Vette – September 2019

Piggins to buy at least 50 ZL1 COPO
Camaros. Cars #1 and #2 of 69 were deliv-

ered to Fred Gibb Chevrolet on December
31, 1968. Camaro #01 was sent to Dick

Harrell’s shop in Kansas City, Missouri,
to be prepared for the 1969 NHRA

Winternationals. The Harrell Camaro
even took out “Mr. Four-Speed” Ronnie

Sox and his Hemi Cuda. In 1971, the car
won the AHRA Super Stock and Pro Stock

championships.
Jim Butcher’s 1974 NHRA Top Fuel

ET Record Holder: Chrysler Hemis domi-
nated Top Fuel drag racing in the ’60s

and early ’70s. Ohio racer Jim Butcher
discovered that he could build a ZL1 for

Top Fuel that was 500-pounds lighter and
cost $2,000 less than a Hemi. At the 1973

Gatornationals, Butcher took runner-up in
the finals and set the NHRA Top Fuel e.t.

record with a 6.07-second run. He repeated
his performance at the Summernationals;

then qualified #1 at Indy—two-tenths ahead
of the #2 qualifier.

In 2008, Chevrolet debuted the
“Anniversary 427 Big Block.” All of the origi-

nal tooling was used, so the Anniversary
Edition 427 has oval port big-block heads

and the forged rotating assembly. Two
deviations were made to accommodate

modern pump gas: 10.1:1 compression (the
original was 12.5:1) and a mild hydraulic

roller cam. Power rating is around 500
horsepower. Each engine was numbered

on the valve covers, includes an engine-
bay tag, emblems and a certificate of

authenticity. List price was $28,625. At the
Barrett-Jackson 2008 Scottsdale Auction,

Anniversary Edition 427 #001 sold for
$60,500.

Like it or not, today we are at the door-
step of the era of the electric racing cars.

Modern LS-based performance engines
can easily out-perform the big-blocks of

the olden days. But there will never be any-
thing like the thunder and roar of those old

big-blocks Chevy race cars.VETTE

23

(Left) Another visual difference
between the original ZL1 engine
and the 427 Anniversary Edition is the
front of the cylinder heads are machined
smooth and inscribed with the “GM Per-
formance Parts” logo and the harmonic
balancer also carries the GM Perfor-
mance Parts logo.

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