02 zl1's - Page 2

matt murphy · #11 01-30-2004, 12:02 AM

The West Chevrolet White ZL1 #53 was sold and built as a Phase 3 car and before it was finished, the customer couldn't come up with the money, and backed out. It was finished as a Phase 3 for Steve Wests own collection. He then sent his Silver #54 ZL1 here to get a Phase 3 done to it after driving the white one. He now has two in his collection, but told me that he would sell either one and keep the other one.

As for the future or immediate investment for these cars, it is hard to say. If collectors and performance minded people are out there looking for a 4th gen Camaro to put away, I think our cars among others are going to be in demand. It seems that the Phase 2 cars were in big demand to either buy from the dealers new, or second hand from the customers (we have built about 80 Phase 2 cars to date (6 in the past month) and 535 Camaros and Firebirds overall since 2000). Recently it seems that the Phase 3 option has been the big request and so far in the last year we have built 50 Phase 3 cars. 42 ZL1's and 8 more either HotRod cars, Berger SS cars, or 35th Anniversary Performance Edition cars. As most of you know, we only work on cars we have built for the dealers, and not street cars . . . sorry. So if you own a GMMG car ( www.gmmginc.net ), you can send it back to get a Phase 2 or Phase 3 upgrade.

I don't like comparing our cars to the Bergers, Yenkos, Nickeys, Motion, etc, cars of the 60's, but I think you can compare the way people are ordering the GMMG cars of today to the way they collect those cars, in that people want more options and or whatever is available on them. Phase 3 with the roll cage, etc. seems to be the latest interests. It is hard to build cars today that will sell at retail at the dealership level and then sell even higher after the owner purchases it and then decides to sell it. Knowing a bit about the 60's and 70's high performance Chevys and what makes them collectible is the formula we have used here. Ad the Chevy involvement, and the Dealer involvement and the Engine upgrade packages and the fact that the Camaro and Firebird are gone (for a while I hope), all these have aided in the collectibility of our cars. I also think you can look at the packages we put out and see that the GMMG cars try to hit on every aspect, not just performance or appearance, but both and then some. It helps when you have GM supporting you, and helping out, and the dealerships supporting these cars and helping out. A lot of the success of these cars has to do with timing, but I also believed that people would buy a modern day dealer muscle car if it was done to the formula of the 60's, and so far we are all having fun.

Everyone has asked us where do we go from here . . . well, we aren't going to Disney World just yet . . . We have a few projects that we will be doing this year that will have most gearheads and collectors rearranging their finances . . . Stay alert as we will be releasing some news soon . . .

gemleeus · #12 01-30-2004, 12:44 AM

WOW, i know who you are. you own gmmg, i spoke with you on the phone after finding out about these cars on the net. you were so nice in spending a good deal of time with me explaining your cars, you turned me on to the west chevy site concerning the two cars they had for sell. thanks again for being so personable and approachable. i live behind your place off canton rd. thanks for being a part of this forum, makes it nice to know someone as yourself is a part of the supercar forum here, (not meaning to sound giddy). i think your efforts have brought other producers of high performance cars into the ring. shelby and his efforts with the eleanor, gt350r, and cobra. some company out west produced a plymouth gtxr- don't think its for sale though, but i'm sure its coming, and now ford is about to unveil its gt car, and its a mammoth. by the way, i visited the west site a couple of days ago and the silver zl1 showed to still be for sale? thanks again for your great efforts in producing the 02 zl1.

J_D · #13 01-30-2004, 02:06 AM

I believe all 69 of the '02 ZL1's will appreciate in value given time. The Phase I and Phase II models number less than the Phase III model so they will be a little rarer. Don't knock the Phase II package though. I own one and Matt, Mike and Bille build them right and extremely tough. Everyone that has ridden in my car simply cannot believe that a late model Chevy is so radical.

For those of you considering an upgrade from Phase I to Phase II, if you can afford it, go for it. Believe me you will be happy you did. I know the Phase III is an awesome package because I have driven a couple of them. But please DO NOT underrate the Phase II package either.

NCGuy68 · #14 01-30-2004, 02:58 AM

Geezzz........

Whats a guy to do that owns one of the 83 built Dale Earnhardt Intimidator Camaros? It is a GMMG built car and Matt was very happy to work with Earnhardt on it prior to his death.

Should I take it to 140+ MPH and wrap it around a telephone pole simply to collect the insurance so I could buy a ZL1?

Any thoughts?

J_D · #15 01-30-2004, 03:17 AM

No, of course not ! ! !

Your Intimidator SS is certainly a very special car. I would love to own one of those as well. The point I was trying to make was that not only are the Phase III package cars special, but so are the Phase II and Phase I cars. For those folks that have considered taking their cars from Phase I to Phase II, I was attempting to assure them that they would be happy with the outcome. It is not my desire to knock your car, the Tom Henry cars, the 35th anniversary performance cars or any other special cars Matt and the crew have produced. I apologize if any of you misunderstood my comments. That was not my intent at all. I was just trying to make the point that I feel ALL of the GMMG cars will be collectable SOMEDAY given the proper love, care and attention they deserve.

matt murphy · #16 01-30-2004, 03:20 AM

Craig . . . Save the car and put your thoughts through the phone line to us . . . I say you build it into the first Intimidator SS with a Phase 3 - 427. Dale would have his upfitted by now . . . He was enough of a terror with 381HP, I'd hate to see him behind the wheel of 600HP in a street Camaro . . .

JD . . . the Phase 2 is an animal and yes, only a few know that . . .

**sYc** · #17 01-30-2004, 03:24 AM

[ QUOTE ]
. . . We have a few projects that we will be doing this year that will have most gearheads and collectors rearranging their finances . . .

[/ QUOTE ]

Is this why #3 sold recently, #2 is on Ebay, #1 has been been offered up for sale, and a couple of other phase 3 cars can be bought for right around cost?

**Born30YrsLate** · #18 01-30-2004, 04:02 AM

#1 has been offered up for sale...that's the last one I thought would be offered!?!?...Odd indeed....give me a couple years and I'll be in the market for one of those Phase III bad boys

**Charley Lillard** · #19 01-30-2004, 04:02 AM

"every sale to date i've heard is 10-20k over sticker. i think they will hold , then run HARD!"...Wait a minute. Where is my 10-20 over sticker ?

**sYc** · #20 01-30-2004, 04:06 AM

[ QUOTE ]
#1 has been offered up for sale...that's the last one I thought would be offered!?!?...Odd indeed....give me a couple years and I'll be in the market for one of those Phase III bad boys

[/ QUOTE ]

And for about another half a mil, he will throw in the matching 1969 ZL-1.