Sparticus

Mind you this is my first post in this section, but I've always been curious about a few things. Did they ever make an LS6 in '70 or '71? What is a ZR1/ZR2? What is the quickest C3-ZL1, L88, or LS6 mentioned above? Do pre-cat C3's have to add something to today's unleaded gas to not damage your internals? And finally, what is the common consensus amongst you folks about the C5? I know most C5 guys would kill to have an old big block, but I know some of you guys wouldn't touch a new car. My personal favorite is a '69 vert with a 427/435. Love the chrome bumpers. Saving for one as I type this. Thanks fellas! :chevy

Corz

Ok as far as i know, there was no LS6 in a vette.. there was an LS5 which was a detuned version of the 450hp beast.
The ZR1/ZR2 = LT1 engine, M22, heavy duty power brakes, transistor ig, alum rad, special springs, shocks, front/rear sta-bars
Quickest C3? the 69 ZL-1 with an aluminum 427 and ran a 10? in the quarter mile
Cats? im not sure if having cats had anything to do with running unleaded gas. i know on my car, 69 350, it took a lead substitute otherwise it would knock like a ****. i had hardened valve seets put in the new motor to allow unleaded fuel.
My opinion of C5s.. they are nice, but most C5 owners dont realize that vette people are like family and you should be a good uncle and help one out on the side of the road or wave back.. i know I've seen a few C5ers blow me off.
and i would love to have a C5 as a daily driver (and yes I'd work on it)

hope this helps

Corey (19 y/o)

LT1driver

No LS6 in 70, only 71 in vette. ZR! was all aluminum 427 in 69, only two in vettes, not sure how many put in 69 camaros. ZR2 was a small block but cannot remember exact year or how many produced. Fastest was probably zr1 but special preped l88 ran 10.7 or so with auto, 69 zr1 road test ran 10.89 @ 130. Top end limited due to aerodynamics of c-3s unless prepped for high speed. However, l88 at 24 hours of lemans ran 200plus. also zr1 was reintroduced in 90-95 in c4 vette as special hipo motor made for GM by mercury marine in oklahoma. Had 385-405 horsepower I think. Fastest street vette produced was either 66 or 67 425/435 cars with good tires, next would be LS6 from 71. Hope this answers some of your questions. :cheers:

Shark Racer

Question was not answered by any of the above, so I'll take a stab at it.

I believe the most base of the base-motors, pre-70's, had compression over 10:1. The rest were higher. The catalytic converter reduces emissions, has little to do with what fuel the engine runs. HOWEVER, leaded fuel will kill a catalytic converter. (Hence unleaded fuel only on cat cars.)

Lead softened the intake charge and made it possible to run higher compression motors. All the older motors that are still at very high octane levels require 91 or better. Chuck Harmon's L-88 runs 50/50 race fuel/91. Considering the array of parts available for the small-block chevy as it existed in our C3s, it is no problem whatsoever to build or buy a very streetable motor for any of our cars that runs on pump gas and performs as well or better than the high compression performance motors of the day. Most people prefer to go that route, keeping the original motor in a crate or on a stand or what have you.

I would love to own a C5.

Feel free to give me yours. :)

-Steve

Desertdawg

Dang, you guys already answered everthing....


But I do want to say something about his topic title...
Ignorant C5 owner
Hey, you came in here and asked some very good questions...The Ignorant part wasn't needed....

I think that as the C5 gets older, it is starting to grow on me....hell in another 20 years I might even think of restoring one.... :D

And don't forget to :seeya

foundvettelifeisgood

Thanks for stopping by. The C-5 is a great car. I've driven both the auto and the stick. Very hard to wipe the smile off my face. Loved the head's up display, and yes, I'd love to have one.

The C-3 and the C-5 are worlds apart. They are totally different ownership and driving experiences. If the new C-5s had the attributes of the C-3s, they would not have been successful, yet the C-3s charm is undeniable and addictive.

PatsLs1vette

The older motors need lead additive because they didnt have hardened seats in the heads,after a certain year they changed that,i forget what year around 70 i think,and as far as a c5, hopefully will be getting one when our lease is up on the pathfinder in a year. :yesnod:

78Vette-SA

Even some of us rubber bumper small block C3'ers would kill to have a big-block chrome bumper vert or coupe. :D

Driving my C3 is nothing like the C5. But, they are both incredible experiences. The feelings I get when I go down the road in my C3 are entirely different from the C5, but still both a high for me everytime I get behind the wheel. :auto:

Roadster71

The first year where you could run unleaded was in 1971. M owners manual says either leaded or unleaded.

SuperFast80

Sorry, must correct the ZR1 and ZR2 info.

