Vehicle Description
1968 Chevrolet Corvette ZL-1 Reproduction For Sale in Yukon,
Oklahoma
Look out sports car enthusiasts!� This 1968 Chevy Corvette ZL-1
Reproduction is a dream come true for any true appreciator or
collector of pure American made muscle.� This two-door convertible
has been fully restored from the ground up and no expense has been
spared in regards to it's parts and the time that has been invested
into this quality representation.� In fact, the total cost far
exceeds the asking price!� This is an award winning vehicle and
truly an amazing work of art.� Powered by a Chevrolet reissued ZL-1
all aluminum, true 427 that is mated with a Holley 850 cfm,
4-barrel.� The original 390 horsepower, 427 engine block is
included so that you can have proper matching numbers.� It also
comes with 4-speed manual M22 Rock Crusher Transmission.� Both hard
and soft tops are in pristine condition and go with the car.
This Corvette ZL-1 Reproduction was built by Gary Cluck.� The
details of his successful quest in building this beautiful beast,
are as follows....
Our trip to the 1997 Funfest event at Mike Yager's Mid America
Design facility pretty much started it all. On the return trip we
decided to stop by at the National Corvette Museum and tour the
assembly plant at Bowling Green. While there, we saw the original
1969 ZL-1 owned (amongst others) by Wayne Walker and now by Roger
Judski, of Maitland, FL.
I was impressed. But since there were only one (or two) ZL-1 cars
ever built for sale to the public, it was clear that I couldn't buy
one. So I decided I would build one. I had originally thought that
I would have to find a 1969 car but, after researching the matter,
I found it didn't really matter. In 1969 Zori Duntov built his ZL-I
mule using a leftover 1968 (according to GM records) so I figured
this would be good enough for me. too. The first car I found,
whether a 1968 or'69, would be the car that I would rebuild. I
planned to do a car that would look as close to original as
possible but with current parts and technology.
The car I eventually found, on March 30, 1998, came from St. Louis
with a 390hp big block, M-2O, HD positraction, radio and full wheel
covers. Corvette Bronze in color with Tobacco interior. The car
also happened to have a low serial number (19467854AA274). As we
were doing our work we found that a lot of the pieces had been
stamped as "Sample OK" or "PilotJob"
The car was a total wreck. There was no fiberglass in front of the
doors. The rear end was intact but with a rather high lip on the
spoiler.� I thought I could repair this, but as it turned out the
whole rear section had been hit and repaired too many times. It
would all have to be replaced. At some point in time the drive
shaft had blown, taking the battery box with it. It had been
cobbled together with matte and resin, but this was going to have
to be replaced too.
The work on the body started around July 15,1998. Front fenders,
hood surround, and lower valances were replaced with NOS GM parts.
The rear deck, fenders, tail lamp and filler panels are GM
reproduction pieces. All bonding strips were bonded-in and the
seams were then ground down and reinforced with matte and resin,
then finished. All door seams, top deck lid, hood and headlight
openings were aligned to the width of a paint stick. As you can see
from the photos they're pretty close.
The underbody was also a mess. The footwells were literally hanging
in place. And the floor of the body was covered with small
quarter-inch holes...to drain water is my guess. Thankfully, there
was enough of the original material left to re-glass these pieces
back to standard form. Once we had all of this back together, all
panels were DA-ed down with 80 grit paper. This was the last time a
power tool would be used. From here on it was hand sanding to
smooth out the high spots and fill the low spots.
�From here to paint was just as intensive. It took four months,
after starting on the body, seven days a week, eight hours a day to
prime and sand in successive stages. After that we laid down three
coats of Daytona Yellow, three coats of black for the stripe and
three coats of clear. Now it's ready to color sand and polish, It
was a lot of work but I think that the results speak for
themselves.
None of this could have been done without the help of Mike Estlack.
Mike has worked on Corvettes dating from the late '50s, having
built several radical customs. This is where we acquired our
experience; I provided the common labor.
Naturally, while the body was on its dolly for painting, there was
other work to be done on the chassis. The frame and assorted parts
were bead blasted by J&S Stripping in OKC. The same day Frank
Pendleton, a good friend, spent eight hours rewelding seams and
welding 1969 kick-up brackets onto the frame. The next day it was
primed and� painted with Chevy Chassis Black.
Vette Brakes worked with me on a lot of the chassis specifications.
I selected the 468 pound front springs and 360 pound composite mono
rear leaf spring. Selecting the lighter front springs to reflect
the 250 pound lighter aluminum engine was an important step in
maintaining good handling on the finished product. Sway bars are
1-1/8 inch front and 3/4 inch on the rear. Vette Brakes also
provided the brakes, power booster/master cylinder, rotors,
stainless steel lines and braided hoses. The front end also used
the VB "super" kit with poly bushings.
The steering box and trailing arms were sent to Van Steel in
Clearwater, FL. Their rebuild included making sure the arms were
true. They were then rebuilt using a stainless steel parking brake
kit and finished off with Smart Struts from VB. Koni shocks were
used on all four corners.
Blumenthal Transmission of OKC built the M-22 from NOS parts. Like
GM said years ago, "It's a little noisy". Rut with no radio. it
sounds like music to my ears. Blumenthal also rebuilt the
differential with a new set of Saginaw 3.55s, as opposed to the
original 3.08 gears.
The interior was a big success in my mind. The interior of the body
was completely lined with 27 ounce double foil insulation. All the
seams were sealed with foil tape. This resulted in a
cooler-than-expected ride in the Oklahoma summer, since very little
of the heat from the engine or exhaust penetrates through the body.
The foil insulation was then covered with Al Knoch carpet, shift
boot and console.
�The top is also an Al Knoch product, constructed from Stayfast
fabric, which is currently used on the new Corvette.
The seats were torn down, frames restored and sent to Corvette
America to be recovered with basketweave leather. They also
supplied the door panels and dash pads.
The car was built to be driven on a daily basis. Therefore the
engine was built for the street. My first priority was reliability
and the second was that it must run on pump gas.� Marty Morris of
Scoggin-Dickey in Lubbock, TX, said "No problem, all I need is
money."
The engine was built using as many GM Performance Parts as
possible. The block is a 1996 re-issue of the original 1969 ZL-1.
It is, in fact, a hybrid of the Mark 4, 5 and 6 engines using what
I think are the best features of the three. The heads came complete
from GMPP, oval ports with 2.25 intake valves and 1.88 exhaust
valves. These were ported before installation. The cam comes from a
502/502 HP GMPP crate engine. There are several reasons I chose
this cam. It's hydraulic. it uses roller lifters. and it supplies
enough vacuum to support the power brakes and other
vacuum-operatted items. The crank is a GMPP L-88 and ...for more
information please contact the seller.
