Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

So I am tracking down the REAL story on my ZL-1....over the years Ive heard more than a few different stories about the car and the motor...just recently a fellow called my brother about some Camaro parts and mentioned how he missed out on a real ZL-1 Camaro for 7500 bucks in the Baltimore area back in the day...my brother suspected it may be my car so he asked a few questions about it and it turns out it is the same car indeed. He mentioned how the car was for sale at a small mechanic shop back then in Baltimore and even gave my brother the name of the shop.
So my bro called there and asked if they had owned a 69 Camaro back in the day and the owner said his cousin had owned a 69 Camaro racecar with an all aluminum motor....so, sure enough, I found out some of the history of my car today....
His cousin bought the car from the second owner who converted it to racing. When his cousin bought the car it had the original motor, and at some point his cousin sold the original motor to a friend who then sold it to a circle track guy.
The guy we spoke to today is also friends with the second owner. Apparently the second owner, a colored fellow, bought the car early in life and raced it at Cecil County and other dragstrips in the area...The car has never been registered or driven on the road. It was mostly original when he bought it including the fathom green paint. but he hit a guardrail at some point in the late 70's, possibly 80,s and really converted it into a racecar. He painted the car blue and put a glass nose and backhalved the car..it had a centerline style wheels, lexan windows and a big scoop with the hole in the front. He insisits that it always had the original motor although they put a tunnelram on it.
A lot of questions were answered today!! But I have even more now!! Although I have considered selling the car lately, I feel like really starting the restoration now!!! Ive been inspired!! hehehe
I am supposed to be in touch with the actual third owner (his cousin), and the second owner who raced and built the car by next week. yeeaahhh!!! heheheh
Anyone remember this car back then?? first green, then blue, backhalved glass nose "all-out" racer.....maybe some pics??? It was then for sale in 1984 I believe...
any info would help...Thanks!!!!
Id love to see some vintage pics!!!! Ill keep ya posted!!!

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Which ZL 1 do you have? Sounds like it has good history. How 'bout a pic of the way it looks now?

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

its #34....I plan on takin some pics this week and documenting the restoration completely....it looks like your basic coupe shell at the moment...hehehe...it could pass for a six banger at the moment...you could say its in pieces..it was a basket case when I bought it and Ive just very recently emptied the parts out of the car from when I bought it and started to see exactly what I have(or dont have)..hehehe...Ill post some pics asap...but its not much to look at at the moment..I assure you!! https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

[ QUOTE ]
Apparently the second owner, a colored fellow, bought the car early in life and raced it at Cecil County and other dragstrips in the area...The car has never been registered or driven on the road. It was mostly original when he bought it including the fathom green paint. but he hit a guardrail at some point in the late 70's, possibly 80,s and really converted it into a racecar. He painted the car blue and put a glass nose and backhalved the car..it had a centerline style wheels, lexan windows and a big scoop with the hole in the front. He insisits that it always had the original motor although they put a tunnelram on it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmmm...maybe an old A/MP car? Did he happen to say what class he raced in, or was it just a "generic" racecar? Sammy, you awake? Know anyone from Cecil that goes back a few years? That's down in Macneish's stomping grounds too...maybe he remembers it?

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

I spoke to Jerry a few times about the car... The guy I spoke to at the garage confirmed what Jerry had told me about a colored guy named "buby" raced the car back in the day. And that he remembers when the car was for sale in 84...but not much more than that.

I'm not sure about the class or details of the racing. hopefully I will get more details when I speak to the actual prior owners of the car. I really want to see pics of my car with the wheels in the air!! ...The guy from the garage said it was running 10.0's with the stock motor and a tunnelram !!

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Years ago I'd heard of a ZL1 in the Md area which was somehow connected to Malcom Durham. Friends or race buddies maybe https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/dunno.gif

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

I believe Malcolm actually owned and raced one of the ZL-1's and that the car is destroyed now?? (So Ive heard)....this is not the same car....
my car was sold thru Govans Chevrolet after it was sent back to Norwood from Gibb Chevrolet...
really interesting that the list price was over $7000, but the car finally sold in June of 1970 for $4800....the dealer took a real loss on that one!!!

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Is Malcolm Durham still alive?? It could be a good contact...apparently the original owner of my car would be 70 yrs old now...He was 32 when he bought the car!! I can just imagine the first couple runs at the track with the car...Ive been trying to track him down for years...with no luck https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/frown.gif

..and how about Govans Chevrolet...now it is owned by another dealership, anyone know anybody that used to work there back in the day?? apparently I believe they recieved 2 ZL-1's (if my memory serves me)....I imagine some prior employees would remember the car as it sat at the dealer for a whole year...I wonder if they took it for any test-drives?? https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ns/burnout.gif

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Malcom Durham passed away June 2006 - http://www.draglist.com/artman/publi...e_001750.shtml

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

[ QUOTE ]
Malcom Durham passed away June 2006 - http://www.draglist.com/artman/publi...e_001750.shtml

[/ QUOTE ]

what a bummer...I just read a bit about him...I cant imagine that he did not know of my car and the owner back then...how many black american ZL-1 owners from Baltimore were there??? thats hard to believe...missed out by a few years to contact him.......apparently he had a real 69 ZL-1 named strip blazer jr. and won the AHRA nats in 1970. He really tore up some tracks!!!
https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ins/3gears.gif

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Thought Id explain how I ended up getting this car because a few people have contacted me about "my possible original motor".....

