I Almost Cried.......

usedto

Lunatic Member
I ran my pickup down to a local repair shop to have a little work done on it. The owners are car nuts and avid roundy-round racers, so you never know what you might see in their shop. You'll see as many hot rods/street rods as you will commuter cars, so it's always interesting to see what's there.

When I went to pick it up, there was a 1969 Z28 Camaro in one of the stalls, so I thought I'd take a peek. After seeing what was going on, I asked the shop owner about it. The car owner had just paid $44,000 for the car, then pulled it in to their shop, had them jerk the original 302 w/2 - 4s that had some issues, and drop a $10,000 383 crate motor! The 302 is sitting on a stand and is going to be sold. Sad.

Now I don't have issues with modifying cars, but there are some things that you just don't eff with, and I believe a stock '69 Z28 is one.

Oh, well. Not my money!
 
I know how you feel, in the mid to late 80's, I was cruising the local car lots looking for an everyday driver since my last one had bit the dust.

I had a 65 Chevy Impala two door hardtop with a 406 and a glide for my toy, but needed a car that got MPG not GPM. :)

I happened on a small lot that had a beautiful 71 Mach 1 Mustang, 51K original miles, silver with a black interior. Had Fenton dish mags on it but the owner of the lot knew the original owner who still had the original wheels and tires with less than 200 miles on them.

The only thing wrong with the body was the driver's door was a shade different silver because when the car was two weeks old, someone backed into the driver's door and it had to be replaced and repainted.

Only thing wrong with the interior was the carpet was pulling up from the kick panels. Tuck the carpet back where it belonged you're done restoring the interior.

Took the car for a test drive and it was as tight as a new car, only thing I found was there was a slight front end shimmy at 60 MPH, above or below, it was fine.

I really thought hard on that Stang but decided to pass on it as I already had my toy.

Fast forward about a year and half later, I was taking my Impala to the body shop to have it repainted. As I pulled into the lot, I saw the same Mach sitting there with the entire passenger side caved in almost to the tranny tunnel. Some kid bought the car and wrapped it around a telephone pole.

The body shop said the kid was going to have it repaired and I said, "Good luck with that, it will never be the same".
 
Some people would put eyebrows on the Mona Lisa. Jeez.

There's evidence da Vinci put them on her originally. A contemporary of da Vinci wrote an account that specifically mentions the beauty of her eyebrows.

Me? I'd pull the original engine/tranny and store them, drive the car with a modern fuel injected engine/5 speed combo. Offer both power plants if I ever decided to sell.
 
Not only that, Michelangelo thought DaVinci was a jag-off and no true artist.

Truly?

Wow. DaVinci had to be one of the most well-rounded intellectuals to ever walk the planet.

I love history, and realize that it isn't what you think it is, most times.

There's a guy down the road with a 69 Z28, dark blood red paint, white convertible, rotisserie rebuild.

Yeah, I drool every time he goes by.
 
I really don't get this. I've seen numerous examples of rare big-block Corvettes being resto-modded. I'm not a member of any marque's jihad, but I'd much rather take a low-end example of a car and rebuild it as a clone if doing something like that.

Well I suppose I shouldn't talk about what I did to an '88 M3 a few years ago.

Probably not, considering what E30 M3s are selling for these days. Some are just too far gone to save, though, and my '92 318iC is wearing the front springs off of an M3 from somewhere in Oklahoma. That said, I'd love to have a set of the brake/hub assemblies and box fenders from a trashed M3 to build my 318iC into a clone of the exceptionally rare E30 M3 convertible.
 
I've entertained thoughts of "Rad-Mod" my '65 Lincoln limo-40" lift kit, Monster Mudders, 3-4" chop on the top, blown 460, completely blacked out w/old-skool yellow front/flames, w/"Death from Above" in Olde English script on the front doors..But then I rather quickly get over it..
 
Exactly this.

That's why I like my lowly L48/TH350 equipped 77 Corvette. They built a zillion of them (at least by Corvette standards), and the vast majority of the value is NOT in the drivetrain. I don't feel at all bad about building it into the hot rod I want.

Sorry, but it ain't the same.......

I beg to differ. 1st generation M3s are very collectible these days, and probably will remain so. Fun to drive, relatively fuel efficient, quick, and look good. Values are only climbing.
 
I beg to differ. 1st generation M3s are very collectible these days, and probably will remain so. Fun to drive, relatively fuel efficient, quick, and look good. Values are only climbing.

I didn't say the M3 wasn't collectible. It's just apples and oranges. And, I doubt a bone stock restored '88 M3 will ever command the same price as a '69 Z28 Camaro that's been re-done properly.

Just my opinion.:thmbsp:
 
Truly?

Wow. DaVinci had to be one of the most well-rounded intellectuals to ever walk the planet.

Truly. Michelangelo thought DaVinci a fancy pants dillettante who was flighty, who bounced from pillar to post and truly mastered little. Mikey B had contempt for Leo D's inability to work in bronze and thought his fortification designs mere scribblings on paper of no practical value. Whereas Michelangelo designed and built a system of modern works that augmented the existing fortifications of Florence.

One thing for sure, Michelangelo worked like a set of twins; his artistic and architectural output was prodigious.
 
Truly?



There's a guy down the road with a 69 Z28, dark blood red paint, white convertible, rotisserie rebuild.

Yeah, I drool every time he goes by.

your neighbor is not driving a real Z/28 convertible as only 1 was ever made (a 68) and giving to Pete Estes who was top brass at chevrolet in the 60s. it still exists and is loaded with options including 4 wheel disc brakes and the rare cross ram dual carburetor setup.
http://1968convertiblecamaro.com/rarest_camaro.htm
 
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I would consider swapping motors in a Z/28 if I had one, but I would definitely make sure no irreversible mods were made in order to swap the motor. hell as much as these cars are worth I would be afraid to even drive it! might as well build a clone!
 
your neighbor is not driving a real Z/28 as only 1 was ever made (a 68) and giving to Pete Estes who was top brass at chevrolet in the 60s. it still exists and is loaded with options including 4 wheel disc brakes and the rare cross ram dual carburetor setup.
http://1968convertiblecamaro.com/rarest_camaro.htm

He said "69".

The motor taken out of this Z28 has the cross ram setup. A $500 option, sometimes dealer installed, according to Wikipedia.
 
yes but my point is that only one Z/28 Camaro convertible was ever built, and that it was a 68. til of course the 80s gen 3 model.
 
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