-bloomington-gold/
I wonder if he would offer that baby up for sale. From what I see Judeski has refused to put the yellow one on market
The ZL1 has always been one of my favorite Corvette unicorns. No realistic chance of ever finding one, so did the next best thing-69 427 with a 510 alloy Can Am engine. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Long before the internet came along it was car magazines that were the main source of 'new car' details. So the West Coast Chevrolet Zone Office received a Daytona Yellow 1969 Corvette for it's large 'road test' fleet. This Corvette was a convertible with the removable hardtop. Because it was a test car the Corvette was equipped with the option code L88 427 430HP motor. Since traction would be a challenge the engineers specified an M40 automatic transmission and only 3.36:1 rear gears. Getting the power to the ground was a set of special Firestone Indy tires. Three magazines tested the Corvette and all felt it was a bit much for a street Corvette. The L88 would chirp it's rear tires when put in gear to back out of a parking space! The Chevrolet engineers had created a unique Corvette with this road test specification. Only 17 Corvettes were ordered with the automatic transmission and the L88 engine option for the 1969 model year. Further this particular Corvette featured the older design 'closed chamber' aluminum heads which featured a 12.5 to 1 compression ratio. Chevrolet planned to introduce a new design 'open chamber' aluminum cylinder head for the L88 motor for 1969. However the introduction was delayed until after a two month GM autoworkers strike that lasted from April 9th until June 9th of 1969. The unique L88 Corvette test car disappeared after the magazine tests and has never surfaced again. Some views of the 1969 L88 Corvette road test car> Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login No shielding was needed for the ignition on this Corvette since the radio could not be ordered with the L88 engine package.
As this picture shows there was a lot of rain in Los Angeles during the winter that the 1969 L88 Corvette was road tested. Also the Firestone Indy tires were really only effective in dry conditions... Image Unavailable, Please Login
O2 Very interesting, was the tranny a turbo 400 or turbo 350? Sure miss these days as a kid..... When I do my shows or emcee in my suits, people ask why? Look at the test driver for the photo op , suit shirt and tie! Neat pics. Motion performance was down the block from my house, as we said before. Sunday deliveries to the shop felt like space ships being delivered! Nunleys was 500 feet down the street, I could ride the corvette on the race track all day at 8 years old GTJOEY1314
Indeed, that picture was also from the Hot Rod Magazine test. Car Life Magazine tested most all the 1969 Corvette engine combinations on the street and at the drag strip. The L88 was there but they didn't test the ZL1. One interesting combination was the promised LT-1 motor; a 350 with the solid lifter camshaft and hi-compression 11:1 pistons. That 1969 Corvette engine was supplied by a customer who built his own LT-1 engine Corvette a year before Chevrolet finally delivered the 1970 1/2 Corvette version. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The third magazine to test the 1969 L88 Corvette was called "Drag Racing" and the cover date was July 1969. The magazine staff had the L88 Corvette for two weeks. The first complaint was no power steering followed by no brakes. When starting from cold the HD brakes were not effective initially until they were heated up. In preparation for a trip to the San Fernando Drag Strip they changed the rear gears from the factory 3.36 to 4.11:1 for the drag strip test. The Corvette weighed a hefty 3,400 pounds ready to race. At the track with 10 inch slicks installed the Corvette ran a best quarter mile time of 12.47 at 116 MPH. Not too bad for a basically stock Corvette. This was about 1 second off what the L88 should run with a few additional modifications like headers and a some tuning tricks. Driven on the street the Corvette required a steady diet of 103 octane gasoline and delivered only eight and a half miles per gallon of fuel consumed. At idle the whole Corvette shook like a dish of jello and the Corvette felt like it had no suspension with it's very firm ride. As DRM's John Lawlor reflected " I look around for the guy with the checkered flag every time I get to my destination in this L88 Corvette!"
One other magazine to feature the yellow 1969 L88 Corvette with it's 28E MFG 015 manufacturer's lic plate was "Motorcade" with the cover date of May 1969. Interestingly Ford Motor Co had MFG 013 for their lic plates. However inside there was no mention of the L88 Corvette which had been described on the cover as "Chevy's New ZL-1 Super Sting Ray". With the article were a series of pictures of Zora's white 1968 ZL-1 equipped Corvette roadster without bumpers but with large fender flares for the bigger racing tires and a side mount exhaust system for the headers. One curious feature was a shield on the driver side headers under the door and a 1969 'Stingray' name plate mounted above the fender louvers. The Stingray name plate and header shield were both missing on the passenger side of the Corvette. What was not missing was the amazing performance of Zora's ZL-1 Corvette! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Starting in the 1950's the Corvette showcars were a showcase for new design ideas and features that might be offered in future production models. One unique design feature on this Corvette XP-700 showcar was a side mount exhaust system. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login When this Corvette had outlived it's usefulness as a show car it was dismantled. That was not the end of the story as the Corvette was rebuilt as the Mako Shark. As can be seen in the image below the side mount exhaust system was carried over for this new Corvette show car design known as the XP-755. Image Unavailable, Please Login
With the arrival of the new Corvette Sting Ray for 1963 there were more opportunities for Corvette show cars. One Corvette built for Harley Earl features a side mount exhaust system along with many more custom features for his Corvette. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The 1964 New York Worlds's Fair provided General Motors with another opportunity to showcase possible future Corvette design features and options. The 1964 Corvette fuel injection coupe they created again featured a side mount exhaust system and a unique hood plus a very special interior design. For the styling there were now triple tail lights on this one off show car along with the liberal use of chrome and polished metal trim. The idea of a factory available side mount exhaust was moving closer to being offered as a Corvette regular production option. Some views of the 1964 World's Fair Corvette> Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
