1969 Camaro ZL-1 #51

[GRB]

When Reggie originally bought the car from Walden for a reported $250k (a lot of money at that time) wouldn't Reggie have been informed that Walden still had the ORIGINAL block? The ruined (?) supposed ORIGINAL block would have been worth far more to Reggie than Walden. Does it make sense that a savvy buyer like Reggie would not have gotten the old ORIGINAL block for $250k???

Is it even conceivable that the GM rep. would have knocked the serial number off the block rather than return it to GM who would have far more interest in the failed block than the ser. no.???
Follow the $$$$$.

[old5.0]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: GRB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Is it even conceivable that the GM rep. would have knocked the serial number off the block rather than return it to GM who would have far more interest in the failed block than the ser. no.???
Follow the $$$$$. </div></div>

I never understood that story. Writing the number down on a piece of paper sounds like a lot less work than attacking the block with a sledgehammer.

[Plowman]

The G.M. rep. job was to slegehammer the block,so NOT to see the block come back under G.M. warranty ever again! That is how it worked at the dealer I worked at.

[markjohnson]

It was only an injured engine block to all parties involved back then and was it was cheaper to replace than to fix. Nobody ever dreamed it would be a crucial component of an automobile worth several hundreds of thousands dollars later 30 years in the future. As far as Reggie/Lamar, there's a lot more to that story than what might seem obvious to the casual observer. Lamar has not deceived anybody.

[GRB]

&quot;Nobody ever dreamed it would be a crucial component of an automobile worth several hundreds of thousand dollars later 30 years in the future&quot;. That about sums it up.

Remember what you've always been taught; believe half of what you see and nothing you hear.

[Canuck]

I lived in Newfoundlandd up until 1975. In 1969 there was a auto-train derailment involving about 75 new GM cars. These were mostly 69 full size Pontiacs and Chevrolets,Biscaynes Impallas.
About 20 cars had major damage such as crushed roofs,the remainder were minor damage, yet all 75 cars were sent to a local wrecking yard and ordered destroyed by GM. Everybody panel was to be piered by a pickaxe,glass was smashed and upholstery was ripped with an ax,all transmissions were sledgehammered as were the blocks,bumpers were cut in two with a torch as were frame sections. The yard paid nothing for the cars as GM were satisfied there was nothing left to sell. I am sure GM insurance or CN insurance paid for the cars. I viewed the yard about a month after the cars were&quot;destroyed&quot; and saw a suprising number only had one or two axe marks on them. Rumor has it that the yard owner,after the insurance guys axed about a dozen cars,took the crew out for a few beers,got them real drunk and told they his guys would take care of the rest. A token axe hit on a few selected cars and the job got signed off as done.
A friend of mine bought one of the 350 blocks out of one of the full size Chevs and had it repaired. The damage was not bigger than a small quarter size piece near a water jacket. He ran that engine in a 67 Camaro for about 5 years.

Paul

[x Baldwin Motion]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: old5.0</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: GRB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Is it even conceivable that the GM rep. would have knocked the serial number off the block rather than return it to GM who would have far more interest in the failed block than the ser. no.???
Follow the $$$$$. </div></div>

I never understood that story. Writing the number down on a piece of paper sounds like a lot less work than attacking the block with a sledgehammer. </div></div>


I missed that part of the story. ?When the motor blew first time heating the tires GM sent someone out to hack the numbers off the grenaded block? Why does this sound peculiar? Was that common practice for warranty replacements? I better throw another shrimp on the barbie.

[PeteLeathersac]

No idea how it worked then but in a previous life I was a Service Mgr. for a GM dealer in the 80's and when the reps visited our dealership they'd have a list in hand of warranty parts from all transactions since their last visit..
The rep would go down the list and randomly choose items saying I want to see this part, that one and another one etc and I'd have to produce them within a few minutes complete w/ warranty tags hanging on them showing the pertinent claim #'s etc!.
We were organized and honest w/ our claims so never a problem producing whatever they chose so happy w/ the outcome they'd always say 'toss the stuff and everything else' and I would...seldom saving anything!.

Love to hear more of the story as you know it Mark...please PM me if it's not something you feel comfortable posting..

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]
~ Pete

[old5.0]

I'm far from an expert here, and I'm not saying anything against Lamar, because I don't know him. I'm just saying the story is wierd.

What I've read is that the dealer warranty manager knocked the corner off the block so he could take it back to his office and write the number down. That makes no sense to me, but I've read that exact story 4 or 5 times from different sources. Now that's probably second, third, or even fourth hand information, so if it isn't accurate, I'll be happy to shut up. If it is accurate, it either is fishy, or that was the dumbest warranty manager who ever lived.

[Charley Lillard]

Since GM gave him the car I don't see anything unusual if they gave him extra blocks. And I don't see a warranty rep making him destroy blocks..