1969 Nickey Camaro

[SuperNovaSS]

I just bought a 1969 Camaro that was represented to me as a Nickey car. It is a X-66 car with a turbo 400. It has been sitting since 1973. I was wondering if anybody knows of any ways to prove or disprove it is a Nickey car. It has quite a few modifications including a SW tach that is headliner mounted along with SW gauges mounted in dash, rear fender flares, electric trunk solenoid with gas filler tube in trunk, electric fan, traction bars, and a line lock. The car had water injection before. It also has a tow bar mounted in front. The car has 27,000 actual miles. It was painted when the flares were put on and there are no emblems on the car. The guy said he thought the car was raced by Dick Harrel. This seemed strange to me since Harrel built his own cars.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,


Jason


[Edited by SuperNovaSS (09-10-2001 at 06:26 PM).]

[JoeC]

Does it have any Nickey emblems or decals on it? What color is the engine?

[SuperNovaSS]

There are no emblems at all on the car. By no emblems I mean no Camaro or SS emblems either. The engine is orange, but it may have been repainted. I had the intake off and the heads have been ported massively, so the engine may have been repainted it when it was being worked.

Jason

[sixtiesmuscle]

According to the head of the department that built the hi po cars at Nickey, there were very few consistancies in the transplant cars. The type and/or absence of emblems won't tell you much. Although they would do pretty much whatever the customer wanted, they did not paint the engines yellow as a matter of course. Chevy orange was the norm. The most common items that were consistent were traction bars and electric fuel pumps, although the presence or absence of either doesn't prove anything either. This is why identifying a Nickey car is so difficult. Without documentation and/or inspection & certification by one of the people who actually built these cars, it is impossible to verify a car as a Nickey. Have you tried to get a title search and contact previous owners, or an NICB report showing the dealer of origin? On what were the statements by the previous owner based?

[SuperNovaSS]

I have not had a lot of time to check the car out. I bought it in California and it is on the way here(Hawaii)now. The guy I got the car from owned a machine shop in the early 70's. He mentioned that the car had a 427 from the dealer when I first looked at the car but didn't make a big deal out of it. He told me the rest of the story after I bought the car. He gave me the name and number of the guy he bought in from in 1973. I am planning on giving him a call after the car gets here. He said there used to be a plaque on the dash and it may be under the seat or in the glove box. I didn't want to get too anxious so I didn't look. I'm pretty sure the car will still have a build sheet in it since the interior is like new. I am going to get a notorized letter from the guy I purchased the car from stating what he knows of the car. He may also have paperwork on the car, but like I said I did not want to push the issue until after I get the car over here.

Jason

[sixtiesmuscle]

It's understandable why you would be excited, and not want to appear TOO excited. If this story turns out to be true, you've found a real treasure. Please come back and let us know what you uncover in your research. If he "has paperwork" , you're in luck, and anything else discussed here is just guesswork.

[bkhpah]

Don't get to excited to find a build sheet, I have never found one in a Norwood Camaro. I have only seen a handfull of legit ones. Did find one in a LA Camaro once...BKH

[SuperNovaSS]

I got ahold of the original owner today. He was a Funny car racer in the 60's and 70's. He told me that he bought the car new and registered it in California. From there he went to Kansas City to pick the car up from the Dick Harrel Performance Center, Not Nickey. He said that Harrel had decammed the engine and put higher gears in the car so he could comfortably drive the car back to California. He went on to say that the car did not have the standard 427 but the cast iron version of the ZL-1(L-88). The car came with a fiberglass cowl hood that flew off on many occasions(gone now). When he got the car home he preceded to tear the engine out and port the heads and replace the cam with a ZL-1 version. He also lowered the rear gears from 3.90 to 4.56. Later he found that tire clearance was a problem and he had the rear fenders flared and the car painted by a guy named Linwood. He had a lot of other things to say too but I won't get too far into it. He also has many pictures of the car that he is going to send me. He also said he gave all the papers to the second owner who I bought the car from. I guess I need to try to get those next. Thanks everybody for all the help and I will let you know how it comes out.


Jason

[68TopStock]

Jason,

It sounds to me like you found a great car. If this is a legit Dick Harrell modified car, it is possible it originally was a Fred Gibb Chevrolet car. If you don't mind, could you send me your VIN and cowl plate data via e-mail, and I will forward the info. to the Fred Gibb Chevy historians that may be able to help you with this.

It is believed Fred Gibb sent Dick Harrell most if not all of the engines he transplanted. Fred Gibb Chevy also performed transplants for customers, and utilized Dick's shop for race mods. Fred Gibb and Dick Harrell had a close business relationship during the years 1968-1971. I own one of the Fred Gibb Chevrolet racecars.

Ken Boje

[SuperNovaSS]

I didn't know it was possible to do that. Like I said the car is not here yet. I can have a friend of mine go get the VIN and trim tag info off the car. What information can be found by doing this search?
I appreciate all the help.

Thanks,


Jason

[GMH454]

Could you share the funny car owners name with us. Also sounds like the camaro was raced, was it, and did he tell you what class it ran in.
Looks interesting can't wait for some photos.

[SuperNovaSS]

The car was raced for some time. He said it was mainly his driver so he could get the "speed bug" out of him when he was at home. His name is John Penso.
He said the car would not get traction at all and it ran consistant 12 evens. i do not know what class it was run in.

[Edited by SuperNovaSS (09-12-2001 at 07:47 PM).]

[SuperNovaSS]

Does anybody have any pictures of 69 Harrell Camaros besides the green one?



Thanks,


Jason