Car Search Info

[TXYenko]

Well 68Topstock...you may be on the right track, the box in the trunk, has an old master cylinder with booster, spindles and brakes...and lots of racetrack spares...plugs, points, old old fire ext., extra 5 point harness, misc tools, tech sheets, time slips...the guy was definitely a drag racer, and the garage was full of stuff from the 50's and up. The wife was not willing to part with anything but the car, she wanted to see it driven again.

[JoeC]

Best place to start is to get all the numbers and codes you can find from trim tag, engine, trans, and rear. Check interior under seats and rugs and check gas tank for any paperwork. Then start decoding.

[COPO PETE]

Wow, sounds like an interesting find! First thing I would check is the firewall tag. Usually they have a "X" series number on it. Look for a X11, or X44 and see if it has the big block heater box in it. Also, any signs of a cowl hood? Even if it's gone, is the wiring their? If all that is there, then start looking for the hard to see numbers. Good Luck.
Peter

[Edited by COPO PETE (11-05-2001 at 06:29 AM).]

[68TopStock]

BINGO!

The turbo 400 is another clue this may be a special car. Sounds like a potential COPO 427 car. Is it a column shift? The state of Texas has probably more drag racers than any other state, both past and present. The more I read about racers from there the more I am impressed. Names such as Bill Heishler (Mr. Bardahl), Don Hardy (funny car builder), Mike Barkhart, Shay Nichols (ZL1 #2) are just a few off the top of my head. At the World Finals in '68 most winners were Texans. A big AHRA state.

My car, the Fred Gibb "Little Hoss" was one of the top money winners in Texas from 1974-1977. In '74 it was "in the money" 44 times. A past track champion at Pinwell race track, near Odessa. At the time it was renamed "Mighty Mouse". I'll bet a few more cars were "imported" to Texas for racing.

Once you have the VIN there are several dealer archives that may be able to be searched to determine where it was originally ordered from. If it was a Texas dealer, more research may uncover the ordering dealer. Feel free to e-mail me, if you would like to keep this confidential.

[Mr Yenko]

68top stock,
Was the #2 Shay Nichols car ever found.I had heard that car and Malcom Durham's Strip Blazer were never found . Along with others iam sure , but i was wondering about these (2).

[68TopStock]

Yes,

The #2 Shay Nichols car has been restored back to showroom ready condition. I saw it on a web site earlier this year, it is still in Texas. Don't know much more, or what web site it was on. There was a pic of it though with the caption, as listed above. Don't know of Strip Blazer's where abouts.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

According to Cunneen's book, Malcolm's Strip Blazer has not been found - but the engine has??
M