Ultra Rare Camaro ZL1 vs L88 Corvette - 1/4 Mile Drag Race Video - Road Test TV ®

www.RoadTestTV.com 1/4 mile drag race between a very rare 1969 ZL1 Camaro with an all aluminum 427 engine and a rare 1969 L88 427 Corvette. The ZL1 Camaro is 1 of 69 built in 1969 and the L88 is 1 of 116 1969 L88 Corvettes.
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[@sidefx996]

So cool that these guys are out on the track hammering on what are pretty much 2 priceless, irreplaceable cars!

[@barryabrahams1861]

You're right. I have a 1967 Corvette coupe with a built (period correct) 427. We think it has about 500 HP. Nothing like the L88 or ZL1, but it's fun to drive and it sounds pretty good.

[@mikeficarella2513]

Only way to drive them.

[@knowsheet4506]

Yea no shit

[@milojanis4901]

Agreed. They aren't built like a sweater, to be relegated to storage in a closed room with mothballs. However, unless they're clones, I'd yank the numbers matching original motors, and build a replacement motor with the same, or even more power, and store the original motors in an engine bag.....

[@stevoschannel4127]

Exactly my thoughts, if those are true numbers matching examples, they are worth quite a bit of money to be out thrashing them.

[@WildDiamond07]

The two baddest Chevys built in 1969 at each others' throats. Amazing race.

[@steves9905]

@Mark rapacki well the corvette did redlight

[@DwainDwight]

Great to see these two holy grail cars giving it some and not sitting in showrooms or even worse, locked away in some collection.

[@wonkydude1]

Nice to see these cars being used for their intended purpose rather than just pieces of garage furniture.

[@blackwaterdogs4256]

BAD-ASS cars ! Ya gotta remember, almost 50 years ago, high-elevens, twelve-oh was considered quite fast. Street tires back then just couldn`t get the job done !

[@milojanis4901]

It's still fast, unless ya got 50 grand kicking holes in the piggybank, just itching for a C8 Vette, or a modern ZL1 Camaro......

[@nickajk1]

You're shitting me those times are incredible even now the only way people are running those times now is kids are taken out mortgages on cars not houses they don't know how to change oil they just like the show factor

[@nemesiomartin1135]

That’s still fast lmao

[@garrettprofancik7311]

To think that those cars went that fast in the late 60s is actually a little crazy

[@patchesw3815]

Isn't that $1,000,000 worth in those two cars alone? Awesome machines, back then and now.....

[@bruceallen6016]

The Vette hooked up better, but the Camaro appeared to be catching up. Interesting for two same HP engines. Thumb up.

[@greggfridline4260]

Man the late 60's and early 70's made some bad ass cars. Every awsome classic car came from that era, except maybe the grand national

[@blakemoreno776]

I love seeing these cars doing what they’re built to do. Not just sitting in a garage collecting dust

[@MrUltraworld]

That's 11.77 on skinny tires and cast iron exhaust manifolds. The right tire and some tuning (headers/dumps) will get this car into the 10's easily.

[@thetroll9160]

HJLK;LLKJKL,

[@corvetteworldrob8586]

They did with nothing but drag slicks. L88s have been clocked in the low 11s stock. ;)

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

I got my 1968 fully modified yenko camaro 4 speed.. 456 gears into the 10 second range.. in 1968..

[@johnsalazard6659]

i have a 1965 409 big block im putting together for my `64 belair, i swapped out the old 3speed for a muncie 4 speed

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

@@johnsalazard6659 great idea.. I had a 2 door 64 belair back in the day.. you can get over 400 h.p... and use 2 .4 barrel carbs.. and if you can get the close ratio 4 speed and about a 3.70 to 4.10 rear differential even better.....

[@bash5995]

I love the idea that "stock appearing" cars with poly-glass tires are running that fast!

[@stevej.1428]

The idea? and stock appearing? So, you think these are modded? Under the hood they looked factory clean and original, and what numb nuts would modify in anyway, two rare, expensive and collectible cars? Don't you have a conspiracy theory convention to go to? Maybe go post on another video hoe they faker the moon landing?

[@JG-sp2dn]

Steve J. Dude wtf? Calm down lol

[@artbrookey3468]

​@@stevej.1428 Uh...yes, they do. That is why it's called F.A.S.T. class, factory "appearing stock tires...the tires look like the old polyglass, but tires are made for this class with a whole different compound. As long as they "look" stock from the days of old...seriously, no "factory" built Chevy, Mopar, Ford etc could come close to the 11's in the quarter, that were built for the street like these cars. . For God's sake man, think about it

[@anthonypesqueira7540]

These are real times. The ZL1 camaro on a good day can run low 11s at 130 mph.

[@inspectorvol951]

That 427 makes nearly anything that fast. Saw one in a pickup and it was stupid fast.

[@phoenixblack1220]

God, when the light turned green, the Vette went total beast mode! Two absolutely awesome cars!

