Z11 Engine Brings $20,000, But $60,000 Won’t Buy a Ford Indy Motor

A numbers-correct retro build of a 1963 427 Chevy Z11 engine brought $20,000 at the recent Mecum Kissimmee auction, but $60,000 wasn’t enough to remove the reserve on a historic Ford 4-cam Indy engine.

The Z11 came from the extensive Don Fezell’s parts collection that saw dozens of rare and often still-in-the box parts for high-performance Chevy, Ford and Mopar engines. Numerous complete and partially finished engines were available, some at quite the bargain, from the collection. In addition to the Fezell offerings, other consignors put up display engines, including a Hemi coffee table that sold for $17,000. A Ford Flathead display engine complete with stand sold for $6,000, and another Hemi display engine dropped the hammer at $10,000.

A couple of other sales were notable, including $14,000 for a 1963 Corvette 327/360 fuelie engine mounted on a stand. This motor was highly detailed with the Winters aluminum intake, 7-fin valve covers and chromed ignition shielding.

The Fezell collection stood out because of the emphasis on Z11 parts and other W-series parts along with rare Ford 428 Cobra Jet parts and plenty of big-block Mopar pieces from the ’60s. The strongest prices were for numbers correct cylinder heads, carburetors and even fan blades as collectors sought replacement parts for their restorations. Even some parts such as valve covers and intake manifolds drew good prices, some of which probably will end up as displays on garage walls.

Some notable engine sales include:

• $11,000–1965 Chevy 396/425 engine
• $10,000–1963 Chevy 409/409 engine
• $8,000–Pontiac 421 Super Duty engine
• $7,000–1965 Chevy 409 engine
• $5,000–1966 Chevy L36 427 engine
• $2,750–1966 Chevy 396/325 engine
• $2,100–1966 Chevy 327ci engine
• $3,500–1967 Chevy 350/295 engine
• $1,300–1967 Pontiac 400 engine
• $1,400–1957 Chevy 283 engine
• $1,500–Unknown year Chevy 454 engine
• $4,200–1963 Ford 427 short block
• $1,300–1966 Chevy 283 engine
• $1,600–1967 Chevy 327 engine
• $2,700–1966 Ford/Shelby 289 engine
• $1,600–1969 Mopar 440 engine

Some bargains were also available:

• $100–Chevy 283 engine
• $500–Mopar 440 engine
• $50–Chevy SB short-block
• $350–Ford 351 Cleveland engine
• $100–Mopar 383 engine