Why Chrysler's Engineers Could Not Explain How Chevy's 302 Hunted The Hemi

The Chevrolet DZ 302 from the 1967-69 Camaro Z/28, 302 cubic inches rated at 290 horsepower, and why Chrysler's 426 Hemi could not explain what it did at the strip. Every man who stood in a staging lane in 1968 knew the arithmetic: 426 cubic inches and 425 horsepower against 302 and 290. The version everyone has heard since is that Chevrolet lied about the number. This documentary follows the engine from Vince Piggins' August 1966 memo, written three years after GM banned racing, through Pete Estes' signature, the SCCA's 305-cubic-inch Trans-Am limit, 602 cars in 1967, Penske and Donohue, and Hot Rod's 1969 strip test. And it hears from Gary Halmbacher, a General Motors Institute co-op student at Chevrolet Gear and Axle who bought a new 1969 Z/28 and drove it the way the engine asked. CHAPTERS 0:00 What Did The Spec Sheet Say? 2:54 Why Was The Hemi Owner So Sure? 9:38 Where Did The Hemi Stop Pulling? 13:02 What Is Inside The DZ 302? 23:48 How Did A Race Engine Get Past A Racing Ban? 33:44 What Did The Magazines Conclude? 39:38 What Was The Right Question? SOURCES Hot Rod magazine, Steve Kelly's road test of a stock 1969 Z/28 Car Life magazine, Camaro Z/28 road test Westech Superflow 902 dynamometer test of a DZ 302, published in the performance press Gary Halmbacher, first-hand account of his 1969 Z/28, quoted with his permission Photographs and film are period archive where they exist; some scenes are reconstructed. If you owned one, where did you shift it, and what did it line up against? Watch next: Why Ford's Engineers Could Not Explain How The Chevy Small-Block Weighed 40 Pounds Less    • Why Ford's Engineers Could Not Explain How...   #Z28 #Chevrolet #Hemia