[@garyhull5617]

Camaro took a nap at the Xmas tree.

[@colehara]

​@@garyhull5617 The Camaro won. The Corvette red lighted. You can hear the announcer say that. Both beautiful cars.

[@jimmysblacksmithing462]

totally awesome thank you for sharing. This is when car building was genius thanks again. Have a beautiful day keep up the great work. Jim

[@Ampkid1999]

Corvette jumped the gun

[@michaelmonaghan2717]

Thank you I saw the same thing!

[@rollthers3157]

agreed. Invalid race.

[@mikeyerke3920]

If you have any questions, I happen to know everything about cars. Just like everyone else in the comment section. 🏁

[@maggierezac5820]

@Mike Yerke! You Win the Day! Props to you & thank you for the badly needed giggle! Rock on! 🔥🤘🏴🍻💨💨

[@gaden002]

And you had a Ford/Mopar/whatever that never lost to a Corvette/Camaro/427, right?

[@boostjunkie2320]

Is that a clone ZL1?

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

@@boostjunkie2320 many of the certified real ones are clones....

[@livewire2759]

Mr. Yerke, being an expert on general automotive knowledge, can you tell me, what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel-Air Chevrolet, with a 327 cubic inch engine, and a 4 barrel carburetor?

[@davidsafely732]

Red-lighting means technically the Camaro won the heat. The facts are the Corvette was faster in time and speed. Red-lighting does not change the time it took for the cars to run the Quarter mile, nor the speed they attained. The time starts, when the tire crosses the starting light and stops when it crosses the finishing light. The time for the Camaro was 12.041 with a top speed of 118.40 mph. The Corvette's time was 11.778 with a top speed of 122.83 mph. Ergo, the Camaro was "not" actually catching the Vette or it's top speed would have been HIGHER than the Corvette. The perspective of the camera compresses space at that angle and distance. It's wishful thinking. Maybe at a half a mile, but gearing is everything. The Camaro had a line lock on his car, the Vette did not. Line locks are a big help for a car with an automatic transmission! Been there and done that!

[@acemaster1001]

line lock on the camaro eh? what makes you so certain?...

[@mikespillman3075]

Eloquently explained, and I would not argue with most everything you stated....however....traction loss and tire spin WILL kill elapsed times...and that Camaro was spinning the tires all the way thru first, and you can even see the rear kick out and come back in at around the 100 ft mark.....I think anybody here wanting to argue which car was ''quicker'' would be better able to that with the time slips in hand, I promise you that Camaro's 60 foot and 330 ft were horrendous.....and in my opinion, that is where this race was lost for the Camaro.

[@SealofPerfection]

@@mikespillman3075 The Vette ran 4 mph faster. That is going to be the case whether the Camaro spins or not.

[@stevej.1428]

Yup. Technically you're racing the clock, not the car in the other lane.

[@markgamble8377]

Very fast for how car set up.ran 12.04 112mph 300hp 456 gear 900 950 soft compound .headers bars in 67 nova back in 1970. Should of ponyed up for eithor one back in the day.be money in the bank

[@dvvalant]

I love watching these races. Great job!

[@MDDeGrande1994]

Wait, those 50+ years old stock road-going production cars are capable of running high 11s? Wow!

[@zxtenn]

those cars are so rare I would be scared to run them like that-- engine damage means serious devaluation

[@bigbluezo6]

that L88 is amazing on skinny tires 11.77 wow

[@TheInsaneShecklador]

Have you seen Horsepower Depot? They recently set the F.A.S.T. record in the 9.30s with a C3 Corvette on these old skinny bias ply tires.

[@briansalisbury5760]

Verte. Had a 71 Camaro, I loved that car, rebuilt the motor when I was 16. In my opinion the best body style they made for that model especially with the split front end

[@ftgrat1]

Super nice super cars! The Camaro's designation under the hood on the firewall "M40" is a turbo 400 auto trans. Pretty sure the Vette is a 4 speed. The Vette did redlight but the Camaro was closing fast at the end.. Love those big blocks!

[@duramax78]

Oh I thought the Camaro was slow off the line, would love to see that race again, everything being even,.

[@anthonypesqueira7540]

Both of these 427 cars were actually making around 550hp.

[@WildDiamond07]

I once heard they could make closer to 600 HP.

[@popsquil]

I read a article on this very race in the spring of 1969 in either a Hot Rod,Car Craft or one of the popular publications of the day.The premise was 4 different drivers switching cars (which had less than 100 miles on them bone stock) and then run a number of timed runs after letting the cars cool off sufficiently. Every driver ran 1 to 2 10ths faster in the Camaro.They then ran head to head and the Vette won 1 time because the Camaro driver smoked the tires.All things considered the Vette was not know as a drag car and it was addressed in the article as such.The magazine also included a side bar at the end that the boys at Chevrolet read the article and promptly pulled the aluminum 427 from the Camaro but that 69 did make out of the factory for the meager $4000 it took for the option. The COPO Camaro has held so many records in drag racing it would be hard to compile a complete number.It is probably the finest example from GM to produce a engine that weighed within 30 pounds of a small block V-8 but more than double the torque.I wonder how bad this Camaro would have beaten up on the trans am circuit.

