Something pretty rare popped up for auction on Bring a Trailer this week: a factory-built Chevrolet ZZ4 crate engine that reportedly sat unopened in a West Coast warehouse for more than two decades.

It's likely that all but the most diehard of Corvette fans don't know about Mercury Marine's involvement with the V8 engine powering the C4 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. From its introduction in 1984, the ...