|
I recall a Brock Yates Car and Driver piece, circa '70, about a Ford-supplied "road tester" Boss 302 Yates "evaluated"...at Lime Rock Park (IIRC)...in an authentic race!
The Boss and the Z/28, while not exactly competiton-ready from the factories, were pretty decent material to work from...
As fabled as the COPO and Big Block cars may be, I don't recall anyone being "competitive" in sanctioned racing with one of those without some very serious "engineering" and "parts thrashin'". Harrell's efforts with ZL1 #1 only gained prominence after the car become almost unrecognizable from "showroom stock appearance". Grumpy's, the same.
Off the showroom floor, the Z/28 was a damn fine ride...doing anything. No "tricks" required... Ride? No worse than the BBs. Handling? They didn't call it the Hugger for nuthin'. Cost? Less than an SS - L78, with better mpgs and, initially, lower insurance rates. And it would run with/outrun any other juice-cammed Camaro...in any orientation, at any task.
Look at all the "restified" Camaros sold this past weekend @ B-J Vegas. There's a reason more current '69 Camaros wear the Z/28 badge than any other performance "suit"...and that, folks, undeniably, is called HERITAGE.
BTW, re-read the 396-325 hp description above..."boss". Oh really?! Hyperbole at its height...
|