Remember, this was an exhibition run, not a "do or die" situation.

I was there the day Dave swept the field in an Impala body against Fairlane 427s dodge dart 413s It made Chevy 409 guys proud. J.C.

And yes that car was a record breaker unbeatable

Z11 427 Engine was basically a Stroked 409 engine. Still retaining the 4.3125 Bore but going from OEM 3,500 Stroke to 3.650. It used the 409 L80 Cylinder heads. GM Records show only 59 Cars built in 63 with the Z11 Option. $1280.00 which brought the Price of your Impala to $4000. Although the Z11 engine had the same Bore / Stroke / Cylinder bore spacing (4.840) as the 1962 Mark ll Mystery Engine, they were completely different Engines. The Mark IV Big Block which evolved from the Mystery Engine first appeared in the 65 Corvette as RPO L78 396/425hp Engine with a 4.094 Bore and 3.76 stroke. In 1966 the displacement was increased to 427ci RPO L72 by increasing the Bore diameter to 4.250 (4-1/4") It was first rated at 450hp from Sept through Oct 1965; Then changed to 425hp. Dave Strickler was married to Suzie Smith, the daughter of Ammon R. Smith, whose son, Vernon, was running the Chevy dealership. By the early 1960s, it had located to Carlisle Avenue in downtown York, and had adopted "The Old Reliable" as its slogan. The dealership--eventually, with considerable direct Chevrolet backing--began to sponsor Strickler's racing, with Grumpy Jenkins--a Cornell-trained mechanical engineer, acting as the tuner. Strickler was lethally quick with a four-speed. Larry Davis, whose titles include Super Stock, Gasser Wars and Quarter-Mile Muscle, is custodian of a huge archive of historic drag racing photos, many featuring the Smith-Strickler-Jenkins partnership. "Jenkins was just getting started, and we all know where he went, but Dave was a great driver, just terrific, great reaction times. They were unquestionably a top team." Ammon R. Smith died in 1966, and Strickler went on to race competitively in Pro Stock, but as his son explained, "Dad always told my mom that it if got to the point where he couldn't make any money at it, he would quit racing, and that's what happened in 1974." The dealership closed its doors in 1982, and Dave Strickler died of heart disease three years later. Mike Strickler, a Chevy guy like his father, began his own racing career in 2005, and now runs a bracket 1967 Camaro with a 500hp small-block at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania.

@hotrodtrucker88

7 жыл бұрын

saw it sold last night on Mecum for $525,000

@davegeisler7802

3 жыл бұрын

Not bad for a “ truck engine “ Actually I hate when they say that about the 348 and 409s . They were a force to be reckoned with in 1962. By the way ‘62 was a very good year I’m kinda partial to it 😉

@davidwoods8982

3 жыл бұрын

Steve Matz thank you for a great article. I had a1964 Biscayne 409/425 hp 4 speed. It was one of the fastest things I ever rode in. I have always wondered what that motor was. I never got beat in a street race for over a year and 1/2 until I went in the Marine Corps in 1966. I owned a max wedge 63 dodge 15 years later and I owned several crotch rockets but nothing was like that car. I was told by the head mechanic at Heinrich Chevrolet in early 1966 that the car came up as 1 of 200 cars built for Daytona in 1964. I will never know… I loved that car! I was working and street racing and having fun until June 1966! I wondered if by chance that car was a Z-11

I remember as young boy seeing Dave Strickler make an exhibition pass with this car at York US30 in 1979.

A friend owned this car and offered it to me for 23 bens around '75. The window sticker lists the 409 along with 'HD metallic brakes' and 'limited slip differential'. True this: The Grump showed up one afternoon, wrote a check and bought the Z11 back, trailered it to his shop.

As a Ford guy, this car is simply awesome.

Watched Hayden Proffit win the A/FX class at the '63 Winternationals at his '63 black Z-11 Impala!

the Z-11 used the 409 format but was actually displaced to 427 cubic inches.most of them were sold to campaining drag racers and only a handful were sold as street cars.

My weekends back in the day.

"THE OLD REE!!!" ROFLMFAO!!! WTF is the time?!!! FFS!!

@wildestcowboy2668

2 жыл бұрын

327'$ were good engines but he ain't going that fast

Yeah.Back then we also referred to the "Mystery Motor" as the "Nascar Motor".

