Thread: The mystery continues

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It is the early 1970's and I am working at Chevy Tonn engine plant I.I am assigned to the dyno rm.A prototype all aluminum 454 is brought over from shipping and receiving under heavy security with the full staff of engineers following along.It is at that time the only one ever made.Has all the spec sheets and blue prints with it.It's at the end of my shift and I'm told by one head engineer that tomorrow we'll be setting it up to run tests.It's on a rolling cart and for now they are just going to post a guard at the door and lock up the rm.The dyno rm is as you face the plant is in the far left front corner of the plant and has a fire door with stairs to a side driveway with a locked gate.

The next day I show up for work,and it it is gone!!!.Prints,spec sheets, and engine stolen.Side door lock and gate lock broken.Guards and engineers everywhere.Never found again.

As the weeks went by the rumor in the plant was four guys muscled it out the side door to the back of a pick-up and covered it in a tarp.They got onto I-190 which runs along the Niagara river in front of the plant and then noticed a security Suburban filled with guards getting on I-190 behind them.That they sped up and pulled over thinking the guards where on to them.They pulled over and in a rush to judgement dumped the engine into the river.The guards version was they saw a pick-up with it's four ways on and thought about pulling over to help out,but they where late to pick up their take out lunch and didn't think they had enough time.

Never did find out what really happened or find that one of a kind 454.But if the rumor is true,somewhere in the river in front of the plant is a true only one built 454.

did i ever tell you about the time i went fishing off I-90 it was a ZL1 with 454 pistons and crank not very hard for GM to do or any one if you had deep pockets they had there Reynolds CanAm blocks as well so it very will could of been much bigger

The rumor part of the story is intriguing. We see security people using Suburbans as the vehicle of choice today but did they also use them 40 years ago and being late to pick up their take out lunch during the middle of the night (I assume it was at night considering the shift was ending and the dyno room was being locked down)? Nothing like a good yarn to spin, like the rare old Corvette for sale super cheap because of a dead body found inside and the seller can't get the stink removed!!!!! Gotta love a good mystery.

Mike

in this very small town i worked for a guy that had a nascar mistery engine that when gm took the gloves off i think it was a 427 guy just had a left over intake hanging on the shop wall sold the short block that was in the early 80s .it was some place the stuff that would find it way there he had some very rare stuff

Originally Posted by Mike52

The rumor part of the story is intriguing. We see security people using Suburbans as the vehicle of choice today but did they also use them 40 years ago and being late to pick up their take out lunch during the middle of the night (I assume it was at night considering the shift was ending and the dyno room was being locked down)? Nothing like a good yarn to spin, like the rare old Corvette for sale super cheap because of a dead body found inside and the seller can't get the stink removed!!!!! Gotta love a good mystery.

Mike

Mike-that plant had take out all around it.They lived off us guys and four plants fully staffed.

Pat-I don't know for sure,but I thought Winters Brothers had something to do with this one.

reynolds did cast blocks for Gm how it was done i do not know how you or if you could just buy the block from the down town gm parts man as far as a snow flake block ? the ZL1 block was made by winters . not seen many in my life the donovan is a better block any ways and i have them .seeing how it was a top shelf deal and gm they could of used any toys out of the GM big toy box to build it any way they wanted a ZL1 454 or bigger would of been very EZ as the 427 and 454 had the same bore and rod

Winters built the Cosworth Vega head for GM.Thought it was a English company.Man the things I have forgotten over the yrs.

I don't remember the year---but last part of the 70s--as bigger motors were beginning to be the light at the end of the tunnel--I met 3 of the top GM back room guys at some place (might of been at Ann Arbor or Detroit Drags) I still have the phone number in my old little wallet phone registar(and written on the wall by the garage phone)I ended up with 3 of the first 7 bow tie big blocks----I was building them to the requested 496 size aaaand low and behold wouldn't you you it but I was tired from a long flight and the boring bar slipped on the one that was for me!!!!!it was necessary to go out to 4.560 on the bore size(wasn't any rings available bigger) made it at 522 inches with stock 454 steel crank---one of the first prostockers to run 7 second pass---I still have that block but have sold off all the top parts and bought more modern heads,etc three times to rebuild it but have ended up selling the heads, top end and rotating assy to customers who put them in Dart blocks--back then it was good to know someone at GM and also at perfit circle who would order the wire to make the rings for wierd combos---

Kind of sucked that I never got to run it.Sure would have broke the boredom of what I did day to day.I would set up stock stuff and run a program that ran engines for a hour @ 1,500 RPM and then 4,000 RPM for a hour 24 hrs day until something let go.Then tear it down to send it out to the repairmen for inspection to see what the damages was.

Originally Posted by Mike52

The rumor part of the story is intriguing. Nothing like a good yarn to spin, like the rare old Corvette for sale super cheap because of a dead body found inside and the seller can't get the stink removed!!!!! Gotta love a good mystery.
Mike

i would tell you that that really DID happen while i was working at the junkyard in 1978 with a 25th edition corvette that a fellow bought and died in but i`m tired of people calling me a liar and quoting the myth you speak of so i wont tell you that that DID happen once .. we junked the car out ..

Originally Posted by HOSS429

i would tell you that that really DID happen while i was working at the junkyard in 1978 with a 25th edition corvette that a fellow bought and died in but i`m tired of people calling me a liar and quoting the myth you speak of so i wont tell you that that DID happen once .. we junked the car out ..

Yeah-I posted what happened too.................