1969 ZL1 Copo Camaro Test, Prepped by Dick Harrell -Motor Trend
 

1969 zl1 copo
 

Thanks for sharing that Steve!

4296 ZL 1 carburetor.

https://www.yenko.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1727979086

Not 4296, not ZL 1 carburetor.

https://www.yenko.net/forum/attachme...1&d=1727979453

Great vintage pictures.

Can anyone make out the wording on the USA-1 rear plate?

The first two ZL-1 Camaros were rushed into production and delivered to Fred Gibb Chevrolet December 31, 1968. The #1 car was prepared for drag racing and failed tech inspection at its first event in AZ. It had been built with the production L-72/L-78 #3959164 #4346 780 CFM vacuum-secondary carb. At that time, it was thought to be a supply problem. However, the 850DP carb had been in production by that time; 1968 dated carbs are known.

A likely reason for the substitution was the production ducted hood air cleaner was not designed for use with a double-pumper carb. The air cleaner had a 90° vent tube on the rh side that interfered with the secondary accelerator pump. It appears likely that Chevrolet Engineering knew this; box #176 on the Chassis Broadcast Copy for #1 & #2 shows carburetor code ‘GE’, the production code for the 780. [Carbs were installed at the Norwood assembly plant].

In interviews with Fred Gibb, he stated the 50 cars he received were built with the 780. In magazine drag tests [Super Stock May ’69; PHR July ’69] of the #1 & #2 ZL-1 Camaros, the ‘street’ ZL-1 was tested with both carbs. Gibb stated Chevrolet retrofitted the remaining cars in stock at the dealership early in 1969. It is not known what modifications were made to accommodate the 850DP.

As for the other 19 ZL-1 Camaros, #3 and #51 were built during the same time span as the Gibb cars. #3 was photographed for a road test feature in the August 1969 Hi-Performance Cars magazine. The engine photo shows a 780 carb, choke plate intact. One of the last ZL-1s [built May ‘69] was raced for many years, sold to its second owner in the late ‘80s. The original owner stated at the time that he swapped the 780 for an 850DP purchased at a speed shop, had the receipt to verify.

37 of the 50 Gibb ZL-1 Camaros were returned to Chevrolet and re-invoiced to other dealerships. By that time, they had been retrofitted so it is likely their original owners assumed the carb was original.

Considering what is known, there is little reason to believe any ZL-1 Camaro was built with the 850DP.

The vintage story/photographs seen here were the work of Ro McGonegal, free-lance auto journalist in the '60s. While it is widely believed the 'street' ZL-1 in the feature was the #5 car, Ro recalled the testing took place on an unusually warm day in January, 1969 at KCIR near Harrell's shop. The only two ZL-1s in existence at that time were #1 & #2.

That black rear valance is kinda interesting!

See America's First!

A few other items of interest borne out in the photos. Over many years I have seen a number of ZL-1 Camaros restored with the orange HP plug wires. Photos show the #2 car in this feature and the #3 car were built with standard production BB plug wires.

The photos do not show an auto trans idle solenoid. It is shown in the AIM section M40 pg. A10. Another test of a November '68 built L89/auto Camaro shows the same. At some point automatic COPOs were fitted with it; not clear when.

It’s interesting in the article that DH encourage the editor to launch the car by way of an essential “neutral drop”!:shocked:

Must not have had any experience with converters. I hadn't any either until 1973. What a difference they make!

"Can anyone make out the wording on the USA-1 rear plate?"You can only read it if you're losing!

What is the consensus on how many cars came with the orange plug wires? What about the burgundy distributor cap?

I have the six-page Engineering Parts List for ZL-1 Camaro production. COPOs were initially processed as L78 orders, this listing has all parts added/deducted in production. It shows, for example, the 1115293-coil deducted and replaced by the 1115210.

Plug wires are not listed. No reason to believe anything other than standard production wires were used, as seen in vintage photos of #2 & #3.

