good point. probably not, because the leaders of this country in their infinite wisdom are trying hard to industrialize the entire mongoloid race and bring 1.5 billion chinese and another half billion or so russians charging out of the 19th century and into the 21st century. imagine what gas prices will be in 2046...... $100.00 per gallon, 200????? more???

drive 'em hard now boys. probably only be able to see them in museums by then. hopefully fuel cell technology will be fully developed or maybe even cold fusion. doubtful just about anybody will be able to to afford to drive around in a car that gets 12 miles per gallon by then.

 

If I had a choice of 5 '06 Viper looking Z06s or ONE '67-'69 L-88, I'd take the one with the chrome bumpers. In a few years, the C6 "Z"s will be just as common as the C5 "Z"s, big f'kin deal

 

the 560 hp mark is dubious as your talking (GROSS) (ie a engine with no PS/ PB/ AIR maybe and altenator, no tranny no rear end and no parasitic losses. The ZO6 is RWHP (NET) and if you take that L-88 560hp and equate that today your talking around 470RWHP.

 

They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I'd love to own a new ZO6.

 

I'd love either of them...

If either could hook up at the line (Z06 has traction control!) it'd be a wild ride!

I'm just amazed that the Late model 425-450hp engines are getting 20 something mpg!

 

the Z06 is in the 12s.

 

Those head lights suck but the rest of it looks nice not bad *** just nice

 

Sheeded 25 pounds of 2 motors, relays, in our case 25 feet of vacuum tubing and those two huge friggin relays. Go look at the vacuum diagram for a 68, probably over 50 feet of vacuum lines, 4 relays, 3 actuators, over-engineering is what I call it. I say god ridance of the pop-ups.

 

They won't sound the same.....a high compression big block with a carb is music to my ears.......

 

The L88 was in the 550-560 GROSS HP range. The new LS2 is 500 NET HP. So net to net the new one is stronger. And civilized. The L88 was a race engine which could not be used on the street (like trying to drive a NASCAR engine on the street). The LS2 is fully streetable. Welcome to the wonderful world of electronics

 

holy ****! someone gets it! good job!

 

holy shiznit! someone gets it! good job!

 

Yep, they do sound sweet. But I'll bet the Z06 427 sounds great too- They have 3" pipes & a by-pass that makes the mufflers basically straight through starting at about 3500 RPMs. I'm looking forward to hearing one.

 

Guys,

Even though I recently sold my L88 clone, I think I have some real info to offer. Using factory pistons, intake, heads, cam, valves, etc. that were the same parts spec'd for the original L88's I made 483rwhp with open exhaust and 477rwhp running through spiral baffles. The dyno sheet can be seen if you click the url on my sig and go to the L88 page.

The L88 may be a gross rating; but, there were virtually no parasitic options or accessories that would reduce the power using a net rating. The engine breathes 100% from outside air unlike almost all passenger cars of that era. It is true that the L88's came with 2" exhaust pipes in 69 fitted behind cast iron manifolds, but these were never expected to be used by any of the purchasers. Both the Chevy engineers and the racing fans that bought them knew that the L88 needed to run a very low restriction exhaust.

Back then, owners were not so **** to think about what was original or not. The fact that the hp tubular headers came in the trunk made no difference. Arguing the merits of whether the factory put them on instead of the dealer would have resulted in responses similar to, "Whaaaaa? Who cares? Son, what possible difference does that make? Such owners saw the cars for what they were. Extreme high performance for a very modest count. Blow up one BB engine and replace it with another. Matching numbers? Who cares, it's the same motor. Unfortunately today, many people do care. But I would rather have the car to drive instead of one of park under glass. But I digress.

My ZO6 is quoted at 405 net and makes 350hp at the rear wheels. If the new Z makes 500hp net, I would expect the power to the rear wheels to be something less than 450hp. That said, the L88/ZL1 remains in my mind the true King of the Hill in the Corvette horsepower wars. The L88's aren't equal to the chassis, brakes, and suspension of the new ZO6, but again if you were to simply bolt up 17" wheels and modern tires, the L88 would still be a very respectable adversary in the hands of a good driver.

The L88 is a blast to drive, especially if you live in a rural area. It is a bit frustrating to drive in urban areas. The engine is constantly begging you to let it loose. And when you do it is an incredible adrenalin rush. 1st gear, 2nd gear, third gear all pull to the limit of the tires adhesion. Even 4th at over 100mph rolling on the throttle can break the tires loose if the pavement has ANY dust on it. A hard 3-4 shift would break the tires loose every time. (and I still had two gears left!) It corners flat and is very stiff. The suspension needs to be stiffer than the ZO6 because the chassis flexes more. You feel very connected to the road in the L88. Just because a T38 is faster doesn’t mean that the P51 Mustang is no longer a desirable airplane. I think a P51 and the L88 have a lot in common personality wise. Both will continue to be sought after examples of high performance from an earlier age. The best of an age using only mechanical, not computerized systems. Both have done this very well.


I am still surprised with myself that I sold the L88. Truth be known, the car sitting in the garage nearly finished but not finished was really getting to me. It needed to be painted, needed re-chroming of many parts, needed new wheels and tires, new windshield, etc. Too many cars and not enough garage space also played a part. Even with all the brand new premium parts I had put into the car: Engine, radiator, wiring harness, rear end, 6 speed transmission, clutch/flywheel, rear end, suspension front and rear, brakes, steering, interior, fans, etc. there are still countless little things that were wearing out just because they were old. Those of you who have old cars know what I am talking about. All the little plastic switches, hinges, brackets, *****, gears, links and linkages were never designed to last as long as they have. If they were, the car would not have been affordable when new.

I really miss the car, but it does help not having an unfinished project not staring at me, demanding more of my time than I can give confronting me day after day. Someday with more time and more room I would like to build or buy a L88 again. But in the meantime, the factory has built an incredible machine in the new ZO6. It offers almost as much peak power and perhaps even more than the L88 if you measure the total area under the entire curve. And make no mistake, the new LS7 is a high compression engine. The handling and braking of my 2002 Z is in a league of its own doing everything so effortlessly. It spoils you with being able to sit and creep in rush hour traffic without any problem and yet still be able to rocket away instantly as soon as the road clears.

I expect that the new Z will also be like that, but with an even higher quality of fit and finish along with materials inside and out. Considerably better quality in the cabin than the early Vettes like my 69 were built with. Having true world class performance along with digital stereo, a/c, navigation, and power everything. Having a cabin quiet enough to actually listen to music without having to crank up the stereo to extreme decibels is great. To be comfortable when I want to be, and fast & furious the rest of the time in one car is a pretty tough act to do. Chevy has done it with the C5 and C6 ZO6, at least in my opinion.

Chuck

 

It does not matter if the new one has more or less HP. The L-88 legend will go on and only get bigger over time. The new one can be bought off the dealers lot, driven, and in 10 years it will be worth a fraction of it's original value. There will be bigger and better Vettes after this one folks but the old L-88's will still be rare and worth big bucks. It's like the difference between a Kawasaki and a Harley, if you have to explain it, you would not understand. JMO.

-Mark.

 

No, not to those familiar w/ the L-88. Guys that just read about it may never get it. One ride would do it. BTW, the mags are trying to sell new cars.
Power of the L-88 could be increased & still be driven on the street.

 

Chuck, I guess I fell asleep for awhile. I didn't know you sold the 69. Did you ever get a feel for the new roller cam in comparison to the L88 cam?

 

Chuck, great post, there is so little accurate info regarding L88s that it is nice to read something so informative

 

Scratch that... Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder!

 

Obviously a reply for someone who can't afford a new one so he settles for bashing it.