TYLER TOWNSLEY'S
C4 CORVETTE ZR-1 PROTOTYPE
P8Y087 EX5014 1G1YY2180J5100043
Sorry, this rare Corvette is NOT for sale.
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This is Tyler Townsley's Prototype ZR-1 which he has so graciously loaned to Roger's Corvette Center to put on display for Corvette fans everywhere to see and enjoy. This historic Corvette marks the early beginnings of the King of the Hill ZR-1. What follows is the full story of this remarkable Corvette in Tyler's own words. And please... this amazing vehicle is NOT for sale.
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History of the C4 Corvette ZR-1 Prototype...
My official name is P8Y087 EX5014 1G1YY2180J5100043 but my friends call me Queenie. I am a very special car and this is my story as I know it. Some things I do not remember very well but my owner is trying to piece it together. I started life in May of 1987 in Bowling Green, KY on a 1987 production line. For some reason everybody who touched me was real excited and talked about KOH or King of the Hill, I figured they were illiterate as everyone knows cars are female. How do I know I am special? Well they did special things to me as they built me. The most amazing thing was they gave me a Phase 2 LT5 motor for a heart made in England and a backbone six speed ZF transmission made in Germany. Then they let me butt into the 1987 production line (after VIN 126565) and used custom made parts that were being developed for the ZR-1 cars to be built in 1989 (slipped to 1990), some 1987 parts, and 1988 parts.
The list of Custom Built Parts includes:
- Widened doors that show new mold marks.
- Rear body panel for lights and license area that was 3 inches wider and a new design with different taillights and backup lights. It was made in a new mold.
- Rear body moldings that are handmade. Note the seam in the door where it was widened.
- Inner aprons that are handmade.
- Quarter panels that are handmade.
- Special lower rocker panels.
- Front inner splash panels are different to allow more clearance for the LT5 motor.
- My A/C system and wiper motor cutout had to be handmade so the motor would fit, note the CPC tags on the items that were used as models for later production.
- The engine mounting cradle was made by Dana and is unique. Tag can be viewed by looking under the car from the front.
- I do not have a normal VIN tag, the EX if for experimental!
- I have 1987 style wheels with the gray spokes but they are 17" by 9.5" in the front and 17" by 11" in the rear.
- My tires were special made by Goodyear and cannot be sold.
- I have a special laid back radiator assembly with a matched notched hood.
- Carpeted doors sills without edging.
- A plastic box in place of the flat tire bag.
- Special water overflow tank.
My specific duties were to do noise control design testing and heat control design testing. When I was finished I was driven to Milford at night to avoid those pesky automotive spy people and their cameras. Those days were like being in heaven. Everyone who saw me was excited and I even made it to Arizona where I collected some awful sand. I had hardly been driven (3700 mi) and my master decided to DESTROY me! They took my heart, my VIN and my backbone. I was put in darkness to await my fate but something happened, I was not crushed so I kept very quiet hoping they would forget me. After some time I was moved and placed in another corner for some years waiting to be turned into a Pro Street race car. I lost my identity as a special car, things were dark again. My new owner put coilovers on my knees which felt better but I figured that was the beginning of the end. Then a new buyer came and looked at me with some friends and one was someone I knew, Gorden K! They looked me over and confirmed I was Queenie and I was sold again to an enlightened buyer who kept me in his showroom, but I longed for my old heart/backbone and the freedom to run again. Wonder of wonder I have been sold again but it looks like I will become the special car I was in June of 1987, my new owner called on someone who has all the parts for my P2 LT5 heart and he is to make me a new/old heart. I could have had a P4-7 heart but I wanted what I started with so P2 it is. It will be the only P2 simplex chain LT5 motor running in the world. He also found a prototype ZF transmission with almost no miles. It had a broken shifter fork and is being repaired. So you see me in transition back to being what I once was and hopefully the next time we meet I will have my new/old heart and backbone. I hope to have information on my sisters cars one of which got smashed real bad in England during those dark days when my original master lost her mind.
-- "Queenie"
Note: The 25 88 prototypes have Phase 2 LT-5s installed. This is the original LOTUS engine build book for the Phase 2 engine currently installed in the car. This motor was built in England in 1987 shipped to the US and installed as a prototype car. At some time the engine was removed and returned to England. It was found as a block in a box and rebuilt for me and shipped back to be reinstalled. It also has 1 of 3 forged steel crankshafts made for the Phase 2 motors.
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