[@culcune]

I wonder how any of the big block cars would have done in Trans Am?! If I am not mistaken, those cars were all limited to 5.0 liters, hence the Boss 302, the Z 28, AAR Cuda and Challenger equivalent (although for the street, they were 340 cu in--not sure how Chrysler got away with that since I thought the manufacturers had to sell x number of street cars to compete). Funny enough, NASCAR in the mid-60s, had some pretty cool wide-tired cars running around road-race tracks, but the public seemed to want the skinny-tired street versions. We Americans seemed to have wanted 2 dimensional cars (only for the drag-strip) over 3-dimensional muscle cars that handled AND could run the quarter. A wide-tired NASCAR-style road-racing machine built from the 1969 ZL1 Camaro is intriguing--heck most any '69 Camaro, but an aluminum-biased engine in any of the 427 COPO Camaros would have made for an interesting machine! Heck, with Dynacorn bodies out there, combined with a GM crate engine, and all the suspension one can now get, you just helped start my bucket list!!

[@tonygaines15]

That was a helluva race!!! Aside from the red light....the Camaro had wheelspin......wow.....that's one you want to 3x in a row!

[@duramax78]

Exactly

[@boostjunkie2320]

"430hp" 😂😂 That's a very underrated number.

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

The Zl1 was about 525H.P....the L88 WAS about 625... the L88 you could build to a higher H.P....and was a stronger and cheaper motor...the ZL1 motor option was $4100 In 1969..L88 was Cast iron.. not aluminium....

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

@Harry Knows Harry the real numbers are hard to agree on.. I raced a new 1968 camaro L72 4 speed built to similar specks as a L88.. little less compression bigger cam bigger carb..holley 3 barrel 1050 cfm. Big headers..lots of internal machine work.. mainly on the heads..ran this car fot 3 years on the street and dragstrip.. best time at minnesota dragways was 10.68 et..the natioal record then was about 9.8.. asked my engine builder about using aluminum engine parts.. he said no to fragile and he was right.. my shift point was about 8000 rpm that car today is in a high dollar collection and is on the internet.. 1968 ralley green 4 speed 427 yenko camaro ys# 8016..in the picture I am the 19 year old holding the trophy on thr hood of said camaro at the strip...

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

@Harry Knows my 68 camaro had right at 650 H.P. ..that is a true number..you seem to like the ZL1.. didnt stand up to hard use.. expensive to repair.. you could take a L72 block and build it almost anyway you want... remember I did this back in 1968..afer 3 years of racing I sold the camaro to my brother.. he remade the motor and the car only for the drag strip.. with a tunnel ram and 2 4 barrel holley carbs.. with car weighing a little less than 3000 pounds and more than 750 H.p... you do the math.. this is from some one you did it back in the day....

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

@Harry Knows and also back then your engine was only as good as the person that built it.. the L88 back in the 1960s was sold to the public as a motor that was a starting point.. to be modified and raced.. the best platform for the chev. 427 V8 was the Camaro.. how many other people do you know that raced them back in the day.. do you know how many ZL1 cars I saw at the drag strip back in the day..zero..and before I raced that 68 camaro do you know what I raced?.. a 1965 pontiac G.T.O..4 speed with a highly modified 421 H.O. tri power out of a catalina 2+2.. that was my favorite car..and yes of course the camaro was faster..but the pontiac was a better driving car

[@milojanis4901]

Actually not. They did make 430HP at 4,400rpm. Take it up to 6,400rpm though, and you were at 500+.

[@corvetteworldrob8586]

Damn good runs and great video. Both have been clocked lower. ZL1 Camaros have made mid 11's and L88s the Same. The Infamous rare ZL-1 Corvette hit low 11s. All will break into the 10s with drag slicks.

[@terminatedgt]

the two baddest cars from the 60's going down the track wish I was there to see it wow

[@hmackprotection1]

terminatedgt, sorry, but the "Baddest" Car from the 60's was the 1968 Hemi Dart

[@terminatedgt]

The 67-71 Dart is my favorite Mopar, well until the Demond is out. Chrysler just can't compare to GM or Ford. This is an opinion ya they have the Viper right well this was Shelby and Cheysler so. They finely stepped up to the plate this year and stepped they did. They now have power like the Super Snake and can't wait to see what's next.

