Truly a feat of automotive engineering was the Corvette, but in my opinion they have not built a real Corvette since 1969, well until 2006 with the ZO6, it's a very good example of what the Corvette should be, let's get back to the reason why I sat y that 1969 was the last year for a true Corvette, in 1969 the engine options were many, and some of the on the dyno have generated in the upper 500 horsepower range, and they would be the L88, the ZL1, and last but not least the L71, which also came with a 3-2BBL carburetor setup.
The advertised horsepower of the engines did them no justice, but it had to be that way for the dealerships to be able to sell them, the L88 was rated at 430 HP, but on a dyno it actually delivered closer to 600 HP, and in some cases a little more, depending on how the engine was tuned, I have yet to locate dyno result for the other two engines, but they will follow suite, the ZL1 was an all aluminum engine from head to toe, and it was impressive, but it was never supposed to be a production car, as both Zl1 Corvettes that were built were never supposed to be released to the public, they were built for the president and vise-president of GM at the time.
The legend of the Corvette is one of brute power, and handling at it;s best, and after 1969 the engine options would never be the same again for the Corvette, as according to the federal government these cars were causing the majority of the emissions problem in the country at the time, but they of course had failed to look where the problem really was, seeing this as an easy target for there political ventures, they forced the big three auto builders to lower the performance of there muscle cars and sports cars, and this was not a little bit, it was drastic.
In 1970 there would be only one big block engine offered in the Corvette, and this would be a 390 HP LS5 454, in 1969 390 HP was the lowest HP offered in a big block configuration, but in 1970 it would be the most power that they would offer in a big block configuration for a Corvette, now don't get me wrong here, there were a lot of small blocks that were putting out decent HP, but a big block is just part of the Corvette mystique, and it's a part that makes up a large part of what the Corvette represents.
Due to the fact that the Corvette is known as a pavement malting, tire roasting, Ford eating terror of the street, a Stingray would chew up and spit out any Mustang that you could care to mention, it could always hold it's own with the most powerful muscle cars ever built, the Corvette was a beautiful thing then, and is a beautiful thing now, and for all the trying nobody could destroy the power of the name Corvette.
I've been in the automotive business for about 20 or 25 years, I have worked in all facets of the industry, from parts to restoration, all different makes and models, I just want to keep people interested in the old cars because it's where my heart is.
Source: www.articletrader.com