ZL1 prototype?

[Jeff H]

I don't know if the ad this guy is referring to is real or a hoax, but wouldn't it be one of the biggest finds if one of the black/gold ZL1 prototypes survived.

http://www.camaros.net/forum/Forum6/HTML/002866.html

[DarrenX33]

I have heard that one of these cars was purchased from a GM exec and now resides in a garage in the Illinois area. Can anyone confirm??

[Stefano]

It seems that one of the ZL1 mule cars, once finished with the show circuit (it was shown at the Chicago new car auto show) was returned to GM's Central Office, where it became Jim Mattison's resposibility to unload.

The car was purchased by Jack Douglass Chevrolet, Inc. According to Jack this car had a JL8 rear axle housing and a fold down rear seat. He remembers that the engine was painted chevy orange, but does not recall if the ZL1 was removed and replaced with an L72, when he received it.

The vin is known and the car was still in the Chicago land area not long ago. The previous owners thought that it was just a highly optioned undocumented "regular" L72 COPO.

I have talked to one of the previous owners and several(very reliable) people who were familiar with the car, but only a few people I know of, became aware of its ZL1 heritage.

Maybe Jim Mattison can shed some light on the subject one way or another?

[Jeff H]

Stefano, do you know the build date on this ZL1 JL8 car? What color is it? I'm asking because it sounds very similar to the blue ZL1 JL8 car that Dan found information on that was at Hauser Chevrolet. Maybe Hauser got the other mule car that still had the ZL1 in it. He has information in a post under Misc Dealers.

[Stefano]

Jeff,
Its an early car and it was Black with the Gold Stripes.

[Jeff H]

Oh, so that's one of the 2 styling exercise ZL1's. Is that the prototype that's VIN is listed over at CRG?