Dick Harrell's '62 Z-11
- Thread starter 65FO-OH-9
- Start date
oil4kids
Well Known Member
another ????? Harrell 62 409, , too bad he never had a gold one according to his mechanics and friends
http://www.autabuy.com/Vehicles/Details.cfm?VID=335830&Year=1962&Make=CHEVROLET&Model=IMPALA
http://www.autabuy.com/Vehicles/Details.cfm?VID=335830&Year=1962&Make=CHEVROLET&Model=IMPALA
troublemaker427
Well Known Member
Anyone have photos of the restored car?
65FO-OH-9
Active Member
Dick Harrell's Black & Red '62 Impala Z-11
I was going off of what Super Chevy was saying about Dick Harrell's
'62 Impala being Black w/Red Interior...
I heard that Elaine Harrell did not like the car as they were in
Carlsbad, NM & she street drove the car to work! She didn't care for
it as the Black paint made it very hot! \ Good thing the '63 Z11 was
White. (Pretty sure on that - Valerie Harrell has a picture of her &
her father standing in front of it.)
I wasn't even wasn't aware that the was an Anv. Gold Z-11 ?? or that
it was Dick Harrell's Gold Z-11 ??
Sorry, I was just asking questions ...
I was going off of what Super Chevy was saying about Dick Harrell's
'62 Impala being Black w/Red Interior...
I heard that Elaine Harrell did not like the car as they were in
Carlsbad, NM & she street drove the car to work! She didn't care for
it as the Black paint made it very hot! \ Good thing the '63 Z11 was
White. (Pretty sure on that - Valerie Harrell has a picture of her &
her father standing in front of it.)
I wasn't even wasn't aware that the was an Anv. Gold Z-11 ?? or that
it was Dick Harrell's Gold Z-11 ??
Sorry, I was just asking questions ...
65FO-OH-9
Active Member
Old Z-11 Article from Super Chevy, RE: Zintmaster, Blk Z-ll w/red interior...
I couldn't get pictures to attach to this... but it is still cool!
-Mark.
bang
1962 Chevy Impala SS Lightweight - The Hibernating Impala
This Ultra Rare '62 SS Lightweight Is Back On The Radar.
By Thomas J. Lyman
A chance encounter in the Southeast led us in the direction of an extremely rare Chevy, one with an interesting history and a two-decade absence from the radar of car collectors.
The year 1961 is when the Super Stock class of drag racing came of age. NHRA shifted the rules to include 12 separate classes of Stockers, and increased media attention, brought on by the surging popularity of the sport, made Super Stock racing the perfect venue for manufacturers to showcase their cars. A total of 456 Super Sport Impalas were sold in 1961, with the factory adding performance dampers and springs, power steering and brakes, a passenger-side grab bar, and a tachometer as part of the initial Super Sport package.
Also in 1961, Chevy made the revered 409 V-8 available in all models (not just Impalas, which is a common misconception), mostly for the NASCAR teams of the era. By the end of the year, the 360 horsepower 409 had a big brother: the dual quad, bigger-valve 409 horsepower monster. When combined with the SS package in the Impala or standard (non-SS) bench seat Impala (or even the stripped down Bel Air and Biscayne), these powerhouses (over 15,000 in all) made for a formidable foe at quarter-mile drag strips across the country.
In late-1962, Chevrolet upped the ante and built 18 (according to NHRA news clippings of the day) "lightweight" 409 Super Sport Impalas. Each was assembled with aluminum front fenders and wheelwells, and an aluminum hood. Lore has it that these Super Sport '62s were built to compete with the aluminum front-end Pontiacs. Soon, some of these stock dual carb 409 engines received the mythical Z-11 engine upgrades (aluminum two piece, super hi-rise intake manifold for the 409's Carter AFB carbs, a hotter mechanical lifter camshaft with matching valve springs and a pair of 730 cylinder heads with raised, rectangular intake ports (similar to later Mark II and IV big-block ports). Of the 18 Super Sport lightweights, only two are known to still exist, the Zintsmaster Chevrolet 409 Impala seen here and Dick Harrell's black SS with red interior. The Zintsmaster car is the most original, factory-built lightweight that coast-to-coast experts of the marque know about. This white SS with red interior was shipped to the Zintsmaster Chevrolet dealership in Kokomo, Indiana.
