I feel very fortunate and honored to own a 1990 ZR-1. I bought the car 2 months ago, it had been sitting for 4 or 5 years, I am currently going through everything starting at the fuel tank and moving forward. It's complete and no butchering, I plan on bringing her back to her former glory. I don't get how someone can let a car like this just sit. I only paid 5500.00 bucks for her and plan on spending whatever it takes to finish her. These cars are completely underrated, I joined the ZR-1 net registry and those guys have been great, no matter what question I ask I get the answers I need. I can't wait to drive her to some of the events they have. Thank you for posting this incredible story, very cool. 👍👍🏁👍👍
Same, in a secret location i know of theres A run down not running but complete 91 ZR1 sitting. The Owner who just acquired it is getting it running again. not doing anything cosmetic to it, and selling it for just $6,500 its trashed on the inside but if i had the money would have already bought it. I said Who ever let a ZR1 get that way should have his idiot ass kicked, the current owner agrees.
@@howabouthetruth2157 Great, I got her on the road in May 2020 and have driven over 7k trouble free miles. I still have work to do like weatherstripping, seat covers and paint at some point. Mechanically she has been solid. A blast to drive and I'm enjoying putting miles on the clock. I feel like this machine was built to drive not sit in a garage. It sat unloved long enough. C4s catch a lot of crap but it is light years ahead of the C3, I like C3s, owned a 69 454 4 speed. I was intimidated with the LT5 in the beginning but it's not bad to work on and pretty bulletproof. I'm proud to be keeping the beast alive. Humbled, I remember when they came out, way out of my price range, kinda unreal. Thanks for commenting, you can see it on my small channel under my name. Just odds and ends. 👍👍🏁🏁
@@TheMrmmkkpro Sorry I finally noticed your response to me. Thank you, and that's great to hear. I'll visit your channel & check out your ZR1 right now.
i just purchased my fathers red 1990 zr1...it is a california car with ful ground effect and turbine wheels have red accents. its a perfect car thats been sitting for 35 years...
I just bought a 94 ZR1 for $21k with 35,000 miles on it and drove it across the country to get it home. 60 mph in 6th is only 1700 rpm so 180mph would only be 5400. I plan on bringing it up to better than stock performance for around $35k.
My father worked on this project. If you listen the way he told it, he basically thought it all up on his own (probably not). You can see him in the group photo from 0:26 - 0:29 back row last person on the right, Peter V Mills. I was there for these interviews, which took place in various parts of Jay Leno’s Garage in the early 2010’s, who was the owner of the red EDS ZR-1 at the time. Unfortunately, my father’s interview wound up on the cutting room floor and is only in that picture at the beginning of this documentary. My father may not have been a household name but he rub shoulders with everyone. He even worked with Carroll Shelby during the Dodge/Chrysler years. One of my earliest prime memories is walking around a huge building (a hanger in Whittier CA) with all these cool cars (cobra’s and mustang’s) and while I was staring at one this huge man in a Cowboy hat (Carroll Shelby) came over and kneeled down next to me and with a huge smile on his face asked if I’ll like a ride in this car (which turned out to be his first cobra, the prototype) and he drove me around his test track out back the hanger. I had no idea at the time who he was, but I would see Carroll all the time at chili cook off’s and he even paid for my hospital visit when he inadvertently help me find out i had asthma at 7 by stirring up dust at his cook off when he flew his helicopter in and triggered my first asthma attack. Things like that happened a lot as cars and racing was my dad’s passion (even more than his family) and he was good friends with the Bondurant’s, Carradine’s, and Andretti’s. I grew up hanging out around all these people while dad worked and hung out with their kids and just thought it was normal, until i got older and realized they were all legends in their own rights. My father was diagnosed with Dementia a few years ago, and has all but forgotten his life outside of his daily routine these days, but when I showed him this documentary, he triggered and was talking about it for hours. Just wanted to share his and my experiences a little bit here. Thanks for reading this, and thanks for sharing this documentary.
Awesome stories. I really enjoyed reading about your personal experiences with your dad and all of these other great men. Thank you for taking the time to share them with us, and best wishes for you & your family.
Great video. The ZR-1 was the king of the hill and one of the best cars of the C4 Generation. Thanks for posting this video of the ZR-1 and the LT5 and its mark on Corvette racing heritage and history
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I'm very proud to own a 1993 ZR1. Truly an amazing performance car even by today's standards. Long live the "King of The Hill"
Corvette, breaking records, establishing new ones, amassing accolades and racing victories, making automotive history since the early 1950s. nothing compares.
