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Recently we found out about the southern tradition of cloning legendary NASCAR cars. No matter what your opinion on this practice is, it gives the racing legends of yesteryear a second chance at life, like the one given to legendary Junior Johnson’s ‘63 “Mystery” Impala. While we’re sure more than one person has tried to clone this car, EG Auctions currently has the only authorized replica ever built up for bid. It gets better. This replica was actually built and owned by Junior Johnson, giving it extremely authentic touches that only the man who raced the car could produce.
In 1963, GM released a limited number of “Mystery” Z11 427 engines. These engines were modified 409cui blocks with an increased stroke. Special valves and heads, as well as a special cowl induction air cleaner and intake manifold were also added. The purpose of this engine was to dominate on the track and with an estimated 500+hp, it did just that.
The first of these “Mystery” engines to be debuted was strapped to the now world famous ‘63 Impala stock car that was driven by Robert Glen Johnson Jr., better known as Junior Johnson, during the 1963 NASCAR season.
The new engine made its first appearance at the Daytona 500 that year and helped Johnson lead the pack until distributor issues caused him and his car to retire before the race ended. That didn’t mean that no one took notice of the “Mystery” Impala, however.
Johnson’s NASCAR competitors actually took notice of the car immediately, especially after he ran 165mph in the car during practice, a whole 8mph faster than the previous year’s record. Johnson and the Impala went on to win seven Grand National victories and set nine speed records that year.
Because the engine was a bit ahead of its time, NASCAR eventually banned Johnson’s Impala from the track, ending the car’s racing career after just one year. The original “Mystery” Impala currently resides at the International Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame located in Talladega, Florida.
The one offered for bid by EG Auctions is as close to the real deal that anyone besides the museum is going to get. Built by Johnson to raise money for a cancer patient, the car was originally auctioned off in 1984.
Although this Impala is a replica, it is extremely true to the original car. Johnson actually managed to get his hands on one of the only few Z11 427 engines built in 1963 and used that to power the car. The engine currently sports a correct and very rare dual 4BBL intake and engine shroud. The Impala also comes with a period-correct four-speed manual transmission, its original white exterior paint and racing patina decals that were added by Johnson during the build, as well as a number of documents about the car.
This replica is as authentic as you can get, from the racing decals to the bare-bones interior
