John asked Dick about his car, and was told it was being finished up right at that moment. Meanwhile, Dick once again offered to sell John the hot ZL1 Camaro that he had driven to the airport. John passed on the deal, as he wasn’t sold on the ZL1s because of the aluminum engines. He was concerned that the water jackets would crack and cause leaks.
The car you see is not exactly what John picked that day. After the original cold air hood blew off at speed, he installed a stinger hood as seen on the car today. Bill Porterfield confirmed that John also flared the wheel openings, moved the gas tank filler neck and battery to the trunk, and eventually painted the car a shade of Candy Blue. He also he swapped the rear gears, installed the ZL1 cam and Lakewood slapper bars Harrell had provided, as well as Cal-Custom valve covers and air cleaner, and a set of Stewart Warner gauges. For the first time, the car is proudly wearing its Built by Dick Harrell badges, which were added when the paperwork finally came to light.
The Blue Car and several other certified Dick Harrell cars, along with Valerie Harrell and associate Dale Pulde, were seen at Tim Lopata’s Forge Muscle Car Show in September of 2008. This invitational event features some of the finest high performance muscle cars and vintage race cars on the planet. There was also a very special banquet held in Dick Harrell’s honor.
For more information on the show, check out www.ForgeMuscleCarShow.com.
As Valerie continues to get the mounds of documents organized at the DHPC, they will be able to authenticate other existing Dick Harrell cars and any other cars that may be uncovered in the future. Obviously, a documented certification from the DHPC will significantly add to the value of a legitimate Dick Harrell car. For more information contact the DHPC at www.DickHarrellPerformanceCenter.com.
We’d like to thank the car’s caretaker Bill Porterfield who went above and beyond to give us access to this car and the story behind it.
The Blue Car - It’s All Real
Unlike many supercars now coming to light in the hobby, all major powertrain components are original to the car and/or its conversion:
Block casting 3935439 – Used in late 435HP & L88 1968 Corvettes (block casting date D-11-8 – April 11, 1968) installed by DHPC. Note: deck stamp CE950807 designates a service short block from Chevrolet, not a bolt-together piece.
Head castings 3919840: L-4-8 and L-12-8 (cast on December 4 & 12, 1968) - cast iron with rectangular ports used from late’67 through ’69 on 375HP 396 engines, 425hp & 435hp 427s. 2.19 intake valves, 1.72 exhaust valves
Holley carb. 3959164-CE List 4346 – used on 375hp 396 engines. 8A3 date code, assembled third week of November, 1968
THM400 transmission code CX-69-1678 – High performance calibration assembled on 167th day of 1968
Rear axle code BT 0113 2GE G2E– 3.55:1 ratio with PosiTraction. Replaced with 4.56 gears by original owner.
THE CAR
Joe Zrostlik ended up with the car after it was discovered in Hawaii a few years ago by Tim Lopata and commissioned Larry Byers’ Prime Auto in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to perform a state-of-the-art restoration. The car had racked up a total of only 24,000 miles from new, but bore the scars of a street racer and required a total redo to bring it up to today’s restoration standards. Bill Porterfield, who campaigned the 1969 Gibb/Harrell ZL1 Camaro from 1989 to 2007, became the current keeper of the Blue Car as part of the deal when Zrostlik purchased the ZL1 from him. Bill has built and piloted a variety of innovative cars over the years and always said, “Cars were made to be driven.” He now says, “This Blue Car is almost too nice to drive.” He does admit, however, that he still misses those quick trips down the strip in the ZL1. So Bill, does this mean the Blue Car may yet again be used for which it was built?