The following resulted from an argument between Larry Davis and a former member of the SLM. While the latter descended into name-calling, Larry graced those of us who chose to listen with the facts below. We are fortunate to count guys like Larry and Phil Elliott as members, as their knowledge of drag racing's history provides a wealth of information helpful to building better drag race models.

This looks like a brand new car, probably taken right off the assembly line. Two things jump out: 1) the battery is mounted in the front (Z-11s had the battery in the trunk) and, 2) It has stock high performance exhaust manifold, which the drivers did away with almost instantly--S/S Larry      In December 1962, Chevrolet built 25 Z-11 Impala coupes. All 25 were spoken for and very few of the original 25 went to California. Each dealership that qualified (and that is the key word--qualified) was allotted one car. And you had to have an SCCA license to drive it. Don't ask me why SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) because I never found out. Anyway, there never were 500 of them built. As I said, the December batch was 25, the February batch was 25, and the final batch was an additional 7 cars. All the cars were spoken for before they were even built.      The big name drivers got the first batch - Proffitt, Leal, Sturm, Prince, and Lenke in California, Frank Sanders in AZ, Harrell in NM, and Milner in WA. There were probably others but I don't have the list of dealer/drivers in front of me.  Strickler got #1, Nicholson got #2 of the first batch. Hubert Platt's Georgia Shaker was #1 of the second batch, I think. I have the full list around here someplace. Itâ's interesting.      Many of you are unaware that all those Chevrolet aluminum intakes were made in my home town at Winters Fondry. Look on any of them and you'll see the Winters "snowflake" logo. There was a lot of experimentation done by the speed shops back then, much of it was one off stuff. If it worked, it got some type of part number. If not, or if they could improve on it, then it became a 'one-off' piece--S/S Larry

I won't argue with you about the '61 dipstick. It was the same as a 348 motor, I think. I'll have to check on that. But, I will argue with you about the other two. In ‘63, the factory built Z-11 cars (the 427 cars) had the air induction system come off the firewall through the air inlet in front of thewindshield. The 7 cars 'built' as Z-11s in ‘62 did not have that part. But the intake and carb bodies were the same.      I know about the ‘63 cars as I have talked at length with Grumpy,Dyno Don, and Ed Schartman about those cars. Ed's Jackshaw car was built from spare parts, i.e. over the counter stuff, and he specifically mentioned that the way you knew about it being a "built" car, was that the air plenum was missing from the firewall.      Most of guys played around with various ways of getting air to the carbs on those cars. Dyno and Platt, Schartman, Sox, and Durham had hood mounted scoops and/or tubes from the outer headlights to get air into the carbs. Grumpy and Strickler stayed with the factory setup throughout the career of the car. Only one that did I think.      Anyway, I know a bit about 409/427s. Old Reliable II rests in the barn a short distance from the house. And Platt's "Georgia Shaker" and Schartman's Jackshaw car are in another barn about five miles from me.           I hate to throw a wrench into this, but there simply was no such thing as an "RPO Z-11" with a 409 engine. 57 cars were built between December 1962 and April 1963, in batches of 25, 25, and 7. All were identical in every way, except trim and thickness of aluminum--i.e. standard 63 Impala 2 door hardtops with bench seat, aluminum front end and other parts, and special high performance 427 c.i. engines rated at 430 horsepower.      They all had the special cowl induction air intakes, originally designed for the Chevrolet Nascar teams, that came off the firewall just above the heater delete panel. However, many of the teams like Dyno Don's Nalley Chevrolet team, changed to either a hood scoop or plumbing from the outer headlights.      There were several cars "built" from parts including the Eddie Schartman Jackshaw Chevrolet car. Schartman began with a standard 63 Impala coupe, ordered the aluminum parts and 427 Z-11 engine, put it together then towed it down to Nicholson's Nalley shop and Don tuned it. It did NOT have the cowl induction plenum.      The true 63 Z-11 intakes were a high-rise, two-piece affair, mounting dual AFBs. It was the second GM engine to have a "tunnel ram" intake, the first being the 421 Pontiac under the hoods of the A/FX Tempests and 'Swiss cheese' Catalinas. The intake in the AMT Proffitt 409 is the Z-11 intake. Compare it with the stock intake, or look at the photos on pages 39 and 66 in my book.      The first cars had aluminum parts stamped from 26 gauge aluminum--very thin. After the first 50 cars, replacement parts were stamped from 40 gauge aluminum, since the 26 gauge stuff bent almost by the wind at those 130 mph runs. Look at almost any photo of a Z-11 in or after Spring 63--fenders wrinkled, bumpers twisted. (Wish I knew how to replicate that wrinkling!!)      Anyway, "RPO Z-11" was specific in that included the Z-11 427 engine. This is, by the way, not the so-called "Mystery Motor" that ran so well on the Nascar tracks. That was an early version of the 396-427 big block Chevrolet.      One of the things that stumped me about your dad's car was the 36 gallon gas tank. But when I looked in the file, there were two cars, #47 and #49 on the production run, which went to dealerships in Colorado to run at Pikes Peak in ‘63. Those cars were probably fitted (maybe even ordered) with a 36 gallon tank.  But, they had all the other RPO Z-11 equipment, including the 427 engine and air induction off the firewall--S/S Larry Ken Andrus added the following:      Larry, I think where the confusion lies is in the look of the engine.  The 427 Z11 engine looked on the outside almost identical to the 409 as you know. I think the more widely known 427 based on the "Rat" motor design is where the confusion is. That motor was only run in ’63 (if I'm not mistaken) by Junior Johnson in his NASCAR Impalas. Production on those didn't start ‘til ‘65, again, as you well know. The 63 Z11 427 looked basically like a 409.        Ken and guys. This will clear up a lot of things on two subjects. I just got off the hook with Bill Stiles and he said, "There was no such thing as a 63 Z-11 without the 427 motor." As many of you know, Bill was a member of the Dave Strickler/Bill Jenkins team from 61 thru 67. Bill then got his own car, a ‘68 Hemi ‘Cuda. Bill also said that everything Grumpy built was painted black for heat dissipation. Again, Bill Stiles worked for and with Bill Jenkins from the beginning--S/S Larry

The SS was a trim package, i.e. bucket seats, special side trim and emblems, and different interior trim. You could order any engine with the SS trim package. There was an SS hardtop with the 409/425 hp package. It was reasonably rare, maybe 2500 were built like that. Same goes for the chrome goodies on the engine. That was an engine trim package, I'd have to look up the RPO number now. Again, you could order that on any 409 engine in ‘63, from 340 hp. thru 425 hp. in any body style from Biscayne to Impala SS convertible--except the RPO Z-11engine. That only came one way; painted orange, no frills, no chrome goodies.  It didn't need any. Most of the teams cut big holes in the valve covers for breathers, and 90% of the teams threw away the ducted air cleaner, preferring a hood scoop ala Dyno Don, Ronnie Sox, and Malcolm Durham, or going to the headlight ducts with flex tubing like the Thunderbolts had. Now, there is a rare bird, a 63 SS convertible with the 409/425 horse engine. They only built a few (maybe 300-400) of those--S/S Larry