Some years back, a German classic car magazine issued a simple challenge: drive your prized classic car at least 500 miles, document the trip, and possibly win a prize. A German Corvette enthusiast named Markus was more than up to the challenge. What followed was an epic journey spanning five countries and thousands of miles.
He posted the video under his YouTube handle “Zuendler1980”. He has several other videos chronicling his travels. This one is simply a “best of” compilation. In the video, Markus takes us through the winding Alpine mountain roads of Germany, Austria, Italy, France, and Switzerland. The scenery is breathtaking, albeit a bit scary at times, what with those sheer drops and no guardrails.
Markus’ car was originally equipped with the 427 cubic inch LS5 engine, backed by the factory 4-speed Muncie. On this trip, he was running a tri-power 454. Sometime after the this video was made, he yanked the 454 and installed a ZZ502 crate engine. He has a complete photo gallery of his travels, and of the Vette’s complete restoration, on his website Zuendler.com. He also has an online store where interested parties can bid on his surplus Corvette items.
In the meantime, enjoy the ride!
European cars sure do make Camrys and Corollas look exciting and colorful. Here’s your white econobox, peasant!
Fun video. I’d do the same if I had a classic car to drive. 🙂
The only music necessary was hearing that big block sing through those Hooker sidepipes; anything else was a distraction from the sounds and sights. Beautiful car in beautiful settings, life gets probably no better then this. It also points out to what a dynamic car this was and remains. Unforgettable.
What makes people think that anytime there’s an automotive-related theme in a film or video that heavy metal is the perfect accompaniment? Maybe I’d like to hear some Jazz or maybe no music at all…
It seems that this happens on all of these car shows on Velocity channel and even random car product commercials. Enough already! Sheesh!
I agree. I prefer jazz or light for road trips than heavy metal.
Perhaps because a big block Vette IS the automotive equivalent of heavy metal- brash, loud, macho, slightly crude, and totally in your face. 🙂
^^^ THIS. But while Markus’ tunes are far from what I’d call heavy metal….Some AC/DC, Clutch, Amon Amarth, Scorpions, Led Zep…perfect for some hammer down asphalt punishing freeway bombing. Different strokes, and such. My choices in vehicles reflect that. If I was a broughammy or Euro luxury fan…then Id prolly be into jazz and such also.
Agreed. Distorted power chords = V8. The two compliment each other perfectly.
HOWEVER I don’t want to listen to someone else’s sound track like this, i’m as picky about music as I am cars. I’d rather watch the video dry, if not open another tab with my own soundtrack in the background.
I agree. I can imagine listening to groups like Led Zeppelin, man. Metallica, AC/DC, etc. I’m not a big fan of Metallica or AC/DC, but just thinking about this car driving through the Alps, top off, I can’t help but think about groups like that blaring through the stereo speakers. Awesome! 🙂
I agree with XR7 Matt’s statement. I’m not going to argue that a big block Chevy isn’t the aural equivalent of heavy metal, but I’d really rather not hear a soundtrack. Certain songs have certain emotions and memories tied up in them, and I don’t necessarily want to incorporate them into something as awesome as this video.
I associate heavy metal more with the 3rd or 4th owner of this car. The guy in 1982 who was certain he’d just picked up a dream machine, he would just have to fix it up…
Just for a data point my old man bought a new big block Stingray. And he’s into folk music and classical.
He’s never owned anything ‘muscular’ ever since but we’ll pry the stick-shift out of his cold dead fingers.
So is liking the cars and the music more about having some sort of emotional connection with them or is it all just part of a “personal brand” marketing scheme? I get what Christopher means, and agree with him, but I don’t really see the correlation when it comes to personal preference. What does one have to do with the other, unless you’re just picking a sort of image you want to portray and then filling in the blanks?
I’m OK with background music in videos like this… sometimes, anyway. If I was picking a soundtrack for a ’69 ‘vette it would almost certainly be something from 1969. The music in this one is like the public domain stock tracks that come pre-loaded with audio editing software, so I don’t really see the point!
