1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11 'Old Reliable IV' // Mecum Kissimmee 2017

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The Lifelong Collection of Don Fezell
HIGHLIGHTS
-Bill 'Grumpy' Jenkins Old Reliable IV
-No. 1 of 57 RPO Z11 Lightweights built
-Driven by Dave Stickler
-Delivered new to Ammon R. Smith Auto Co. on December 21, 1962 from Flint, Michigan Assembly Plant
-427/430 HP V-8 engine

Superlative words are going to be tough on this vehicle. The first, the best, the most important would all apply. Don Fezell understood exactly what he was doing when he and wife Mary Lee bought this particular Z11 Impala and a 1964 Thunderbolt from a New York stockbroker in 1991; that T-bolt soon went to a new home. The Old Reliable IV Chevrolet, on the other hand, has been the centerpiece of this extensive collection ever since and for very good reason. There is no other one like this.

Chevy’s Regular Production Option (RPO) Z11 was born for guys like Bill Jenkins and Dave Strickler. The two men from Pennsylvania had been tearing up the dragstrips with Chevrolets in the early 1960s, running in Super Stock, Optional Super Stock and even Factory Experimental, thanks primarily to vehicles that came through the York, Pennsylvania-based ‘Old Reliable’ Ammon R. Smith dealership. With Strick at the wheel and the Grump on wrenches, it was a fearsome combination. This car was the very first Z11 built, delivered to Smith for them in December 1962, and even its original window sticker is in the documentation included with this sale.

Thanks to its ownership, it would be the winningest Z11 in history as well. Beyond its rumored victory in 99 percent of its races in 1963-64, Strickler shifted this car to an A/FX class win at Indy in ’63 and then shut down all the gassers and altereds the next day to take a big overall “Little Eliminator” crown at the sport’s biggest event. By then, Jenkins had scienced-out a fresh motor between the aluminum inner fenders, but change was in the wind.

For 1963, the restyled Chevy Impala had gotten what became the fiercest of the so-called W-head big-block series when RPO Z11 was announced. Bored to the new ACCUS/FIA limit of 427 CI and factory under-rated at 430 horsepower, the engine was just part of the dieted 3,400-pound package. The cars also received cowl induction to feed twin Holley 4-barrels on a 2-piece intake manifold, 12.5:1 compression, lightweight aluminum body parts, special suspension pieces, specific deletes and more. The factory created a total of 57 of them early in the model run in two batches, but that was not enough to make them legal for NHRA Stock Eliminator, because then GM announced an end to all formal racing involvement in early 1963. The Z11s ended up in FX and Modified Production as a result.

This car is the forerunner of the series, featuring some components not seen on other Z11 Impalas. It has had just four owners before the Fezells. The Smith franchise sold it in 1964 to Lou Czern of New Jersey, who left the paint intact and had his name painted over Dave’s, parking it in 1967. Jenkins himself bought it from Czern in 1982, freshened up the paint and made some exhibition laps with it, then sold it to noted collector Floyd Garrett four years later. The aforementioned Wall Street trader got it from Garrett, and the Fezells were already chasing it by then. Stock market dramatics sealed the deal.

How original is it? The interior, done in black cloth, has never been removed. The big flag-type Jenkins Competition water decals are still intact, as Don clearcoated whatever he could to preserve those finishes. Expert Randy DeLisio did repaint one front fender, damaged during the weekend Strickler won Indy and quickly repaired back then; that stamping is again straight now.

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