vehicle identificatio

[David Tanner]

I have a gem of a 73 convertible 454 auto. I have a simple question that I cannot answer w/o help. I hope that you can help. How can I determine if I have one of the 45 produced w/ the heavy duty suspension package. The numbers match and the car is original. VIN 1Z67Z3S421528. I would appreciate any help you can give. Thank you. David

[Paul B.]

Re: vehicle identificatio

David, this one is also going to take some help from Joe Lucia. Here is what I may be of some help. I've seen a '74 Z07, and five '75 Z07s, but never a '73 Z07. Joe and I discussed this on an earlier post(in archives now) and some things I remembered were those cars had "dual pin" front calipers and I think Joe also stated higher rate springs front and rear along with heavy duty front spindles and special front brake pads. Z07 cars also came with the gymkhana suspension which consisted of a rear sway bar(FE7). Here is where your car could'nt be a Z07 car. The Z07 package required that the car have a 454 or an L-82(for '73 & '74), ALSO the car had to have an M-21 close ratio four speed. I hope in my NCRS travels this year I come across one of these ultra rare "Midsharks" For those that don't know, midyear='63 to '67, Midshark='73 to '77. Paul Borowski

[Jack H.]

Re: vehicle identificatio

VIN system was not intelligent to the degree you desire then. Burden of proof is upon owner per NCRS rules. What it is now, what it was when it left the factory may well be two different things. Start researching the ownership chain -- that's the ultimate answer....

[Joe L.]

Re: vehicle identificatio

Paul----

I appreciate your confidence in me, but for this one you've covered it quite well and provided an excellent answer. A ZO7 equipped '73 would have an M-21 trans, so that's about as far as anyone would have to look. Also, as you stated, the ZO7 optioned cars would have the "dual-pin" J-56 front calipers with the special cast support braces, the 7 leaf HD rear spring, rear sway bar, and HD shocks. There are other, more subtle suspension differences, but this should be more than enough for someone to identify an original ZO7-optioned car.