67 nickey

[hvychev]

I am sorry to dig up a really old thread but as I was checking who was on line I saw somebody reading it so I re read it. While at Vette Fest this March 2003 I had a long conversation with Felix Lopez about his car and he told me the "story". The paperwork was interesting to say the least and in it he had a copy of the original title that looked legit. The other paperwork did not look vintage and when I asked about any vintage pics he claimed to not have any which is weird because above posts say that members have see them. He told me something that might get a chuckle out of some members. He was in the military (so he claims) for a while in the 60's or 70's. He also told me that he was a retired Chicago police officer and you need at least 20 years to be eligeable for pension so I don't know how the math would work with being in the military but he told me that he forgot he even had the car and some other family member heard about the car and began to research it. He told me that they eventually found the car in anothers family members barn or garage (I forgot which one) He then dragged the car out and began to fix her up. He told me that his mother had all the paperwork put away for him. If this is in fact a bogus story it is a shame. The funny thing about my meeting him is he was eating a ham sandwhich which was falling out of his mouth all over himself and the floor as he told me the tale! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Attached is a pic of the suspect car.

[hvychev]

Here is a pic of the 427. I always love a K&N on a supercar! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Stefano]

It sure would be cool to see some real Nickey Chevrolet Conversion Cars at the local Vette/Fest.

[Mr70]

This is a perplexing thread.
It sounds interesting to say the least,and a waste of a Darn Good Sandwich to boot!

[hvychev]

Rick yes the sandwich thing was halarious! I wanted to laugh in his face but just watched in amazement at the food pooled all around him. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Peculiar little fella that old Felix the cat.

Stefano yes it would be nice to see some REAL Nickey cars at Vette Fest. Only if that Chicego area sYc site member would only let them see the light of day............

[Belair62]

Frank do you have any pictures of the sangwich ? It may have actually been Head Cheese.

[Charles]

Car Craft scooped PHR even back in 1967. While the April PHR has been reprinted recently with a nice sepia color (did they print it in color back in '67?) spread about Nickey 1968? Camaros. Car Craft months earlier featured Dick Harrell supervising a 427 motor swap and did some distributor fine tuning on the Sun machine. The one comment that gets your attention; there was only 1/16 inch clearance for the motor, but TORQUE would solve that problem briefly... Of course it couldn't do much for all the extra weight that dropped the front of the car by one inch. Motion used aluminun heads on their 1967 Camaro 427...

[JoeC]

The first Camaro Supercar was probably the HOT ROD Magazine Test Camaro. This car was an early production car that showed up at GM proving ground in Mesa, AZ in May 1966. It was given to Hot Rod for long term testing and was used to test fit many speed parts. It was also the
First Camaro in California. First Camaro road-tested in the print media. First street-driven Camaro with a big-block. First Camaro to gain editorial exposure in HOT ROD Magazine. First Camaro to carry an Edelbrock intake manifold. First Camaro to ever have a Hurst four-speed shifter. First Camaro in the 11s. First Camaro to take a test lap at Riverside Raceway. First Camaro to appear at an NHRA National event. First Camaro to ever 'beat' Bill Jenkins. First Camaro sent to Bill Thomas to get a "396" installed. It was found later to have a much bigger engine then 396. I have collected a bunch of old articles on this very interesting Camaro. In was driven by Zora D, Smokey Yunick, Bill Jenkins, and a bunch of other well known hot rodders/racers.

[1967Z28]

JoeC,

No question that the Hot Rod magazine test car was very cool and has a lot of history behind it. I have seen the car in person and wrote down the VIN and cowl tag info. According to the cowl tag, it was built in August so it would be hard for it to be at the Mesa Proving Ground in May 66. The serial number was in the 102xxx range so there were at least a couple thousand Camaros in California before that one. I'm not bashing you or the car, just wanting to pass on some factual information on it. Like I said, it's a great piece of Camaro history. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif[/img]

-Jon

1967 Z28 street car
1967 Z28 Trans Am race car
1967 Z28 Registry

[budnate]

Hey Joe,
I also had most of those articles but are now lost, can you post up the pic or send it to me, when Hot Rod ran it through the 1/4 and pulled the parachute they tied to the bumper at the big end [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img], Great pic!
I would like to download it for a background on the PC screen.

Thnx Bud.