The NHRA and A

 




 

HRA may have been writing the rule books, but the game of one-upmanship between the factories at the dawn of the 1960s seemed to escalate with each passing weekend as one performance package after another issued from Detroit. In 1963 Chevrolet made a bold leap forward with the Z11 Impala, a lightweight match-racer that drew on the lessons of the recent past to dominate Super Stock and the fledgling A/FX class.

The Z11’s aluminum front end and bumpers and Spartan finish were standard practice for factory lightweights. What sets this car apart is the high performance 427 CI "mystery engine" scruntinzed as authentic by W-Block expert Phil Reed.  On top of the engine sits an aluminum dual quad intake and carburetors as well as the distinctive Z11 air cleaner that drew air from the passenger-side cowl vent, the latter item so rare today that examples have sold for more than $40,000!
Known as the Grey Ghost, this 1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11 hardtop is one of approximately 57 built. Sold on April 3, 1963 by Gregor Chevrolet in Paramount, CA to the Sahara Hotel (who sponsored the car), it was driven by racers Ron Cambell and Frank Saunders and ran consistent 12.20 elapsed times in the course of a distinguished racing career. In 1996 it emerged fresh from a complete frame-off restoration by no less a talent than the late Boyd Coddington. Perhaps just as significantly, the car’s 427 CI powerplant was built by legendary racer, engine wizard, crew chief and Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Dale Armstrong, himself an original Z11 campaigner.
Listed in the Rusty Symmes Z11 Registry, the Grey Ghost is finished in Satin Silver with a Black interior incorporating an in-dash tachometer, heater and 4-speed shifter, and whose most interesting feature is the factory odometer reading of fewer than 1,150 original miles! Documented with the original Protect-O-Plate, owner history, racing log book and elapsed time slips, the Boyd Coddington-restored Grey Ghost 1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11is a masterpiece that stands as one of the finest restorations of any factory lightweight drag racer and recently won Best in Class at the 2010 Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance.

HIGHLIGHTS

- The original Z11 Grey Ghost
- High performance Z11 427 CI mystery engine
- Borg Warner T-10 4-speed transmission
- Factory aluminum front end
- Dual Quad intake and carbs
- Correct air cleaner
- Restored by Boyd Coddington
- Motor built by Z11 campaigner Dale Armstrong
- Listed in the Rusty Symmes Z11 registry
- 1 of 57 Z11 Impalas ever built
- Sold new in Paramount, California
- Racing log book and time slips
- Documented with Protect-O-Plate and owner history
- Believed to be under 1,150 original miles
- 2010 Meadow Brook Best in Class