[@hmackprotection1]

terminatedgt, what in the blue hell are you talking about?? "Chrysler just can't compare to GM, & Ford"..lol. Stop it man. Have you DRIVEN a 2015-17 Challenger Scat Pack 392? Challenger SRT? Challenger Hellcat? 3rd gen, 4th gen, 5th gen Viper? JGCSRT? 300SRT8? The only thing Chrysler can't "compare to GM, & Ford in" is Car sales numbers, & unless you're a Chrysler Employee you shouldn't even care about that crap! The FACT is SRT is easily the Coolest American Car brand. They're the king of the Track with the 14-17 Viper T/A, & 16-17 ACR! The king of Coolest Muscle Car with the 15-17 Challenger Hellcat (with the 6spd manual)!! The king of bad ass Performance SUV with the JGCTrackHawk!!! And King of THE GREATEST PRODUCTION AMERICAN MUSCLE CAR OF "ALL TIME" the 17-18 Challenger Demon!!!!

[@howabouthetruth2157]

Shit.........you can buy an older C5 or C6 Corvette, like youtube ch: "Cleetus McFarland" did.....the previous owner cooked the original motor & replaced it with a little STOCK 5.3 cast iron TRUCK MOTOR WITH OVER 200,000 MILES ON IT.......Cleetus wound up finding that beat up Corvette for sale ONLINE AT AUCTION. ( I think he bid 8 grand ) They dyno'd that little truck engine & it only produced 290 hp. So they bought a good SINGLE turbo kit ( NO NITROUS ), slapped other USED high performance parts from a couple other cars laying around, did only MINOR porting, threw a good tune in it, and that car right now will blow the damned doors off ANY of those brand new Chrysler cars...........FOR ONLY A FRACTION OF THE COST......and YES, IT IS STILL STREET LEGAL. They aren't even using full boost and already got 785 hp and 750 lb/ft OF TORQUE.....ON A LITTLE CAST IRON TRUCK MOTOR WITH ORIGINAL STOCK BOTTOM END WITH OVER 200,000 MILES ON IT. You just wait & see how FAST those new Chrysler cars start FALLING APART after only 100,000 miles on them, IF NOT SOONER. They make great engines, but the rest of the car WILL start falling apart, you mark my word. Even the BONE STOCK bottom end of late model Chevy motors WITH HIGH MILEAGE will take a real beating when the top end is all hopped up........providing someone kept that old stock Chevy motor properly serviced. Don't believe me? VISIT KZbin CH: "Cleetus McFarland" and see the proof for yourself. And he's not the only one doing this kind of stuff with old, used Chevy cars. TONS of people all over are doing it these days, and they are NOT "buying brand new Chevy crate motors" to do it either.

[@boostjunkie2320]

@@hmackprotection1 The ZL1 was faster stock vs stock sorry to hurt your feelings with facts.

[@myoneblackfriend3151]

Thanks for posting this.

[@troyledbetter6597]

Now that’s a badass race.

[@roadtesttv]

Agree 100%. Thanks for watching, Troy.

[@MrJimbo666]

@@roadtesttv are these cars stock from the factory?

[@pb68slab18]

The ZL-1 was basically an L-88 with an aluminum block.

[@jeremyphillips400phillips7]

I wish they would have made more, true beasts!

[@Alexi7666]

Excellent camera work! Keep up the good work.

[@Sherman62]

Beautiful and impressive cars doing their legacy proud.

[@charlesholland4311]

Looks like the ZL-1 has stock exhaust manifolds which were restrictive. Chevy didn't develop an exhaust system for these cars since owners were probably going to install headers anyway. They used the 396 manifolds and Z-28 mufflers. If that car has a stock exhaust system 12.04 is a very impressive time especially on skinny street tires. They had much more potential. Respect to the owner for running such a rare and valuable car and driving it like it was meant to be driven!

[@benjiarehart2878]

In 1989, at Britol Tn. drag raceway, a guy brought his original owner 69 COPO to the car show. It had 23 thousand original miles. Interior was bone sock. Just 2 seats the stick shift, and carpet with rear seats. Nothing fancy. It was sky blue, with the same color Interior. Had no rear spoiler, and dog dish hubcaps with the original tires. The engine compartment you could have eaten off of. Clean with the big block, and its cool air intake with the rubber gasket around it. Just clean. He started it, and it made the ground rumble. Truly one of the coolest cars I've ever seen up close in person. He later turned down a 75 thousand dollar offer for it. Wisely so. Dont know where the car is now, but if its in the same condition, he'd probably be looking at well over 250 grand or so.

[@gmoney1592]

Talk about 2 heavyweights going toe to toe. These 2 are true American legends . The horse power ratings are incorrect. They were both well over 500.

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

Reality was the L88 had at least 100 more H.P....

[@ronmac5488]

@Fishermanguy44 he isn't talking about the actual weight of the cars you dummy.

[@livewire2759]

Horsepower ratings were what GM advertised, both engines were rated at 430hp in brochures and order forms. Notice the Camaro's air cleaner lid has the 425hp decal, due to the fact that neither engine was ever supposed to be available in the camaro, and both engines used a cowl induction air cleaner in the Corvettes, there was never a 430hp decal made. But, of course, the advertised hp was far less than what the engines actually produced, because GM didn't want the average idiot to order one and try to drive it on the street. True L88 hp has been estimated and between 540 and 560, and the ZL1s between 560 and 580, but since very few of these have ever been dynoed, it's hard telling what they made exactly.