Im not sure what youre getting at, Sean. Im sure there ARE some people who will latch onto an ‘image’ and suffer thru a few things they don’t particularly like in order to support it. That’s not me. Im pretty consistent in my tastes. Cars, music, clothes, ladies, food, etc. Im sure a few suprises are there for people who look on the surface, but by and large subtlety isn’t really my bag.
No, no, I’m not saying you don’t actually like it, I’m saying it seems like putting the cart before the horse; “My choices in vehicles reflect [preference for heavy metal]. If I was a broughammy or Euro luxury fan then I’d probably be into jazz and such” suggests these things are curated to fit a personality rather than the other way around. If that’s the case, I’m not even criticizing it – everyone’s identity is at least partially tied up in these sort of preferences. It seems backwards to me, but for all I know I’m in the minority on that. A lot of people seem to really latch onto one specific type of car with maybe a passing interest in other cars in general, which is kinda the same thing, I think.
Take flowmotion’s dad as a counter to that view. He loved his big block Vette, but he also liked folk music and classical. I seriously doubt he actively decided to be “the guy who likes badass Vettes but also has a soft side”, he probably just happened to like those things.
Being where he is, Rammstein would be appropriate music.
This song. GASOLINE.
Matt Monro – On days like these – somehow seems perfect!
KJ in Oz
Agree on those pipes! They look cool and sound even better.
*VERY* nice ! .
Too bad there was music .
You alls need to come Way Out West ~ we have lots and lots of placed like this , google (?) No Frills iron Bottom Motoring Tour , Targa California , The Drive That Shall Not Be named , on and on….
I love driving my vintage vehicles (all of them) on roads like this , the scenery is terrific .
We don’t have touch the sky Alps but we *do* have narrow twisty roads like this .
-Nate
Zuendler thoughtfully gives us some unadulterated 454 sidepipe sounds in the middle of the video. Mmmmm.
When I was in high school a friend had a ’69 Corvette. It was red. It had curves. I was in love.
BTW, the money he must have spent on fuel for that thing. Yikes!
+1 On the fuel costs.
On the other hand- any guy who can afford to purchase a valuable vintage car in the USA, ship it to Western Europe, completely restore it, swap engines twice, and drive it through five countries isn’t exactly hurting for cash.
Yes ;
In 1972 a guy I was friends with decided he just _had_ to have a Corvette so he went to the local Corvette Junk Yard and picked out a body , an engine , a front end and some seats and for $3,200 (IIRC) he had (they assembled and painted for him) a 1968 Corvette convertible (with the removable hard top) with 350 V-8 and four speed tranny , all painted in medium blue .
It took a while to make it run right (missing plug wire heat shields) but it was always fun car and I enjoyed riding in it , he never allowed me to drive it except locally .
Watching this cool video kinda sorta makes me want to buy one of those cheap four speed Corvettes that littler the landscape anywhere in America and see how much I like it ….
-Nate
Was his name… POOTIE?! Sounds like “the CLEEPA” to me:
Interestingly , we called him ” Snake Pit ” as he like me , had pet rattlsnakes .
His name was Edward Forrest Meeks , he never got over his wife leaving him and drank him self to death a few years later =8-( .
-Nate
(yes , _that_ ‘ Forrest ‘)
The first couple years of C3 will always be a quintessential Corvette for me. It’d be hard to kick one outta my driveway.
I did a slightly shorter version of this trip a few years ago, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein. Unfortunately I drove a rented Fiat rather then a classic sports car, at least it was a 5-speed. Hit a lot of rain, but it was still a great drive. And by staying in small hotels in tiny villages and eating where the locals do I didn’t spend a fortune.
Early C3’s are still the sexiest Vettes. Nice.
You write, “The scenery is breathtaking, albeit a bit scary at times, what with those sheer drops and NO GUARDRAILS (emphasis mine).”
In 1984, after getting married, my wife and I invited her family on the East Coast to visit us and attend a Chinese wedding banquet in San Francisco. As a sightseeing treat, I took them on a scenic tour of the Bay Area. It was in a Ford Country Squire, a big, white-and-DiNoc woodgrain Panther station wagon with facing rear compartment seats.
