65 fi

When was the first 1967 L89 produced? What,other than the build sheet and aluminum heads, may be specific to a L89?

67's

The vin stamp

TCracingCA

I think I have stuff on 11 of 16 of these cars! I was surprised in the other thread where I posted up a note I had written 20 years ago about the first being built January, because I thought they were out/released earlier. I am seeing problems with the porousity of the aluminum heads during this time frame that seemed to affect the sister L88's.
I am curious as to replies myself! And as to whether 40 of the original 16 have been found! there is far less distinctive parts on these factory builds, so a whole lot easier than an L88 to fake! Because I have been less attentive to articles on these, my stuff is mostly 20+ years old, is why i never started down the L89 road.

midstyle

Per Denver zone newsletter, dated March 17th, to all zone Chevrolet dealers, orders for new option L89 engine (includes aluminum cylinder heads and chrome plated rocker covers) may now be submitted.

Also, a Chevrolet Mailgram sent to all Denver Zone Chevrolet dealers, dated March 16th, Attn: P&A Sales Managers; we are advised part # 3904387 (67-427 HD & SPEC H/PER - ALUMINUM HEAD) is now being serviced. Please forward order ........ we will, in turn, place with GMPD for shipment from Otterburn ASAP.

Reprinted in Oct '92 issue of Vette Vues.

63Corvette

Which one (VIN) is the car featured in the Car and Driver road test?

Dr L-88

Back in the late 70s I had a complete L-89 setup......................tri-power and heads. Heads were casting number 3904392 and were dated mid February 67. It was all the real stuff, came off a car here in KY, engine blown up. Don't know any details about the car. The 67 aluminum heads purportedly had a problem with valve guides. I bought the heads, and complete tri-power for $500 and sold it for $1000 to someone in Nebraska. I have a picture I'll try to post later.

PAmotorman

a co worker harwood dorman had one sold at yenkos. it still had the the old single spring with a flat wound damper that would break. my 65 396 I picked at the st louis factory april 16 1965 broke a spring on the way home back to Pa. I changed all the springs to the new dual spring replacement on the L-89 for harwood before he broke any. I believe that L-89 just changed hands last year.

gbvette62

There use to be a guy in Bristol PA, who claimed to own an original 67 L-89 car.

He bought the car new. It was originally Silver Pearl with a black interior, and black convertible top. Around 71-72, he repainted it red and added large (ZL-1/L-88 type) flairs and 15x8 AZ rally wheels to it. We were in a south Jersey Corvette club together, but when the club folded in the mid 80's, I lost track of him and the car. He was a union worker at the US Steel Fairless Works, in Fairless Hills PA, but the last time I saw him, he'd been laid off for a couple years.

I don't know if the car was a legitimate L-89 or not, but he was friends with MF Dobbins, and Dobbins isn't someone you could have BS-ed about a 427 car.

TCracingCA

I guess 20+ years ago, I was taking good notes! So the first being built in January and not being delivered till March, is looking to be accurate.

TCracingCA

This I would say is an early IP coded car that was only stamped IP, but contained a HD engine based on just the performance! Because no other stock IP car has ever come close to touching that time of 12.8 (stock). It might be one of the few that never saw the track or maybe it did, and it would be nice to have a VIN on that car. Because many former Magazine cars (tested cars) have been found and this one hasn't, it causes me to believe more in the "out-the-back-door car delivery program/network! It was a ringer for the Magazine, and maybe one day we will figure out the whereabouts! CD magazine generally was alright on actually testing, but then sometimes that would hiccup and just post claimed times from the Manufacturers or let a real ringer into the mix. Maybe why GM picked Car and Driver. Whereas Car Life, Road & Track were far more procedural and precise about publishing actual road test data. Then you had Hot Rod, that generally base line ET'd the car, sometimes after some tweaks and then continued with the tweaks until they figured out how fast it could be made to run. Car Craft just generally tested Hot Rod cars. Then there were others that I have an opinion on. I am never short of those!!!!!!

lawdawg

I've had two sets of early , very early l89 heads. Both had very bad porosity problems, and they showed up in the guides.

Just saying. They are only good for show. Not for running at all. Both sets failed within a couple hundred miles. Not 900 , a couple of hundred or two. Too strange for a coincidence.

PAmotorman

the valve guide would slip down in the heads. we set screwed them so the could not move. the porosity problem was solved by putting water glass (sodium silicate) in the water jackets, pressurizing the water jacket with air and then baked them in a oven

Dr L-88

Maybe I need to do that to my old Can Am 495 block that came from Smokey's garage sale in 1989.

TCracingCA

But it appears by March/April they were releasing good aluminum heads with I am sure some rejects. By 1968/69 they had it worked out! The Can Am blocks started to develop cylinder wear problems when they tried to go sleeveless. Porsche in about 1972 late switched to the Nickies coatings. I wonder if this would work on a set up porous cylinder heads. Or some modern 356-t whatever treatment or something. But porousity is porousity! And I definitely think I spelled that wrong twice!!!!!!

PS I figure by the end of February, we will have all of these big block mysteries solved and we can go back to insulting each other!

TCracingCA

Just made them worth something again, and now we can see those maybe on a car after baking! PS because of the great tip-- while baking, send us some cookies also!!!!!! And I am serious!!!!!!!

JohnZ

I think you meant "Nikasil".

Dr L-88

John,

Is that the same coating used on the pistons and cylinders of the Reynolds "linerless" Can Am blocks?

Thanks,
Rex

W Guy

Derek,
Could you please clear out your private messages?
Thanks
Verne

TCracingCA

This process was very durable and led to weight savings, based on the restrictions of the mag case to enlarge the spigots (barrel openings), this process allowed them to go from a displacement of 2.4 up to 2.7-2.9. By 1973 the aluminum cased cars began to be produced and the 3 liters were created and there was a designed in larger spigot to fit still larger bores. The process continued to be used by Porsche and a set of those even in the modern is expensive! We have a number of sets of Nickies and have a 2.9 set up, but the last Porsche engine my brother (our families #1 Porsche expert) built was a 300+ hp twin plug coil pack crank triggered 2.8 liter! The engine is run on the street with technology from the aircraft industry were he works using A/R probes, thermocouples to each cylinder. It could go head to head with Peter Gregg and what Al Holbert ran and can be better tuned than those professionals in build hp because of the aircraft tuning aids, and it is essentially an IMSA level with full ported heads build!

The Porsche guys are way more sensitive than Corvette guys and when I was in one of my moods, i removed over 2500 history and tech posts from their Pelican when a moderator got into with me! Deja Vu, didn't I do something like that here on Corvette forum also!

Guy---- Whats up? Give me a hint here and when I get back into work I will try to put you in contact with me, I stopped completely trying to use the forum email because it immediately gets filled up every time i clear it- frustrating! And I gave up finally on the home one. My work can take more, if you can get past my spam block, but I like to watch how much personal I do their at work.

TCracingCA

But they were heading in the same direction with what they were trying. I think the Chevrolet engined process eventually if I remember right ended up being tried on the failure Vega and then with coatings on the latter Cosworth Vega! But Nickies on a piston barrel formed block would probably be way to expensive to try! Porsche barrels can be taken out and essentially coated. But in the modern there are some friction coatings now for our V-8 engines!