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Originally posted by Hookerf14:
Great looking pics. Scott sure looks happy.

Are all the ZL1s assigned to their new owners? Are some of them still for sale?

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I believe that all were spoken for. I did see on on Ebay that another Chevy dealer was selling for a fast buck.

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Originally posted by chrisL:
interesting... all the zl1 cars were hardtops. never noticed that before.

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They all started out as B4C's.

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Originally posted by JohnS:
B I G pictures and nice cars. Scott looks like a proud papa in a materity ward. We've got to get him one of those Camaro SS golf shirts.

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I warned you that they were big pictures! I did not host them or resize them.

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The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


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2002 ZL1 "SUPERCAR" Camaro Unveilings:
Salutes Fame 1969 ZL1 Where It Began
by Dessa Rodeffer, Publisher, Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

La Harpe, IL - Muscle car enthusiasts and Camaro lovers were given a special treat New Year's Eve as a closed Chevrolet dealership formerly ran by the late Fred Gibb was reopened for a special unveiling December 31st. The event was to honor Fred Gibb and his fame 1969 ZL1 and accomplishments in the racing world and to salute the end of the Camaro by Chevrolet, at least for the time being.

It was the unveiling of five more 2002 ZL1 "SUPERCAR" Camaros after the first was unveiled in La Harpe at the 4th Annual Fred Gibb Memorial Car Show in August. The car had been delivered to its new owner Bill Porterfield of Williamston, Michigan. Porterfield is also owner of the famous #1-Fred Gibb/Dick Harrell 1969 ZL-1 Camaro which is a top feature at the car show.

For a New Year's Eve public celebration, there has never been quite as an exciting year's ending in this small community of around 1500 for car enthusiasts....well, not since December 31, 1968. At that time, most of the community and the world did not know what would become of the Fred Gibb name and the two cars that were quietly delivered to his dealership that evening.

It was thirty-four years ago on a "cold blustery New Year's Eve", when the first two of fifty stripped down 1969 Camaros arrived. Gibb had special ordered them to further his dealership and his racing successes in the AHRA. The rest is history.

(See: Gibb's Racing Highlights).

The Fred Gibb legacy is a huge story for those who enjoy the power and competition of muscle cars. In Gibb's hometown of La Harpe, many knew of the Fred Gibb racing accomplishments, most residents had put it aside over the years and didn't realize how the event had made a permanent mark in Chevrolet/Camaro and racing history, and was still being talked about in magazines and by "outsiders."

After two Gibb admirers, La Harpe Mayor Kenny Brown and former Gibb mechanic Jerry Burford put together a "small" car show in Memory of Gibb on the thirtieth anniversary of the Camaro in August 1999, the flame rekindled.

Local residents began to realize that Fred Gibb's name and his story was still being talked about. The pre-registration for that first Memorial car show was shocking. What originally was to be around the city park's one block, was moved to the football field and golf course drawing hundreds of people. It turned out such a success, exhibitors and attenders wanted it to become an annual event.

At the 4th annual Fred Gibb Memorial car show August 2002, Matt Murphy, President and founder of GMMG,Inc.of Marietta, Georgia, working closely with Chevrolet, came to feature a special unveiling of the first of sixty-nine 2002 ZL1 "SUPERCAR" Camaros.

Knowing about the famous 1969 ZL-1s which Gibb had special ordered, Murphy obtained Chevrolets permission to use the same ZL1 name on the 2001 Chevrolet Prototype ZL1, and to produce sixty-nine (now called ZL1 "SUPERCAR") special muscle cars in memory of Fred Gibb and Vince Piggins, GM's Product Production Manager, who had worked with Gibb on the deal. Murphy wanted to produce 69 because that was how many that eventually were made in 1969.

Berger Chevrolet, a rival from Grand Rapids, Michigan, argued for a car after they heard about the deal and Chevrolet pushed through the #3 1969 ZL1 for Berger, and then finished the rest of the order for Fred Gibb. The rest of the 18 cars were sold through other dealers across the nation.

How did this car originate?

According to the 1969 Camaro story:

"Fred Gibb had a vision which was carried out with the ZL-1 Camaro. The car was the brainchild of Fred Gibb and Vince Piggins. Their only disagreement on the car was over the appearance of the ZL-1. Vince Piggins thought the car should be flashy and well-optioned, but Fred knew the ZL-1 would be the ultimate pure factory race car. In every sense, it should be a bare bones car. So when Fred placed the initial order, they would be virtually the same. The only differences were the five different paint colors and the transmission choices. Needless to say, Fred Gibb's 50 ZL-1s were bear bones with no extra weight on them." (from the 1969 Camaro Reference Book by John H. Hopper)

Murphy and his GMMG, Inc. employees produce special built cars - working between Chevrolet and dealerships only. He had built all the Intimidators SS's for Dale Earnhardt's dealership, and brought much of that technology along with other information to the ZL1 Camaro project (see www.gmmginc.net for other cars Murphy and crew have built to date).

