69 ZL1 Camaro & 2019 ZL1

[rich p]

Back when Mecum SOLD this ZL1 #18...
What makes this ZL1 Camaro one of the very few can say!
ORIGINAL MOTOR!

HIGHLIGHTSNo. 18 of 69 ZL1 Camaros producedOriginal 427 CI ZL1 engineFactory 4-speed carDocumented with the dealer order sheet and original bill of saleRestored to very high standards by supercar specialist Dave Tinnell in 20001 of 50 ZL1 Camaros ordered by Fred Gibb1 of 10 ZL1 Camaros in Dusk BlueReturned to GM and Sold New by Tamson Chevrolet in Danville, Virginia on July 15, 1969Known ownership history since newCelebrated in the Camaro Community as the U.S. Camaro Club raffle car for the Camaro's 25th AnniversaryFormerly owned by Bob Porter, Mike Ryan, Charley LIllard, Larry Bowman and Brett Torino

This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, number 18 of 69 produced, is highly celebrated in the supercar community and boasts known ownership history from day one. It was restored by muscle-car specialist Dave Tinnell and most recently displayed in the famed Brett Torino Collection; it is also one of very few known to retain its original all-aluminum 427/430 HP ZL1 engine.

Designated by the factory as Central Office Production Order 9560, these were the rarest of all 1969 Camaros. Chevrolet built a total of 69 equipped with the COPO 9560 option package, which was conceived by Gibb and authorized by Chevrolet’s legendary product manager Vince Piggins. The ZL1 engine had its origins in the fire-breathing L88 427 CI big-block racing engine. Developed for the Can Am racing series by Bruce McLaren and Jim Hall’s innovative Chaparral team, the ZL1 made extensive use of aluminum in the block, heads, intake and ancillary pieces, employing steel only for the forged crank, connecting rods, pushrods and camshaft. The result was the most exotic American production engine ever built to that time, one weighing little more than a cast-iron Chevy small-block V-8 while generating well over 500 HP, which far outstripped its almost farcical factory rating of 430.

The ZL1 Camaro’s primary purpose was to rule NHRA and AHRA Super Stock drag racing, the most famous example being Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins’ “Grumpy’s Toy VI,” which competed in both NHRA Super Stock and NHRA/AHRA Pro Stock ranks. ZL1 Camaros were equipped on the line as big-block-specification cars with F41 heavy-duty suspension, power front disc brakes, ZL2 cowl-induction hood, a choice of heavy-duty 4-speed manual or Hydra-Matic 3-speed automatic transmissions and Chevrolet’s extra-strength 12-bolt Positraction rear end with 4.10:1 gearing. At a sticker price of over $7,200, the ZL1 Camaro was ridiculously expensive, making sense only to a professional racer planning to recover at least some of that cost with prize winnings. In the end Gibb sold only 13 cars; approximately 20 found their way into competition, a dozen or so had their engines removed and sold separately, and the rest, including this one, were redistributed through the Chevrolet dealer network.

This well-known ZL1 is number 18 of the 69 eventually produced, and one of 10 finished in Code-51 Dusk Blue. When Gibb failed to find a buyer for the car, he returned it to General Motors, who sent it to Tamson Chevrolet in Danville, Virginia. It was purchased there on July 15, 1969 by Ronald Dix of South Boston, Virginia, who traded in his 1969 Corvette and financed the remainder of the $7,324.35 price tag through General Motors Acceptance Corporation. Soon thereafter the car developed an engine problem, but when Chevrolet refused to honor the warranty, Dix answered, “fine, I won’t pay for the car, either.” Naturally, GMAC repossessed the car from Dix. A Chevrolet Warranty representative then offered it for sale to drag-racer Edward Sanderson of Lynchburg, Virginia, who purchased the car on December 18, 1969.

Sanderson immediately commissioned Kennsey Electronic Balancing to rebuild the engine and prepare it for drag racing. Sanderson raced the ZL1 Camaro for a couple of years before selling the car to family friend Patricia Preston. In 1982 he bought the car back from Ms. Preston and kept the car until 1987, when he sold it to Bob Porter Chevrolet in Ligonier, Indiana. Porter restored the Camaro to its original configuration in 1988 and cared for it until 1993, when the U.S. Camaro Club announced that it would be the grand prize in a raffle to celebrate the Camaro’s 25th anniversary

[rich p]

Listen to offers or possible trade!!

[protree68]

How many miles are on the newer zl1 I need a driver car