While the story of the '63 Z-11 427/409 Lightweights is fairly well known, most people are unfamiliar with the fact that there were any produced in '62. What is known is that the '62s all rolled off the Flint, Michigan assembly line late in the 1962 model year. Our feature subject was born on July 31. The aluminum body components lightened the cars by approximately 120-130 lbs. The Impalas ran and were competitive in the B/FX class. Other lucky racers installed the aluminum bits on the lighter Bel Air sport coupe, and ran in the A/FX category against 421 Pontiac Tempests and didn't fair as well. Confusing the issue some is that the factory offered a handful of sets of the aluminum parts to racers so some cars competed with them that weren't factory-built. Also, racers like Dave Strickler would run with the aluminum parts at some races (in the FX class) and with steel body panels at others (in S/S).
From the factory, the Zintmaster beast cost just $3600.25, with all the added go-fast components, including a T10 four-speed manual box, a Posi rear, metallic brakes, and of course the dual-quad Turbo-Fire 409. Driver Dave Mason, whose name is still painted on the door, took this car to the 1962 Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park where it ran low 12s at 115 mph. Shortly after that, the car was placed in private storage and disappeared for over 20 years.
By just looking at the vehicle from an exterior vantage, there is no way to distinguish the "lightweight" nature of the car. Even upon a close inspection of the still-intact window sticker, there is no mention of anything "experimental," or "aluminum."
Only a look under the hood reveals the paper-thin aluminum bits-they almost feel carbon-fiberish when tapped on.
The car is now owned by Jon Been of Atlanta, and still looks as if it just rolled off the showroom floor. In its present trim, the Impala makes about 500 hp, with S&S headers and a Z-11 camshaft that were probably done sometime after the car was pulled out of storage in 1988.
"I've always been a fan of the early-'60s Impalas," Been says. "There's just something about them that clicks with me."
He also owns a '63 Impala SS convertible, in absolutely magnificent condition. We had the chance to fire the Zintsmaster up and take it on some, albeit slow, runs through the parking lot behind Been's place of business. With no mufflers, our ears rattled like a tambourine inside the peerless garage where the Impala is kept. The 409 powerplant sounds just as sweet as it must have during the heyday of its S/S racing.
"It's just amazing I could find this car," Been says. "It's damn awesome."
I couldn't get pictures to attach to this... but it is still cool!
-Mark.
bang1962 Chevy Impala SS Lightweight - The Hibernating Impala
This Ultra Rare '62 SS Lightweight Is Back On The Radar.
By Thomas J. Lyman
A chance encounter in the Southeast led us in the direction of an extremely rare Chevy, one with an interesting history and a two-decade absence from the radar of car collectors.
The year 1961 is when the Super Stock class of drag racing came of age. NHRA shifted the rules to include 12 separate classes of Stockers, and increased media attention, brought on by the surging popularity of the sport, made Super Stock racing the perfect venue for manufacturers to showcase their cars. A total of 456 Super Sport Impalas were sold in 1961, with the factory adding performance dampers and springs, power steering and brakes, a passenger-side grab bar, and a tachometer as part of the initial Super Sport package.
Also in 1961, Chevy made the revered 409 V-8 available in all models (not just Impalas, which is a common misconception), mostly for the NASCAR teams of the era. By the end of the year, the 360 horsepower 409 had a big brother: the dual quad, bigger-valve 409 horsepower monster. When combined with the SS package in the Impala or standard (non-SS) bench seat Impala (or even the stripped down Bel Air and Biscayne), these powerhouses (over 15,000 in all) made for a formidable foe at quarter-mile drag strips across the country.
In late-1962, Chevrolet upped the ante and built 18 (according to NHRA news clippings of the day) "lightweight" 409 Super Sport Impalas. Each was assembled with aluminum front fenders and wheelwells, and an aluminum hood. Lore has it that these Super Sport '62s were built to compete with the aluminum front-end Pontiacs. Soon, some of these stock dual carb 409 engines received the mythical Z-11 engine upgrades (aluminum two piece, super hi-rise intake manifold for the 409's Carter AFB carbs, a hotter mechanical lifter camshaft with matching valve springs and a pair of 730 cylinder heads with raised, rectangular intake ports (similar to later Mark II and IV big-block ports). Of the 18 Super Sport lightweights, only two are known to still exist, the Zintsmaster Chevrolet 409 Impala seen here and Dick Harrell's black SS with red interior. The Zintsmaster car is the most original, factory-built lightweight that coast-to-coast experts of the marque know about. This white SS with red interior was shipped to the Zintsmaster Chevrolet dealership in Kokomo, Indiana.