So stock Supras are now selling for 50-75k thanks to a movie about kids who were competing to see who could paint their car the most hideous color... Yet I can pick up a mint C4 ZR1 for 25k? Doesn't make much sense. I guess bullshit sells...What an amazing car (and story), then and now.
@@aleksihh6354 stock for stock my c5 beats supras all day long but the 2j isnt nothing to sleep on if its been modified just look up the quality engineering and design of the 2jz, they to hold many world records as well!
Supras can be tuned to pretty high hp numbers on the stock block. They are way more rare in 6 speed than a C4 Corvette. ZR-1 would be embarassed easily by a lightly modified Supra.
@@bdbeckstrand And what's your point? You can modify anything to "easily embarrass" a stock something else. The Supra was a really cool car but the bottom line is the ZR1 was a better car in every performance metric. The Supra was "rare" because they were shitty sellers so they stopped making them. And that's why after almost 70 years Corvettes are still made today by GM, not BMW.
As far as I’m concerned, the C4 ZR-1 STILL holds the world record speed endurance for a production car. The VW W12 was a one-off PROTOTYPE that never went into production. Many Le Mans racers can break the production car record but they too do not comply with the regulations of NEEDING to be a production vehicle. Long live the King !!
What an amazing and crazy thing this was. It's one of my favorite Corvette stories. Check out the May 2017 issue of Vette Vues. My story about this Corvette starts on page 68. Thanks for posting the video! - K. Scott Teeters
I know I'm very late finding this video and your comment. Here it is, 5 yrs later, and most of us don't have the ability to read the article with your own personal story. Any chance you can share it with us here? I know it's a lot to ask. Either way, thanks in advance.
C4's Forever! Makes me want to go out and wash my '85. The Escort Showroom Stock endurance series was really the mill where GM beat the bugs out of the Corvette. It took a couple of years, but running 24 hours on a road course got to be routine for the L98 car. That engine was all done making power by 4800 rpm, and couldn't be hurt at 240 HP. I used to buy brake components from Morrison-Cook Motorsports for my '85 in the early 90's, and was doing about 20 track days a year with it. The Corvette has always given good performance for the money, and I can reinforce that by saying I passed a lot of higher pedigreed, newer, and more expensive cars on track with my C4 right up to 2015, when I ran it at COTA. I had a good run with a McLaren 720S on the track, and the owner sought me out in the pits and said of all the cars on track, mine took the longest for him to catch and pass.
It should be mentioned that the previous 40-year-old record was set by Ab Jenkins. He was the man who built the Mormon Meteor and he was the driver of the Mormon Meteor. One driver - one car - 24 hours. This Corvette team’s achievement is honorable but, in my mind, Ab Jenkins still holds the record.
I wonder what the L98 had done. In stock trim they usually struggled to get past ~155MPH and that result shows 170MPH for 6 hours. Pretty darn good for how “regular” it is compared to the LT5.
24 HOURS STRAIGHT @ 175 MPH ... NOTHING IN THE UNIVERSE HAS TOPPED IT YET TO THIS DAY ... ENOUGH SAID !! ** mercury now in present day has the marinized (LT5 lotus similar) version in a 1750 HP Rating ! GOD Bless
I feel very fortunate and honored to own a 1990 ZR-1. I bought the car 2 months ago, it had been sitting for 4 or 5 years, I am currently going through everything starting at the fuel tank and moving forward. It's complete and no butchering, I plan on bringing her back to her former glory. I don't get how someone can let a car like this just sit. I only paid 5500.00 bucks for her and plan on spending whatever it takes to finish her. These cars are completely underrated, I joined the ZR-1 net registry and those guys have been great, no matter what question I ask I get the answers I need. I can't wait to drive her to some of the events they have. Thank you for posting this incredible story, very cool. 👍👍🏁👍👍
Same, in a secret location i know of theres A run down not running but complete 91 ZR1 sitting. The Owner who just acquired it is getting it running again. not doing anything cosmetic to it, and selling it for just $6,500 its trashed on the inside but if i had the money would have already bought it. I said Who ever let a ZR1 get that way should have his idiot ass kicked, the current owner agrees.
A very belated CONGRATS on acquiring one of these legendary cars. Hope ya get this message. If so, how are things going with the car today???
