1966 Corvette: The King of Cool - 1966 Chevrolet

By Paul Zazarine
August 2006

1966 Corvette

The King of Cool
1966 Chevrolet
By Paul Zazarine
August 2006 Page: 26

Forty years ago it didn’t get much cooler than this Ermine White 1966 427 Corvette roadster. Packing 390 horsepower from 427 cubic inches and mated to a Muncie close ratio four speed, a ’66 Corvette was capable of a quarter-mile blast in excess of 102mph and 0 to 60 in less than six seconds. Few muscle cars of the day could keep up with the “King of Cool.”

Corvette had transitioned very nicely in just three years from offering only small block power to the behemoth big blocks of 396 cubic inches. Right up until it was retired in 1965, the Corvette L84 327 with Rochester fuel injection was producing 375 horsepower. That stood as the pinnacle of Corvette performance until 1965, when the L78 396 cubic inch V8 was introduced with its mind blowing 425 horsepower (the engine was initially advertised at 450 horsepower but that number changed early in the model year). Amazingly enough, the performance chasm between the two engines was remarkably narrow. Road & Track tested both the L84 and the L78 in separate issues and in comparison, it’s surprising how well the high revving small block performed against its cast iron big brother. The L84 only spotted the L78 3/10 of a second, but lost it in trap speed by up to five mph.

Forty years ago it didn’t get much cooler than this Ermine White 1966 427 Corvette roadster.

Packing 390 horsepower from 427 cubic inches and mated to a Muncie close ratio four speed, a ’66 Corvette was capable of a quarter-mile blast in excess of 102mph and 0 to 60 in less than six seconds.

Few muscle cars of the day could keep up with the “King of Cool.” Corvette had transitioned very nicely in just three years from offering only small block power to the behemoth big blocks of 396 cubic inches.

Right up until it was retired in 1965, the Corvette L84 327 with Rochester fuel injection was producing 375 horsepower. That stood as the pinnacle of Corvette performance until 1965, when the L78 396 cubic inch V8 was introduced with its mind blowing 425 horsepower (the engine was initially advertised at 450 horsepower but that number changed early in the model year).

Amazingly enough, the performance chasm between the two engines was remarkably narrow. Road & Track tested both the L84 and the L78 in separate issues and in comparison, it’s surprising how well the high revving small block performed against its cast iron big brother. The L84 only spotted the L78 3/10 of a second, but lost it in trap speed by up to five mph.

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