While the story of the '63 Z-11 427/409 Lightweights is fairly well known, most people are unfamiliar with the fact that there were any produced in '62. What is known is that the '62s all rolled off the Flint, Michigan assembly line late in the 1962 model year. Our feature subject was born on July 31. The aluminum body components lightened the cars by approximately 120-130 lbs. The Impalas ran and were competitive in the B/FX class. Other lucky racers installed the aluminum bits on the lighter Bel Air sport coupe, and ran in the A/FX category against 421 Pontiac Tempests and didn't fair as well. Confusing the issue some is that the factory offered a handful of sets of the aluminum parts to racers so some cars competed with them that weren't factory-built. Also, racers like Dave Strickler would run with the aluminum parts at some races (in the FX class) and with steel body panels at others (in S/S).
From the factory, the Zintmaster beast cost just $3600.25, with all the added go-fast components, including a T10 four-speed manual box, a Posi rear, metallic brakes, and of course the dual-quad Turbo-Fire 409. Driver Dave Mason, whose name is still painted on the door, took this car to the 1962 Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park where it ran low 12s at 115 mph. Shortly after that, the car was placed in private storage and disappeared for over 20 years.
By just looking at the vehicle from an exterior vantage, there is no way to distinguish the "lightweight" nature of the car. Even upon a close inspection of the still-intact window sticker, there is no mention of anything "experimental," or "aluminum."
Only a look under the hood reveals the paper-thin aluminum bits-they almost feel carbon-fiberish when tapped on.
The car is now owned by Jon Been of Atlanta, and still looks as if it just rolled off the showroom floor. In its present trim, the Impala makes about 500 hp, with S&S headers and a Z-11 camshaft that were probably done sometime after the car was pulled out of storage in 1988.
"I've always been a fan of the early-'60s Impalas," Been says. "There's just something about them that clicks with me."
He also owns a '63 Impala SS convertible, in absolutely magnificent condition. We had the chance to fire the Zintsmaster up and take it on some, albeit slow, runs through the parking lot behind Been's place of business. With no mufflers, our ears rattled like a tambourine inside the peerless garage where the Impala is kept. The 409 powerplant sounds just as sweet as it must have during the heyday of its S/S racing.
"It's just amazing I could find this car," Been says. "It's damn awesome."
The black/red Dick Harrell '62 Super Sport has been disputed lately as possibly not being the real car. I've personally seen the 'before' restoration photos and it certainly looked like the real thing to me. It had survived remarkably intact with stickers, etc. in the correct locations. A lot of people knew where the car was even into the Eighties before Willie Smith of Utah acquired it and restored it. Of the assembly-line-built 62's (Harrell's car was built with over-the-counter fenders), I think there's between 3 and 5 accounted for. All are Super Sports with no indication at all of aluminum on the window stickers. There's a couple of white ones, including the Zintsmaster car, and I wanna say that there's a strange-colored off-white one that surfaces from time to time. It's light beige or something. It's known that the early '63 Z-11's had .026 gauge aluminum that proved to be VERY fragile and later Z-11's had the aluminum stamped out of .040 gauge material to survive the elbow dents in the fenders from even changing the plugs. I don't know for sure, but I would assume the 62's were possibly the thin, .026 gauge aluminum and if they were, it's a wonder that any survived at all.
I couldn't get pictures to attach to this... but it is still cool!
-Mark.
1962 Chevy Impala SS Lightweight - The Hibernating Impala
This Ultra Rare '62 SS Lightweight Is Back On The Radar.
By Thomas J. Lyman
A chance encounter in the Southeast led us in the direction of an extremely rare Chevy, one with an interesting history and a two-decade absence from the radar of car collectors.
The year 1961 is when the Super Stock class of drag racing came of age. NHRA shifted the rules to include 12 separate classes of Stockers, and increased media attention, brought on by the surging popularity of the sport, made Super Stock racing the perfect venue for manufacturers to showcase their cars. A total of 456 Super Sport Impalas were sold in 1961, with the factory adding performance dampers and springs, power steering and brakes, a passenger-side grab bar, and a tachometer as part of the initial Super Sport package.
Also in 1961, Chevy made the revered 409 V-8 available in all models (not just Impalas, which is a common misconception), mostly for the NASCAR teams of the era. By the end of the year, the 360 horsepower 409 had a big brother: the dual quad, bigger-valve 409 horsepower monster. When combined with the SS package in the Impala or standard (non-SS) bench seat Impala (or even the stripped down Bel Air and Biscayne), these powerhouses (over 15,000 in all) made for a formidable foe at quarter-mile drag strips across the country.