[@gregallen9065]

@@ronmac5488 I came here to the comments to find the morons that always take everything literally and here mr fisherman guy has not disappointed......lol. While we laugh at him....could you imagine actually being that ignorant that you can only think that way? Sarcasm would be a huge waste of time on mr fisherman guy I would assume. Yes I should really not rag on him though.....maybe he is a really nice guy....and maybe he has had some head trauma or something. Boy, finding that out would make me look like a real A hole huh? OR maybe he is just ignorant. Who knows......I am in a mood to pick at him so I am going with that.

[@davegeisler7802]

Yes 100 hp underated at least

[@scottg4069]

Beautiful Camaro. I love watching people run the heck outa old iron.

[@ryanhodges7101]

Thanks for the awesome video! You guys have a great channel.

[@haromaster6086]

Probably imo the greatest 2 muscle cars to go at it

[@gillsilva5643]

There are KZbin videos that show a 427 ZL1 69 Camaro with cam head work 776 horsepower

[@jjsbluz6081]

Phenomenal performance; both cars iron manifolds and factory exhausts!!! No wiped solid cams wanting for Zinc-Ditheo-Phosphate here! Reminds me of Golden Days of NHRA Stock class racing. You needed 4.56 gears, Motion Topcat kit; distr springs/curve, jets, insulated carb spacer, block manifold heat risers and a diesel truck dyno

[@cubedmack]

DAM! Running on street tires and putting up times like that!

[@tommykelley3948]

This SHIT just fuckin AMAZING me that these cars run these LOW TIMES back then , an here it is 50 years later Chevy & Fords & Dodges are barely running these numbers today with all this better technology.

[@fast03vette4me]

I don`t understand the start? Did the guy in the Camaro spot the guy in the Vette half the track length or something??

[@TurboMountTV]

That Camaro looked like may have won with a driver who knew when to start.

[@davegeisler7802]

No way , the L88 in a Vette . His top end was unlimited 🏁🏁🏁

[@JohnsRSCamaro]

This is way to watch these cars! Not pushed through an auction!

[@GrooveDuude]

+Xavier Fumat .im guessing these cars won't be going to an auction anytime soon. Hats off to these owners! That ZL1 is so crazy expensive I remember seeing one for sale locally,. $60,000 auto trader in the late 80's or early 90s I thought that was expensive back then. I should have bought that instead of a house! I used to drive a 1968 Camaro cross country and down through Mexico. Now that was fun.

[@JohnsRSCamaro]

+Xavier Fumat . For the same price as a ZL1, you could own 4-5 houses! Hold on to your classics.

[@georgeburdine5660]

Both beauties, great to see the Camaro doing what it was built for.

[@TheHm3]

11.7 seconds? And 12 seconds on the ZL1 making it faster than the ZL1 that came 40+ yrs later?

[@zxtenn]

yeah but the NEW ZL-1 has top speed unlike the old school cars and you cruise with them, I had a car with 456 gears and I can tell you its a joke on the highway

[@TheHm3]

jim dandy You don't need high end top speed for drags or even on the race track unless that track is the Ring and you have a massive straight.

[@TheHm3]

Mike Duncan Well obviously the other guy's trying to defend top speed. You see a trend that track cars are always geared for a lower top speed? The Z/28 tops out at what 165 mph? Where as the ZL1 gets 180+ and the C6 Zo6 is like 191 or something. The NEW Zo6 tops out at 185 while it has more power than the old ZR1.

[@bman99ss]

Stock ZL1s were not that fast in '69. More like mid 13s . . .

[@Lucille69caddy]

bman99ss Stock ZL1 Camaro ran 11.6 secs with headers/drag slicks.

[@zone47]

Looked like the Camaro spun quite a bit. Still, that's an amazing time for exhaust manifolds to tail pipes and stock crappy bias ply tires.

[@jefftheis742]

The real deal there.those cars are making some power

[@jacobwhitesmith]

Damn those cars are pretty quick, wasn't expecting such great times.

[@davegeisler7802]

Were spoiled now with mid 10 second Hellcats and mid to high 9 second Demons. But 50 years ago an L88 Corvette running 1/4 mile times in the 11s was very impressive 🏁

[@SuperSnallygaster]

Awesome matchup!

[@markharrison6785]

The Camarillo driver forgot to put down his magazine when the tree was staging ....

[@richarddillard485]

here we are some 50 yrs later are any of these cars truly stock ?

