Ron Cooper
Old Reliable III, 1962 Impala, prototype of the Z11 to come in 1963. Lost to Dyno Don in the FX Final
From the Strickler Family Collection. In late-1962, Chevrolet upped the ante and built 18 (according to NHRA news clippings of the day) "lightweight" 409 Super Sport Impalas. Each was assembled with aluminum front fenders and wheelwells, and an aluminum hood. Lore has it that these Super Sport '62s were built to compete with the aluminum front-end Pontiacs. Soon, some of these stock dual carb 409 engines received the mythical Z-11 engine upgrades (aluminum two piece, super hi-rise intake manifold for the 409's Carter AFB carbs, a hotter mechanical lifter camshaft with matching valve springs and a pair of 730 cylinder heads with raised, rectangular intake ports (similar to later Mark II and IV big-block ports). Of the 18 Super Sport lightweights, only two are known to still exist. the Zintsmaster Chevrolet 409 Impala and Dick Harrell's black SS with red interior. The Zintsmaster car is the most original, factory-built lightweight that coast-to-coast experts of the marque know about. This white SS with red interior was shipped to the Zintsmaster Chevrolet dealership in Kokomo, Indiana.
