By checking off RPO Z11 on a 1963 Chevrolet new car order form, you could buy a factory-built racecar. Only 57 people made that choice before GM pulled the plug. Hemmings’ Mike McNessor writes about the rare RPO Z11: CHEVY 427 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT.
She’s so fine my… 427? Clearly not 1960s radio gold. But among Chevrolet W-engine enthusiasts, more poetic words were never written. The 427-cubic-inch Mark I big block was part of the factory-lightweight 1963 Z-11 package built to win rounds in quarter...
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Z-11 Chevy
CHEVY RPO Z-11 427: THE 409 GROWS UP!
A lack of official racing programs at Chevrolet forced Z-11 Chevys from NHRA S/S to A/FX, making them less competitive. Most ended up being match raced.
The handwriting was on the wall in 1962: Chevrolet was in for big trouble on drag strips in 1963. While its 409-inch update of the W-Series 348 held its ground in 1962, Pontiac, Dodge Plymouth and Ford were readying serious assaults the following year that Chevrolet would not be ready for. Enter RPO Z-11, a much-improved 427-inch W-style m...
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