At sunset, we timed perfectly the visit to the Marin Headlands, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge with The City in the background. It’s a familiar scene, featured on hundreds of TV commercials and photographs, but one I never tire of. However, some of these East Coasters were horrified that the road that wound along the face of a cliff HAD NO GUARD RAILS!
“NO GUARD RAILS!! WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE! AAARRRGGGHHHHH!”
Wimps…don’t they know that cars have steering?
I for one actually would feel safer if there were more rail-less winding roads…driven by people in sports/muscle cars with manual transmissions. You just gotta be on your game here. A kid-packed minivan with a soccer mom screaming at them and texting going down the road….THATS a deathtrap.
The Mt. Washington Auto Road in New Hampshire does not have guardrails. One of the few times in my life I’ve been terrified behind the wheel…though my fear of heights was a large part of that…
+1 ! I was ok most of the drive up as a passenger until my friend did two dumb things.
He told me about the ’30s vintage Pontiac over the edge of the road and him grabbing his cell phone every 30 seconds as his wife insisted on texting him.
I promptly took the phone out of his hand and threatened bodily harm.
I agree that responsible and prudent driving can avert disaster in most cases.
HOWEVER- all it takes is one patch of black ice, a momentary lapse of concentration, a drunk / speeding idiot plowing into you, or a sudden mudslide to really ruin your day. All that you can really do is drive at a sensible speed, make sure that your tires and brakes are up to the task, wear your seatbelt, and PAY ATTENTION. For the rest, you’re at the mercy of God, nature, and other drivers.
After reading and watching many articles on Bolivia’s infamous “Death Road”, I was shocked but not so shocked by something. Many of the deaths and injuries were due to the fact that people were often speeding and drunk, and many of those rickety old trucks and buses that met their end were both poorly maintained and severely overloaded- a lethal combination.
Oh boy, seeing those Alpine roads reminds me of my visit to Germany back in the late 1970’s. My cousin had a Volvo 144 DL(?) that we took on a day trip to some other relatives’ house way the hell up the mountain. I think we’re somehow related to most of Bavaria… I remember looking down those hills and thinking if he makes one wrong move, it’s a looooong way down.
I’ve driven a 1969 Corvette occasionally, those things feel huge on the road here, I can’t imagine what they’re like on those cow paths they casually call roads over there. That old Volvo of my cousins felt too wide for most of those roads, considering we were battling for room with Fiat 500s an Audi 50s.
I can’t imagine how much this guy paid in fuel costs, either. What is it over there, about $10/gallon equivalent of here in the USA? I saw a shot of his tach as he was going up some hill, 65 MPH at 3500 RPM. You figure, you may have 500 HP, but you can rarely put down that much power for very long. Keeping it in the intermediate gears like you need for ascents and descents on mountain roads like that must suck down the fuel at an astronomical rate.
OTOH, I sure wouldn’t mind trying it, though! I’d prefer a late C4, something with fuel injection and a nice six speed trans. Or something, almost anything with a turbo. The new Mustang EcoBoost 2.3L turbo with 300 hp and a nice six speed trans. Or something that would fit in that environment, like a Fiat 500 Abarth…
Regarding fuel prices. I don’t know about other Euro countries, but in my country the answer is an aftermarket dual or full LPG system. Carburetor or injection engine, both is possible.
LPG, per liter, is less than half the price of regular gasoline; the fuel consumption is a bit higher though. Availability is perfect here, but certainly not in other countries.
An LPG system in US V8 pickups is standard equipment, often a US Impco system. The tank is either in the front of the cargo bed or somewhere under the cargo bed, so chassis-mounted.
My brother runs his 1977 CJ7 304 on LPG. Full time (although it has a dual system) since 2000. An Impco system, works great.