Side note, COPO build orders listed the L78 engine. This means the oft-quoted L78 production quantity of 4,889 is overstated. L78 production was 3,823 L72 997 ZL-1 69.

The first race of ZL-1 #1 was at Beeline Dragway Winternationals Jan 23-26 1969 Phoenix, AZ.

Harrell built it as a light weight Camaro to run in AHRA Super Stock Experimental and for Match Racing

Fiberglass nose , no front brakes , single seat, 2650 lbs.

It ran with a single 4bb at its first race but was soon running a tunnel ram 2x4bb

Lots of race preparation to do one month after delivery!

The infamous #27 when it was being raced by Alan Green Chevrolet (Seattle) service mgr Dick Tutino......

The amount of knowledge and experience you have as well as the amount of research you have done on all these super cars never ceases to amaze me. We all appreciate your knowledge and the fact that you share it with us. Keep it up.
Rick

#27 was green when it was first raced by Alan Green Chevrolet and Dick Tutino.

I was looking through some old ZL-1 posts and found one from Bill Porterfield about ZL-1 #2 and #5. He said when he was putting the info together for the Hooper book in 1990 he assumed that #1 and #2 were the cars tested by Dick Harrell but later thought that the ones in the article were #1 and #5.

The 1969 article he used stated that the street ZL-1 in the test article was set up for Shay Nichols (#5).

Bill said Nichols purchased the #5 car from Fred Gibb on 5/7/69 and #2 was purchased by a guy in Oklahoma on 3/6/69.

I assume Bill got the info and dates from Fred Gibb.

If the article was done before the first race , it had to be before Jan 23, 1969.

#2 and #5 are both Dusk Blue TH400 cars so may have been easy to mix them up.

The info came from the Gibb dealership ledger for the ZL-1s. Bill had much of the dealership paperwork for 34 years, did basically nothing with it. The files were sold to a private collector last year; finally got to see them. 10 hours was not nearly enough, making a return visit soon.

#5 was a career race car, not known to exist.

I save the info and photos on ZL-1s that comes up on the drag racing sites.

This came up on the Nichols #5 that became Lemon Drop , it was run by Larry Nelson

This photo was in Texas 1973 where he failed to qualify for Pro Stock then ran the car in Competition Eliminator class

Little bit of a mystery surrounding it.

It is seen in vintage photos with a white interior. Must have been swapped soon after they bought it. This is from the early '70s. There are pics of it in '69 with the same paint, the Dick Harrell shield on the doors and the original ducted hood. No 427 pro on the fenders.

x

From Draglist

978
EDIT THIS!

Larry Hill (M) from Texas USA (Comp Nr/Finish: 464 ) 1972 - Category: PS-CLASSIC, Type: LN, Class: Pro Stock, Div: 4
"Lemon Drop" Owned by Larry Hill from Texas USA Crew Chief: Larry Hill
'69 Chevrolet Camaro by Factory | Powered by Carbureted Gas 427 Chevrolet with 4 speed manual transmission
1/4 Mile ET: Unknown at Unknown 1/4 Mile MPH: Unknown at Unknown
1000 FT ET: Unknown at Unknown 1000 FT MPH: Unknown at Unknown
1/8 Mile ET: Unknown at Unknown 1/8 Mile MPH: Unknown at Unknown
Entry's 1972 Performance Ratings (0 to 100) based on comparison to average ET/MPH:
1/4 Mile Rating: ET 00.00, MPH 00.00 Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH
1000 FT Rating: ET 00.00, MPH 00.00 Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH
1/8 Mile Rating: ET 00.00, MPH 00.00 Entry is 0.00000 times average ET and 0.00000 times average MPH
1972 Records: 1/4 Mile: 9.255 ET, 149.50 MPH 1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH 1/8 Mile: 6.180 ET, 115.08 MPH
1972 Average: 1/4 Mile: 9.940 ET, 139.53 MPH 1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH 1/8 Mile: 6.465 ET, 109.33 MPH
1972 Minimum: 1/4 Mile: 10.625 ET, 130.53 MPH 1000 Ft. 0.000 ET, 0.00 MPH 1/8 Mile: 6.795 ET, 104.02 MPH
No Racer Website | No video link | Web Search | Web Image Search | Web Video Search
Notes: was at Albuquerque D4 race in 1972, Car used to be Shay Nichols
Submitted by Mike Gagnon, Last updated on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, 09:20:04 AM by Danny White.

