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text by: Werner Meier NCRS #6800
Preamble
Stumbling across an old Motor Trend article, titled "The 10 Second Trip", is what sparked Dave Miller’s interest in the car that was probably the first ZL-1 powered Corvette ever shared with the public. Chevrolet had decided to produce a lightweight Corvette drag car for the 1969 Long Lead Press Preview. It featured a ZL-1 engine, THM 400 transmission, 4.88:1 axle and 180° under car headers. Dave’s curiosity led him to the author and to Peterson Publications, where he found numerous unpublished photos of the car which included shots including some of the engineers and technicians who were involved in the cars’ construction. Some of these individuals were identified and subsequently contacted and interviewed. These individuals eventually contacted several other members of the team, including Gib Hufstader, Tom Langdon and Bill Howell, who had been part of Chevrolet’s High Performance Group, then operating under the direction of Zora Arkus-Duntov.
Discussions with these engineers and some of the original magazine writers who had driven the car further sparked Dave’s interest. His lifelong passion for drag cars, especially vintage Gassers, led him to making a decision to initiate an effort to duplicate this awesome car. After procuring vintage aluminum ZL-1 block, he contacted with Masterworks Automotive to discuss his idea to re-create the car. Plans were quickly established and the search was on for a suitable "donor car".
Once the project was initiated, a luncheon meeting was scheduled at Masterworks with several of the original development engineers and a few others who had been involved with powertrain development. As luck would have it, some of these engineers had the foresight to “retain” many of the original build orders and engineering directives for this car, which they were willing to share; indeed Tom Langdon even brought along the actual dynamometer plots for the ZL-1 engine that he had tested in 1968. The documentation that was provided was used to supplement the high resolution photos obtained from Peterson, thus enabling the car build to retain a high level of authenticity.
This luncheon/reunion, held to refine construction plans for the Long Lead Press Corvette, is what would eventually serve as the impetus for a Tech Seminar held at Pro Team on November 9. A panel of engineers and technicians who were involved with the development and manufacture of high performance engines to Chevrolet were invited to serve on panel to share some of the rich history of this sometimes covert effort that so richly benefited Corvette.
EVENT OVERVIEW
As expected, the event was very well attended, with total attendance nearing 200. Overfeeding at the catered luncheon resulted in a temporary shortage, but the caterer recovered quickly and ensured everyone was satisfied in the end.
The event opened with colorful introductions of the panelists and presenters by Werner Meier, the event organizer. Once introductions were completed, the program began with the sharing of recently discovered documents by Ken Kayser and Al Grenning, with commentary from Denny Davis, Bill Howell, Tom Langdon and Gib Hufstader. The focus of this session was to be on the evolution of engines at Chevrolet from the original 265 cubic inch small block, to the W series engine, Mark II/ Mystery Motor and finally the Mark IV, with particular focus on the heavy duty (service) components that were released for the use with the L-88 and ZL-1 packages.
After lunch concluded, the program resumed with informal presentations from Dave McLellan (retired Corvette chief engineer) and Greg Cline (Manufacturing Manager from Mercury Marine) who discussed the challenges of bringing the ZR-1, King of the Hill package to reality.
SEMINAR
Ken Kayser (former Master Mechanic for the Tonawanda and Flint Engine Plants) provided the opening for the program by sharing some excerpts from his about to be published book on the evolution of the big block engine. He showed copies of internal communications and photos to prove the continual efforts to refine the overhead valve V-8, including the small block and W-Series engines. The inability to obtain the durability required for severe racing applications at high power levels eventually led to the development of the Mark II (Mystery Motor) V-8 engines in the early 1960s. Background “color” commentary from the panel of retired engineers was encouraged throughout the program. Of particular interest were some of the duties performed by Bill Howell, who worked for Vince Piggins in the 1960’s, where he provided covert support for several race teams and programs, during a period when General Motors had a specific ban on any involvement with motor racing. He would supply teams like McLaren, Penske, Yunick, Traco and others with special parts for “test and evaluation” purposes.
Ken’s program was followed by one assembled by Al Grenning who recently uncovered a treasure trove of Chevrolet Engineering Releases that chronicled the release of the “Heavy Duty” and “Service Package” components. These part releases were not limited to engine components, but included drive train (transmission, clutch etc.), chassis (suspension, cooling) and brake system parts as well. This activity, based on the Mark IV engine, was well under way, having many of the components already built and tested by racers long before the first RPO L-88 package was offered on the Corvette. Indeed, these heavy duty Mark IV parts had been installed in Corvettes at the factory for special customers (privateers) who had the proper connections as early as 1965. The panel confirmed that many of these parts were released to service, manufactured, tested and “evaluated” on the track, but never saw use in production applications.
