Granatelli eBay Engine Listing Revives Glorious Land-speed Memories

One of many engine views offered in the eBay listing for an engine built by Vince Granatelli.

One of six engines built during the peak of Andy and Vince Granatelli’s 200-mph assault on the salt with a pair of early ‘80s street cars is up for sale on eBay.

The 366ci, all-alloy Chevy small-block is listed as a back-up engine for the street-legal 1982 Camaro purchased by Vince and eventually driven by Andy to a record two-way average of 241.7 mph at Bonneville with an top exit speed of over 278 mph.

“It could have been in the car and run once just prior to putting in the iron-block engine that was run at Bonneville,” remembers Vince. “But they’re all fresh engines.”

The engine shown here is one of four backup engines in Vince’s shop that will be sold, although only one currently is listed on eBay. They were built for use in Vince’s Camaro and a Chevy Caprice that Andy drove on the street, and both ended up in the 200mph club at Bonneville. The cars are still in Vince’s garage sporting high-powered twin-turbo engines, but will eventually be moved to the Granatelli Museum.

Built around a Donovan aluminum block, the eBay engine features Brodix heads, Hilborn injection, dry-sump oiling and twin turbos. The listing says more specifics on the build and dyno results will be available. The buy-it-now price is listed at $30,000.

Need to know more!

“I purchased the Camaro in 1982 as a personal car,” Vince tells EngineLabs, noting the original 305 was a dog and the car was desperately in need of an engine swap. “I built a 350 with a Gale Banks turbo kit. It was a nice car to drive; but, of course, I wasn’t satisfied.”

Andy was always interested in horsepower and speed.

Vince built a 570-horsepower twin-turbo engine, then let his dad drive it. Andy, who passed away at age 90 last December, was so impressed that he asked his son to build a similar car for him but start out with a larger Caprice. Then came time to build an even more powerful engine for the Camaro.

“Whatever improvement I made on the Camaro, I took the old engine out and put it in the Caprice,” says Vince.

Andy soon wanted to find out how fast the cars could run on the dry lakes. Vince called Dean Moon, who was heavily involved in the SCTA events at El Mirage, to learn more about the rules and conditions. Vince was informed that cars going over 125 mph required a rollcage and 5-point harness in addition to other safety features like driveshaft loops and fuel cutoffs.

Views of the engine in and out of the car.

“I told him we didn’t have any of that stuff and that the cars would run well past 125,” remembers Vince. “Dean said you still get one blast, then you’d have to go home.”

Vince and Andy drove their cars to El Mirage with Pirelli P7 tires. Vince ran 169 mph and Andy clocked in at 158. As soon as they received their time slips, they went home. Then he gets a call from Moon saying the Camaro actually broke the class record and the Caprice came within three mph.

Sunday afternoon drive

“All we wanted to do was find out how fast the cars would go,” says Vince. “It was just another Sunday afternoon drive.”

It didn’t take long before the father-son team decided to focus on setting more records with the Camaro at Bonneville. All the required safety equipment was installed, and a new engine with roller cam and bigger turbos was built. Vince says it dyno’d out at 845 horsepower. Another test run at El Mirage produced a 215 mph speed.

“We made more improvements to another engine, then took the old one out of the Camaro and put it into the Caprice,” says Vince. “By now my Camaro is a little radical for the street but it still idled around 750.”

The Granatellis arrived at the salt flats a little early. Heavy rains prompted officials to reduce the course down to three miles. As they were setting up the timing lights, one official asked Andy if he would help with a trial pass.

“We were using the Caprice to go back and forth to town, as we were shooting commercials for Tuneup Masters,” says Vince. “There were a couple guys from the ad agency and a writer from Autoweek. Dad said he’d take them for a ride.”

After the first mile the Caprice was clocked at 208 mph. It still didn’t have a rollcage.

“That became as big a story as anything that week,” laughs Vince, adding that Andy then drove the Camaro to its record runs. “We just couldn’t get any traction. The engine was 960 horsepower by now. We had to put 1,800 pounds of lead shot in the car.”

Oiling problems also prompted Vince to build an even more aggressive engine with a dry sump system.

“Bottom line, we didn’t go back to Bonneville next year and I ended up with two spare motors for the Camaro and two for the Caprice. They’ve been sitting on the shelf for years,” says Vince. “The engine in the Camaro now is about 1,135 horsepower, and the Caprice is 750.”

So, if you’re interested in a piece of Granatelli history, head over to eBay and check out the listing. The agent will answer all questions via email and may offer more information on the other engines likely to be listed soon.

About the author

Mike Magda

Mike Magda is a veteran automotive writer with credits in publications such as Racecar Engineering, Hot Rod, Engine Technology International, Motor Trend, Automobile, Automotive Testing Technology and Professional Motorsport World.
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