[@MrIgor1955]

It was fun to watch those cars race. I was surprised the L88 Vette was faster than the ZL! Camaro. My car was definitely faster when I swapped the L88 cam for the ZL1 cam although the L88 cam was much more streetable. Power with the ZL1 cam didn't really kick in until it hit about 4000 RPM but after that, you better be hanging on. I built a big block with nearly identical specs as the ZL1 except mine had an iron block and heads and had an Edelbrock Tarantula intake on it. I put it in my '64 Malibu. The engine was backed by a V-Gate shifted M-22 four speed transmission and a 12 bolt posi rear end. It sure made the car a fast, fun little street car. Waaaay back when you could still buy premium fuel at any gas station that could support a 12.5:1 compression engine.. (1973)

[@charlesjenkins7570]

Trust me, while an L-88 Vette is a real street sweeper, it is no match for a Z-L1.

[@joediesen1]

Beautiful cars.

[@billylowe9631]

With reference to the L88 & theZL1, There are a few things that need to be understood. First the L88 and theZL1 are the same engine except the ZL1 has an aluminum block and second the L88 optioned Corvette is extremely rare and highly valued and the two 1969 ZL1Corvettes produceds are worth multi millions. I don’t know the production number but The ZL1COPO (Central Office production Order) Camaro, is also extremely rare and highly valued. L88 and ZL1 Corvette production numbers are as follows. 20 L88 optioned Vetts in 1967 80 L88 optioned Vetts in 1968 116 L88 optioned Vetts in 1969 2 ZL1 optioned Vetts in 1969 Depending on the year, a numbers matching L88 Corvette is worth from two to three million dollars (1967) to half a million dollars or more for a 1969 and are too valuable to race. So I suspect the cars in the video are clones or at least have a replacement engine. In any event, the L88 is an awesome engine to have in any car.

[@GlassTopRX7]

Well the ZL1 cam is a little more aggressive than the L88 cam but there is some debate if some of the 69' L88 shared the same came. My understanding is most L88 in 69's were manufactured before the ZL1 cams were used.

[@causeimbatmaaan]

Yeah, I'd like to see one of these new camaros try to get close to an 11sec 1/4mile naturally aspirated.

[@billylowe9631]

People may not know but except for the ZL1 having an aluminum block, the ZL1 and the L88 are the same engine. Thus, due to a slight weight advantage I would expect the Camaro to have turned a better time. However there are a lot of unknowns such as rear end ratios, are the cars equipped with headers, ect?

[@billylowe9631]

It's the same for the ZL1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in 69 I believe the L88 and ZL1 went to an opened chambered aluminum head. In any event to get these cars to really turn low times they need open headers, slicks and gears. With the correct work and tuning I could see both cars turning the low 11s or even the high 10s. I remember in the late 60's similar cars, set up fro racing, turned in the mid to high 10. Those were fun times.

[@joehernandez8650]

P Gorman they're known to hit 570

[@RDYOUTUBE54]

Billy Lowe why would you expect a better time? do you know how much heavier it is than the vette

[@thegreenerthemeaner]

Billy Lowe Zl1 also has a bigger camshaft than the L88 by .040 lift and the valve timing is much different. L88s would idle below 1000 RPM. ZL1 wouldn't make enough vacuum to run a brake booster. But for the aspect of block and camshaft specs, the late L88s were indeed the same. The early L88s had closed chambered heads. Sorry I didn't see your other comment but yes, they responded greatly with Hooker big tube headers and staggered jetting, limiting total timing to around 36° with initial near 18 and the lash a teenie bit tighter on the exhaust. 4.56s were a Big Block's ultimate 1/4 mile gear ratio based on stock tire height.

[@mothertree]

Awesome cars with awesome engines

[@tostentwo]

These sorts of races are so hard to evaluate. I had a 71 z and changed cam, pistons, and intake, added headers, took out the engine and put it into a 69 nova with 4.88's, slicks, and an automatic with a very loose converter and turned 12.76 at 101. It ran out of gas at the top end and. I could call it a 71 LT1 but it wasn't, and lighter means faster. Some of the vids showing "identical" engines in an early Camaro vs. an early Vette and the Vette winning easily are a turtle on a fence post. Something isn't right about the end result. By the way, in those days there was a mystique about the 327 for some people. In 1976 I sold the Z with a 327 to a guy who preferred that for 2500 dollars and a Biscayne wagon. The Z motor belongs to my nephew now. Sacrilege? I think so. But it was all just parts and fun back then. If I would have kept all of my cars and parts I would be sitting on a decent retirement right now that would have been a lot more fun than watching Wall Street for 40 years. The conclusion? Stay with what you know and be sure you do know it. It isn't what you don't know that hurts you. It is what you think you know that isn't so.

[@duramax78]

Explaining at its finest sir, cheers FROM alberta.

