Gibb Chevrolet docs
 

Since 1989 when Fred Gibb gave Bill Porterfield much of the original paperwork from his dealership, I have been pestering him about what would happen to the docs when he tipped over [he’s 10 years older than I]. Told him his daughter would probably heave it into a dumpster. Despite promises and assurances I heard over 34 years, nothing came of it.

Backing up a bit, late 2019 out of the blue I heard from an individual that had privately acquired a Gibb ZL-1. Related the story about the dealership paperwork and referred him to Porterfield for the paperwork on his ZL-1. They hit it off and voilà, he recently acquired all of it from Porterfield. He invited me to visit for unfettered access; free to copy anything I want.

So that’s where I was this week. 10 hours was just enough time to buzz through the literally hundreds of folders in a dozen cartons; everything from letters from John De Lorean to engineering drawings of the ZL-2 hood pad [too big to copy]. Still has about 25 original ZL-1 shipper’s copies and a few PDIs with the POP imprint. Some info on the ’69 ZL-1 show car; a folder with several original decals for it. Finally, have complete copies of the ZL-1 Engine Assembly Manual. There are two versions, one noted COPO 9567 [show car]. I flew with a carry-on only, limited in how much I could bring back.

Also, docs on the 50 ’68 COPO Novas, the first TH400/L78 cars Chevy built. No shippers on those, but a number of PDIs with POP imprint. For some reason, a number of docs concerning the later big bore Can-Am 430” block that most racers switched to for the better bore/stroke ratio.

The info did not include every ZL-1 Camaro or L78/auto Nova the dealership acquired.

This was just a beginning. A more thorough review is planned for a later date. The desire is to eventually reunite docs bearing a VIN with the vehicles they belong to. If you have a Gibb car w/o documentation, pm me here.

This is amazing news William. Your patience and persistence paid off. Hopefully the originals will find a more permanent place for final resting.

Very cool! You always have amazing info to share... :cool2:

That is very cool!!!

Amazing stuff!!!

I had the honour of spending an evening with Bill recently and he came to PSMCDR to be with the MSU Project W31 gang. He ever so quietly showed me that the bolts on my steering rag joint were coming loose (so he saved my butt)

He has a treasure chest of information and especially Dick Harrell everything.

He even wore a shirt completely covered in Oldsmobile:-)

Ryan W31

I met Bill a handful of times many years ago, and helped him at Indy the weekend of “the fire”. We also had a mutual interest in Oldsmobiles; not hard to figure out he really was an engineer. I firmly believe he is responsible for the overwhelming interest in the ZL-1 cars, and doesn’t receive the recognition he deserves for uncovering the history of them.

Totally agree!!!

Ryan W31

There is no question Bill Porterfield was the catalyst for the Camaro ZL-1 body of knowledge. He was recognized as such in the COPO Camaro story that has been on the CRG site for over 20 years.

http://www.camaros.org/copo.shtml

He never sought personal recognition; the cars were the stars and he did a fine job of promoting them over the years. Beginning with the March 1983 Hot Rod Magazine feature on the discovery of ZL-1 #3, over 15 feature articles were written on #1 and #3. The story continues to this day; Hemmings Muscle Machines recently published a 2-part feature on ZL-1 #11.

As we were poring over the many boxes of documentation he assembled over the years, it occurred to us that none of the original material likely exists anywhere within Chevrolet.

Persistence may be annoying, but the end often justifies the means.

Wow… this is awesome ! Congrats William . Well deserved knowledge of information!

Bill actually contacted me after finding out I owned ZL-1 34. I, soon after, reunited the original Gibb paperwork with the car. He mentioned at the time that he had a POP imprint, but it was not included when the package arrived.
It was still cool to see the original docs signed by Fred documenting the car’s journey to Gibb Chevrolet and then getting picked up and returned to Norwood !

Wow! So great that you are archiving these documents. They are indeed treasures. For those who have not had occasion to ask William for information in the past - I can tell you that he is always responsive. He is always there to help. He is the perfect individual to catalog & archive this material.

Thanks for all you do Bill.

----About once a year I get a phone call from Bill P. It's always welcome as we usually have plenty to talk about. Bill and I sat across from each other several times at different nostalgia 1/4 mile get togethers, but for one reason or another never got a clean pass for both of us at the same time. But it was always fun!!!

Thanks to all for the kind words!

I came to appreciate the old adage about walking a mile in someone else's shoes. Over the years, Billie [real name] may have been slow to respond to requests. Sometimes he just didn't, and I now know why. It is arduous to find a specific doc in all that. Plus, he always has a lot going on and finding the time was difficult.

I did not see a PDI for #34.

William you are a great caretaker of this information. Always willing to share, and a true historian who provides Camaro enthusiast with a wealth of information and never asks for anything in return.

A BIG thanks you!!!!

No idea why this was in the pile.

Order Number is close to this:
http://corvettes-musclecars.com/gall...arTag.jpg.html

Awesome news William!! Congrats

Very Kool!

I too, commend Bill for all the dedication he has exhibited toward getting word out too many about the history of the Fred Gibb era of high performance Chevrolet's. Due to his never ending help, it is my belief that many would have never uncovered many things Fred Gibb was involved with in keeping Chevrolet competitive. This also goes for Dick Harrell (Mr Chevrolet) who worked with Fred in getting GM to fulfill areas using the COPO process, where Chevrolet was lacking in factory built competition.

Wow - just wow. How cool is this. Thanks for sharing.

When Fred Gibb gifted the docs to BP, he created a letter for each ZL-1 Camaro and L78 Nova VIN on Gibb Chev letterhead and Fred Gibb signed them. The intention was to market the docs as a way for BP to offset the considerable cost of restoring the #1 ZL-1 to original race trim, twice. Some were sold and I don't believe he always kept copies.

I recall that the family requested the return of certain docs and BP complied. Maybe the GMAC dealer invoices? Didn't see any.

By that time [1989] many of the cars were long gone or unknown. Those letters are probably still there, thought I did see them.

Only 11 Novas and 32 [Gibb] ZL-1s are listed as active on the Supercar registry. Some of the unknown cars undoubtedly exist. The days of $5 DMV title searches are over. Only way they will turn up is if their owners want them to.

55 years ago...
 

Fred had influential friends!

Just a thought on vin loan papers. Did anybody ever check on what Thrift Plan, Inc in Burlington Iowa had for info ? Back in those days they wrote a lot of loan paper at FG for muscle cars, etc.