1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11 Lightweight Is Today's Bring a Trailer Auction Pick

This ultra-rare Chevy was a drag racer back in the day.
The Z11 option package was a one-year-only offering that brought aluminum body panels and other weight-saving features.
It's believed that 57 full-size '63 Chevys were so equipped.
This example was originally campaigned by drag racer Terry Prince.
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CAR AND DRIVER
This 1963 Impala is one of the most muscular full-size Chevys ever made, rare and bristling with aggression. In period, it rolled up to the Christmas tree and then blitzed down the dragstrip, angry dinosaur noises roaring out of its 427-cubic-inch big-block V-8. Now, this rare Impala is up for auction on Bring a Trailer, which like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos.
The early 1960s were a golden age for drag racing, and Chevrolet's executives wanted to beat Ford. For 1963, they introduced a special-order option package, Regular Production Order (RPO) code Z11, which bestowed Chevrolet's full-size Impala with something very special. It was an astronomically expensive option-at $1240, it added almost a third to the price of the car-and buyers got less for their money. Specifically, the radio, heater, and front sway bar were deleted. Many steel parts were replaced with aluminum, for a total weight savings of around 300 pounds.
Chevy had introduced the Super Sport (SS) option in 1961, with a 409-cubic-inch V-8 good for around 360 horsepower. For the Z11, that engine was punched up to 427 cubic inches, fitted with 13.5:1 compression pistons, and crowned with a high-rise intake and twin four-barrel carbs. The factory rating was 430 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. The manual transmission was a four-speed BorgWarner T-10. Power is sent rearward to a 4.11:1 Positraction rear axle.
This example was bought new by Terry Prince, whose name it wears on its flanks. Prince ran the performance shop at Service Chevrolet in Pasadena, California, and ordered it specially. He competed in the 1963 NHRA Winternationals, and through the rest of the year. The car is accompanied by photos of the Impala in competition, as well as the original purchase order for $4102.32. The car was restored from a dissembled state in the late 1990s.
Get your footwork right and this big red sled would scoot to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and flash through the quarter-mile traps at over 120 mph. A ferocious beast from a long-ago age, this Chevy has no seatbelts, drum brakes, and firepower like the USS Missouri. It's a holy grail for Impala enthusiasts. The auction runs through June 17.

[@user-yo7oj9vj3y]

Awesome car

[@dennismorgan3589]

Bring a trailer and and a pile of C notes

[@warrenwatkins9650]

Interesting story, never heard of a Z11 till now. A 427 at that! I wonder how well it did against Dodge and Plymouth wedge engines of the day?

[@DustinBaerwolf-kv9jx]

This car won 90 percent of its races in 63, then in 64 the 426 Hemi took over and the Z11 was gone :(

[@warrenwatkins9650]

​@@DustinBaerwolf-kv9jxWOW, That's incredible. Love to hear these stories from the 60s!

[@rodneydukes7616]

​@@DustinBaerwolf-kv9jx What about the chevelle 454 1970. Shit 1988 Callaway Corvette top speed 254 mph. It has 350.Bill Jenkins use to flat out run 426 hemis with a 327.Pro stock belongs to Chevrolet now.Back in the day the biggest rivalry in NHR. history was Lee. Shepard and Bob Glindon Ford and chevy. Lee beat Bob more times than Bob beat Lee. Where's the Hemi in pro stock.