Bob, who is a fellow Camaro enthusiast visited my site and sent me a note about his air cleaner lid.
He wrote that he has a 69 Z/28 made the middle of March and his silk-screen text is also straight. Here is a picture he sent me of the underside of his lid:
Cool. Another one, just like mine!
He also sent me some pictures of his Z/28. He has had it for about 10 years. It is a very beautiful car.
Bob’s Z/28 has a pretty cool history. Here is his brief history of the car that he uses at shows:
This Z/28 was built at the Van Nuys assembly plant and lingered in the back lot of a Los Angeles dealership as a 1969 leftover. In 1970, a young man who frequented the infamous Mulholland Drive purchased the Z/28 for the specific use as a road racer.Utilizing the Chevrolet Special Equipment Manual, he added a “1st Design Off-Road” cam, modified exhaust and larger over the counter stabilizer bar. These changes made the car “very successful” in it’s intended usage, according to the original owner.
After a few years, the Z/28 was sold. The new owner along with some friends (and after too many beers) disassembled the car in preparation for a paint job on a Saturday afternoon. The next day awakened with the fact he was in way over his head and ridicule from his wife, he covered the car with a tarp in the corner of his garage. In 2002, twenty-two years later, my wife and I knocked on his door concerning another car in his driveway. After talking cars for awhile, he lead us to the garage, lifted the tarp, and confessed his shame of so many years before. The next day I trailered the Z/28 home and went back for four pickup loads of it’s removed parts. Much to my surprise, his assurance that all the parts were there proved correct.
The “restoration” consisted of a bare metal strip and high quality repaint in the original rare Olympic Gold color. The removal of the subframe assisted in the refresh of the mechanicals. The few parts needed were replaced with GM NOS only. The interior also remains all original, even the factory installed carpet.
This Z/28 with its high winding 302 is a thrill to drive. It represents what most enthusiasts experienced in the late 60’s and early 70’s. I retained those modifications made according to the early Chevrolet Special Equipment Manual, so in a lot of ways, it is truly a time capsule.