Yenko ZL-1 Block

[oldskydog]

Found this today at the local swapmeet. I know the ZL-1 was available from Gm and later from Yenko but I've never seen one as a raw unmachined casting. It's for sale so if anyone is interested I can pass along his phone number.

 

[wristpin]

Doesnt one of the gentlemen here have one of those?

 

[region rat]

After GM quit, I believe Paul Wright and his partner at P&S foundry in Akron did all those. Paul told me they did about 400 of them. He wanted to machine my blocks but after he got about halfway on the first one he had open heart and didn't get strong enough afterwards to finish it. The guy was a wizard. He built an aluminum billet 09 cranks he was testing.
Bob

 

[region rat]

Many of the Pro Stock guys used his blocks. He did 5 or 6 other blocks, including the first Mopar non big block Chevy block for the Wayne county boys.

 

[427John]

Bob, did they put a P&S logo on their blocks? About 35 years ago I saw an unfinished aluminum Boss 429 block that had P&S on the front of one of the cylinder banks. Do you know more backstory on the P&S foundry?

 

[region rat]

Paul Wright and his partner, "S" used that logo on a lot of their stuff. Paul was one of the first guys to modify pistons for using BBC rods for a 409. also an early inovator using BBC cranks to stroke them. He run stock cars around Akron , all with W motors for ages. He tried reverse rotation motors because he thought they would come out of the turns better. Back in the 50's he made tooling and cast an alloy SBC for Chevrolet. He was under the radar so they didn't have to worry about spies.

 

[region rat]

During the Wayne county era, Mopar used a dart BBC block, crank and rods and bolted their B-2 heads on them.

 

[SSpev]

During the Wayne county era, Mopar used a dart BBC block, crank and rods and bolted their B-2 heads on them.

I'd like to see that, Bob.

 

[region rat]

Once in a while you'll see one for sale. They label them P&S block.