Murphy, a Camaro lover, was convinced that General Motors, who was ending the Camaro for a short span (due to new government requirements), must do something special to salute the end of this great car. For some six months he worked on an idea and tried to convince GM of his plan.

He felt a second ZL1 Camaro was the perfect salute, if the current 1969 ZL1 owners and the Gibb family would approve. It was a chance to spice up the looks of the 2002 Camaro, and at the same time, add an engine that would out do all its competitors Ð 400 h.p. rated (actually 430+ h.p.).

Murphy said he finally got the go ahead for the project in June 2000 after a Chevrolet department head had a competitive conversation with one of the heads from Ford.

He got the call the next day asking if he still wanted to put that 400 h.p. engine into a 2002 Camaro.

Murphy's crew got busy building the #1 Prototype 2002 ZL1 for Chevrolet's Specialty Vehicle Department, headed up by Jon Moss, who also ownes a 1994 prototype ZL1 Pro Street Camaro Show Car. After Murphy repainted the Prototype car 1969 Garnet Red, Jon Moss decided that a LeMans Blue would help freshen up the looks of the car for this years show circuit. Ironically, that car was black, then Garnet Red and now Le Mans Blue.

After passing the strict emissions recertification process in late 2001, Murphy and crew prepped car #1 of the new 1969 ZL1 "SUPERCARS" and then tucked it inside a trailer and brought to La Harpe and unveiled by Murphy and Dennis Barker of the Berger Chevrolet dealership of Grand Rapids, Michigan through which it was bought. The unveiling had made the 4th annual car show the most exciting show yet for muscle car enthusiasts.

One of the unusual things, is that the dealership which sold the first 2002 ZL1 "SUPERCARS" was a rival of Fred Gibb who Gibb had never met. Berger Chevrolet's "Camaro Specialist" Dennis Barker, arrived at La Harpe for the unveiling to help salute Gibb and to join Gibb in being a dealer who can lay claim to selling a #1 ZL1 thirty-three years later to the same man who now owns Gibb's #1. It seems the rivalry continues, even after Gibb's death. However, Gibb's racing records and his brainchild, the ZL-1, will remain set in Camaro history forever.

Tuesday's unveilings of five more 2002 ZL1 SUPERCAR Camaros gathered over 300 enthusiasts, as four of the five buyers waited anxiously to get their keys and to see their car for the first time. The cars had sticker prices between $62,000 and $94,000.

One new owner of the #16 ZL-1, Ken Barnhart of Elgin, IL, had already had his car unveiled when Matt Murphy surprised him with its unexpected arrival at the CHEVY VETTE/FEST SHOW in Chicago November 23-24. The car was selected "The Best Of Show" at McCormick Place in the nation-wide show. The car was displayed beside Barnhart's #16 1969 ZL-1 Camaro which he had purchased in 1969 from Fred Gibb.

At La Harpe, the two Barnhart cars occupied the former Fred Gibb Dealership's small showroom floor for a second unveiling. This was in a more official capacity saluting the Gibb achievements of producing the fame ZL1 super car.

At 10:00 a.m. Dec. 31st, 2002, all eyes were on these two cars as the other four cars remained covered in the back for their debut.

After a short introduction by La Harpe City Mayor Kenny Brown, Matt Murphy, founder and C.E.O. of GMMG, Inc., spoke at length of the process behind building the 2002 ZL1 SUPERCAR Camaro. He explained how he called six owners of the Fred Gibb 1969 ZL-1s to see if they would be interested in a 2002 ZL1 saluting Gibb and Chevrolet. The response was overwhelming with requests of "make it flashy" and wanting the engine over 400 h.p..

Murphy decided to add stripes and offer more colors than Gibb's five. He included the 8 factory colors plus any color a customer wants them to paint their car. The cars have been sold with at least one of each factory color and 14 different non-factory colors. Most of those are 1969 factory colors like hugger orange, lemans blue, daytona yellow, garnet red, etc.

Murphy made many other improvements over the current Camaros, such as creating a suspension package better than any they could find. The brakes, wheels, tires and motor are specially built for the Z06 Factory Corvette as well.

