Cars We Remember/Collector Car Corner; More 454 memories and an eye candy L89 Camaro 396

By Greg Zyla —

Q: Greg, I forgot to mention when I wrote about my ’70 Chevelle SS454 things like ‘set ignition timing,’ etc. that you did touch on a bit in your reply. Thanks for writing back to me about my car and my amateur restoration-refresh, done in my garage 25 plus years ago. Included were a set of Hooker headers, and I also put a ’68-’69 Camaro / Chevelle aluminum intake on and did not put the flatter ’70 aluminum intake back on. The taller ’68-’69 one gave me more power top end I thought. 

Yes, I hot rodded it for a few years and had a few street races with others at the time. I put a big truck battery in it, solenoid on the inside fender, Holley 850 double pumper, and so on. Then I got bit by the originality bug; maybe from watching Barret-Jackson and attending Corvettes at Carlisle. Since I didn’t hot rod it too much and kept the original parts in the garage, like the square port cast iron exhaust manifolds I could return the vehicle close to stock. I gave all the hot rod parts and Hooker headers to my brother. 

The challenge for me has been running a stock configuration 11.25:1 Compression Ratio vintage car on the street with today’s pump gas. For a while I was mixing race fuel 100+ octane with pump gas. The race fuel was expensive. Reading on the Internet, I learned a lot of tricks they use like special distributor curves, springs, limiting vacuum advance, etc. I got it to where I can run it with 93-octane with just a little ping, only if I get on it. I do not race or beat my car anymore because I have a lot invested in its parts. Since it is a driver, I have been forced to replace some parts with aftermarket because they just wear out, turn yellow, and look crummy, like old tires. 

A fun example is my battery, which is an exact replica of the original Delco battery with the eye and side terminals correct for my car. I enjoy telling people that it is the original battery still turning the car over after 50 years. Some people look at me and say “really?” Other original parts like cam, lifters, rings of course have been replaced. Hardened valve seats are put in the heads to run unleaded fuel. 

I did an engine refresh maybe 15 years ago and have accumulated a small inventory of unique hard to get parts for these GM engines with solid lifters / cams that make lower vacuum. Items like the B28 vacuum advance canister and similar PCV’s, so we’ll not run out of replacements. I learned many of these things from the Corvette guys. Their web chats are so serious about keeping original cars on the street.    

It would be great if you visit some time, see the car, talk, and take a photo. Go for a ride. Maybe we can talk via phone sometime. — Gary, Vestal, N.Y. 

A: Gary, we’ll get together one day and thanks for sending part two of your original letter. Those square port LS6 heads are valuable as opposed to the round port cylinder heads found on the lower performance 454 engines.

Talking about these engines brings back a fond memory as many decades ago, there was a garage in Shamokin on Pine Street where a young mechanic was making his mark on this trade and had to pull a 454 out of a Chevy and replace it with a small block 327 V8. I had stopped to inquire about the 454 and if he wanted to sell it. When I stopped by the next afternoon the young mechanic was totally disgusted, and I inquired what the problem was. He told me the 327 fired right up, but had a nasty shimmy and wobble problem and was undriveable.

I quickly asked him if he used the flywheel from the 454 he took out? His answer was yes, so I informed him that was probably the error as the 454 uses an externally balanced flywheel and harmonic balancer to make the crankshaft run smooth and straight. He changed the flywheel to a 327 unit and everything ran perfectly. He also sold me the 454 for $200 for helping him out. External balancing means adding weights to both the flywheel flexplate and the harmonic balancer to ensure the 4.0-inch stroke crankshaft rotates smoothly. As opposed to internal balancing, which means the weights are built into the crankshaft itself. All factory 454s were externally balanced and sorry for being too technical this week.  

The only small block Chevy that had to use an externally balanced flywheel and harmonic balancer was the 400 cubic inch small block built from 1970 to 1980. So, even though many small block parts are interchangeable, be careful when working with a 400 cubic inch Chevy small block or you could end up with shake, rattle, and roll.  

Thanks again for your letters and I’ll be in touch soon.

1968 396 Camaro Eye Candy

Q: Greg I really enjoy reading your articles about cars. I see your columns in a local paper called Susquehanna County (Pennsylvania) Weekender. I have an issue with the one article about your 1968 Camaro. You mentioned it had a 396/375 HP engine and stated it was an L-79. That is incorrect. The L-79 engines were 327s. You might have meant L-89, which was a 396/375 engine with aluminum heads (I owned a 1969 Camaro Convertible Original matching numbers L-89). Or you could have meant the L-78, which is a 396/375 HP with Cast Iron Heads. An L-79 was not a Big Block. I sold my Camaro to a Friend about four years ago.

I bought my 1969 L89 Camaro in 2001. It looked nice but needed a new restoration as it was restored way back in 1985 and painted the wrong color. I did not have a garage when I bought it, so I had it done elsewhere. The guy who did the restoration did an incredible job. It was a true “Nut and Bolt Rotisserie Restoration” (I attached a few pictures).

My first car was a 1969 396/325hp Camaro, and I wanted another one after I survived Sudden Cardiac Arrest. I was incredibly lucky to have bought the car. The owner didn’t want to sell it, and it took me a month to convince him (to sell). I bought it sight unseen from Arizona. It was a great move on my part.

Keep up those car columns, Greg. I look for them every week. Thanks again. Regards, Bob Tebbenhoff, Susquehanna County, Pa.

A: Bob, as mentioned last week, my 1968 Camaro SS/RS 396/375 car was indeed a code L78, and a dumb mistake by me as I was discussing the L79 small block 327 with my friend the day I was writing my column. (Yes, age is creeping up on me as years ago I would never have made such a boo boo.) I’m going to get many of these L78/L79 letters, but that’s good since then I know people are reading my columns!

My friend’s 1966 Chevelle that I mentioned had an L89 aluminum head engine that he piecemealed together in 1968, as he worked for a Chevy dealership at the time. It was a Butternut yellow Chevelle and perhaps the fastest one in the city with two fours.  

Interesting is that the L89 versus the L78 did not increase the horsepower, but if anyone out there ever lifted a set of Chevy big block heads ready to bolt on, it probably caused several hernias along the way. Even the word “heavy” doesn’t do those heads justice; believe me! 

So, with Chevy offering the L89 aluminum head, which also fit those 427 Chevy’s and Corvettes, you would save about 40 pounds difference per head meaning your car, utilizing two aluminum heads, would now weigh 80 pounds less. During my racing days, I used to see racers putting cinder blocks in their trunks because they were spinning the tires, which I always thought was crazy as weight slows your car down. Reducing weight is the secret to faster elapsed times, so those aluminum Chevy heads are the way to go. Finally, instead of cinder blocks in the trunk, how about buying a set of good slicks?

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader input on collector cars, auto nostalgia or high performance at greg@gregzyla.com or extramile_2000@yahoo.com.)