There were a handful of 69 ZL1 test vehicles created for the engineering dept. Could someone tell me if these were cast iron big block 69's that came off the assembly line with the ZL1 dropped in later or did they come off the assembly line as ZL1 mules? It appears that at some point all of the test vehicles had their ZL1 engines removed and replaced with big blocks. Have any of these "former" ZL1's ever turned up in the hands of the public?
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Re: 69 ZL1 test vehicles
Interesting question that I certainly do NOT have an answer for, but I'm curious about the basic source of your information. Do you have a specific # of vehicles, work orders, written reports, etc.? It would seem likely that the cars for engineering testing would have been built on the line as cast iron blocks and the changes made at Engineering. It would also seem likely that the few cars built at St Louis were probably built as "gliders", with no engine installed on the line, with a crate waiting for it in the "Repair" section at the end of the line. Does your information provide any clues to the timing of these vehicles - early '69 or perhaps even '68? -
Re: 69 ZL1 test vehicles
There appears to be documentation and photos of two ZL1's produced for the press, the red ZL-1 with a automatic transmission and the white ZL-1 set up by Zora with an M-22. In addition there are references to a "hand full" other ZL-1's produced for testing by the engineering dept. to research future suspension developments in particular. Two questions: 1) were these test mules retrofitted with Big Blocks and released to the public or destroyed? 2) Would the test cars have been retrofitted with ZL-1's or would they have been produced as pilot cars with the ZL-1 installed on the line?Comment
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