ZR1
- Thread starter mjk1967
- Start date
Looks to be in pristine condition based on the photo. Who manufactured the engine for this car?
I don't know if I've ever seen one in that color before. Oddly enough one of my co-workers asked me about an old car her dad bought new back in the day and is sitting in the garage. She ssid "who wants an old Corvette"? I asked her to take some pics. Apparently her dad ordered a Corvette ZR1 new with every option including the car phone which is still intact. They were 60k new in the early 90s.
Mercury Marine.
The ZR-1 "King od the Hill" came out mid-year 1990. It featured the 350 cu in, 32 valve Mercury Marine engine (GM collaborated with Lotus Engineering to design and develop the LT5) rated at 375 HP. I believe it rose to 408 in the last years...
They drove similarly to the '90 L98, which I owned, up to about 4500 RPM when the Tuned Port 350 ran outta steam. Then the LT5 came alive and screamed to the 7200 RPM redline. It was a high 12 second car. We thought it was the new L88, but that didn't really occur, probably to all the power improvements in the following years in all cars.
They drove similarly to the '90 L98, which I owned, up to about 4500 RPM when the Tuned Port 350 ran outta steam. Then the LT5 came alive and screamed to the 7200 RPM redline. It was a high 12 second car. We thought it was the new L88, but that didn't really occur, probably to all the power improvements in the following years in all cars.
It's always bugged me how GM recycles engine nomenclature. I have an LT5 in my 2019, but it has no relation to the Lotus designed, Mercury Marine built LT5.
Would have been quite amazing to see what 32V heads would have done on the LS7…
Let it breathe....
The ZR-1's LT5 used four overhead camshafts making it the first DOHC engine and the first non-pushrod V8 in a Corvette.
As posted earlier, it doubled the price of the car. I've only driven one. Pushrod V8s of the day could have a pretty good torque curve, but 2nd gear (in the 6 speed) seemed to pull forever in comparison. They just lit up at 4,000 rpm! I think top speed was achieved in 5th due to the heavy overdrive 6th gear.
Patman
Staff member
Same with the LT1 in my 2018 Corvette. Not the same as the LT-1 from the 70s or the LT-1 from the 90s.
About 30k more. It has less power than our forced induction Viper ACR, less then our Whir-mobile (Plaid), and it's an automatic. No thanks. I don't care if it is faster around a track than a manual trans, I like to row my own in a sportscar.
Of course when the CPI is factored in, 145k in 2019, is comparable to 178k today. Rampant inflation since the 1st quarter of 2021 ya know.
Maybe I'm old school but a 7-speed manual transmission option on this car would be awesome. Ferrari just recently said they're contemplating bringing the manual transmission option back.
Patman
Staff member
The 6 speed manual would be better than the 7 speed. The 7 speeds makes the gears physically too close together and it’s easy to grab the wrong gear when shifting quickly. But the 6 speed doesn’t have that issue as much
So the 7 speed is like an extended H? Wonder why they don't use a range selector like a semi truck?
We've had ours for a little over a year, no issues finding the desired gear.
It's like two H's side by side. 1st is up and to the left, Reverse is to the right and down.
Thankfully the shifting is a bit slicker than a Roadranger.
Patman
Staff member
What color is your ZR1? Before the ZR1s hit production, GM was doing testing with them along Alligator Alley in Florida and I saw large numbers of them traveling together on multiple trips that I made to Florida back then. It was one of the coolest automotive related experiences of my life!
Just a hint.What color is your ZR1? Before the ZR1s hit production, GM was doing testing with them along Alligator Alley in Florida and I saw large numbers of them traveling together on multiple trips that I made to Florida back then. It was one of the coolest automotive related experiences of my life!
It's @OVERKILL approved.
The LS7 was quite high revving for a pushrod engine (7,000 rpm), The C5/C6/C7 was designed around how compact/low profile the LS/LT engines are. The C8 changed that being mid engine....And now we're seeing DOHC designs
