Of the 69 Camaro ZL1s built in 1969, this car, the 60th, has been in the famous Cliff Ernst private collection in Tennessee since 1989. Ernst bought the Camaro in unrestored condition from COPO expert Ed Cunneen and had it restored in 1990 by Joe Towe Classic Car Restorations. Its trip to Kissimmee marks the first time in more than 30 years that the car is being offered for sale to the public. The roots of the legendary ZL1 go back to the no-holds-barred Can Am racing series, when aluminum Chevrolet V-8s powered the likes of Jim Hall’s Chaparrals and the bright orange cars of Team McLaren. Given their success on the track, Chevrolet thought that a street version of the alloy engine would be a natural fit as a Corvette option. The 427 CI ZL1 engine was built using an aluminum block, cylinder heads and intake manifold (all cast at the Winters Foundry), a high-lift mechanical camshaft, giant valves in the open-chamber heads, forged pistons, and a big, fuel-gulping Holley carburetor. Chevrolet rated the engine at 430 HP, though estimates put its real output at anywhere from 525 to 600 HP. When drag racer and Chevrolet dealer Fred Gibb learned about the upcoming Corvette RPO ZL1 engine, he wanted to make them available in the Camaro for racing. No stranger to GM’s Central Office Production Order (COPO) system, Gibb worked with Chevrolet officials to order 50 ZL1-equipped Camaros to meet the NHRA’s production requirements for Super Stock drag racing. In doing so, he and Chevrolet created COPO 9560. In addition to the alloy big-block engine, Camaros ordered under COPO 9560 received Chevrolet’s new ZL2 special ducted hood, a heavy-duty cooling system using a Harrison 4-core curved-neck radiator, transistor ignition, a new BE-code 12-bolt rear end with 4.10 gears, front disc brakes, F70-14 tires and a choice of either a 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission. Gibb got his 50 Camaros, but when word got around among other Chevrolet dealers who wanted in on the action, an additional 19 were ordered. Scuncio Chevrolet, the famed performance dealer in Rhode Island, sold one ZL1, this Fathom Green Camaro, which was one of just 12 equipped with a Muncie M22 Rock Crusher 4-speed transmission and one of 15 fitted with the D80 front and rear spoiler package. As happens with many former drag race cars, this Camaro is now equipped with a correct replacement engine, its block, heads and intake all wearing the Winters Foundry snowflake symbol. The Camaro earned COPO Connection verification in 1991, and it scored very highly at car shows in the early 1990s. Judges at the 1993 Camaro Club of the United States gave it a Gold Award and a score of 983 out of a possible 1,000. A year later at the Chevy VetteFest it did even better, earning 996 points out of 1,000.
