L88-M40-900-407

Any more info on this car out there?

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...e/1573809.html
http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_de...=KC0413-152026

Still available for sale. Represented as an L-88 car with a for-real date-coded 1969 ZL-1 (DeLorenzo) installed.

Any thought on value? Price is $225K firm.

TimAT

I've seen that one in person. The shop that did it was located just north of Kansas City. Shop has since closed. Very nicely done, and was never, to my knowledge, marketed as anything other than a ZL-1 clone. I've not seen it running so no info there. $225k? With the chrome bumper market being a bit depressed, that might be a stretch. But that's just my $.02

Faster Rat

Nothing in either ad specifies how this car is one of the 116 L88s produced in 1969 (an L88 body?) or what happened to the original L88 engine. Without documentation and provenance, it is a 1969 NOM convertible that has been cloned into something that was never produced...a ZL-1 convertible...white with a red stripe no less. I have never heard of a cloned anything selling for $225K...have you?

Hey...I know where there are two real 1969 ZL-1 engines. We can probably come up with a pair of correct M22s to boot. Anyone want to grab a pair and drop them into a '69 base engine convertible?

L88-M40-900-407

Obviously very nicely done; and no, it's not (and can't be) represented as a true ZL-1 car. But it evidently does have a date-coded 1969 ZL-1 engine, which muddies things up nicely.

The video shows it running. And yes, $225K seems stiff, even if they have a chunk in it. The market is virtually non-existent for such a car unless it's just another piece of jewelry to augment legit cars.

I love the overall appearance and quality. I'd be in it at around $150K if it's as well done as it presents.

L88-M40-900-407

Yep, that's the rub. I have no idea. The seller may have documentation, but I'd think it would be mentioned if so.

Fair enough, and I don't disagree.

Not that I recall.

Of the original 7? Now that's interesting. Forget this "tribute" car, let's talk about those ZL-1s.

No, but I'd like to have the two ZL-1 engines. That's the only thing that caught my attention about this car besides the seeming quality of the overall build.

What's a 1969 ZL-1 engine go for? Is there even a possible accurate market value?

Faster Rat

There were more than 7 engines built. I believe there were 60 some ZL-1 Camaros built. There were also Can Am engines built...and crate engines sold over the counter. Back in the day, one of the guys in our group bought one thru a Chevy dealer and stuck it in a '48 Anglia. We were told it was an "aluminum" L88.

As to the value of such engines, I have no idea. Depends on their condition, completeness and whether or not they could be rebuilt.

As to the availability of the 2 that I have personally seen, probably not for sale. I have suggested to the owner that they be put on the market because his dream of building a clone ZL-1 Corvette will likely never come to fruition.

Abogado

too much $

vettebuyer6369

I never cared for the cop-out answer "it's worth what someone will pay for it," but in a case like this where there's virtually no established market for such a clone, that's the only way you can look at it.

I guess personally all I could do would be to try to value that engine plus the worth of the remaining roadster. Projects are never worth the sum of their parts, but this engine + body is the only calculation I could come up with.

I've never seen a lot of value in clones anyway, and matching up dates on a fake/NOM doesn't add much to it IMO.

Tough call on price. Very cool car- I guess the seller just needs one guy who really likes it.

L88-M40-900-407

That's pretty much my take on it so far. I know opinions are strong and emotions run deep on such topics as this.

I just wanted to get a few honest perspectives. I'd value the quality restoration/rebuild in contrast to any 427 car in general and toss in the value of the ZL-1 engine value.

Personally, I'd rather have a NOM totally accurate resto and yank the ZL-1 engine. But in reality, what does one DO with a 1969 ZL-1 engine if not put it in such a machine.

I also think there's a slight difference in a "clone" and a "tribute" car. Building a yellow car virtually identical to Judski's would be more a "tribute", whereas a "clone" seems a more general term for a model or option. But that's all semantics.

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the "donor" car, and if it's indeed an L-88 shell with any validation. I'd certainly do a NOM L-88 resto and pull the ZL-1, but again there's the quandry of what to DO with a ZL-1 engine alone.

It's an interesting and well-done car. Apart from NCRS standards and general provenance, I'd own it.

L88-M40-900-407

I was thinking of the 7 that were specifically sent to St. Louis for Corvettes. Yes, there are certainly others.

This all points to the central quandry I've mentioned above. What does one DO with a 1969 ZL-1 engine if not put it in such a "tribute/clone" car? It could certainly be either a Camaro or a Corvette or a wild custom something. But an engine without a car isn't much functional use.

Indexed to the comparable market of restored 427s in general and the value of a ZL-1 engine, I can still assign a significant dollar value to a car like in the OP ad. It's not $225K, but there's SOME strong value there, especially with the apparent quality of the build.

I suppose someone has had 2 ZL-1 engines laying around for a while. That seems a greater useless void to me that putting them in cars, which is what your buddy wants to do anyway. I like having the engine IN something.

What a micro-niche in the hobby, eh? LOL.

Easy Mike

FWIW: the figure of seven ZL-1 engines has popped up in the past. I believe there is a reference in Jerry Burton's biography of Duntov concerning the whereabouts of the five which were not used, what happened to them, and whether Duntov did or did not sign an order sending them back to Tonawanda.

All of this stemmed from the rumor concerning whether there could have been more than two factory ZL-1s.

L88-M40-900-407

Yeah, there's always a dense fog surrounding such (potential and alleged) "facts". I should have couched my statement with such a conditional term.

There are some big dogs in the Corvette trade that insist the 7 number is correct, with 2 being production cars and the other 5 going into back-door race machines. I don't know who would have the correct information or how to even know what/who to believe.

It's voodoo, I tell ya. Voodoo.

Like many others, I'd just like to have a legit ZL-1 "something".

Easy Mike

It is my understanding Zora Duntov never offcially confirmed the suspect five engines were sent back to Tonawanda.

L88-M40-900-407

Technically, we already have such a tribute/clone car in the hobby for many years now; and it's Can Am White, too. The ex-Chandler current-Suydam car. And it does at least have documentation of being an original L-88, as I understand it.

L88-M40-900-407

That was my understanding, as well.