THE ORIGINAL C3 ZR-1's THAT ZORA BUILT

[WB9MCW]

While Zora Duntov may have had some influence nurturing the Corvette along after it was originally released, he is far from the legend behind the Corvette. Some loyal owners of this American sports car are starting to smell the winds of change (pertaining to Harley Earl's more accurate version of the story of Corvette's real history) and are now referring to Duntov by his rightful title: The Corvette Nanny.

Chevy didn't hire this Russian immigrant until mid-1953, well after the Corvette had been prototyped, displayed, and marketed. It is strange, or perhaps not, that some are going out of their way to not mention the name Harley Earl who, if it were not for him, the Corvette would not exist today.

To purposely ignore one of the most talented and gifted engineers/designers of the 20th century seems almost a deliberate action by those who did not have the vision, skills, and confidence, and are more concerned about a false legacy than they are about accuracy, and proper recognition.

If history holds true, Harley Earl will win out in the end. No doubt by the 100th Anniversary of GM in 2008, the deception concerning the expatriate Zora Duntov and his true role in Corvette history will be ferreted out and exposed.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p110/HAMMERHATE/zora_d27.gif

What's wrong with this 1996 newspaper tribute above? Prior to Harley Earl dying in 1969, not one person in Detroit's auto world recognized Zora Duntov as the father of the Corvette! Don't take our word for it, examine the auto magazine editorial below. Everyone who was anyone in the auto trade in 1969 knew the essentials on who was the King of the Corvette World...see >> http://www.carofthecentury.com/zora_duntov%27s_false_legacy.htm . Obviously, something devious happened regarding telling the facts on Corvette History in the decades to follow.

Zora incessantly worked at convincing Chevrolet that in order to keep the Corvette competitive in racing, greater performance was necessary. This opened the door to bigger brakes and more powerful engines. The 1967-1969 L88 Corvettes, the ZL-1, 1970-1972 ZR-1 and ZR-2 were his eventual offspring.

In 1970 Chevrolet Corvette introduced to the racing world a new street legal racing machine. The racer was dubbed the ZR-1. Production was limited to 1970, ‘71, and ‘72. Altogether for the three years, ZR-1 Corvettes totals 53 cars; 25 were produced in 1970, 8 in 1971, and 20 in 1972. Racers saw the natural roll bar effect of the coupe as a safety advantage and, as a result, there are few convertibles.

What is a ZR-1 Corvette? A ZR-1 Corvette is an LT-1 equipped Corvette produced in 1970, ‘71, or ‘72. ZR-1’s were specially equipped with all the heavy duty racing equipment that had previously been used on the L-88 Corvettes of 1967, ‘68, and ‘69. The only other Corvettes to receive this special group of heavy duty racing equipment in a package were the ZR-2 in 1971. The ZR-1 included the LT-1 engine, M-22 transmission, heavy duty J56 power brakes, transistorized ignition, special aluminum radiator, and special springs, shocks, and front and rear stabilizer bars.

ZR-1 identification features: (1) LT-1 engine, suffix CTV-1970, CGY-1971, or CKY-1972, (2) J-56 heavy duty brake package with dual pin front brake calipers (power), (3) F-41 heavy duty suspension package, 7 leaf rear spring, heavy duty shock absorbers, heavy duty 5/8″ front sway bar and heavy duty rear spindle struts, (4) M-22 (rockcrusher) transmission, (5) large aluminum radiator with expansion tank (no other LT-1 equipped car has an expansion tank), (6) steel fan shroud, other than 1972’s (most), (7) radio delete (no fenders drilled for antenna). The ZR-1 package could not be ordered with any creature comforts, ie: air conditioning, power windows, power steering, radio, alarm system, rear window defroster, or special trim items like P02 wheel covers.

The ZR-1 cars are the rarest small block Corvettes ever produced. The most common ZR-1 (the 1970) has only 5 more than the rarest L-88 (1967 - 20 units total). The ZR-1 cars are about five times rarer than L-88 cars.

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http://www.corvettevalley.com/gallery/data/500/ZR-1_B.jpg

1970 Corvette ZR-1/LT-1 Coupe, 350-370 hp with M-22 special heavy duty transmission and one of only 25 produced. Monza Red paint with Saddle Tan interior in excellent condition. Other rare documented options on this radio delete car include 4.56 posi, F-41 special purpose suspension, power brakes, J-56 special brake system, transistorized ignition, rallys, and Firestone wide ovals. Well documented, rare, and desirable. An affordable L-88 high horse small block. $149,000.00

http://www.proteamcorvette.com/cars/NSN-CG270.htm

http://www.corvettevalley.com/gallery/data/500/ZR-1_A.jpg

1972 Corvette ZR-1/LT-1 Coupe, M-22 4 speed, numbers match, 67,007 actual miles. Elkhart Green paint with Black deluxe interior. Very nice cosmetics of what appears to be mostly original paint and interior. Also has detailed chassis and engine compartment. Optioned with power brakes, leather, transistorized ignition, 4.11 posi, shoulder harness, A.I.R., heavy duty suspension, J-56 brakes, aluminized exhaust, seat belts, tinted glass, rallys, and Goodyear F-70x15" blackwall tires. Most all factory correct type components including the smog system. Documented with the tank sticker, warranty pamphlet/P.O.P., owners manual packet, sales brochure, and most delivery pamphlets and cards. Super rare ZR-1 and 1 of only 20 produced for racing by General Motors as these cars were equipped with no radio, M-22 special heavy duty transmission, heavy duty J-56 brakes, T.I. ignition, special aluminum radiator, special springs, shocks, and front and rear stabilizer bars. Looks, runs, and drives excellent. An affordable L-88 high horse small block. $139,000.00

http://www.proteamcorvettes.com//cars/241Z.htm

[tomtom72]

