Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-mid...XapC?li=BBnb7Kz


Any of y'all experts know about this car?

Also curious if there is any proof backing all this up.

Thanks guys and gals.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

I can't take credit for this, but a buddy pointed out that the grille is black instead of the correct silver.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

The car has been around for years. IIRC it was in Floyd Garrett's Museum back in the late 90's early 2000's.. If Rick has it now then I would venture to say its legit.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

I saw it at garretts around 2009

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

My definition of rare would require that it left the factory as configured. I believe the Z28 is a factory equipped JL8, but the engine, cross ram & hood are add-ons. Regarding this car having the only hemi 302, that's not correct. There were at least 8 or more engines built. IIRC Charley owned one, and installed it in a 67 Z28. Not sure why the grille hasn't been corrected. Neat car, but some facts have been embellished.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

Did Gary Holub own this a few years ago?

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

I thought there were 8 or so aluminum engines not hemi heads.?. And those style heads there were only a couple sets. I could be remember wrong again.. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/dunno.gif[/img]

And yes that info in that writeup isn't completely correct.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

My aluminum engine was not a hemi headed one that I installed in a 67 Z28. My hemi headed one had a iron block and it was in a yellow 69 Z. I think the magazines are making this one into something that Rick probably never claimed. My personal opinion is the car is a good display cabinet for some rare GM parts. But yes paint the grill silver and get rid of the Polyglas tires.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Charley Lillard</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My aluminum engine was not a hemi headed one that I installed in a 67 Z28. My hemi headed one had a iron block and it was in a yellow 69 Z. I think the magazines are making this one into something that Rick probably never claimed. <span style="font-weight: bold">My personal opinion is the car is a good display cabinet for some rare GM parts</span>. But yes paint the grill silver and get rid of the Polyglas tires. </div></div>

I agree and that is probably what Floyd and Rick would say as well..

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

----the late Al Maynard (miss him greatly, RIP) owned this silver Z for quite a while. He may have been the one to put it together. I saw either this engine or one of the others on a stand in his garage and saw the car many times with the engine in it. Al never claimed the car was anything other than what it is, a &quot;what if&quot; project!!!...Bill S

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

It was in a car mag years ago. Described as being a 69 z28 body with a prototype Hemi head small block from Yunicks garage sale. It stated there were a few complete engines. Rick Hendrick has one

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

There's a Daytona Yellow/Yellow Hound’s-tooth Z/28-RS built with a Hemi 302 in the August 1996 Super Chevy. There is also an interview with Smokey. He stated 150-200 pair of heads were assembled and that he built 8 engines. In his book “Best Damn Garage in Town” he pretty much said the same thing but claimed 12 engines were built. He didn’t pull any punches and stated the heads “…weren’t worth a crap…” and described the project as “…a one-half million dollar trip to $hitsville.”

So much for the Hemi 302.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

In the early 1990,s I was at a SuperChevy show and I saw the yellow Z28 with the hemi head engine in it. There was also a complete engine on display. At that time I was told their was only one Z28 that had the hemi head 302 engine installed in it.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

.... Anyone interested in that issue of Super Chevy ( August 1996 Super Chevy )

.... Here it is..... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

.... Super Chevy - August 1996

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

From one of the guys ar Hendricks:

&quot;There were 5 sets of those cylinder heads and manifolds made by GM for Smokey.
Rick Hendrick owns two of them. The first 4 were 302 ci for Trans Am racing. We finished the 5th engine. It was the only large ci (350 I think) engine, and the plug was pulled on the project before Smokey ever finished it.
I don't remember either of them being aluminum blocks but.........?
Very cool, but terrible exhaust ports and rocker layout. Defiantly would have needed some revisions prior to competition use! LOL
Neat pieces of automotive history though!&quot;

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

IIRC, they were discussed in Hooper's book way back in 1990. Supposedly, the heads required a lot of other engine components to make the entire package function. Hardly stillborn, but not far from it. Other GM divisions had exotic stuff, too, and most of it also had a short (but expensive) life. Olds had Hemi-heads, aluminum blocks and other stuff that never saw production. Pontiac made some aluminum engines for Mickey Thompson and Chevy toyed with fuel injection on a few 409s. So, while the Hemi-head 302 is rare, what is more rare is that some of them got into private hands.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

the article says it is an aluminum 327 block from the Grand Sport program
that would mean it was from around 1963

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

----I would think if the block was from the Grand Sport program it would have been a 377cu.in. When we restored GS#1 the 1st time,years ago we were lucky to score a nearly complete original 377 GS motor from the tech center, crossram Webers and all. I still don't know how our friend inside GM did that!......Bill S

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

I believe that is the same engine

the 327 block is a 4 inch bore and they used a stroker crank to get the 377 cu in

the 327 350 and 302 used 4 inch bore

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">----I would think if the block was from the Grand Sport program it would have been a 377cu.in. When we restored GS#1 the 1st time,years ago we were lucky to score a nearly complete original 377 GS motor from the tech center, crossram Webers and all. I still don't know how our friend inside GM did that!......Bill S </div></div>

My friend Bill Scott was the chief mechanic on the Penske GS cars and stated his were 364 CI engines. Perhaps Penske used de-stroked engines. Unfortunately Scotty passed away many years ago.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

Grand Sport engine photo, sent to me by former Penske driver Craig Fisher.

I've only ever heard of them in the 377&quot; size but it certainly is possible Penske ran something different.

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

Check the air intake on the hood ...

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 1967Z28</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Grand Sport engine photo, sent to me by former Penske driver Craig Fisher.

I've only ever heard of them in the 377&quot; size but it certainly is possible Penske ran something different. </div></div>

My understanding was that Bill also thought it was a 377ci engine; but upon rebuilding it the crank stroke was determined to be 3.622 not 3.75. The bore was 4 inches .

Here's an excerpt from the Grandsport book which quotes Bill. Perhaps they used both displacements in different cars. I know he wasn't pleased later on when he had to install a big block in the car. He loved the SBC.

&quot;Corvette Grand Sport&quot; book by Friedman and Paddok on page 135 a comment by Bill Scott, one of Roger Penske's most trusted mechanics, that stated, &quot;I ended up building an engine, it was a 364 ci engine, not a 377 ci as many people believe.&quot; That statement was in reference to the 005 Grand Sport being prepared for the 1965 Sebring race. The famous 377 ci small block Grand Sport engine had a 4&quot; bore and supposedly a 3.75&quot; stroke which gave it 377 ci. According to Bill Scott's statement the correct engine size was not 377 ci but had the same bore as the LS2 engine (4.00&quot;) and stroke (3.622&quot;) which results in 364 ci.&quot;

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

----I may be wrong, Jon, but I believe those Webers are 58s. They are almost big enough to stick your whole hand down into if it wasn't for the butterflies. They may be the largest Webers ever??? And,,,Theres a good shot of the brake booster mounted sideways with the bell-crank actuator......Bill S

Re: Rarest 69 Camaro Ever? all-aluminum hemi engine Z
 

they are big, great picture