All I want for Christmas...

Each year, Sherry asks what I want for Christmas. Each year, I respond the same - I have everything in life I need, but I want you can't possibly afford. This year's request is a vintage muscle car. For a season in the eighties I worked as an automotive machinist with my 15 minutes of fame having worked on some engine parts for King Richard (aka Richard Petty). No kidding! His chief engine builder Terry Elledge lived in our town (Redding, CA) and I did some very basic prep work. BTW, it was fascinating to see a picture of Terry more than twenty years later. I'm glad to see he is, and has been; successful in his NASCAR career. I sent him an email to say hi and to see if he remembers the little long hair peon Dave Mundt from the Engine Masters days! But I digress, to this day although I have an appreciation for high tech sports cars; there is nothing like the roar of an unmuffled big block or the whine of a supercharged small block that gets my blood pumping.

Well, without further ado here is my Christmas wish: A 1969 ZL1 Camaro. Here's a picture:

Now, I know what you are thinking - so what's the big deal? Sure, it's a 69 Camaro but it's not even a Rally Sport, not even a Super Sport, NOT EVEN A Z28 for cryin' out loud! No spoilers, no racing stripes - but wait, what's that bulge in the hood? That bulge, gentle reader; is a FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY SEVEN CUBIC INCH MONSTER! Yup, a Camaro powered by 427 cubic inches of Chevy's finest. Oh wait! Lest you yawn, let me also add it was ALL ALUMINUM! Yes, aluminum block, aluminum heads, aluminum intake manifold - and steel crank and rods. Sitting on top of that bad boy was an EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY CFM HOLLEY CARBURETOR! Yup, 850 cubic feet per minute of fuel/air mixture rammed into that manifold. I'm not sure if it was dual feed but my assumption would be yes. I'll calm down a minute and stop using caps for exclamation and let's look at some history courtesy of musclecar.com:

Specially designed to compete in the NHRA Super Stock drag classes, Chevrolet made it an option under the COPO system (code 9560). The cars began as SS396/375bhp Camaros with the F41 suspension. The SS trim and engine were deleted, and the 427 engine, cowl-induction hood, front disc brakes, a choice of heavy duty 4 speed transmissions or Turbo Hydra-matic, and a 4:10 posi axle were
added.

But instead of the regular iron-block and head L72 found in the dealer installed Camaros, the ZL1 sported aluminum heads and the first aluminum block ever made by Chevrolet. It shared the L88 aluminum head/iron block's engine rating of 430 bhp but made closer to 500 bhp -- making it probably the most powerful engine Chevrolet ever offered to the public. And the engine weighed just 500 pounds, the same as Chevy's 327 small block. The car was blessed with a 5 year/50,000 mile warranty and was fully street legal. With factory exhausts and tires, it turned low 13s; with headers and slicks, it could turn 11.6s @ 122mph. This was the fastest car ever produced by Chevrolet.

Performance had its price -- $4,160 for the ZL1 engine alone pushing the price of the Camaro ZL1 to an unbelieveable $7,200 (about double the price for a SS396 Camaro). Chevy needed to build 50 to qualify the car for racing, and in the end built 69 Camaros and 2 Corvettes with the ZL-1 engine. Their high price made them difficult to sell and at least 12 engines were removed and about 30 cars were returned back to Chevrolet. It took until the early 1970s to sell them all.

One important thing again to underscore is that the price tag is more than double for a standard 69 Camaro which sold for around $3,000.00. And a big block engine that dressed out at 500 pounds! To bring some perspective, when I was in top shape I was deadlifting 365 pounds for 3 reps. 405 was in my sights. Add another 100 pounds to that and I could almost lift an engine that produced 430+ horsepower!

Now let's talk a little bit more about perspective. Let's say in 69 or 70 you were so inspired to plunk down a whopping $7,200.00. And let's also postulate that you never did what most purchasers immediately did, like carve out the wheelwells for slick tubs. Instead, you left it stock - just like from the factory. The numbers match, nothing's been tampered with and she's been lovingly stored. Let's now say 35 years later, you and the missus are looking at retirement. Let's now look at a recent fact, that a stock factory original sold for $830,000.00 dollars. I'm so sorry but I have to revert to caps again - that's EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. Yup, your investment of $7,200.00 had a return of about 11,500 %. I'd say that beats most mutual funds.

But you know what? If Sherry finds the money to buy me one, I'd keep it in our bedroom. Then, when the sun goes down and the moon comes up, and the night is at it's quietest and it's the darkest just before dawn, I'd take that bad boy out and shred the tires with smokey burnouts from Portland to Salem and back. Once a year. Save your money honey!