Great video. Better trip. It’s always great to see a car used as a car not a shrine. It’s such a shame to see so many collectible and “classic” cars only driven a few days a year and for short distances. I’ve never had a valuable old car so I guess I shouldn’t criticize any one for wanting to protect their investment. Still many collectibles cost about as much as their modern counterpart. For example a 70 Mustang Mach One is somewhere in the mid thirties which is comparable to a new GT. And there’s no more depreciation in an old car. We’ve got some great roads and beautiful scenery out here on the West Coast. Let’s try to drive our cars more. There’s always triple A.
It pains me how affordable some of those cars were in my childhood(some were already inflated of course) and how the values exponentially skyrocketed on them one by one as I got closer and closer to driving age and now where I could afford one had they cost the same as say 1995. Now I’d have to get new car financing if I ever wanted one that isn’t a basketcase, but without any new car warranty or anything, and more often than not nowadays you’re at the mercy of the restorer’s thuroughness in how well the car is put together.
IMO most of this American iron is so simple and universal it’s stupid not to drive them, many wear parts are still available over the counter at your local napa and repopped panels are everywhere. It’s not like these are Ferrari GTOs, even if some egotistical assholes with more money than brains pays Ferrari GTO money for them
I so agree. I’ve always liked classic cars, of all kinds, as long as it runs, but how much they run today is just insane! I couldn’t afford a nice big block Corvette if my life depended on it.
First of all, I love that car. To me the third generation Corvette, through ’77 (I never liked the bubble back window) were some of the most beautiful cars ever made. Some might call them overstyled, and compared to most cars they were. But that outrageous look is what makes them so attractive to me. I used to own an orange ’77. It was a hege money pit, and I did not have a garage at the time, and no alternative form of transportation, or I would have kept it.
But while I believe cars were meant to be driven, I would never have done what this guy did. Some cars are simply to rare and valuable to treat that way. It has very little to do with the financial value. To me these cars are priceless. Only so many were made, and there will never be any more. When one gets destroyed, it cannot be replaced.
Great video. Being the civil engineer state DOT road geek that I am I can only assume the legal environment is very very very different over there.
Expecting the nut behind the wheel to actually take responsibility and drive with prudence is a refreshing concept.
When you are bitching about the cost of your roads and bridges, remember that the government who owns them gets sued more than just about anyone. This costs you the taxpayer a fortune in complying with BS fishing for dirt FOIA requests, legal defense (experienced Range Rover driving trial lawyers cost us the same as you), and road policies forced beyond what funding levels can practically pay for to try to minimize lawsuits.
Well said!!!
Sincerely,
Civil Engineer too!
I am a fan of C3’s styling, and early C3’s performance. Wondering C3’s value will enjoy what’s happening to C2s.
The guy driving the Corvette either knew the road(s) he was driving on or he had a GPS nav. to help guide him along.
Had a 75 ragtop. I was pretty happy with it and, in fact, it was only sold due to a growing family. I had a 350. I feel so inadequate…..
Nice roads He really had a great cruise at an unhurried pace, could done without the music though I’d rather just hear the soundtrack from the exhausts.
I drove quite a bit of this tour – Milan to Interlaken and back, two different routes – with my pop in 2007 in a a Seat Leon. What a trip! I couldn’t imagine doing it in a Vette. Those roads are TIGHT. The Leon got like 46 mpg too
On my drive home tonight, I passed a Corvette garage that I’d never noticed before, in a grimy industrial part of town. Just under the huge CORVETTE sign, slightly smaller letters spelled “Race Street Rally”. I never thought I’d see the word “Rally” in a Corvette context. But these European Vette adventures come close.
Seeing the cows on the road reminded me of a trip I took over Klausen Pass in Switzerland in 2001. It was fogged out with about a car and a half visibility, We had to lean out the windows to push the cows out of the way …
KJ in Oz
GREAT video… wish I could do this!! I’d be happy with any car, and an early C3 ‘vette would do just fine. The later ones I’m not into so much, but this one is a beaut (even with the sidepipes, which I’m also not the biggest fan of).
