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

[NovaMob03]

Years ago I'd heard of a ZL1 in the Md area which was somehow connected to Malcom Durham. Friends or race buddies maybe

[iluv69s]

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!!!

[iluv69s]

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

..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??

[Donutblue]

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

[iluv69s]

[ 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!!!

[iluv69s]

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...
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

[scuncio]

Great story!