Hill s 470 cubic Inch 1969 Camaro which used to be owned by Nichols. Nichols Speed pro Stocker
https://newspaperarchive.com/abilene...-21-1972-p-33/

Nichols car with the single 4bb and Harrell crest

She may have swapped in a white interior because of the high temperatures in the car when they sat in the staging lines.

Some drag cars used white interior or window tint or white vinyl tops or other ways to reduce the heat in the car.

There were a bunch of ZL-1 Camaros running the single 4bb in NHRA SS/C in early 1969 but later ran the 2x4bb tunnel ram for the more profitable match racing.

Before it was sold to Larry Hill.
Shay Nichols on the Doors

who got the oklahoma car? where is it now?

If you are referring to the #2 ZL-1, last I knew it is restored and located in TX.

Good feature on it in the January 2009 Muscle Car Review.

ZL-1 #15 was also a Harrell built light weight gutted fiberglass nose match race drag car

built as a twin to the #1 Gibb car and raced by the Leatherman Brothers

Many of the ZL-1s went to the Harrell shop for mods for NHRA or AHRA or light weight match race cars. Some were sent to Chevy Dealers as race cars.

The Harrell shop installed roll bars, suspension mods, B&M clutch turbo transmissions, did engine mods and blueprinting, custom paint etc.

A drag racer who said he lived near the Harrell shop and knew the guys there said he thought Harrell had got 50 of the ZL-1s because he remembers new 1969 Camaros all over the shop and parked down the street. He remembers it was a big deal that they were $7000 Camaros and some were taken apart and had a fiberglass nose installed.

Most likely, not all of those Camaros were ZL-1s because Harrell also worked on L-72 Camaros and other Camaros.

Dick Harrell was also running ads to sell the ZL-1s.

i was actually wondering who in oklahoma got the #2 mentioned.

Many?

As of June 1969, Gibb had retailed 6 ZL-1 Camaros.

#2 Dusk Blue auto #5 Dusk Blue auto #9 Silver auto #15 Silver 4-speed #16 Orange 4-speed #30 Orange 4-speed.

Of these, it is known that #5 and #15 were prepared by Harrell’s shop. #2, #9, #16 and #30 were raced but are not known to have been prepped by Harrell.

As of June 1969, Gibb had wholesaled 6 ZL-1 Camaros to other dealers.

#7 Orange auto #10 Dusk blue auto #28 Orange 4-speed #29 Orange 4-speed #42 Le Mans Blue 4-speed #47 Le Mans blue 4-speed

Of these, #7 was raced for a short period by the dealership and sold with an L72. #10 had an engine swap early in its life, not known to have been raced. #28 still exists with original engine, not known to have been raced. #29 was extensively modified and raced by Grady Bryant/Bill McKay Chev. It did have a smaller Dick Harrell logo. Sold in 1970, unknown since.

#42 was raced by Malcom Durham. No Harrell logo on the car in vintage photos. #47 still exists, not known to have been raced.

Of the 37 ZL-1s Gibb returned to Norwood, 11 have racing history, but no known association with Harrell. #12 did have some Dick Harrell mods, but not seriously raced.

#33 & #52 were exported. #43 was stolen and never recovered.

5 were re-invoiced to Merollis Chev in Detroit. The Merollis story has been greatly embellished over the years; only two were stolen in separate incidents. #11 is restored, #24 was reported destroyed in MA 1973 [I’m not certain it was the other stolen car].

3 have unknown history at this time: #32, #37, #50. One is known to have been sold to drag racer George De Lorean.

I realize I am being nit-picky here; it's important to choose words carefully. The Merollis Chev story is a great example of how stories expand over time.

