The First Ever Camaro ZL-1

This is the first ever Camaro to ever have the name of ZL1 associated with it. Camaro ZL1 was quite a car to behold back in 1969 too! The first-generation Chevrolet Camaros appeared in dealerships on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year on a brand-new rear-wheel drive GM F-body platform and would be available as a 2-door, 2+2 seat, coupe or convertible with a choice of six-cylinder and V8 powerplants. The first-gen Camaro would last up through the 1969 model year.

A GM corporate edict forbade Chevrolet from installing engines larger than 400 cu in. Requests from dealers, notably Don Yenko, who were dealer-installing 427 cu in engines in the Camaro caused Chevrolet to use an ordering process usually used on fleet and special orders for taxis and trucks to offer 427 engines in the Camaro. Two Central Office Production Orders (COPO), numbers 9560 and 9561, were offered in the 1969 model year.

One of theses, the COPO 9560 used an all-aluminum 427 cu in big-block called the ZL-1. It was designed specifically for drag racing. The package was conceived by drag racer Robert Harrell, and ordered through Fred Gibb Chevrolet in La Harpe, IL, with the intention of entering NHRA Super Stock drag racing. Just 69 original 1969 ZL-1 Camaros were ever produced. The engine alone cost over US$4,000, more than the cost of a base V8 coupe. Though rated at 430 hp gross, the ZL-1 made much more. With exhaust changes and some tuning, the horsepower jumped to over 500 horses.

The ZL1 Engine was never intended to be put into a street legal production car. Chevrolet had developed the engine primarily for Can-Am racing and other track use under the hood of a Corvette. Featuring aluminum heads used on the also potent L88 iron block 427, the ZL1 also featured an entirely aluminum casting of the 427 engine block. The engine could easily propel the Camaro in “stock” form to low 13 second ¼ miles. With minor modifications the cars were able to run deep into the 11s.

When these original 1969 ZL1 Camaros ever come up for sale or at an auction, you better have a wheel barrow full of money because they command over 6 figures and up towards even 7. But if you have the #1 ever built, as in anything, it is usually way more costly. Such was the case for the original 1969 ZL1 Camaro when it came up for sale.

Fred Gibb owned Gibb Chevrolet which was well known as a high performance Chevrolet dealership. Robert Harrell, a longtime Chevrolet drag racer, had already been tuning COPO cars that Gibbs ordered for several years. The drag racer, who was already familiar with the ZL1 engine and had a hand in encouraging Fred Gibb to pitch manufacturing ZL1 Camaros to Chevrolet. Both men believed the ZL1 engine in a Camaro would prove dominant on the street and more importantly on the track for the 1969 NHRA season.

It was raced in the AHRA Super Stock Eliminator class from 1969 thru 1971, was the 1971 AHRA World Championship Champion, AHRA World record holder in October 1971 with a 9.63 second et @ 143 mph.

You can never take away the fact that this was the first Camaro ZL1, so thankfully Chevrolet made the new generation Camaro Zl1’s, so it wasn’t the last one made too.