In late-1962, Chevrolet upped the ante and built 18 (according to NHRA news clippings of the day) "lightweight" 409 Super Sport Impalas. Each was assembled with aluminum front fenders and wheelwells, and an aluminum hood. Lore has it that these Super Sport '62s were built to compete with the aluminum front-end Pontiacs. Soon, some of these stock dual carb 409 engines received the mythical Z-11 engine upgrades (aluminum two piece, super hi-rise intake manifold for the 409's Carter AFB carbs, a hotter mechanical lifter camshaft with matching valve springs and a pair of 730 cylinder heads with raised, rectangular intake ports (similar to later Mark II and IV big-block ports). Of the 18 Super Sport lightweights, only two are known to still exist, the Zintsmaster Chevrolet 409 Impala seen here and Dick Harrell's black SS with red interior. The Zintsmaster car is the most original, factory-built lightweight that coast-to-coast experts of the marque know about. This white SS with red interior was shipped to the Zintsmaster Chevrolet dealership in Kokomo, Indiana.
While the story of the '63 Z-11 427/409 Lightweights is fairly well known, most people are unfamiliar with the fact that there were any produced in '62. What is known is that the '62s all rolled off the Flint, Michigan assembly line late in the 1962 model year. Our feature subject was born on July 31. The aluminum body components lightened the cars by approximately 120-130 lbs. The Impalas ran and were competitive in the B/FX class. Other lucky racers installed the aluminum bits on the lighter Bel Air sport coupe, and ran in the A/FX category against 421 Pontiac Tempests and didn't fair as well. Confusing the issue some is that the factory offered a handful of sets of the aluminum parts to racers so some cars competed with them that weren't factory-built. Also, racers like Dave Strickler would run with the aluminum parts at some races (in the FX class) and with steel body panels at others (in S/S).
From the factory, the Zintmaster beast cost just $3600.25, with all the added go-fast components, including a T10 four-speed manual box, a Posi rear, metallic brakes, and of course the dual-quad Turbo-Fire 409. Driver Dave Mason, whose name is still painted on the door, took this car to the 1962 Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park where it ran low 12s at 115 mph. Shortly after that, the car was placed in private storage and disappeared for over 20 years.
By just looking at the vehicle from an exterior vantage, there is no way to distinguish the "lightweight" nature of the car. Even upon a close inspection of the still-intact window sticker, there is no mention of anything "experimental," or "aluminum."
Only a look under the hood reveals the paper-thin aluminum bits-they almost feel carbon-fiberish when tapped on.
The car is now owned by Jon Been of Atlanta, and still looks as if it just rolled off the showroom floor. In its present trim, the Impala makes about 500 hp, with S&S headers and a Z-11 camshaft that were probably done sometime after the car was pulled out of storage in 1988.
"I've always been a fan of the early-'60s Impalas," Been says. "There's just something about them that clicks with me."
He also owns a '63 Impala SS convertible, in absolutely magnificent condition. We had the chance to fire the Zintsmaster up and take it on some, albeit slow, runs through the parking lot behind Been's place of business. With no mufflers, our ears rattled like a tambourine inside the peerless garage where the Impala is kept. The 409 powerplant sounds just as sweet as it must have during the heyday of its S/S racing.
"It's just amazing I could find this car," Been says. "It's damn awesome."
good info
........ ... ..... .....
The Zintmaster car is now for sale on the AutaBuy site . I just checked and it is still there. The seller is Fraser Dante , from Roswell Ga.
In don't know this for sure , i think he is a speculator in hi-performance & unusual , low milage cars . I have seen his listing all over the internet & in Hemmings.
In don't know this for sure , i think he is a speculator in hi-performance & unusual , low milage cars . I have seen his listing all over the internet & in Hemmings.
I first ran into this car almost 20 years ago and was instrumential in getting Willie hooked up to buy it. The car still has the original mileage on it....something like 283 or 312 original miles. It had been setting in a pasture for a long time and then bought and moved into inside storage. When Willie got the car..it had a 64 425HP shortblock in it with a Z-11 top half. I had a correctly dated 62 068 block so Willie brought me the whole engine and I built it for him. Car still has the original aluminum front end that was put on in Carlsbad. I have had several conversations with a former crew member of Dick's and he has verified the complete history of owners. And this has been done in the last year. He was the crew member who was responsible for getting the holes for the 409 scripts wrong in the new aluminum fenders and so they are crooked in the pictures of 1962 and 1963.
I'm not trying to dump on anybody here but I hate it when mis-information or just wrong information gets out there and doesn't get corrected. It obviously does not have the original drivetrain but it certainly is the ORIGINAL car.