Ed Foss, a noted collector and enthusiast from the Fort Wayne area, provided evidence of this covert enterprise by displaying a unique cut-away 1965 coupe built by Kevin McKay that featured the prototype Mark IV engine that was originally installed in a 1965 Corvette “production car” at the St Louis plant for delivery to Delmo Johnson Chevrolet. The eventual home for the engine was intended to be in one of the five original Grand Sports.
The panel discussion followed addressing performance activities in the late 1960s, with particular focus on the development of aluminum blocks. These were originally produced for Jim Hall’s Chaparrals that were competing in the Can-Am series. This effort eventually bore fruit in the form of the RPO ZL-1 option late in the 1969 model year, when the aluminum block could be specified for installation in a Camaro or Corvette. This engine’s introduction to the public was at the Long Lead Press event held at the Milford Proving Ground in the spring of 1968.
Dave Miller shared a memo that he received from Don Green, who attended the press preview on behalf of Car Craft magazine:
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Dave, I doubt I can help you very much, though I remember the car well and, even more, the thrill of the runs in it. I was at the long lead with another Car Craft staff member, A. B. Shuman, and we had seen and, more obviously, heard the car during the week leading up to the Chevrolet press days. The Corvette was apparently being prepped during that week as we would occasionally hear the shrieking exhaust note from the 180-degree headers when we were out on Black Lake sampling the products from the other divisions and occasionally we would catch sight of it being moved around. When the P.R. guys released us from the bus on Chevy day, everyone made a mad dash for the Vette and a chance to drive it. As I recall, A.B and I were among the first five to make passes. We knew there was a really good chance that one of the press idiots would hurt the car and we wanted to get our shots before that happened. I rode with A.B. on his run which was an 11.00 flat. When we changed places, I ran a 10.94. A.B. normally drove a four-speed GTO at the time while I had a 440 Charger with an automatic and I think the Charger experience helped me with the launch. As you know, the console had a plate fastened across the shifting pattern to limit the drivers to the use of Drive and automatic shifts. Whenever the car needed attention it was taken a distance away from the press horde before the hood was raised. Because I was fairly good friends with Paul Prior I was able to see the engine very quickly during one of those times the hood was up. Paul told me it had a ZL-1 and I could see the 4500 Holley. I later asked him about the rear suspension because the car hooked up well and went straight and no one, so far as I know, hurt the rear axle. I was curious because I knew most of the guys who ran Corvettes in NHRA replaced the independent rear ends with live axles. Paul told me that car had it's original rear suspension and that it was an easy thing to make it work well, though he didn't tell me exactly what had been done. If you knew Paul, you know he wasn't one to give much away. After a lot of runs by a bunch of press guys who had no business in the car it was taken away. I always figured the plugs must have been going away by then. I'm sure I still have my time slip from that day as I recall running across it several times over the years. It always makes me smile. I doubt any of this is any real help to you, but thanks for giving me the chance to recall a fun time. Another vehicle you might consider cloning is the twin-turbo Nova street car Paul let me drive once. I've always remembered it very fondly. Don Green |
To complement the program, Chuck Ungurean shared two of his impeccably restored L-88 racers (James Garner and John Greenwood)which were displayed along with the Cliff Gottlob 1967 L-88 racer owned by David Borroughs. To announce the conclusion of the lunch period, the ZL-1 was started to give everyone a taste of the melody produced by a high compression engine playing through a set of 180 degree headers. Tom Langdon explained the theory of operation of this elaborate headers and their distinctive exhaust note.
The afternoon session focused on the Corvette ZR-1 program that went into production in the 1990 model year. Regrettably, Graham Behan, the former Chief Engineer at Lotus, had to cancel participation in the discussion due to illness, but the panel was fortunate to enlist the services of Gary Cline, the former Manufacturing Manager at Mercury Marine, to pinch hit in the 11th hour. Between Gary and the ever eloquent, Dave McLellan, the group was treated to a most interesting perspective on the challenges that were faced in the effort to develop and manufacture this high tech, high performance engine.
Gary and Dave spoke in detail of some of the challenges that were addressed when machining engine components like the cylinder heads, where the cam bores were too small to allow the use of a sufficiently rigid boring bar to create satisfactory sizing and alignment of the bores. Indeed this program was not only successful in its own right, but indeed was instrumental in developing improved manufacturing processes and demonstrating the capability to consistently attain vastly superior manufacturing quality standards.
Dave went on to discuss the unique “new product announcement” for the ZR-1 package, when Chevrolet sent a group of cars to France for the motoring press to evaluate. He also spoke of the collaboration with Tommy Morrison when they set out to break the long standing 24 hour land speed record, a record set by Ab Jenkins in the Mormon Meteor at Bonneville in the 1930s.
Those who hung around a after the program concluded were treated to an “auditory experience” like no other as the featured display vehicles were started up and moved outdoors for a photo session. Our thanks to Terry Michaelis and the ProTeam staff for making this event possible.
author: Werner Meier, NCRS #6800
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