One Sunday afternoon at summer Carlisle I was wandering around trying to buy some weatherstrips for my 69 Camaro vert and was actually really bummed that most of the vendors had already left. I could only get there one day as I worked all week. Anyway, my lil brother mentioned that a fellow had a ZL-1 motor for sale...I went and looked and it was a big block on a small engine stand all painted orange with orange tall valve covers and aftermarket intake and holley. It had ZL-1 in black marker on the valve cover. It had the offset oil pan as it had been in a circle track car. He said that it was a real ZL-1 motor, so I scraped a little paint off the back and saw that it was indeed aluminum...I was still skeptical, so i asked if he would gaurantee that it wasnt blown up inside....he said he would actually start it if I liked....I went and bought Hooper's Camaro Reference book and cash advanced on my credit card... https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ns/naughty.gif
I went back and he started the motor with little zoomy headers and there was instantly a crowd around...I bought the motor and me and 3 friends picked it up and loaded it in my blazer....I thought it would be a great race motor for my 63 nova...

a few years go by and I hadnt touched the motor...or the nova...and I was reading the same Hoopers book one day and realized that they put the VINs down by the oil filter...and also that the ZL-1 VINS were published in the book...so I pulled the motor out of the corner of the garage and crawled down on my knees and was shocked to see a vin on the block by the oil filter....I checked the book and BINGO!!thence started my search for the car.....

I contacted Ed Cuneen, who wanted to buy the motor or sell me the owners info...(which I declined both)...and I called a few other people I could get ahold of...and really gave up on tryin after a while....

finally, I decided to sell all my Camaro stuff to buy a house(and make the wife happy)...so I placed an ad in hemmings and listed all my parts and my project cars for sale...anyway, a fellow called and asked if the ZL-1 motor I had was out of one of the cars...when I told him it was from car 34, he said..."thats my car"...he instantly offered me alot of cash for the motor...but I asked him how much for the car???

it took atleast 3 or 4 years of him calling me begging me to sell him the motor every few months until he finally sold me the car.....so thats the story....I actually had the original motor long before I owned the car.....

so "my original motor" is not out there somewhere...its right here safe and sound in my garage...ya'll can stop lookin..hehehe

But thanks to all for tryin...Ill take some old pics of the car though!!! Check your old photos!!!

Thanks again Yenko.net

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Great story!

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

So I drove to Baltimore today to talk to this mecahnic that knows about my car from back in the day. I still cant believe he still works there. He gave me some bad news and said that he hadnt seen his old friend and second owner of my car "buby" in a while because he actually died about 2 months ago.
He did say that he spoke to his cousin and that he is going to look for pics. He told me that the car was just always racing for fun..never in a class...basically match racing other guys in the area...he did say that it was raced mostly at Capitol?? is that name right? He said it never had any lettering or sponsors..He said buby wrecked the car into a guardrail 2 weeks after he had it and then put a glass nose on it...and that it ran low 11's the day after he bought it totally stock...and after they converted it to a racecar, it did 10.0's with the stock motor and a tunnel-ram...He said it was painted blue but had a silver stripe down the whole side that was located on the upper part of the fenders and doors and QP's...he said they never cut the original rear, but it had real shallow offset wide wheels... he also said they used a "hemi" 4 speed...is that possible?? also that it had all "plastic" windows eventually to lighten it up....

I also drove to the address of the original owner...with no luck...someone answered and never heard of the guy...he would be 70 now...who knows??

anyway...the good news...I have dug up some pics of the motor...the car is on the rotisserie and I am surveying "the damages" aiaiai..hehe

anyway, I will post some pics soon...

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Here is the track you mentioned. I used to run there on occasion 30 years ago. http://www.capitolraceway.com/

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Hey COPO...and all you other guys...check your old pics...Im sure someone must have a pic of my car with the wheels in the air back in the day!!!!! Thanks!!!

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Finally got a pic ready...Im havin a hard time with the resizing....this was the motor before it was built....basically 90% NOS parts...besides the original block and heads...this was in my living room...my exploded view...

Ill try to post more soon...I suck at these pc's....
...the motor is totally built and will be put on the dyno next week God willing!!!! In real curious what the "real" HP will be...

...also FYI the original owner's name is Herman Robinson from Baltimore also...I have had absolutely no luck tracking him down....he would be 70 yrs old now....anyone know/remember this guy???...the car has never been registered, so Im certain he must have raced it early on....

...hopefully the pic works...

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

great story. Amazing that someone way back then had the $$ to buy one just for fun and never registering it to drive on the street. Quite an expensive car back then..

Re: Spoke to cousin of prior owner of my ZL-1 today!!
 

Not as expensive as you think...although the car listed for over 7k, it sat at the dealers lot for a year before finally being sold for 4800 bucks!!! The dealer took a big hit on that car!!!...
It is really interesting on the docs that I have from Norwood to Gibb, back to Norwood and eventually to Govans Chevrolet...and when it was finally sold, some of the paperwork was filled out as a 70 Camaro, and then crossed out and written in 69, because the car finally sold in June of 1970!!! But still 4800 was a lot back then I guess!!

‘

Old thread but best place I could find to land this 07/69 Govans’ ZL1 Ad.
Sorry if old news but Ad notes ZL1’s plural, did Govans ever sell more than one?
:beers:
~ Pete

.

Entirely possible.

The listing Vince Piggins provided to Super Chevy in 1981 did not list all the re-assignments for the 37 returned Gibb cars. Govans was not on the list.

Nice ad Pete

It is interesting to see all the ZL-1s ads from the different dealers

There is a fb page called Old Capitol raceway photos. Perhaps someone there would know Mr Robinson.