Vette – September 2019

hevrolet General Manager

Ed Cole was always “look-

ing over the horizon” for

new technology. In 1957,

Cole commanded his engi-

neers to start working on a line of 1960

Chevrolets that would all use a transaxle

to improve weight distribution and open

up interior space. Cole’s line of Q-Chevrolet

cars included the Corvette.

Duntov’s Q-Corvette proposal had the

required transaxle, a platform frame, four-

wheel independent suspension and an

all-aluminum, fuel-injected 283. The Peter

Brock body design would later become

the 1963 Sting Ray. The entire Q-Chevrolet

concept quickly collapsed due to cost and

only the 1960 Corvair and the 1961 Pontiac

Tempest ever got a transaxle. But Duntov

was hot on aluminum engine components.

In 1960, aluminum heads were offered in

the sales brochure on the 315-horsepower

fuel-injected engine, but casting

problems caused durability issues

and the option was dropped.

In 1962, Duntov developed the

all-aluminum 377-cubic-inch rac-

ing engines for his Grand Sports.

The engines were good for short

races but couldn’t hold up for

long, 12-hour races. The issue was

that the small-block Chevy was

designed to be cast iron, not aluminum.

While the aluminum 377 was struggling,

work began to replace it with the W-Series

348/407/427 truck engine. As soon as the

L78 396 was released in 1965, Duntov

started working on aluminum heads that

BY SCOTT TEETERS (^) I PHOTOGRAPHY & ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR
The holy grail for Chevrolet racers
[ TECH]
The All-Aluminum 427
Big-Block Chevy Engine
01
(Left) GM started experiment-
ing with aluminum engines in
the early 1950s. From 1961 to 1963 Buick/
Oldsmobile/Pontiac had a 155-horse-
power all-aluminum 215-cubic-inch
engine that weighed only 318 pounds.
The Olds turbocharged version made 215
horsepower. PHOTO: GM ARCHIVES
02
The all-aluminum big-block
Can-Am/ZL1 delivered aston-
ishing levels of power in its day, yet
had the weight of a cast-iron small-
block Chevy engine. Can-Am and ZL1-
powered cars won many races against
Detroit’s and Europe’s best.
PHOTO: GM ARCHIVES
03
Duntov’s wish list for the
Q-Corvette not only included
the required transaxle, but an all-
aluminum, fuel-injected 283 engine;
four-wheel independent suspension
and four-wheel disc brakes. The Peter
Brock body design was the genesis for
the Sting Ray.
32 VETTE 19.09
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