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In 1969, Chevrolet offered a wide range of engines for both the Camaro and Corvette. The mightiest of these was the aluminum block, 427 cubic inch V8 known as the ZL1.When equipped in the small Camaro, it could run circles around most of the Corvettes on the street.

The ZL1 was Central Office Production Order 9560 (COPO) that could be specially ordered for an additional $4,160 over the base price of the Camaro. This internal 'fleet' order helped overcome the restrictions GM placed on Chevrolet to only offer engines smaller than 400 cubic inches in the Camaro. Since COPO was really meant for special paint and options on commercial vehicles, the ZL1s were not exempt from waranties and they were 100% street legal.

The ZL1 came at the request of Fred Gibb who wanted a more powerful option for NHRA drag racing. A minimum of 50 cars had to be made to go racing and eventually only 69 were ordered. It was intended only for professional drag racers that could recoup the expensive list price.

Gibb intended to sell the entire production run from his dealership in La Harpe, Illinois. His ‘what wins on Sunday sells on Monday’ ethos struck a chord with Chevrolet's manager Pete Estes. Offered at a price tag of $7,269, the ZL1 was almost twice the cost of a cast-iron V8. Fred had trouble selling the 50 which were worth over $363,000 combined. Many cars were redistributed through the Chevrolet dealer network and others had their engines removed to try out in different projects.

Only 13 ZL1s were sold directly by Fred’s dealership. Some were further prepared by the dealership and tuned by Dick Harrell. Around 20 cars were prepared for the NHRA Super Stock series, and when tuned right and with slicks could reach low tens in the quarter mile.

At the center of ZL1 was a fire-breathing V8 originally developed for the Can-Am Chaparral. It used cylinder heads similar to aluminum-head L88 engine, but had an entirely aluminum block with steel liners. Unlike the Can-Am unit, the ZL1 had wet-sump lubrication, K66 transistorized ignition system and accommodations for a mechanical fuel pump. Fed by a single Holley 4-barrel, it was the most powerful engine GM offered to the public and produced around 500 honest horsepower. This was attached to a new positraction differential with larger pinion and axle gears. While 69 of these were included in the Camaro, only a handful came equipped in the Corvette.

The ZL1 Camaro started as a 396 SS body, but had the F4l suspension, ZL2 cowl-induction hood, heavy duty front springs, heavy duty front brakes and a four-speed sometimes ordered with the M21 close ratios. With the stock tires, the ZL1 could do the ¼ mile in the low 13 second range.

Many of the ZL1 Camaros received hard race lives and were rebodied or modified in drastic ways for racing. An original ZL1 with a numbers matching and original engine is a million dollar car.

Sales

#27 - Sold at Barrett Jackson's 2009 Arizona Sale for $319,000 USD. 27 was received at Fred Gibb Chevrolet on March 11, 1969, and was returned to Chevrolet on May 24, 1969 for redistribution due to the excessive cost of the ZL-1 option. Allan Green Chevrolet of Seattle, WA, took delivery of the Camaro in late 1969. The first owner of the car was Dick Tutino, the service manager at Allan Green Chevrolet. Dick ran in NHRA Super Stock Class and was sponsored by Allan Green Chevrolet and Boeing Airplane Company until Allan Green closed in 1970. The best ET was 11.08 at 127 mph. After the 1971 season, Dick took the car to a race shop to have the rear wheel wells slightly enlarged. The shop removed the entire trunk floor in error. Dick sued the race shop for damage and won. He could not race the ZL-1 in this condition so he found another body in a junk yard and pieced the race car back together again. During 1979-81, the ZL-1 won Best Appearing Car at the NHRA events. In 1982, Dick sold the ZL-1 to Jim Bruns in Bremerton, WA. Allan put in a full roll cage and a 9" Ford axle and the ZL-1 ran 10:40's. The car was then painted Candy Apple red with Lemon Yellow and purple highlights. It has since been painted back to the original color of Fathom Green. It is 1 of 10 produced in the Fathom Green exterior color. The car is documented with paperwork from GM and Fred Gibb Chevrolet, COPO Connection paperwork and is on the ZL-1 List. 1

Story by Richard Owen