Last edited:
Hobbs New Mexico Drag Way
I worked in Odessa , Texas in the early 60s and raced at Hobbs New Mexico. I saw Harrell race many times. In early 62 he was still working in the potash mines before he turned pro. I remember the black 62 and I "think" I remember red interrior. I also think I remember the 62 got a alum. front end late in the season. there was also a brown with white top Pont. La Mans with a alum front end and other parts.(don't remember any names-been too long). Just working off my memory of many years ago.
W Head
59 El Camino 348-3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s
I worked in Odessa , Texas in the early 60s and raced at Hobbs New Mexico. I saw Harrell race many times. In early 62 he was still working in the potash mines before he turned pro. I remember the black 62 and I "think" I remember red interrior. I also think I remember the 62 got a alum. front end late in the season. there was also a brown with white top Pont. La Mans with a alum front end and other parts.(don't remember any names-been too long). Just working off my memory of many years ago.
W Head
59 El Camino 348-3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s
Fraser-Dante cars
After seeing Denny's post I quickly went through the Fraser-Dante site looking for the car, but came up short.
Here is another interesting prospect:
http://www.fraserdante.com/4101 - 62 Impala 409 - white/62impala.html
Enjoy!
TomK
After seeing Denny's post I quickly went through the Fraser-Dante site looking for the car, but came up short.
Here is another interesting prospect:
http://www.fraserdante.com/4101 - 62 Impala 409 - white/62impala.html
Enjoy!
TomK
Post some pics fellows!! What kind of money are they looking for on the Anniversary Gold car and the Zintsmaster car? Not that I could afford it
65FO-OH-9
Active Member
Parts
Well Known Member
If this link was to the Gold 62 Impala that was supposed to be a Dick Harrell car, don't believe what you read. First place when I lived in Carlsbad and worked for Dick, I don't remember any gold 62 cars, but he first thing that shows who ever wrote this ad does not know anything about Dick is that he NEVER owned a dealership in Carlsbad or any where else in 62. Part of 62 he and his wife drove the Black 62 on the street, but when the "Z11" package was installed they did not drive it any more on the street. There was a little Willy's, cant remember the year that Elaine drove to work and Dick drove his moms car a lot.
Larry
Larry
65FO-OH-9
Active Member
Drive this on streets of Carlsbad ??
I didn't think that Doug Marion of Super Chevy would steer us wrong on that.
I only heard about the Black w/ Red interior '62 Z-11. Later Dick got a White '63
Z11 because when Elaine did drive the Black '62 to work for a while -but it was way too hot
in Carlsbad. Phil Reed also confirmed it - as he actually worked on the shortblock
during restoration. I could ask Valerie Harrell what she remembers about it - but,
I'm sure she gets tired of the questions + she would have only been about 6 yrs.
old @ the time ...??
It would be awesome if Willie Smith could show pictures of the car!!
Thanks,
Mark.bang
I didn't think that Doug Marion of Super Chevy would steer us wrong on that.
I only heard about the Black w/ Red interior '62 Z-11. Later Dick got a White '63
Z11 because when Elaine did drive the Black '62 to work for a while -but it was way too hot
in Carlsbad. Phil Reed also confirmed it - as he actually worked on the shortblock
during restoration. I could ask Valerie Harrell what she remembers about it - but,
I'm sure she gets tired of the questions + she would have only been about 6 yrs.
old @ the time ...??
It would be awesome if Willie Smith could show pictures of the car!!
Thanks,
Mark.
bang
I'd have to venture to say that Dick's black aluminum '62 Super Sport is probably one of the most important 'race history' 409's to survive. The only car that would stand a chance of being more important and surviving to this day, in actual historical signifigance, would the Dave Strickler/Bill Jenkins Old Reliable II '62 Bel Air Aport Coupe that is currently owned by Larry Davis. Now that could possibly be a million dollar car after watching Ray Allens's 70 Chevelle LS-6 convertible on "that" auction a couple of years ago. This takes into account the driver's fame, races won, magazine coverage, and currently still being in existence, etc. The Dyno Don white-on-red '62 Bel Air could have made the list if it would have survived. Now that's a sad one lost to the world. I know every region and state had fast, well-known cars, but these 3 that I mention were famous nationwide. Oh yeah, one more....Hayden Proffit's red-on-red '62 Bel Air would be definitly be on the list. I heard after being raced as Sad Sack, it crossed over into Mexico, never to be seen again. Well, cars don't rust out in Mexico so maybe there's a chance of it surfacing again someday. Could you imagine Hayden's car being discovered in a tiny Mexican village transformed into a lowrider by an un-suspecting owner many years ago? Stranger things have happened!