Haven’t seen the video yet but it does make me happy that I was able to do a much more modest road trip last weekend to the Bathurst 12 Hour race mostly by small back roads. A wide variety of scenery too from seemingly endless ironed-flat plains to meandering through rolling hills. Quite a few cows on the road too! Or the Long Paddock as it is known to the drovers. Sorry I can’t share the photos from my memories.
It would have been better in an old car too, so much better to have another companion on your travels rather than a modern transport appliance.
Theres some nice driving roads in the central west staying off the Newel or the coast road heading south from QLD is a nice trip.
Reminds me of driving into Kings Canyon NP from Sequoia NP on a guardrail-less winding canyon road with fallen chunks of rock in the road in a rental Impala LTZ with a nervous wife and bored daughter… FUN TIMES!
Amazing car–early C3s are one of my all-time favorites. The interior isn’t as nice as the C2 but still, that styling. Wow. And those roads! Also wow, though sometimes for different reasons… One of the few times I was afraid I might meet my death in a vehicle was when I traveled to Italy, and we made an excursion into the Abruzzi mountains in a full-size tour bus. Being in a vehicle that size on narrow, winding, oddly sloped mountain roads with no guardrails? Pretty terrifying.
I do wonder why he evicted the original 427 in favor of the heavier and more common 454. I’d rather have the 427, personally; maybe the 454 has better manners in the city and in traffic?
Same here, although there’s also a certain “magic” to the number 4-2-7 for me that 454 just doesn’t have… which, I’ll admit, is totally silly!
If the original engine blew up, I’m sure it was cheaper and easier to get a 454 in Europe, but who knows if that’s what actually happened.
Apparently, the 427 was leaking oil and had broken head gaskets. And it seems he liked the extra horsepower. There are some photos of the transplant on his site: http://zuendler.com/corvette-seite/resto2/resto2-3.htm
A 454 and 427, if all cast iron, would have virtually the same weight. Although the displacements differ, they the same engine design with the 454 using a crankshaft with a longer stroke.
I had the privilege of driving some of these same Italian alpine roads, once on a motorcycle and once in a Chrysler Sebring convertible (diesel! six-speed manual!). I don’t think any drive will ever compare to those trips. On the motorcycle, I took full advantage of the police’s total disinterest in speed-enforcement. And in the convertible, my wife and I were enjoying our honeymoon.
Any Euros here? How much a C3 like the one in this video will cost today in Europe? I think in US, it’s between $20-40k?
According to offers on mobile.de, a ’69 C3 will range from 11k to 58k Euros.
Don’t know about this specific Corvette gen.
Late sixties pony- and muscle cars, but also the later ones, are somewhere between € 35,000 and € 50,000. In a perfect condition, often fully restored and rebuilt.
Prices of classic cars (in general) are rising I’ve read, in the case of US cars also due to the exchange rate nowadays compared to a few years ago.
An example. A 1971 Chevelle with a 454. Asking price € 38,750.
The correct engine for a ’70-’72 Chevelle SS is a 396. It never came with any other engine and was known as the Chevelle SS396. It was the only Chevelle to come with the cowl hood, with the “cowl induction” emblem on it.
A stock ’70 Hemi ‘Cuda convertible went for around two million $$$ not very long ago at Barrett Jackson.
JD: How could you possibly forget the 1970 Chevelle SS454?? A legend, if there ever was one. There were two SS versions available: SS396 and SS 454. Here’s the brochure.
And in addition to the listed 360 hp version, there also the 450 hp LS6 available. 4,475 LS6s were produced. Only 137 remain; don’t ask what they go for now.
In 1971-9172, the Chevelle SS was just called that, and could be had with a number of engines, from the 245 hp 350 all the way to the 454, but no more LS6.
He’s getting his Chevies mixed up. There was a Nova called the “SS396” and the Nova was never offered with a 454.
I believe the 1970 Chevelle SS with 454 was the fastest 1/4 mile factory stock car ever made until the Buick GNX of the ’80s surpassed it, and I don’t know if the GNX has been beat yet. I believe the fastest factory stock American made car for 0-60 acceleration ever made was the ’63 Chevy Impala SS427, until recently surpassed by a ‘vette.