@@howabouthetruth2157
Great, I got her on the road in May 2020 and have driven over 7k trouble free miles. I still have work to do like weatherstripping, seat covers and paint at some point. Mechanically she has been solid. A blast to drive and I'm enjoying putting miles on the clock. I feel like this machine was built to drive not sit in a garage. It sat unloved long enough. C4s catch a lot of crap but it is light years ahead of the C3, I like C3s, owned a 69 454 4 speed. I was intimidated with the LT5 in the beginning but it's not bad to work on and pretty bulletproof. I'm proud to be keeping the beast alive. Humbled, I remember when they came out, way out of my price range, kinda unreal.
Thanks for commenting, you can see it on my small channel under my name. Just odds and ends. 👍👍🏁🏁
@@TheMrmmkkpro Sorry I finally noticed your response to me. Thank you, and that's great to hear. I'll visit your channel & check out your ZR1 right now.
i just purchased my fathers red 1990 zr1...it is a california car with ful ground effect and turbine wheels have red accents. its a perfect car thats been sitting for 35 years...
Love my 1990 Red ZR-1 with 23,000 on it Sooo fun to drive!
The L98 Vette did a damn good job also!!
I just bought a 94 ZR1 for $21k with 35,000 miles on it and drove it across the country to get it home. 60 mph in 6th is only 1700 rpm so 180mph would only be 5400. I plan on bringing it up to better than stock performance for around $35k.
It doesn't have the power to pull 180 in 6th. 5th gear is the top speed gear.
This is still very impressive 30 years later! I'm still amazed. I'd consider myself blessed to be a part of that team. Major achievement!!
You can have my ZR-1 when you pry it from my cold dead hands....soooooo under rated and still embarrassing new cars
My father worked on this project. If you listen the way he told it, he basically thought it all up on his own (probably not). You can see him in the group photo from 0:26 - 0:29 back row last person on the right, Peter V Mills.
I was there for these interviews, which took place in various parts of Jay Leno’s Garage in the early 2010’s, who was the owner of the red EDS ZR-1 at the time. Unfortunately, my father’s interview wound up on the cutting room floor and is only in that picture at the beginning of this documentary.
My father may not have been a household name but he rub shoulders with everyone. He even worked with Carroll Shelby during the Dodge/Chrysler years.
One of my earliest prime memories is walking around a huge building (a hanger in Whittier CA) with all these cool cars (cobra’s and mustang’s) and while I was staring at one this huge man in a Cowboy hat (Carroll Shelby) came over and kneeled down next to me and with a huge smile on his face asked if I’ll like a ride in this car (which turned out to be his first cobra, the prototype) and he drove me around his test track out back the hanger.
I had no idea at the time who he was, but I would see Carroll all the time at chili cook off’s and he even paid for my hospital visit when he inadvertently help me find out i had asthma at 7 by stirring up dust at his cook off when he flew his helicopter in and triggered my first asthma attack.
Things like that happened a lot as cars and racing was my dad’s passion (even more than his family) and he was good friends with the Bondurant’s, Carradine’s, and Andretti’s. I grew up hanging out around all these people while dad worked and hung out with their kids and just thought it was normal, until i got older and realized they were all legends in their own rights.
My father was diagnosed with Dementia a few years ago, and has all but forgotten his life outside of his daily routine these days, but when I showed him this documentary, he triggered and was talking about it for hours.
Just wanted to share his and my experiences a little bit here. Thanks for reading this, and thanks for sharing this documentary.
Awesome stories. I really enjoyed reading about your personal experiences with your dad and all of these other great men. Thank you for taking the time to share them with us, and best wishes for you & your family.
Awesome story man!!
Great video. The ZR-1 was the king of the hill and one of the best cars of the C4 Generation. Thanks for posting this video of the ZR-1 and the LT5 and its mark on Corvette racing heritage and history
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I'm very proud to own a 1993 ZR1. Truly an amazing performance car even by today's standards. Long live the "King of The Hill"
Corvette, breaking records, establishing new ones, amassing accolades and racing victories, making automotive history since the early 1950s. nothing compares.
I owned one. 1994 white with red black inside. Best car ive ever had
So stock Supras are now selling for 50-75k thanks to a movie about kids who were competing to see who could paint their car the most hideous color... Yet I can pick up a mint C4 ZR1 for 25k? Doesn't make much sense. I guess bullshit sells...What an amazing car (and story), then and now.
sidefx996 totally agree. The ZR-1 is much more badass than any supra
@@aleksihh6354 stock for stock my c5 beats supras all day long but the 2j isnt nothing to sleep on if its been modified just look up the quality engineering and design of the 2jz, they to hold many world records as well!