[@williepelzer384]

I still have my 73Z-28 I bought new, blew up the smog motor lifter broke. Bought a 69 370 hp 350 new from gm. Decked the block, cut the heads . 030, balanced, gm off road 140 cam,. 019 thick steel gm head gasket. Has a B+M 400,3200 stall, 488 gears, slapper bars, 90-10 front shock, 850 Holley. Ran 11:71-11:72- 73 with cheep 7" wide cheater slicks. In 1976, ok so I used alittel laughing gas too. 126 mph, tracks didn't have compound sprayed where we raced back then. Fun times😊

[@sharitcuello5026]

Vaya buen video bro

[@cnndotcom69]

Two amazing cars. Check out the 67 we just got

[@dannyadams7486]

Put a damn camera at the finish line!

[@jarrodlist5383]

love big block chevs !!i had 454 71 4peed matchn numbers vette, it was freshened up and good for 11:4s ,were talkin factory streetcar.with close ratio muncie rockcrusher and gorrilla low down grunt,rat revin animal lovin it here in Australia !

[@cruyeda]

+jarrod list I had a '68 Vette with a blown BBC I took in trade for a '75 Chevy Monza. I installed a 454 with Air Flow Research heads, roller cam and a Dominator. I installed nitrous and ran a 4 speed and 4:88 gears. Tires were McCreary 10.5. I use to street race in the San Fernando Valley in the '70's.

[@jarrodlist5383]

+cruyeda awesome mate!i read comments about can these cars do a uturn at a 100kph comparing them to hipo Japanese cars , what a joke what car did they have in 67-71 that had down rated 425hp and running gear to match? not to meantion styling that never ages.and besides real muscle cars were made for all round performance and still be a daily drive.keepn it real.

[@rollingstopp]

+cruyeda I hade a Monza it wasn't the fastback- with a built 307 -/283 heads middle rise manifold stage 1 cam carter 4 barrel it was lightning, those Monza's weigh half a pound.

[@billylowe9631]

low 12s & high 11s on street tires. WOW

[@Ladco77]

On ancient tech crappy street tires, even.

[@firebirdjone]

They are reproductions, which consequently use some modern technology in the formula, making these old polyglass designs work quite well. They grip way better than the originals did 45 years ago. They actually drive decent as well.

[@chriscraft77022]

this is just a cool video... i dont know why americans even mess with foreign cars..

[@327gtr]

Chris Craft we dont.

[@jdrok5026]

they try to mess with us lol

[@david84ss]

Be nice to see them run with some modern tires.

[@msh6865]

Dang. Over a half million $$$ worth of muscle going head to head right there.

[@silentassassin7175]

Miss those days so much

[@87Wayne]

Dual of the Titian's. The ZL1 motor was much lighter as well as having the open chamber heads and if every thing was equal would be faster than the L88 Vett. All the other specs were basically the same between the L88 and the ZL1 i.e. cam, compression , carb, manifold etc. The Vett got the jump in this race. Both awesome specimens.

[@davegeisler7802]

If there the same why couldnt the ZL1 catch the L88 on the big end . Not happening the Vette had a 170 mph top speed , bye bye Camaro even with your mighty ZL1 🏁

[@franciscohuerta9860]

Wat trans n stall on the Maro also gears?

[@JohnRocks6368]

i guess people are seeing something in this video I can't. I didn't see reaction times posted so I don't know how someone knows the Camaro cut a good light and someone else commented on headers, which I couldn't see in the quick engine clips. Both cars looked like they had factory manifolds. Those are great times for street tires. You cant go by Stock Eliminator times as a base for knowing what a car ran from the factory.

[@blackwaterdogs4256]

Both cars had similar HP, right around 500 @ the crank. The Camaro SHOULD be able to launch better and more consistently due to it`s solid rear axle....both are capable of running bottom 11s at around 125 with proper slicks and a decent driver.

[@helvehammer7846]

Somewhere I have a 1969 car mag where GM invited journalists to drive all the 1970 GM muscle cars. The star of the show was a ZL-1 powered Corvette with a modified Turbo 400, slicks, like 4.30 rear gears and *360 degree headers*. Just power braking it it ran 10.90 and 10.80s all night regardless of drivers. Finally a GM engineer asked the last journalist to redline it and then pull it into gear ("neutral drop") and it went straight as a string for the finish line at 10.30 ET. The old mag is around here somewhere . . .

[@WildDiamond07]

I once heard both the ZL1 and L88 could make up to 600 HP.

[@Alexi7666]

I had never heard of F.A.S.T. rubber until now. Live and learn.

[@briancenti5423]

awesome video and incredible cars...ZL1 was actually rated at 585hp gross in the camaro..( well over 600hp gross ) in the 'vette...the L88 was also rated at 585hp in the 'vette, basically the same engine, but the ZL1 having a aluminum block being the biggest difference..these two cars are worth a shit load of money...'vette red lighted and is lighter..the ZL1 427's were actually lighter then a 302 !!!...best time i have ever seen on a ZL1 'vette was 11.00@129.48 with a auto...10's w/ slicks :)

[@sharitcuello5026]

Esta Carrera fue bastante Interesante Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 427 1969 vs Chevrolet Corvette C3 Stringay L88 427 Cl 1969

[@davidbultman6592]

OF THE 69 ZL1 camaros made, only lemans blue, dusk blue, black, cortez silver and garnet red were offered. white was not available. if an original ZL1, the value would be diminshed by the color. also, the air cleaner decal says 425hp instead of the correct 430 hp one. the polyglass repica tires are available in a sticky drag racing compound allowing these cars to run mid-high 11's. car is likely a cloan. real ones sold for $800000 - $1million at auction not long ago.

