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Hey Chuck,
Thanks for bringing up the alum. head LS6 story. I
remember when that came out and you and I had had a discussion about that car.
Interesting fellow that guy was. I called him once about
renting a gang stamp to stamp my correct date coded block to
match my car (decided not to do it by the way) and he and I talked a couple
hours (my dime collect). Gave new meaning to having boat loads of
documentation before plunking down hard cash for a rare Chevelle.
See ya
Bob Belz
71 SS454
A.C.E.S. #182
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 5:30
PM
Subject: Re: [Chevelle-List] Rarest Cars
in the US...
on 7/30/02 12:43 PM, Kent Lewis at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I have an article that was written in one of
the mags that I received (years ago), that tells the story of a gentleman in
Texas (I believe) that has in his possession a '70 Chevelle convertible LS6
w/aluminum heads. There was a picture of the car sitting in a large
pole barn/garage. If my memory serves me correctly, it was black
w/black top. There was also a picture of the build sheet which clearly
showed LS6 w/aluminum head...AND...the car came from the factory with a
fiberglass cowl induction hood. It is also listed on the bottom
of the build sheet.
Kent
'68
Malibu ZZ502/502 :)
ACES #5102
Just because
something appears in print, it isn't automatically gospel.... I know, because
I've made many mistakes over the past 25 years while penning various articles
for magazines. However, I've always been open anyone that could shed new
light on a subject and broaden my scope of knowledge.
Chevy High
Performance had a brief article in it a few years back about the L89/LS6
convertible Chevelle from TX. I assume it's the same one being discussed
here. It caused quite a controversy among the readers, with arguments
going both ways.
A few years prior to it appearing in the
magazine, however, I personally inspected the car and the "build
sheet" while on a business trip to Lubbock, TX. To the trained eye, the
build sheet is laughable... not even close. All the fonts are wrong, it
was obviously a counterfeit, and not a good one at that.
A
couple of years after the magazine article the car was sold at a
Barrett-Jackson auction to a gentleman from Mustang, OK. The reason I
know this is because after purchasing the Chevelle he asked me to help
authenticate the car, which I agreed to. He sent me a copy of the same
"build sheet" that I'd seen years earlier, and I told him based on that
questionable piece of documentation I was unable to confirm the authenticity
of the Chevelle. He called me a few weeks later to let me know he'd been
able to get his money back. At the present time, it is unknown what the
status of the car is or where it's located.
Still, it was a neat car
and a great "what if Chevrolet decided to build one" exercise. The
coolest thing about the car, at least to me, was the functional, fiberglass
cowl induction hood. It had all the right underbracing and sealing
areas, and looked to me like a regular steel CI hood, except the thing was all
fiberglass. The owner of the Chevelle was unable to confirm whether it
may have been a GM prototype that got out of the engineering dept, or if some
aftermarket company may have produced it. At any rate, I've never seen
another like it.
The other interesting car that he had parked in
the same building was a black '66 SS with 427 fender flags and SS427
grill/cove emblems on it... purported to be a "factory-produced" car.
It, too, was somewhat suspect as there was no paperwork confirming that
fact. I've searched long and hard in my quest for Chevelle knowledge over the
past 30 years, to find confirmation that some "factory" 427 Chevelles were
produced in '66-7, but have yet to see one stitch of evidence to support that
proposition. And, I believe that among the Chevelle cognoscente, that
seems to be the prevailing line of thought. It, too, was a cool car with
a healthy 427 and a rare GM-produced underhood cowl-plenum air
cleaner.
So, at least that's my read on a couple of Chevelles that are
unique and over time have become somewhat mythical... but ultimately, not
verifiable. If anyone knows any more info on either of these cars
(anyone, especially in the Lubbock, TX area), I'd like to hear from you and
consider any evidence you have to support either of the claims that these cars
are "real." As I said earlier, I'm always open to anybody that can bring
new light to a subject and increase my knowledge. This has been a great
thread, thanks for allowing me to comment.
Chuck
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