Nickey Q's ( please help ) May have found treasure

[Carguy00]

A guy called me about a 68 Nickey he has and wants to sell. I havent seen any documentation yet. Anyway he tells me that is what it is. I have a few q's
1. approx how many 68 Nickey Camaros where produced?
2. If there is no documentation-can i verify the car as a Nickey?
3. What are the problem areas I need to look for?
4. What is this thing worth? The 427 is gone and now has 396/375 in its place. Car is a 9 out of 10 restoration.
5. What was the hood option. Did they all come w/ glass hood?
Any help is appreciated
Also if anyone has a picutre of a 68 Nickey please post the adress.
Scott

[sixtiesmuscle]

There are no records as to how many Nickey cars were built, but, an estimate of 12 - 15 might come close for '68 Camaros.Without original dealership order forms or work orders, the only way to document a Nickey car would be affidavits from the original and/or subsequent owners; or, inspection & certification by a former Nickey employee who worked on these cars. Don Swiatek, who will be one of the guests at the upcoming reunion, was the manager of Nickey's High Performance Cars & Parts department until they closed. He can provide such a service.

As far as value, it all depends on how verifiable the car is as a Nickey sold 427 transplant car. Like the 427 Chevelle discussed elsewhere , it might be just a nice & interesting car, or, it might be a valuable piece.

The first thing to find out is on what basis the seller is claiming it to be a legitimate Nickey 427 car.

[Rat_Pack]

Carguy00, check out the picture attached. It was from Popular Hot Rodding June 1968. The dual 4's & fiberglass hood were not standard and none have yet to be found. Also the original road test car with dual 4's did not require the fiberglass hood as that intake would clear the stock SS hood. Like sixtiesmuscle said, get someone who knows these cars to verify it before buying it /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif .................RatPack..............

[JoeC]

First Question I would ask the seller is what info does he have that indicates it is a 427 Nickey Camaro. Nickey also sold 396/375 hp Camaros with headers, scatter shield, etc. These cars may have had the Nickey emblems on them also. Second question I would ask is why did he install a 396 if he believed it is a 427 Nickey Camaro. It would not have cost much more to install the 427 block during the restoration. It is good to check into any leads but you have to be very skeptical because of the high potential value.

[hvychev]

Just an interesting thing I noticed on rat packs attachment pic. The Illinois dealer plate on the Camaro is Nickey Chevrolet's address. I never noticed this before. Their address was 4501 Irving Park Rd. Chicago IL. I work for Chicago area dealers and none of the other dealers I can think of have their dealer plate # as their address. /ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif

[Carguy00]

Found out today that the owner has the original window sticker from Nickey. Also he says the car has early style traction bars on it and only has 33k. He also has a business card for the 2nd owner. Maybe this will lead to more info. How much does having the window sticker help me? I know it increases my chances but...

[Rat_Pack]

See if he will let you make a copy of the window sticker he has and then get it posted to this forum. There is a fake blank window sticker that has been on Ebay for the past year and there have been some pop up on a few bogus cars recently. Like Joe C. said, why did he put the 396 back in it? Also there are ways to get it verified as a true 427 car if you use one of the two guys that can verify them.................RatPack....................

[69rsss350]

Is this another bogus rare find thread... /ubbthreads/images/icons/confused.gif

[sixtiesmuscle]

"Car guy", It might help if you register on this board rather than remaining a "stranger". Most are willing to share their knowledge, but, why don't you let us know who you are.

[Carguy00]

Man I hope it doesn't turn out to be bogus. I've spent qite a bit of time the last few days doing all the research I can. It has been pretty hard finding much info. Another thing that may help is he said the front fenders had five holes in it for an embem in the stripe. Did the Nickey emblem have five studs? He said the emblems were missing when he got it. The emblem on the rear is there and there is a Nickey Performance sticker on the heater box.

Oh ya--- is this the info you were looking for on registering? I want to help anyway I can to recieve more help /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif

[Carguy00]

69rsss350--What's the point of your message? No one cares if you think its bogus or not. If you don't have anything constructive to add---stay away. Sorry guys but that rubbs me the wrong way.