Ahhhhh, memories. Thanks for posting the stuff Bryan. That stuff brings me back to the mid 70's when I got my first vette, a 72 LT-1 coupe w/factory air. After that car I was infected forever with the "fever". I've only had two vettes, and proly will only have two, in my whole life. At least I can say I had two of the more "entertainning" ones from the bowtie boys!:mrgreen:

I don't mean to carry on, but if they are gonna write about as rare a car as an LT-1 w/ the ZR1 package. I just wish that they could be correct about the RPO code. Sorry. No Dash, according to the last NCRS C3 judging manual I remember seeing, in the ZR1 for the RPO code on the C3 LT-1 cars.[-X

Oh, and the M22 is a wonderful trans, sounded a bit like our zf6's. The F41 suspension made you aware of every pebble you ran over even with radial tires on the car. The steering was slooooow & the chassis was abit "loose" by today's standards. Oh and the leaks and growns from the tops make me feel right at home in my ZR-1. No mine was not an LT-1/ZR1, I had air. The OO got bored with the car and tracked it...as things broke he bought better components and added useful upgrades. Oh, the writers left out one thing, the 5 qt oil pan, that's why no P/steering...the ram's joint at the center link would hit the front of the 5 qt pan.....oh, I forgot the phenolic insulators on the caliper pistons, to prevent heat transfer to the fluid. Yea my first vette was a bastard.....but when I was done putting it back together, including all the wrong parts for an LT-1 w/fac air....I was very much in love with that car because it had air....that car is why I own a ZR-1 now... the ZR-1 is an LT-1 taken to it's final evoloutionary level....to me anyway....except I do kind of miss the sound of a solid lifter cam....kind of...

Sorry to ramble.:redface:
Some great memories with my LT-1.....oh, she had side pipes too!:mrgreen:

[Aurora40]

That thing about Zora and the revisionist history is very interesting.

Dave McLellan has a podcast on his website where he talks to John Fitch. That's interesting to hear. Duntov is generally referred to as the one who brought performance to the 'vette. However, when GM wanted to take Corvette racing, Duntov refused to be a part of it. John Fitch ended up getting Corvettes ready for Sebring in a very short time, and they had considerable success there.

Anyway, interesting article. Thanks for linking it up.

[cuisinartvette]

One of my all time favorite motors, would love to have a 70 LT1 C3.
Had a 70 Z.28 and loved the way the car ran.

[ZRWON]

Thanks for posting that wonderful trip down memory lane!!! It reminded me of many things I knew and had forgotten and many more things I never knew. The LT-1 has great personal memories for me... I had 2 of them until about 1994
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/zrwon/70_LT-1_NCRS.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/zrwon/70_LT-1_custom.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/zrwon/LT1Race.jpg

WHAT WONDERFUL MEMORIES. I SURE MISS THOSE GAS GUZZLING NOISY PARTS OF VETTE HISTORY...THANKS AGAIN! :thumbsup:

[tomtom72]

I just thought of something rather funny....well funny kind of. When the C6 ZO6 came out a big deal was made about 0 to 60 in one gear, any LT-1 with a 3.55 rear and a 2.20 first gear as in a close ratio box option would get 10 mph per 1,000 rpms in first gear. The red line on an old school LT-1 was 6800 rpms....unless you had factory air, then your tach said 5400 rpms because it was the tach from the L48 motor. I used to get on highways by just using first gear to 6k rpms and then go right to 4th. My 72 had CAGS & I didn't even know it!:sign10:

Bob's correct about the early Sebring efforts. It was John Fitch. One of the cruises I was on last year ended at Lime Rock and we had lunch at some high class private club up that way and we had a guest speaker at lunch, John Fitch. It was like talking to a racing history book. I was just soooo jazzed to listen to and have a dialogue with Mr. Fitch. He's a really nice guy too. He had a car that he designed based on a C2 chassis with him also. I have pictures of it somewhere in my PC. I got the impression from Mr. Fitch that it was an "internal politics" thing as Zora didn't think much of the C1's and Mr. Mitchell thought that they were just fine. The C2 was Zora's corvette, well the platform was his. There always seemed to be a conflict between Zora's engineers and the stylists and Zora usually had to fit his ideas into the body style. Well, maybe there is a lot more to it but Zora was always at odds because to him form follows function, not the other way round. I would loved to have been a fly on the wall when Zora and Mitchell had "engineering discussions" about how things should be done.

Damn, I do miss that 72. That was one rude, crude and a totally socially unacceptable vehicle....the numbers on the cam were "all that" back then for a factory install too! There was absolutely nobody home in that motor till you crossed 3500....and the side pipes would wake up rocks!:cool:

:cheers:
Tom