Nice classic video about the 1970 Chevelle SS454 LS6.
Original ? Matching numbers ? Correct ? Frankly, no one gives a damn. In this (price) segment it’s all about the car’s condition and the quality of the restoration- and rebuild job. Whether that was done in the US or here.
This car is presented as a 1971 Chevelle SS with a “fresh rebuilt date correct high-perf 454”.
For 1970, you could order two Chevelle SS models; the SS396, RPO Z25 or the SS454, RPO Z16. The SS396 actually came with a 402cid engine in 1970, and there were two versions. The first, the L34 rated at 350 hp, and the L78 rated at 375 hp. The SS454, RPO Z15, was either equipped with the 360 hp LS5 or the 450 hp LS6.
For 1971 and 1972 there were no SS models. The SS equipment became an option package, RPOZ15. It was available on the Malibu 2-door hardtops with an optional V8 engine. That means it was not available with the base V8, 307 2bbl, but could have been equipped with a 350-2bbl, 350-4bbl, 402-4bbl or 454-4bbl.
The LS6 was scheduled to be an option for 1971, but it was removed last minute from the option list. There are rumors of press cars getting this engine, but other than that all 1971 and 1972 Chevelles SS454’s were LS5 engines (365 hp in 1971, 270 SAE net hp in 1972).
I seen completely stock rare optioned ones go for over $100K in the U.S. That one was not all that rare (though I consider all ’68-’72 Corvettes to rare to be doing that kind of thing with) and had been modified. One of the reasons I don’t own such a car, besides money, is because I could not enjoy driving it. I would be paranoid about having an accident even driving down the road in front of my house.
I would not feel that way driving any ’78 or up C3, or anything that came after it, including a brand new one.
That’s the whole reason why I’m kind of glad all my CCs are frankensteined and restomodded base models rather than rare, numbers-matching top dog models. My ’75 L-48 powered Stingray coupe is as common and basic as C3 Vettes come.
Even my ’65 Skylark convertible started life as a lowly base model with a missing powertrain and crank windows. Since it’s not a rare GS or a matching-number museum piece, I can drive it to cruise night or even the corner store without sweating bullets every time I take it out.
Excellent post, and very cool story. I love to read stories of guys who enjoy there old cars. A trip through the alps would be fantastic, but in a vintage Vette it would be even better. Having the T-top roof must have allowed for some amazing sights though the mountains.
One point though, the LS5 was not a 427 engine RPO. The LS5 RPO was used from 1970-72 for one variation of the 454. For 1969, the 427 RPO’s would have been 390 hp L36, 400 hp L68, 435 hp L71, 430 hp L88 or the 430 hp ZL1. The L36 and L68 were essentially the same engine with 10.25:1 compression, but the L36 had a 4bbl carb while the L68 had three 2bbls. The L71 was the hi-po three carb setup, with higher 11:1 compression. Of course the L88 and especially the ZL1 (both equipped with 4bbl carbs) were very rare and worth BIG dollars today.
Here is “the” Markus you are talking about.
Thanks for the comments.
I am curious if all the guys complaining about the music watched the entire clip? 1/3 is without music. There are 3 reasons for music: you don´t have always good sound from the camera and music connects differend cuts together. And most important, music controlls emotions.
I have also clips completly without music, just have a look in my youtube channel.
About the questions and suggestions:
I bought the car as “matching numbers” 427 tripower, but it turned out later that the engine was a 454. Got some money back, but different story. The 454, rated with 365HP SAE and later 288HP net was to weak for having fun with it. Then I got some other problems and decided to swap to a new 502 what was only a bit more expensive than rebuilding the not matching 454. I keept the carburetor and most of the other parts to keep the original apperence of the engine.
Yes, gas was very expensive. I think it was about 1500€ for the trip.
No I am not a rich guy, have a normal job. But the big advantage: I have no children and no wife. So no discussion about for what you spend your money.
Remember: there is only one life before death!