[69rsss350]

The point of my message is that your story sounds highly suspicious as to authenticity. This is not (if it proves to be) the first example of this kind on discussion boards as to possible "treasures" found which are too good to be true...
Why did this guy call you? Did he think you were knowledgeable about these cars or did he think he might have a big fish on the line? If you have seen this car then post the VIN, cowl tag, rear end codes and casting numbers and engine and tranny codes and casting numbers. If this guy really thought he had a Nickey COPO why in the hell would he call YOU instead of someone who really knew the cars value and might have the capability of paying it? If you were trying to get a rise out of someone, it worked so either get real or get lost!

[hvychev]

wow.

[Carguy00]

He called me because I put a wanted ad in the WI trader. What can someone do w/ the VIN anyway? None has come forward and said that anything can be done w/ these numbers. I'm not trying to "pull" something here, just looking for a little help in finding out if this is the real deal. So get off my back.

[Steven J]

Here's the example of the availability of Nickey documentation. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1846904381

It is possible to determine the dealer that a car was shipped to by running the VIN through NICB. Feel free to post it and someone might check it for you.

[Charley Lillard]

I'm not sure I would reccomend posting the vin. Next thing you know 10 People have run the vin and are either knocking at the guys door or sneaking in the guys door. Just a word of caution. I know if I had this lead, I wouldn't post the vin or any contact info.

[Steven J]

Good point. Lot's of greediness in the musclecar hobby/business.

[Carguy00]

My thoughts exactily. I will be posting everything after the car is in my driveway. Not that I don't trust but---.

[69rsss350]

Whatever! /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif

[Keith Tedford]

Be nice Mike. We're all just Chevy guys trying to help each other out the best we can. Our L78 Chevelle is a "found in a barn" story. I was as cynical as you until I got there. Some of these stories are actually true.......Really.

[Carguy00]

the numb nuts sold it out from under me but thanks for the help guys

[69rsss350]

Wow, I guess if you snooze you lose. Sorry, keep hunting and good luck.

[MotownMadman]

Mike,
Nice to see you are running hot, straight, and normal and in good spirits. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif You have such a straightforward benchside manner, ya just seem a bit ruffled, scooter didnt fall off the lift recently, did it? Hey, I did just find a barn story (actually garage) 69 Azure Turquoise L89 RS Camaro, #'s matching, heavy options, doc's, project started and abandoned long ago, so this stuff still does exist out there. Found some other neat stuff also that will remain lost for the moment. Nice to see you came home from the local roadhouse long enough to grace us all with your abundance of charm and wit! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Those of us with the sandpaper personalities are here for a reason, to keep the rest of the world smooth! Happy holidays to you and the family.
MotownMadman /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[mech1]

carguy beware of this fellow to much info will kill you
beeeeeeee ware /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

[olredalert]

CarguyOO,

------Just cause the car got away from you once should not slow you down. Go after the new owner. He may find that a quick short profit is better than a big profit after a time-consumming resto. Thats if hes in it for the money. Wave some greenbacks around and set the hook!..........Bill S

[stevez66]

I own a 68 Biscayne with L72 427 425 horse 4-speed. I was told that this was a Nickey car but I am unable to obtain any documentation verifying this. In this site, I saw that Don Swiatek was Nickey's high performance cars and parts manager. Does anyone know how I can contact him to verify its authenticity? Or does anyone have any other contacts that could possibly help me out.

[Mr70]

Welcome to this site! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Would you by chance own the Same L72 Biscayne that is featured in this months Muscle Car Enthusiast on page 31? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif

[AutoInsane]

You found an L89 and didnt post in the main section telling what ya got and put up some pictures???? Shame...shame on you!!!

Wow!! Congrats!! Did ya get a good deal on the car? What kind of shape is it in? I think u need to start a new thread and post some pics.

Oh, what else was in that garage????? You find some nice full auto Thompson's stuck away back in the 30's??????? Hummm.....