The LT-1 is a Chevrolet small-block engine produced by the Chevrolet division of

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

between 1970 and 1972. It was available exclusively in the

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

and

Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...

and was produced in relatively small quantities. It is regarded today as one of the greatest of the Chevrolet small-blocks, an engine that has been in production since 1955.

History

Chevrolet introduced the LT-1 in 1970, making it available in both the Corvette and Camaro. It was an optional engine in the Corvette, and available as part of the high-performance ZR-1 option. Between 1970 and 1972, only 53 ZRs were produced, making it one of the rarest Corvettes. In the Camaro, the engine was available only through the high-performance Z/28 option, replacing the engine designed to compete in Trans Am racing's class installed in 1967-1969 cars. The LT-1 had an 11.0:1 compression ratio, Holley 4-barrel

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter) is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...

, and solid lifters. For the first year the LT-1 was rated at in the Corvette and in the Camaro, both of these being

brake horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

(bhp) gross hp ratings. Despite the disparity in these horsepower ratings, there was no difference between the engines. In 1971, the compression ratio was decreased to 9.0:1 and horsepower decreased to , then the same in Corvette and Camaro. A net horsepower rating of was also given. In 1972, the rating decreased again, then to a net of . Gross horsepower was not given in 1972. In 1970, a Nova could also be ordered with an LT-1 via a Central Office Production Order (COPO). Fifty of these were ordered by

Don Yenko Donald "Don" Frank Yenko (May 27, 1927March 5, 1987) was an American car dealer and racecar driver best known for creating the Yenko Camaro, a high-performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro. Biography Early life Yenko grew up in Bentleyvill ...

Yenko Chevrolet Yenko Chevrolet was a Chevrolet dealership located at 575 West Pike Street in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Operating from 1949 to 1982, the dealership is best known for selling customized sports cars during the late 1960s. Referred to presently a ...

and were converted into Yenko Deuces. Yenko also converted another 125 L65 Novas into LT-1 Deuces.

Production numbers

* * 25 of these were ordered with RPO ZR1. * ** 8 of these were ordered with RPO ZR1. * *** 20 of these were ordered with RPO ZR1. * **** 50 of these were converted into Yenko Deuces.

1990s "LT1"

In 1992, General Motors introduced the LT1, a high-performance engine based on the Chevy small-block V8 and named as a tribute to the original LT-1. It was offered as a base engine on the C4 Corvette and a variety of other GM vehicles in several states of tune through 1997, including the

Camaro Z/28 The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...

, performance-package

Pontiac Firebird The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile built and produced by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months a ...

s, police interceptors, a number of large luxury cars, and a luxury station wagon. Its maximum performance ratings (as installed in 1996 Corvettes) were and {{convert, 340, lbft, 0, abbr=on, well above the 275 net hp and 255 net hp ratings for the original LT-1 in 1971 and 1972, and the 300 ft lb (est) net torque for 1971 and 280 ft lb net for 1972, but well below the 1970 LT1 gross rating of 360 hp.

References

*Holdener, Richard. "1970 GM 350 Small-Block Engine - Clash of the Small Block Titans." In ''Super Chevy'' Online. 8 June 2010. http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/vemp-1008-1970-gm-350-small-block-engine/. *Koch, Jeff. "COPO Gigio - 1970 Chevrolet Nova." In ''Hemmings Muscle Machines.'' June 2005. *Mattar, George. "1970 Corvette LT-1: Best small-block ever?" In ''Hemmings Motor News''. December 2007. Chevrolet engines V8 engines Gasoline engines by model