Meeting with an original owner...a special visit.

[NorCam]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ZLP955</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Looks like the car originally had a flat hood (pic 7 of the first post), are you going back to that? </div></div>

Yes, the car was born with a flat hood and a rear spoiler as seen in the early shots. Kym later removed that spoiler but also added the cowl hood. He told me that around 72 he ordered it from Bowes &amp; Herron Chevrolet and that same exact hood is still with the car today. He made it functional as well and shared a story about that with me yesterday. He said in racing S/S, if you had a cowl hood on the car it had to be functional. He found that out after going through tech in Seattle where the tech inspector brought a group of racers over to his car one morning and said to all of them; Here guys you see this, if you have a cowl hood on your car &quot;it better be functional&quot; with this rear flapper and the solenoid installed. Needless to say everybody showed up at the next couple races with functional hoods in Super Stock class.

I have a spare flat hood I may paint and put on the car someday, but will leave it as Kym had it for the interim.

[DW31S]

&quot;The thrill of the hunt&quot; (I think) is sometimes the motivating factor in restoring these cars. My fingers are also crossed for you; finding the original block will certainly take your car up a notch or two. Do you have the original trans.?

[napa68]

That's a really cool story! Thanks for sharing

Tim

[DW31S]

The cold-air hood rule has been changed you know?!? Recently, NHRA mandated that the car be raced/classed as Z/28 (302) or an SS (several combos) or a COPO (427 iron or alum.) in order to run a cold-air hood, as they were the only models to which that hood was originally avaialable. Many competitors now have a flat hood that doesn't match their paint scheme. A lot of racers either changed their heads (255 hp to 300hp) which moved them up a class or two, or saw it as the final straw and stopped attending NHRA races. The allowance of that hood was a loophole in the rule book/tech guide for a long time and is rumored to be lobbied by Lee Sherman (RIP, Division 1 Stocker) many years ago. The design of the hood gave enough room for an additional 2&quot; of carb. spacers providing some high rpm horsepower. The small block racers were furious about the new rule!

[ZAPPER68]

Great story about a cool car and one of the nicest guys around these parts. I get together with Kym and Gerry Demski occasionally just to listen to their stories. Gerry is an ex Super Stock racer from Winnipeg and now builds custom chassis/cars.

The pictures taken of the races on the highway are from Rolla, BC which is not far from Dawson Creek (Mile 1 of the Alaskan Highway). I used to tag along with the Dunbar brothers from Grande Prairie when they raced their 69 Camaro there. Those were memorable &amp; fun times.... bleachers in the ditch between the highway and the wheat fields filled with locals having a Sunday at the races.

[Woj]

Great to hear that you have been able to connect to the original owner and share the rich history of your car.

In the last 18 months I have made contact with almost all of the previous owners of my COPO Chevelle. I made contact with the original owner in May of 2015 and we exchange emails on a weekly basis regarding the car, the car-hobby and life in general.

Enjoy the connection with the original owner, it is priceless.

Phil Woj. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Such a cool part of the car hobby, to chat and get the actual first hand stories about your (now) car.

When my car is back on the road Al (the OO) has promised to show me all the spots he used to burn rubber or race friends back in the day:-)

I am so spoiled now, I was after a shiny (done) car and wasn't too worried about the ownership history (just docs) Now that is the most important part to me:-)

Also OO's love the appreciation and dedication as we restore and bring their old cars back to life:-)

Ryan

[NorCam]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ZAPPER68</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Great story about a cool car and one of the nicest guys around these parts. I get together with Kym and Gerry Demski occasionally just to listen to their stories. Gerry is an ex Super Stock racer from Winnipeg and now builds custom chassis/cars.

The pictures taken of the races on the highway are from Rolla, BC which is not far from Dawson Creek (Mile 1 of the Alaskan Highway). I used to tag along with the Dunbar brothers from Grande Prairie when they raced their 69 Camaro there. Those were memorable &amp; fun times.... bleachers in the ditch between the highway and the wheat fields filled with locals having a Sunday at the races. </div></div>

Awesome info Cal.

Just got those 3 shots sent to me early last night and had no idea where they were taken. Appreciate the info and wouldn't mind seeing any old pics that may be floating around with Gerry's old S/S. Cheers!

[ZAPPER68]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NorCam</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ZAPPER68</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Great story about a cool car and one of the nicest guys around these parts. I get together with Kym and Gerry Demski occasionally just to listen to their stories. Gerry is an ex Super Stock racer from Winnipeg and now builds custom chassis/cars.

The pictures taken of the races on the highway are from Rolla, BC which is not far from Dawson Creek (Mile 1 of the Alaskan Highway). I used to tag along with the Dunbar brothers from Grande Prairie when they raced their 69 Camaro there. Those were memorable &amp; fun times.... bleachers in the ditch between the highway and the wheat fields filled with locals having a Sunday at the races. </div></div>

Awesome info Cal.

Just got those 3 shots sent to me early last night and had no idea where they were taken. Appreciate the info and wouldn't mind seeing any old pics that may be floating around with Gerry's old S/S. Cheers! </div></div>

I'm going to speak to Gerry this coming week and will ask him for a copy of his S/S car(s). He has a few pictures of his old race cars hanging on the wall of his garage. If you have the patience, I can likely get you some more pictures of the 'Rolla Races' from back in the day.

Another racer from that era (ex Don Hardy Vega Wagon) lives close by and we get together for coffee occasionally. Ron will definitely have some photos from there too.

[BJCHEV396]

Cool story...thanks for sharing Earl.Good luck tracking down the original engine.