@olderthanyoucali8512

Жыл бұрын

Also known as the porcupine engine because of its canted valves!

This '63 was restored in Aug 2013 by GB Customs in Corbin Ky

damn that sounds good!

Absolutely agree. This is a great piece of drag race history. Thousands of dollars into it. Beat the hell out of it in a "race vs. the clock" only? No thanks.

iv seen this car pick up the front end doin a burn out now thats strong

z-11 was a 409 with a longer stroke and better heads. had 520-540 horse

@68w30ru That is a W engine. THe engine you are referring to was raced at Daytona, and was completely different from the engine that is in this car. The engine here IS a stroked version of the 409. THE Daytona engine was caleld the 427 Mystery Motor. only produced in this year, and was the for-runner for the 396 that came out in 1965.

Yeah.Two completely different motors.There's been a lot of confusion online regarding this,but Raj Reddy and you are correct.This motor was to compete with the mopar hemi,on and off the street.Although I'm a Chevy guy,I believe the mopar hemi was superior.

Mr 73 year old guy the Z-11 is a 427 cubic inch.It has a 3.65 stroke,looks just like the 409.The nascar mystery motor I believe you are refering to looks like your regular big block but also has 3.65 stroke.Z-11 and mystery motor are not the same thing.

I am sure it was a 348 because my grandfather,his father,did special work for GM.One I remember the most was getting him to build a kit to install a V-8 (327 if I remember right) in one of the 1st Corvair's,but it wasn't finished cause back then with what the had to work with he couldn't get it to keep cool.After GM shut that down he did finally make one a couple years later and it was still here around town last I knew of and painted white with orange SS stripes and the orangish red interior.

Hey Thumper, Good to hear someone who speaks from busted knuckles and a few decades of laying on garage floors. Could I pick your brain for some Z-11rear axle/susp info ??? I still run a 60 Biscayne, and I've always wanted to know what was under the back of that 63 with the dented fenders ? Did they run those TSB Chevrolet recall weld on plates from 1960 ? Did they have convertible style body mounts or body re-inforcements?Dave said "It Was The Fastest Of The Heard" with a grin........

Dave Strickler was married to Ammon R. Smith's daughter Judy.

to my knowledge I believe four of them were made for the street and Don also has two of those four.

bah he went easy on it

Does anyone know anything of this "special" 348 engine?

what the...git after it boy!

My grandmother could shift it harder.

I'm not sure which Old Reliable it was but my father was at MasonDixson one time in his '58 Black Impala.As the story goes that I heard from a few diff people he won the race with a blown Trans. From what I have heard it wasn't any stock 348 '58.As far as they have found out it was a experimental Nascar 348 that my father found in the back of a garage starting to collect dust. MORE IN NEXT POST

Hey GEEK.... Drag Cars are PURPOSE BUILT RACE CARS .. Thats what they are made to do .. My 64 dodge was hand built .. TO BE RACED..and it was HARD did I break shit YES...I've never pulled up to the tree and PUSSIED OUT.It's not a priceless Diamond... ITS A DRAG CAR WEIRDO...

@mothertree

7 жыл бұрын

Now we all respect.Mike...thanks for your opinion.

C'mon man, drive that damn car or let me have a go at it.

@ThomasDeLello

7 жыл бұрын

There's good reason why they won't run these cars as hard as they could. It's because breaking parts is so much more expensive today without factory backing and the obsolescence factor. This looks like it was videoed at the track at Lebanon Valley in New York. Dave Strickler could really pump a four speed like no one else in his day, he later drove the only competitive MoPar with the that and not the push button automatic...!!!

@west4057

3 жыл бұрын

@@ThomasDeLello < doesn't sound like it.....

Everyone saying negative things about the driver, really don't know what it is to own one of the pieces of history. I know....why would anyone risk breaking something...even on a solo (show) run. That's all it is. You commentors buy a piece of history and take and pound the piss out of it and then you'll see.

Well that was highly disappointing

@skateusa

5 жыл бұрын

It was simply to showcase the car. It's far too valuable to risk blowing that original engine.

@b1657568

5 жыл бұрын

@@skateusa highly understandable, was hoping for someone wringing it out ! Lol

old runs like shit......