Gas Hogs Rule! GM Unleashes ZL-1 Repro Engine
Forget all that talk about gas-free Chevys. “Did you miss your chance in the late '60s to buy one of those ZL-1 Camaros with the ‘mystery-motor’ 427 aluminum V-8?” asks Dallas Morning News reporter Terry Box. Well now’s your chance! Come summer, GM will be selling reproduction 427-cubic-inch ZL-1 motors at $21k a pop. "Simply mentioning the term ZL-1 stirs the emotions of Chevy performance enthusiasts," said Lisa Reffett, marketing manager of GM Performance Parts. (Consider yourself stirred, not yet shaken.) The original all-aluminum ZL-1 was “conservatively” rated at 430 horses. GM says the Anniversary motor will be all that, with 450 ft.-lbs. of torque to boot. The “fire-breathing” motor will have a 10-to-1 compression ratio, aluminum port heads, a forged-steel crankshaft and rods; and a dual-plane intake manifold. GM spokesman Tom Henderson reckons the ZL-1s will end up in '69 Camaros. "I think they will appeal to those of us in the baby boomer realm who dreamed of having one of these cars but didn't have two nickels to rub together in 1969," said Henderson. Meanwhile, no word on ZL-1 mpgs, and we’re still waiting for the new Camaro. Oh and we'd like to see the Volt's redesigned [i.e. non-advertisement] sheetmetal please.
Glenn is a baby-boomer, born in 1954. Along with his wife, he makes his home in Connecticut. Employed in the public sector as an Information Tedchnology Specialist, Glenn has long been a car fan. Past rides have included heavy iron such as a 1967 GTO, to a V8 T-Bird. In between those high-horsepower cars, he's owned a pair of BMW 320i's. Now, with a daily commute of 40 miles, his concession to MPG dictates the ownership of a 2006 Honda Civic coupe which, while fun to drive, is a modest car for a pistonhead. As an avid reader, Glenn enjoys TTAC, along with many other auto-realated sites, and the occasional good book. As an avid electronic junkie, Glenn holds an Advanced Class amateur ("ham") radio license, and is into many things electronic. From a satellite radio and portable GPS unit in the cars, to a modest home theater system and radio-intercom in his home, if it's run by the movement of electrons, he's interested. :-)
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I wonder how much a professionaly restored Camaro that's to be a ZL-1 clone will fetch at auction. You know, relative to its component prices and the price of a real ZL-1. I haven't checked much on the casting details of the SB and BB Chevy, but I betcha World Products makes a better version for the same money (or less). :)
Could you put one in just about any V-8 camaro or vette? I mean with little trouble or other expense.
You could put one in any chevrolet, and pair it with any chevrolet transmission too. It would be a little bit difficult in a 4th gen f-body though.
I wonder if these engines will be a "yeah, but" type thing... Still kinda cool that they're doing this. Did they have the original tooling just hanging out?