After several discussions with a potential buyer in California who wanted a bigger motor, a special 600 h.p. motor was designed and offered as an option in the new Camaro, if buyers wanted to pay the price.

Barnhart's 2002 ZL1 housed the 600 h.p. engine.

The man who handed over more keys to new car owners than any other salesman at the Gibb dealership, "Happy Herb" Fox, and who drove the first cars in races for Gibb presented Barnhart with his keys.

Even though this car had been unveiled at Chicago, there was something special about Barnhart receiving a second car inside the Gibb dealership. The logos on both of Barnhart's ZL-1s ("IT'S SOMETHING SPECIAL"), was coming full circle.

Barnhart told of hearing of the 1969 ZL-1s and feeling if he could purchase one of the cars he could finally beat his rival Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins in the racing circuit.

"I called Gibb and he put me through the most agonizing interrogation" making sure my intention was to race the car, Barnhart said.

Barnhart missed racing the Nationals that year because of an emergency appendectomy, but in 1970 at the Indianapolis Raceway Park, his first run was faster than Jenkins and Strickler's.

After the unveiling of the #16 Hugger Orange Race Car, of Ken Barnhart, Elgin, Il. the crowd moved to the back of the old dealership where four more keys were handed to eager owners. Cars went to the following:

# 11 Hugger Orange, Steve Blumfelder, Florissant, Mo.

# 25 Monterey Maroon, Greg Bennett, Newark, Ohio

# 26 Sebring Silver, Charles Lumpkin, Rogers, Ark.

# 63 Arctic White, Tom Jackson, Peoria, Il.

Murphy said buyers for his new cars well outnumbered the sixty-nine he was going to produce, but he "wanted to stick to sixty-nine and didn't want to wash out the theme. He was able to order the sixty-nine as B4C Police Cars through the COPO system of today, like the same one Gibb used then.

Several others were on hand who had ordered a 2002 ZL1 SUPERCAR from GMMG, Inc, and requested a delivery at the nostalgic Gibb dealership. One, John Riggs of Arkansas, said, "La Harpe does not know what they got here. This should be on the front page of the L.A. Times. There should be a book about Fred Gibb..... I would like to buy this dealership.

Riggs feels one day these cars will be worth a million dollars.

I am sure Fred Gibb would never have guessed that his 1969 ZL1 would be rumored in the $550,000 today and could be in the million dollar range if sold in a package deal with the #1 2002 ZL1.

Riggs has ordered an Arctic White Camaro with Houndstooth Interior in the Phase III 600 h.p. package. Houndstooth is a black and white weaved inserts also used in the seats that were only offered in the 1969 Camaros. Murphy offers them in white and black, yellow and black and orange and black like they were in 1969. Although none of the cars unveiled thus far have ordered the houndstooth, Murphy says forty-two have been ordered. Thirty-two in the white and black, five in the yellow and black, and five in the orange and black. This interior can be seen on the GMMGINC.NET web page at www.gmmginc.net/html/zl1distrolist.html.

Dave Belk of Davenport, Iowa said he has ordered the #2 2002 ZL1 Supercar package from Berger Chevrolet as well, with the Phase III 600 h.p. package.

Jim Parks of Deforest, WI has ordered a hugger orange Phase III 600 h.p. package through the Berger Dealership. Parks says his buy is an investment. He feels it is a good time to put your investments in an automobile like this.

"I've been studying the car market for twenty years," he said. When the stock market goes down, the car market goes up."

About the four new ZL1 owners who received their car Tuesday,

# 11 Hugger Orange, Steve Blumfelder, Florissant, Mo.

Steve lives near St. Louis and is an Insurance salesman. He said he was early on the list and has been a friend of Murphy's for over ten years. After he drove the prototype two years ago, he has wanted to own it. When Murphy called him in March, he put in his order. "I have a payment book the size of an encyclopedia," he laughed.

Steve also owns a hugger orange 1969 Camaro SS (not a ZL-1), and a 1997 30th Anniversary SS with Hugger Orange stripes.

# 25 Monterey Maroon, Greg Bennett, Newark, Ohio ordered the 400 h.p. with tan/neutral interior. It's the only car that was ordered in maroon. It's a Phase I with optional header.

He felt the car was unique and has been following it on the Internet since July 2001. He owns a couple of Novas and is buying the car as an investment. "I won't be selling it until my wife, Mary, sees it first," he said. Bennett drives a 1998 Silverado Pickup and is pulling the car home.

