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Here's the story:
lIlustrated Corvette Series No. 34 - Zora Arkus-Duntov's 1969 ZL-1
Corvette
Being
Chief of Engineering for the Corvette surely had its perks. In 1969,
Zora Arkus-Duntov showed the press his latest "mule car", a completely
optioned-out for road-racing ZL-1 Corvette. The public finally had a
glimpse of what it was like being in the beast.
Duntov was the best friend that any Corvette owner ever had. First and
formost, he was a sports car racer. His "vision" for the perfect
Corvette was a lightweight car with a high-revving, high output engine.
The big-block 427 was not his ideal. However, the all-aluminum 427 made
more power than anything at GM, plus it weighed as much as a
small-block!
To show off what the '69 Corvette was capable of at the high end of the
performance spectrum, Zora and his team built a Corvette the way any
racer would. Starting with a "stock" L88 optioned Corvette, he then
added the optional ZL-1. Like racers, they removed anything that didn't
look like a race car.
All non-essential parts were removed: bumpers, upholstery, radio, spare
tire, headlights, and heater. Then the good stuff was added. Cast-iron
exhaust manifolds, mufflers, and pipes were replaced with steel header
side exhausts. Racing mag wheels were 15 inches in diameter by 10.5
inches wide with non-D.O.T. approved, racing tires. Using the roadster
body with a fixed hardtop roof, the only body mods were huge fender
flares, the optional ZL-2 domed hood, and a lip along the leading edge
of the hood to keep it from blowing off at 180-plus mph! This car was
never driven on a public road, as it was a "research vehicle" only.
Needless to say, Duntov's toy ran like no other Corvette ever had up to
that time. With 3.70 gears and a close-ratio four-speed, and not
shifting like a drag racer, Duntov could hammer the quarter-mile in
12.1 seconds at 116 mph. In tight corners and heavy braking the '69
ZL-1 would pull over 1g. The suspension was set up to understeer
slightly, but a controlled drift was possible. Top speed was somewhere
over 180 mph!
Costing over $10,000, Zora's ZL-1 was twice as much as a stock
Corvette. The cool thing was that so much great stuff was available
from your local Chevy dealer.
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