RATIFIED
NO DISCUSSION OF iconic engines from the muscle car era is complete without consideration of Chevy’s legendary L88. Although it shared the same basic architecture as the more pedestrian Mark IV big-blocks that powered countless Impalas, Caprices, and even trucks, in actuality it was a carefully concealed racing engine disguised as a somewhat streetable powerplant.
Say it: Ell-Eighty-Eight. It sounds wicked just rolling off your tongue. The incredible cacophony of mechanical lifters, a huge Holley inhaling deeply through an air cleaner that barely qualifies as a gravel strainer, and the explosion of combusted high-octane fossil fuels fighting to find their way back to free atmosphere is more wicked still. For those who bleed Chevrolet orange, the L88 was mechanical nirvana.