What is certain is that Harrell modified at least 4 Gibb ZL-1 Camaros. There could be others.

Robert Carpenter

ZL-1 #29 was another Harrell built light weight gutted fiberglass nose match race drag car campaigned by Grady Bryant , owned by Bill McKay Chevrolet

Grady Bryant and Dick Harrell were friends and both raced Funny Cars

Grady wrote a book called "Match race Madness"

If the Harrell ZL-1 drag test was ZL-1 #1 and #2 then Harrell had at least five ZL-1s

#1, #2, #5, #15 and #29

Who better to sell $7000 Camaro Drag cars then a Nationally known Funny Car driver who has a shop building Camaros and was in all the drag racing magazines.

I had saved this screen shot of a FB post from Grady Bryant and a reply where a guy said he remembers 25 ZL-1s at the Harrell shop.

I don't know if its true but I have seen multiple comments saying Harrell had a bunch of ZL-1s come through his shop. I know Harrell also built some COPO L72 Camaros so hard to say how many ZL-1s.

Of the 11 other dealerships listed, Burt is the only one known to have sold a ZL-1. It did not come from Gibb; they ordered it directly from Chevy.

As for #2, it has headers and aftermarket wheels in the test photos. Gibb's shop was certainly capable of those simple changes. The window sticker was intact, and it had IL dealer tags. Harrell certainly worked on it during the test but that may have been all he did. The AIR pump was still on the car as tested; the only reason for that would be to re-install the manifolds and exhaust system prior to sale.

Gibb returned 37 ZL-1s, intact, to the Norwood plant. There is no reason to believe the '25 ZL-1s at Harrell's shop' story.

ZL-1 #2 was modified at the Harrell shop where they installed Sanderson headers and cut up the exhaust system and did a few other mods.

The photos of the car on the lift at the Harrell shop, show no tail pipes but at the track it has the tail pipes.

Ro McGonegal drove it to the track with closed exhaust. ( That explains the license plate) They first made runs with closed headers then ran it with open headers.

McGonegal wrote in the 1969 article that it just had headers installed but in the 1998 article , he revised this saying he recalled them making changes to the exhaust system.
That seems to be the case looking at the original photos.

The 1969 article mentions the car was going to be race prepared for Shay Nichols so sounds like they were not concerned about keeping the car original.
The plan may have changed later to sell #2 to the guy in Oklahoma, then do another car for Shays. (#5)

I have not heard much about ZL-1 #2 as far as what was done with the car after leaving the Harrell shop.

I was researching ZL-1 #12

In this ad it says "orig cost from Dick Harrell Chevrolet $7300 "

not sure what that means but the car was in NY.

In a post on a FB drag racing page, a guy that worked at Bryne Bro Chevrolet in White Plains NY said a ZL-1 came in for warranty work. He remembered it to be a Black car in 1970 or 1971.

The car was using a lot of oil and the engine was replaced under warranty. He was told the engine was going back to Chevy but he thinks the ZL-1 engine ended up in a Bryne Bro road racing car.

The Dr Tucci ZL-1 #12 was painted black when the 2nd owner Eddie bought it about 1976

Since both cars were in NY , I was wondering if it can be the same car.

#12 has been repainted back to original blue

Gibb ZL-1 4-speeds had an MSRP of $7269.35. Automatics were $7,364.70. None of the 69 production cars were black.

Have to wonder about the Dick Harrell connection. #12 is on the Gibb dealership ledger as being shipped back to Norwood May 24, 1969. From there, it had to be re-invoiced to another Chevrolet dealer.

Of the ZL-1 engines known to have been replaced under warranty [#55 & #67] both original blocks still exist. Jerry Huffman told me they were instructed to destroy the damaged engine. I am not aware of a ZL-1 CE engine. Chevrolet had built 80 ME code Corvette ZL-1 engines that were not going to be used in production. They developed a list of parts needed to convert them for use in Camaros. At one time, #55 had an ME code engine.