ZR-1 was a 1970-1972 package that featured the LT-1 350 with heavy dut suspension, brakes and transmission. Really a factory small block racecar.

ZR-2 was a 1971 package that featured the LS-6 454 with the same setup as the ZR1.

ZL-1 was a 1969 package that featured an aluminum block 427 - essentially the L-88 with a different cam profile. It was the biggets daddy of them all.

ZL-2 was the proposed but not built 1970 454 replacement for the ZL-1. It is the car that went 10.89/130 in October 1969 Motor Trend.

You can read all about all of these cars at http://www.CorvetteArchive.com. :yesnod:

A C

Here is a nice example of a 1972 ZR-1.
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonl...2/42748662.htm

Somebody is smoking crack with the asking pice of 101K for it though, IMO. :crazy:

AC

Gordonm

The ZR1 and ZR2 are the same suspension but different motors. The ZR1 was the LT1 small block the ZR2 was the LS6 big block only in 71

73 LS-4

Superfast 80 has the correct facts here. The LS-5 actually has little in common with the LS-6 except for the fact that they are both BB's. The LS-6 along with the L-88, ZL-1 and the rest of the heavy hitting BB's were Rectangular port headed BB's with mechanical valvetrains not Oval port headed with hydralic valvetrains like the L-36's, LS-5's, and LS-4's. But the latter normally tend to be a little more daily driver friendly. As far as the C5's go, they are great cars, I've learned a very healthy respect for ZO-6's since they seem to beat me at just about every game I try to play with one, except crowd drawing at car shows. It's my goal to get close to the same performance as one, not just in a straight line but overall (gas mileage is out of the question though :lol: ). What I don't like about C5's is the rear styling, looks like I'm looking at the back of a billboard when I'm behind one, the front and sides look great though. Would I buy one over another older vette? probably not. The reason why is I work on late model cars all day doing electrical and driveabbility works so I'm constantly chasing wires and sensors all day. I like to go back to my 73 and look in the engine compartment and see nothing but that 454 and about 3 vaccuum lines on the entire engine. It's a dirt simple carberator engine and it's heaven to work on compared to what I deal with at work (for the most part, it does occasionally throw me a curve). The funny thing is that I believe a BB vette was hard to work on in its day :lol: . Now if someone wanted to give me a C5 or give me a great deal on one, that may be another story.


:cheers:
Pat Kunz

garagedweller2

SuperFast80 is correct!
gdh has one of a handfull ZR1 roadsters :cheers:

Eddie 70

Superfast80 is correct. The LS6 was included in the ZR2. It was a 454/425 with a manual 4 speed tranny. The ZR1 was a small block LT-1. The ZR2 was slated to go into production in 70 but was cut until 71 where only 12 were ever made. This was the last year for the ZR2.
There were 188 LS6 vette built in 71. According to the Black Book this was the only year for the LS6 in chrome bumper vettes.


[Modified by Eddie 70, 10:32 AM 3/1/2003]

sammyb

C5s stink...the guys who drive 'em are goofy guys...specially the ones who also have '69 C3 427/435hp roadsters!!!! :)

(See sig ;) -- ok my '69 no longer has its 427/435, but I still had to launch a funny.)

In all honesty, one thing you do notice about driving both a C3 and a C5 is how far Chevy has come in comfort. The C5 is butal in its performance, but nice to drive as a daily driver! And in terms of performance, most people don't realize that the number one thing standing between the C5 and better acceleration, braking and handling is "Crappy tires." The run flats are horrible performance tires, as well as horribly loud and hard tires. They also weigh nearly twice as much as normal tires. If it were for better tires that were a little stickier, you're looking at stock C5s running 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds, a quarter mile run in 12.7 and lateral gs measuring .95g ...good enough for one of the best Corvettes every made.

Corvettes White

:iagree:

There are a lot of us that out there that have both C5's and C3's. They are like sisters, one older, one younger, one a little more experienced, one a little ……

sammyb

Does this mean I'm cheating on my wife with my Vettes? I guess this is as close as I'll ever get to menage' trois!

Next time I buckle my daughter into her car seat in the C5 on Monday, I'll probably second guess myself and feel a little dirty.

WA 2 FST

LOL. That's a good one. I am fortunate enough to have both, and both are great cars, although completely different.

I wave at any Vette, although being newer to the Vette world... I had to learn to wave.

I would agree that most C5ers do not wave at older Vettes. Actually, though, I've yet to have a C4er wave at me when I'm in either of my cars. Oh well.

GDaina

yep, the C5 is one fine ride...the handling, comfort, and with a little tweeking, I would have to push really hard to stay in front of the C5...