# 26 Sebring Silver, Charles Lumpkin, Rogers, Ark. is the only one of the four cars that have the 600 h.p. motor. The motor is a 427 cu. in. with 12:0:1 comp ratio. His car also sports the Craggar SS Vintage wheels that were on the 1969 ZL1. Charles said he owns a 1969 COPO Camaro with the original base in hugger orange. He also owns a 1965 Z16 Chevelle. He said he's had early interest in the cars having grown up in restoration. He's followed the car since 1999.

# 63 Arctic White, Tom Jackson, Peoria, Il. is the only 2002 ZL1 that was bought and sold in Illinois, he said. He has purchased the 400 h.p. package. He also owns a 1973 Z28 RS 502 cu. in.. He says he is a retired Peoria firefighter and classifies himself as a "car nut" from way back in the late 50s who has a understanding wife - Bonnie.

Gibb's Racing Highlights

The Gibb Story:

Fred Gibb started his Chevrolet dealership in 1948 and sold it in 1984.

Gibb had already had leaders in the racing world looking up this small town dealership after his first 1967 Z/28 called "Lil Hoss," driven by his top salesman, Herb Fox, broke several records and was the A.H.R. A. World Championship Stocker in 1968.

In 1968, Gibb ordered 50 COPO Novas equipped with 396/375 h.p. engines and heavy-duty Turbo Hydra-matic specially prepared by Hydramatic which he entered in the racing circuit.

But, it was his brainchild, the 1969 ZL-1 with its all aluminum 427 in the Camaro that was the "ultimate racing car", that brought Gibb fame.

Gibb ordered fifty 1969 ZL1 Camaros he had designed for racing in August of 1968. When they arrived that evening, New Year's Eve, it was -22 degrees and the cars would not start due to the cold batteries, so Fred pulled them out using a wrecker.

They were dust blue ordered by Gibb through the seldom used COPO system (Central Office Production Order) used by special service groups such as the police.

Each cost $7,269, a shock to Fred Gibb who was given an estimate of $4900 each. The #1 car was sent to Dick Harrell's performance center in Kansas City, MO and converted into an AHRA legal super Stocker. It was given a gold base and painted a candy apple red and intricate gold lace panels added.

The first time on the track, employee Herb Fox drove the ZL- 1, defeating the two cars with the fastest qualifying times. From there, it went on to beat AHRA S/S driver of the year, Ronnie Sox.

Herb was eventually eliminated, but the ZL1 served notice that it was a contender.

In 1969, the car continued running for Gibb logging over 30,000 miles racing in 15 major cities and other tracks. The car's best time was 10.05 seconds 139 mph. (AHRA Record 10.22 sec. - 136.98 mph.)

In 1971, Gibb hired Jim Hayter Pro Stocker to campaign the car. At Hayter's direction, a lot of weight was removed, a Rally Sport grill installed so the headlight assemblies could legally be removed and a "Grump lump" style hood scoop was added. It was very successful. At the A.H.R.A. World Points Finals in Fremont, California October 8, 1971, the car set a record of 9.63 seconds at 143 mph and won the Pro Stock World Championship! After the 1971 season, Gibb sold the car and it eventually ended back in the hands of its current owner, Bill Porterfield.






Above, Barnhart's new 2002 ZL1 SUPERCAR Camaro was designed with many similarities of his 1969 Z"1 Camaro super car which he purchased from Fred Gibb. They are both hugger orange, both are #16, both are inscribed with "It's Something Special" and both have a warning for the driver in front of them: "Just A Second, I'm Comin!" which is displayed under the front bumper. The 2002 is equipped with a 600 h.p. motor.



Kenny Barnhart tells the story of his #16 supercars after his 2002 ZL1 SUPERCAR Camaro is unveiled for the 300 who attended a special Gibb Memorial unveiling ceremony in the former Fred Gibb dealership on New Years Eve day.



Matt Murphy has Helen Gibb sign the delivery record of the new "ZL1" to show it was delivered at their former site.



Helen Gibb, at her lovely La Harpe home, stands with Matt Murphy of GMMG, INC. and the five new owners of a 2002 ZL1 SUPERCAR Camaro. Helen had the local food store's catering department serve a delicious meal to over thirty guests after the unveiling, as she had done many times for her husband in his business dealings. From left is Matt Murphy (Marietta, Georgia), Steve Blumfelder (Florissant, MO), Kenny Barnhart (Elgin), Helen, Greg Bennett (Newark, Ohio), Charles Lumpkin (Rogers, Ark), and Tom Jackson (Peoria). (-photo by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher)


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convinced that General Motors, who was ending the Camaro for a short span (due to new government requirements),

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