The Legendary 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1 Convertible

The 1969 Chevrolet ZL-1 Corvette enjoys a mythical status among production Corvettes.

The selection of the RPO ZL-1 option more than doubled the price of a new Corvette, and for that amount the buyer received a 560-horsepower derivative of the all-aluminum CanAm racing engine delivered in a street-legal, factory-built production car.

GM documents on file verify that only two so-equipped cars were produced at the St. Louis assembly plant and delivered through their dealer network. The 1969 RPO ZL-1 was strictly developed as an FIA/NHRA homologation experiment and, in practice, never truly intended for sale to the public.

And yet, on the chilly afternoon of 30 December 1968—John W. Maher of Leechburg, Pennsylvania arrived at Harold Breman’s West Penn Garage, tossed the keys to his trade-in (a 1968 L88 Corvette Convertible), and finished up the purchase paperwork for chassis 194679S710209, the first of these two factory-documented ZL-1 Corvettes. It is the only ZL-1 Convertible built, and—thanks to Maher’s influential friends—the only such Corvette ever sold new to a retail customer.

THE ZL-1: A MONSTER IS BORN

At the heart of the ZL-1 is a lightweight refinement of Chevrolet’s 427-cubic-inch L88 V-8 engine. Featuring an all-aluminum block, stouter connecting rods, a redesigned crankshaft, pistons, larger exhaust valves, a high-lift camshaft, and an upgraded “open chamber” aluminum cylinder-head design with four additional head bolts, the ZL-1 was the most powerful engine Chevrolet had yet created.

Importantly, the “open chamber” head design was not finalized until March 1969, and so the pre-production version of this engine—as originally fitted to 710209—retains “closed chamber” aluminum heads.

Having to first select the $1,032 RPO L88 before adding the $3,000 RPO ZL-1, power-assisted, heavy-duty brakes came standard, as did the heavy-duty suspension package, a Positraction rear axle, and transistorized ignition. The list of what you didn’t get was equally impressive: radio, heater, air conditioning, power windows, and power steering. Even the fan shroud was omitted because it interrupted airflow. At $4,718, the outrageous supplementary price of the all-aluminum ZL-1 package and its required speed accoutrements more than doubled the base price of a new Corvette.

In 2012, the consignor submitted 710209 to Kevin Mackay’s Corvette Repair Inc., of Valley Stream, New York, widely hailed as the world’s foremost restorer of historically significant Corvettes.

Upon disassembly, Mackay and his staff found the car to be remarkably well preserved, and it quickly became evident that its blown engine was thankfully the only damage it had sustained during its racing career. Though not the original unit, the engine currently residing in the car is an extremely early, factory-correct, date-coded, all-aluminum ZL-1 unit.

Refinished in its factory-correct Monaco Orange paint and black vinyl interior, Mackay completed the car in time for the 2014 Bloomington Gold show in Champaign, Illinois. After much scrutinous review of its comprehensive factory documentation, 710209 was awarded Bloomington Gold certification and formally recognized as the first of the two factory-built ZL-1 Corvettes. Now conclusively recognized as “the real deal,” the car has also been a welcome guest at the Glenmoor Gathering, Radnor Hunt Concours, Pinehurst Concours, and special Bloomington Gold exhibits at Charlotte, North Carolina, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In 2018, this ZL-1 Convertible was loaned to the prestigious and internationally acclaimed Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, remaining on display there until very recently.

Wearing an accurate, award-winning restoration from the most highly regarded restorer of historically significant Corvettes, 710209’s exceptional provenance is matched by its incredible performance and unique specifications. Thanks to its extensive factory documentation on file, this is, rather irrefutably, the finest and most unique special-interest production Corvette.

This opportunity represents the first time that a factory ZL-1 has been offered publicly in 30 years and, more importantly, the first time that the ZL-1 Convertible has ever been offered publicly.

This legendary creation offers a truly unrepeatable, once-in-a-lifetime chance to secure the ultimate keystone to any reference-grade collection containing significant examples of “America’s Sports Car.”

[tomhatch]

That's definitely a dream car, once in a life time

[BubbaSmurft]

PLEASE stop putting horrible background music in these videos. You actually started and ran the engine... use THAT as the background music. It's the entire reason the car's rare and different.

[reddawg]

Going to take some seriously deep pockets to get your hands on this one. 3 million minimum but I could see it fetching up to 5 million.

[jshishe]

The music is the engine. Not that garbage playing

[louislazarus]

Here's the best part. The ZL-1 might be rare, BFD. It might have 3000 miles. Whoop-Dee-Doo. Who cares? I've owned my 1969 L-71 427/435 since 1970. It's a pretty fast car. It's still got the same engine with 180, 000 miles and it's never been out of the car. I've ENJOYED over 50 years of driving this car which is what it was built for. A ZL-1 might be worth a lot of money but the fact that the owner didn't get to have any fun for all those years is really sad. Look at what he missed and all for what? So, he'll make a few bucks and then the government will take a big chunk of it and the next guy will probably do the same thing. Why do people worship cars? We're not going to live forever, folks. Is the money "really" that important? This video presenter goes on and on about how nice the car is. My '69 is really, really nice too but it's been used ... and well-maintained. I still enjoy the car and still drive it several times a week. People who WORSHIP cars simply because they are rare is really stupid. You can buy a valuable painting and look at it. That makes perfect sense. Buying a car to "look at" makes no sense unless you live for money and THAT REALLY MAKES NO SENSE. The owner is on oxygen which is so sad. If you think about the history and this guy having THIS CAR and not enjoying it, it almost makes you tear up. Chevrolet is a producer of automobiles. This particular car has an engine that shares the same block as many other Corvettes, including mine. There are some differences of course, but it's still a 427 big block Corvette. It was ordered with an auto trans which in those days nobody did. I'm betting the owner would love to go back in time and drive the hell out of this car and have as much FUN as possible. He probably thinks about that all the time. It just sat there...this awesome machine...waiting to be driven and enjoyed and he didn't do that. This is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

[markmartin]

I have a 71 454 4sd convertible orange, it’s a LS6 clone, I knew one Zl-1 was a yellow car, I didn’t know the other was a orange, I don’t drive my car pretending to be any of the amazing cars that is amazing to me, I own a car that looks identical to these two high dollar classics that I can drive!

[michaeljohnson-hmrr]

"After much scrutinous review of its comprehensive factory documentation, 710209 was awarded Bloomington Gold certification and formally recognized as the first of the two factory-built ZL-1 Corvettes." So Bloomington validated this as one of the original ZL-1 Corvettes that left St. Louis that way and with its original engine?

[bobsmoot]

If memory services me correctly, there were only 2 ZL1 Vettes built

[johnrossi]

I thought there were only 2 and they were both hard tops?

[RayTuttle-ofqd]

I didn’t know they made an orange one I’ve seen 2 one white one yellow the white one may have been a test mule ? Not sure?

[DaveWhoNone]

It’s odd how I’m seeing more an more ZL1 vettes on you tube then where actually produced, lmao.

[joekochan]

The Yellow coupe And The White coupe (black stripe) are the only ones i know of I heard of the ORANGE Convertible as a racer driven by Tony De Lorenzo, Which was wrecked. The White -Black stripe was built for Duntov. so i was told . I owned one of the nicest clones which is now in OHIO. Was Lemans Blue Black stripe.

[neilr]

Pure BS, there was never a ZL 1 convertible. This car used to race with Gulf Oil livery at that time it was supposedly an L88. Documentation Please! Kevin you know better!

[mudnducs]

Sure is a long way from a car a working guy could afford.
Pretty but in the end, unreachable. Meh