Hard To Fathom

Hassett 17029371 Ashtabula, Ohiobr By Ray Lee Photography By Pete Sommersbr In these days of dazzling chrome wheels and flashy jobs, Mark Hassetts Fathom Green 1969 Camaro doesnt fit the bill. But a true Camaro aficionado will definitely sit up and take notice! This sleeper gives no hint to its or its fascinating history. The casual observer would have a hard time believing this is one of the most cars ever built and one of the rarest. a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412Hasset-front.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1552" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412Hasset-front.jpg" alt"Hasset-front" "625" height"415" abr This special car is 35 of 50 and one of 10 Fathom Green 1969 Camaros for Fred Gibb Chevrolet of La Harpe, Illinois under a General Motors fleet ordering known as a Central Office Production Order (COPO). A dealer would normally use a COPO to get special or equipment on commercial vehicles. Fred Gibb was much more creative than that. Back in the day, GM had a corporate forbidding the installation of an engine larger than 400 cubic inches in any non-Corvette vehicle smaller than full-size. They also had a race-proven all-aluminum 427ci engine that was waiting to be unleashed. This engine, designated the ZL-1, had an advertised rating of 430 hp but it actually made something north of 500. Fred Gibb used COPO 9560 to get the Chevy ZL-1 engine factory-installed in fifty 1969 Camaros. He had used the little-known the year before to get Chevy Novas built for drag racing with competition Turbo 400 automatic transmissions. As a veteran drag racer himself, he needed at least that many Camaros made to qualify as a vehicle with the National and American Hot Rod Association drag racing sanctioning bodies. With good friends in all the right Fred Gibb had his ZL-1 Camaro in time to race it at the AHRA season opener in Phoeniz, Arizona in January 1969. The car was campaigned successfully, winning the AHRA Pro Stock championship in 1971. a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412Hassett-rear.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1553" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412Hassett-rear.jpg" alt"Hassett-rear" "625" height"305" abr The ZL-1 Camaro besides the magnificent engine, had the new cold-air cowl-induction hood, heavy-duty cooling system, transistor ignition, extra-strength Posi-Traction 4.10:1 rear axle, F70x14 raised white letter tires, front disc brakes, dual exhaust and either a Turbo 400 automatic or close-ratio Muncie 4-speed transmission (Mark Hassetts ZL-1 has the Muncie transmission). The cars carried regular new-car warranties, were emissions-certified with AIR smog attached and fully street-legal. Five exterior colors were offered: Hugger Orange, Fathom Green, Dusk Blue, LeMans Blue and Cortez Silver. The no-frills interior only came in basic black vinyl. Fred Gibb wanted the ZL-1 Camaros to be sleepers so they could be used on the street as well as the dragstrip. The only emblems were the simple script word Camaro on the front fenders and a Chevy bowtie front and back. The assembly line workers even wrote 427 on the inside of the fenders so that no engine size emblems would be attached by mistake. Though the Fred Gibb dealership had taken delivery of all 50 ZL-1 Camaros by March 1969, the cars were too expensive to sell. Fred maintained that he expected the cars to have a list of 4,900. The ZL-1 engine alone cost 4,160 and that more than doubled the of a base Camaro. There apparently werent many other avid drag racers out there willing to spend 7,300 for this Camaro. Performance car buyers could have a well-equipped Corvette for less money. Adjusted for inflation, that would be well over 50,000 today. envira-gallery id"1556" Fred, calling once again on his good friends in high at GM for assistance, was fortunate in that the factory took back many of the cars and sent them to other dealers who thought theyd have better luck. Experiencing the same response, some dealers removed and sold the ZL-1 engines separately, added stripes or custom wheels and did just about anything to get rid of the unwanted cars. Fred Gibb Chevrolet didnt even sell its last ZL-1 until 1972 and that was with a 1,000 rebate from Chevy. Hindsight being 2020, who could have foreseen the collector car market of today? a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412wheel-VERT2.jpg"img class"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1567" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412wheel-VERT2-150x150.jpg" alt"wheel-VERT" "150" height"150" aZL-1 Camaro 35 sat around gathering dust at Sutliff Chevrolet in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania until it finally sold for the first time in September 1971. Mark Hassett is only the third owner. He had just bought a 1969 Yenko Camaro, which was another COPO (but with an iron block 427), when he heard about a fabled ZL-1 for sale. Upon inspection, he made an offer and bought the rare treasure in 2000. His wife Ginnie, he says, convinced him to buy it. a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412exhaust-VERT1.jpg"img class"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1565" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201412exhaust-VERT1-199x300.jpg" alt"exhaust-VERT" "199" height"300" aLearning about its history, Mark says this ZL-1 was the first one restored in 1985. Soon after buying it, Mark had the car freshened-up a bit before he took it to the Camaro Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. Marks Camaro garnered a Gold Award from that show and later won a Gold Spinner award from the Great Car amp; Chevy Vette Fest in Chicago. Considering himself very lucky to own it, he intends to keep it maintained only as a show car and not run up any more than the 8,100 original miles already on the odometer.