First Camaro ZL1 Ever Built Auctioned For $400,000

[Tran]

Via Hemmings

The cars nearly bankrupted him, but if Fred Gibb is known for anything among Chevrolet performance enthusiasts, it’s for convincing Chevrolet to fit the storied all-aluminum ZL1 427-cu.in. V-8 into a handful of Camaros, thus creating one of the fiercest and fastest cars on the dragstrip. This past weekend, the first of those cars hammered at Mecum’s Spring Classic auction in Indianapolis for $400,000, a figure some are already calling the deal of a lifetime.

Gibb, who had been selling Chevrolets in the town of LaHarpe, Illinois, since 1948, didn’t embrace racing as a means to selling more cars until Herb Fox, one of his salesmen, bought a 1967 Camaro Z/28 and introduced Gibb to Dick Harrell. The next year, Gibb began to use his contacts at Chevrolet to order special cars through the Central Office Production Order system, starting with a small fleet of L78/TH400-powered Chevy IIs. Those sold well, so the next year, Gibb went all-out and pulled some strings at Chevrolet to have the ZL1 – developed for Can-Am racing and not slated for production use – installed in 50 1969 Camaros. The first of those 50 Gibb reserved for Fox to race with the Gibb and Harrell names lettered across the sides. According to Mecum’s description:

The first and second ZL1 Camaros arrived at Fred Gibb Chevrolet covered in snow on New Year’s Eve, 1968. It was so cold the cars would not start and had to be towed off the transporter. The first car was immediately sent to Dick Harrell’s Kansas City, Missouri, shop, where Harrell readied it for its scheduled debut at the 1969 AHRA Winternationals three weeks later at Phoenix. Piloted by Gibb Chevrolet employee Herb Fox, the car served notice on its competitors that trouble lay on the horizon when it beat the two top qualifiers before losing in the semi-final to eventual winner Arlen Vanke’s Barracuda. The most alarming part of the day for the Mopar contingent came when Fox eliminated Mr. Four-Speed himself, Ronnie Sox, in the Sox & Martin Hemi Barracuda.

Harrell demonstrated the car’s performance for Super Stock magazine in February 1969, turning 10.41 at 128.10 MPH with the stock Holley 850, and 10.29 with dual 660 Holleys on a Weiand tunnel-ram. The Gibb-Harrell ZL1 Camaro then barnstormed the country, racking up victories in both AHRA and NHRA competition. In 1971, the car was converted to the new AHRA Pro Stock rules and driven by Jim Hayter, who set the AHRA Pro Stock record of 9.63 at 143 MPH and won the AHRA Championship in both Super Stock and Pro Stock.

Afterward, the Camaro languished in semi obscurity until Bill Porterfield located, purchased, and restored it in the 1980s. As for the ZL1, it wound up in just 69 total Camaros and two Corvettes, and documented ZL-1-equipped Camaros – sans Gibb Harrell and Fox provenance – have sold for as much as $800,000 in the past.

[DuhKoDuh]

if only it was still all original! still looks cool!

[camarojoe]

Originally Posted by DuhKoDuh

if only it was still all original! still looks cool!

I'd rather have it like it is. It's such a famous racer. Original is awesome, but this is a piece of racing history!

[Mr.HOGG_T1&O]

Awesome!

[luckynuts]

Shows how much the market has softened. Compared to some of the other prices I've seen it seems like a steal at $400K

[Whitten]

I can remember when that car would have commanded a price 2 times that amount. My oh my how the times have changed. Bill had a trailer that he pulled that car in that literally was adorned in memorabilia, and documentation that would make any auto enthusiast drool let alone the Camaro faithful. I'll see if I can dig up some of my own photos of that car...might even have a few of Mr. Ray Sullins himself in the driver seat.

*Edit*

Ah ha! I managed to find one...thought I had more...runs off to check other pictures folders.

[CamaroMiami]

This is a beautiful engine!
Wish I could put it in my '92 camaro.

[Mr Twisty]

That car created more Camaro fans than any other

[v6sonoma]

Just goes to show you that the numbers we used to see are long gone. I'm sure they'll rebound in time but I think the crazy prices we saw in the past were the peak. Sweet car.

[redirish]

Its amazing how damn big the back slicks are. Looks like the Cragar wheel is so tiny! LOL

[SSOOCH]

$400k sounds like a bargain for what that car is. That car should be in the Smithsonian if you ask Me!!

[Sparkey]

Dammmmmn, that's sweet

[OldScoolCamaro]

....the Chevy Camaro factory Shot Heard Around The World......and let's not forget the 409's either......<Impala's>

[LimaCharlie]

Based on what I've seen from Barrett-Jackson, Mecum, etc. $400K is a bargain for a car like this. However, value for cars at this level is simply based on how much someone is willing to pay for it. The car could've gone for $800K+ but "that" person was not in the building when this auction took place. It's an amazing car though considering the history and association with Fred Gibb.

[ryan's camaro]

Looks cool and all, but its so heavily modified I wouldn't buy it for $400,000. Save yourself some money and get a 2012 Camaro ZL1. 1/9th the price and you get way more horsepower.

[Revo1]

[Mr Twisty]

Originally Posted by ryan's camaro

Looks cool and all, but its so heavily modified I wouldn't buy it for $400,000. Save yourself some money and get a 2012 Camaro ZL1. 1/9th the price and you get way more horsepower.

The ZL1 exists today because of that specific car.

[cardsfan09]

I guess that old saying "it's only stock once" really affected the price. Would it have brought in the seven figure price had it been stock???? The # may have been higher, who knows, that's why they play at the auctions, it's a gamble.....

[talwell]

This car was never seen in stock trim and should never be returned to stock trim. Chevrolet delivered this to Fred Gibb Chevrolet and they immediately built the car into what you see here. In my opinion the value of the car would be depreciated if it were returned to stock trim.

[Mr Twisty]

Restoring this car to factory original would be worse than restoring a 1st gen Sunoco Camaro to a factory Z/28..... This car made the other cars valuable, If a 69 ZL1 were gold, this car would be the motherlode!

[Whitten]

Originally Posted by talwell

This car was never seen in stock trim and should never be returned to stock trim. Chevrolet delivered this to Fred Gibb Chevrolet and they immediately built the car into what you see here. In my opinion the value of the car would be depreciated if it were returned to stock trim.

Roger that Sir....the young Padawan appears to not be up on his ZL-1 knowledge but we can fix that!

The ZL-1 Camaros were part of a group of vehicles that GM produced known as COPO cars or "Central Office Production Order". Yes there are only few of the COPO cars left and they are extremely rare however even more rare than a lowly COPO Camaro , there were but 69 Camaros that received a mostly experimental all aluminum 427 engine with the its own unique specs and parts for the express reason that it be used for racing. Without going into a deep diatribe I highly recommend that any of you new ZL-1 owners out there get read up on this program, Fred Gibb, Dick Harrell, and the whole COPO process...it is really truly unique even between the other major brands out there. There is a great wealth of info and stories out there to be found and read. The best thing you can do is know more about where the new ZL-1 came from so that ff you are fortunate like I was to get read up on this stuff in advance, you may find yourself in the company of some very special folks that you might not have even given a second look hand you not done your homework.

[Fox37]

Hope it'll be in the LaHarpe Car show regardless of the owner change! My grandpa was the driver of the car! We were pretty excited to see it go for 400K!