[@kumaravel9076]

david bultman so you telling that this car is fake?

[@livewire2759]

Kumarevel, not "fake", just not true factory original. ZL1 engines were available for purchase "over the counter" for years. This guy probably had a regular big block Camaro and put a ZL1 in it, making it a "clone", still fast as hell, but not nearly as valuable as a Camaro with a factory installed ZL1.

[@helvehammer7846]

My Grandfather was a salesman at Rost Chevrolet in KCMO back then. They had one of the COPO ZL-1 Camaros and it was white. Column shifter, no heater no radio and sticker inside glove box saying to only fuel it with Sunnaco 260 or equivalent.

[@chriscraft77022]

GM has never played around... when i hear people talk crap about chevy i honestly blame the parents..

[@matrox]

Whats been done to the ZL1?

[@howabouthetruth2157]

Man, the hell with posting races involving red lighting.

[@briand2195]

Every time I watch one of these video I see the most redicious comments. The l88 package was just about the pinnacle of performance in the early 70's, and the camaro zl-1 was equally as potent. Moreover to the guy talking about his 400-450hp 'stock' 05 gto they only put out 300hp buddy, they raised to 350 in 06 when they dropped the 5.7, not trying to start a argument or anything but some of these stories are redicious.

[@316Autos]

I realize this is an old comment, but do some research man, otherwise you look like an idiot. 04 GTO used the 5.7L LS1, rated at 350HP. The 05-06 GTO used the 6.0L LS2, rated at 400HP.

[@AdussFadass]

@JC316 I don't understand why people write shit without knowing what they are talking about like @Brain D.

[@joehernandez8650]

Brian D the l88 actually made around 570hp, they were highly underrated from factory

[@michaelking1869]

Not even close to that. These cars are tweaked as it is and you can see he only trapped 122. A true completely stock L88 car only trapped 108-112mph. That's far from a 570hp trap speed. An L88 was more than 430hp, but only around an actual 480-500 in stock form which is terrible for a solid lifter 427 with 12.5:1 compression.

[@brockmaine2743]

Brian D yeah dude they originally had a 350 then they put a 364 in them and idk what ur point is because yes these older cars are bad ass but these cars are a damn 7 liter 427 and ur comparing a 06 gto with a 6 liter 364? Uhhhhh duh I fuckin hope these older cars would win???????

[@jamessawchuk5682]

11.7, that thing's a beast!

[@Ballenxj]

With both having identical engines, it comes down to which one was lighter. I had a feeling the Vette would take the win.

[@lemonon7149]

I believe the Vette blew the light

[@roberttallman3352]

if you look closely the ZL-1 doesnt even have headers on it??? thats 50 hpl eft on the table

[@kertwhite6214]

robert tallman what are you talking about? A pair of center dumps is just as good as headers. You talking crazy if you think headers will give out 50 hp

[@blancaawazhere_6405]

I like this video

[@randycooke6209]

Vette has better traction. Both cars on skinny street tires. Both are badass

[@rondleswango6046]

Race of the big boys real muscle cars loved those days cruising at night lookin for a top dog to run

[@gordonsquires3339]

I wonder if they are taking rear diff. gears into account..

[@byronjones9299]

This just goes to Prove, That It's not the Name of a car that counts, it's the ( Reputation ) .

[@TV-hq1zk]

This is the Pure Stock Drag Racing class. Read the rules. No dump, line locks or any other tricks. They are as close to stock as they come. The cars are checked extensively. Also look at their list of fastest runs. You will see the COPO’s are always at the top.

[@TurboMountTV]

Cripes some people don't mind buying tires daily.

[@howabouthetruth2157]

Good grief kid. When you can afford one of these extremely rare classic muscle cars ( even though the Vette is considered a sports car ) and race them like this, I don't think you would be worrying about "buying tires".

[@eyestungdustnblind]

to hartsickdisciple / I told you to look at the "zero to 60 " website where you will find the 69 zl1 Camaro quarter mile listed as 11.6 seconds

[@iowa61]

That was about right what you'd expect.

[@vaugr1917]

Funny how these cars with the same hp as a c6 ls3 vette but without the grip of moddern tires still run same or better 1/4 mile times than the much newer car🤔

[@MBailey1977]

Noticed the L88 had a fan shroud added

[@sig229]

These cars are so magical they even switched lanes after their burnouts

[@captjim007]

Guy in the Vette was scared and jumped the gun..