Hib Halverson

Hi Zroners-

"Corvette Magazine" has me working on a feature-length article on how the LT5 was manufactured. The piece is just about done and will be submitted in the next few days. This article will include black-and-whilte and color imagery shot inside Stillwater back in December of 1988.

The story will likely publish this fall so, if you want to read it, better buy your subscriptions to "Corvette Magazine" fairly soon.

cYa
Hib Halverson

Tom400CFI

Sounds like a very interesting article...one that I would very much like to read, if it's filled with techy/insider tid-bits....hopefully sourced from Mercury.

Since you're not finished w/it, I'd offer a suggestion that might add to the appeal...perhaps as a side bar?

In the '80 Mercury came out w/a "Big" outboard to not just compete with but to squash OMC's big V6's. It was a 3.4 liter, 74* V6 rated at 300, then 275 hp. What is interesting to me, as a Merc fan and a ZR-1 fan, is that Merc farmed out the casting of the 3.4L block to Cosworth.

Why would a company known and chosen for it's mastery in aluminum engine block casting farm out it's own engine to someone else to cast...then take on a project of casting GM's project? I'm sure there is a story there. :

AnthonyGS

Sounds great. Any chance I could get the author to autograph my copy once I have it in my mits? It's be a great item to add to my scrapbook for this car.

Zedred

Tom, Mercury did not cast any parts, 90' thru 92' blocks, injector housings, pvc cover were cast by Denison Industries in Denison Tx. Heads were cast in England, 93'-95' blocks were cast at GM Bedford in Bedford Indiana. Mercury did the machining in house.

A26B

Mercury did cast several of the small parts in house, alternator brackets, rear oil seal housing, Cyl Case Front Cover & maybe some others.

solid dobe

thanks for the heads up

on a side note: I LOVE having access to the collective knowledge of the "Brotherhood of the Beast" as demonstrated in this thread