Supras can be tuned to pretty high hp numbers on the stock block. They are way more rare in 6 speed than a C4 Corvette. ZR-1 would be embarassed easily by a lightly modified Supra.
@@IZE83L Well these were actual recorded FIA World Records, not the stupid TH-cam "world records" they hand out to everything and everyone.
@@bdbeckstrand And what's your point? You can modify anything to "easily embarrass" a stock something else. The Supra was a really cool car but the bottom line is the ZR1 was a better car in every performance metric. The Supra was "rare" because they were shitty sellers so they stopped making them. And that's why after almost 70 years Corvettes are still made today by GM, not BMW.
I love the ZR-1 so under appreciated, under rated, and what a great value for a used Corvette. This video is so fun to watch history being made.
A fantastic achievement...long live the king of the hill 👍
"One thing about it, it couldn't have been done if it hadn't been a Chevrolet. That's for sure." - Tommy Morrison aka Daddy
As far as I’m concerned, the C4 ZR-1 STILL holds the world record speed endurance for a production car.
The VW W12 was a one-off PROTOTYPE that never went into production.
Many Le Mans racers can break the production car record but they too do not comply with the regulations of NEEDING to be a production vehicle.
Long live the King !!
C4 haters won't like this...
This video never gets old.
Oh, so that's what it was. I just thought it as another C4 Vette that was entering circuit racing. That's incredible!
What an amazing and crazy thing this was. It's one of my favorite Corvette stories. Check out the May 2017 issue of Vette Vues. My story about this Corvette starts on page 68. Thanks for posting the video! - K. Scott Teeters
I know I'm very late finding this video and your comment. Here it is, 5 yrs later, and most of us don't have the ability to read the article with your own personal story. Any chance you can share it with us here? I know it's a lot to ask. Either way, thanks in advance.
C4's Forever! Makes me want to go out and wash my '85. The Escort Showroom Stock endurance series was really the mill where GM beat the bugs out of the Corvette. It took a couple of years, but running 24 hours on a road course got to be routine for the L98 car. That engine was all done making power by 4800 rpm, and couldn't be hurt at 240 HP. I used to buy brake components from Morrison-Cook Motorsports for my '85 in the early 90's, and was doing about 20 track days a year with it. The Corvette has always given good performance for the money, and I can reinforce that by saying I passed a lot of higher pedigreed, newer, and more expensive cars on track with my C4 right up to 2015, when I ran it at COTA. I had a good run with a McLaren 720S on the track, and the owner sought me out in the pits and said of all the cars on track, mine took the longest for him to catch and pass.
Tommy Morrison was a great corvette representative. One of the nicest guys I ever met, and was a great source of certain C4 corvette parts.
** unbelievable !! ... record still not broken as of today 4/15/2023 ! ... GOD Bless
Great video! Thank you
What a great feat! Surely a thumbs up for Chevrolet.
Nice video
It should be mentioned that the previous 40-year-old record was set by Ab Jenkins. He was the man who built the Mormon Meteor and he was the driver of the Mormon Meteor. One driver - one car - 24 hours. This Corvette team’s achievement is honorable but, in my mind, Ab Jenkins still holds the record.
Pretty awesome. I sometimes wonder if the LT5 got looked down upon by hardcore GM guys because it was not a push rod small block V8.
from a younger(32) pushrod V8 fan.... I personally love the idea of a DOHC V8....and would love to see a new version in the mid-engine corvette
My favorite vette till this day...from childhood to 46.I hope to find one with low mileage and the last year of it...gonna be a hard expensive find.
I wonder what the L98 had done. In stock trim they usually struggled to get past ~155MPH and that result shows 170MPH for 6 hours. Pretty darn good for how “regular” it is compared to the LT5.
Drove my '87 L98 at top speed lots of times, it would never go over 155 MPH on stock trim.
What was the BHP race spec of the 1995 IMSA SCCA snakeskinner No. 93 blue white grand sport ??
Story of all new vettes everything is just good enough
Chevy should go to IMS and do this with the Z51 and Z06
I wonder how a C8 would perform?!
24 HOURS STRAIGHT @ 175 MPH ... NOTHING IN THE UNIVERSE HAS TOPPED IT YET TO THIS DAY ... ENOUGH SAID !!
** mercury now in present day has the marinized (LT5 lotus similar) version in a 1750 HP Rating ! GOD Bless
UM..THEY NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK AND BUILD MY C8 ORDER!!! ASAP....BEFORE EASTER WOULD BE AWESOME...(WISHFULL THINKING, I KNOW)