WORLDS RAREST CAMARO

[toesuf94]

Originally Posted by f5journal

Why does it have a cowl hood that was not introduced until mid-year '69

Because it was added by the factory as a 'design piece'. It was fiberglass. Think of it as the prototype '69 hood.

Cool, huh?

[LOWDOWN]

Originally Posted by knitetrain05

The rarest Camaro of all - there was one 1968 Z/28 Camaro convertible built for Chevrolet General Manager Pete Estes on July 15, 1968. It is the only first generation Z/28 convertible ever built. Options included a folding rear seat, auxiliary console-mounted instruments, auxiliary lighting, power windows, remote outside mirror, custom seat belts, performance suspension package, four-wheel disc brakes, blue light stereo system, positraction, ‘69 prototype fiberglass hood, cross-ram air and powder coated factory headers. This car was then delivered to Mr. Estes through Bill Markley Chevrolet in Detroit, whereupon the car was used as Mr. Estes daily transportation until December 17, 1968. On that day, it was officially sold to its first owner, T.H. Standen. Standen sold the car to Vern Nye, another GM employee, only two years later, in whose hands it remained for nearly 20 years. Only recently was the car made known to the public.
I had thought that the car's whereabouts were unknown, but Michael Sullivan found it for me! The car was sold at auction to the Rock 'n Roll Toy Store, LTD., in Highland park, IL. Michael found it on the web, and was kind enough to let me know about it. Thanks, Mike!
So how did this car come to be built at all? According to Jim Mattison, who worked in the special projects division at the time, they needed approval to build the Z/28 for the general public instead of trying to build just enough to homologate for SCCA racing. They figured that if Pete Estes, the Chevrolet General manager, drove a Z/28 he would like it enough to approve the plan. The problem was that Estes was a convertible freak, and he wouldn't drive anything else. They could give him a regular Z/28 coupe but it would probably just sit in the company garage. They decided the only solution was to build a convertible Z/28 and give that to Estes. The result - Estes drove the car, loved it, and we got the Z/28.

Camaro Z28 History – First Gen.
Posted in April 17th, 2008 by Letz Roc in Z28's 1st Gen

"The name Z28 started out as only a Regular Production Order (RPO) option code but has since grown into one of the most recognizable three letters in Camaro automotive history. It may just be a coincidence that the RPO code for the Camaro Super Sport (SS) package was Z27 and that RPO Z28 just followed it sequentially or maybe not. Whatever the case may be it was nothing more and nothing less than a RPO option code at first.
Some people mistakenly believed that the Z in Z28 stood for Zora Arkus-Duntov the Corvette engineer. Actually a man named Vincent W. Piggins (more on him later) had put a name on the original 283 “Z28″ prototype Camaro before he presented it at a October 1966 “show-and-tell” session with top management at the GM Proving Grounds. The name that he had chosen was Cheetah. However at the last moment Vincent took the handmade decal off the car mumbling something like, “Well, a name is a name is a name.”

“There wasn’t any suggestion of what we were going to call this car,” recalls Vincent. “When it came down to having to decide, somebody just said, `Hey, it’s option RPO Z28; let’s call it Z28!’ So the name just grew from there. The graphics people did things with the Z, and that’s how the designation stuck. The car got its name from the actual option number.”

So who is Vincent W. Piggins you ask? Well he was a veteran Chevy engineer who designed the Z28 expressly for the Trans-America sedan series races along with convincing Chevrolet/GM management to sell it to the public. In fact, without Vincent’s efforts, the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) might never have continued Trans-America sedan competition at all. Had it not been for Vincent’s assurance to SCCA officials that Chevrolet would lend its support there may not have been a Trans-Am sedan series race schedule for 1967.

Vincent had been a Chevrolet engineer since 1956 and was the man behind the Hudson Hornet’s NASCAR championships in the early 1950′s. The following is his explanation of the Z28′s creation:

“After Ford released the Mustang, they had about two years on us before Chevrolet could get the Camaro into the 1967 product line. I felt in my activity, which deals with product promotion and how to get the most promotional mileage from a car from the performance standpoint, that we needed to develop a performance image for the Camaro that would be superior to the Mustang’s.

“Along comes SCCA in creating the Trans-Am sedan racing class for professional drivers in 1966, aimed at the 1967 season. I made it a point to have several discussions with SCCA officials-notably Jim Kaser, John Bishop, and Tracy Byrd-and one thing led to another. I suggested a vehicle that would fit this class and, I believe … supported by what Chevrolet might do with the Camaro … it gave them heart to push ahead and make up the rules, regulations, and so forth for the Trans-Am series. I feel this was really the creation of the Trans-Am as we know it.”

“This was “sedan racing,” mind you, and what qualified the Camaro and all ponycars as “sedans” was the fact that they had rear seats. And although Chevrolet sold only 602 Z28′s during 1967, they met the 1000 production rule by homologating the 350-cid Camaro under FIA Group I rules and then qualifying the same basic vehicle with the Z28 option under Group II.”

“Now on August 16, 1966, ” continues Piggins, “I put together a memo to my boss, W.T. Barwell, that laid out the basic idea of the Z-28, although, of course, it wasn’t called that then.

“This memo went out to engineers Alex Mair and Don McPherson, sales manager Bob Lund, Joe Pike in sale promotion, and C.C. Jakust. I said, in effect, that SCCA sedan racing was becoming increasingly popular and would blossom into even bigger things with the advent of the short-wheelbase, Mustang type pony car.

“My proposal went on that since our projected engine lineup for the 1967 Camaro had no V-8 smaller than the 327, and since we were above the 5000cc (305-cid) SCCA displacement limit for Class A sedans, we ought to take a high-performance version of the old 283 and wrap an option package around it to make it competitive within SCCA. You’ll remember that the Barracuda was running a 273 V-8 at that time, and the Mustang’s competitive engine was the 289. So our high-performance 283 would certainly have been right in there.”

The key portions of Piggins’ Aug. 17 memo said, “A new 283 high-performance engine plus other relative drive line and chassis items will provide performance and handling characteristics superior to either Mustang or Barracuda. To aid in the merchandising of this vehicle, certain other embellishments have been included to make the overall vehicle immediately identifiable and distinctive. The sales department anticipates a volume of 10,000 such vehicles could be sold in 1967.”

Piggins continues his explanation: “My initial proposal suggested we use the 283 V-8 plus the F-41 optional suspension, with heavy-duty front coils and multi-leaf rear springs. I also requested the J-52 front disc brakes with J-65 metallic linings for the rear drums, the 11-inch clutch from the 396 V-8, the close-ratio 4-speed with 2.20 low, a brand-new steering gear with a 24:1 overall ratio, Corvette 15 x 6 wheels with 7.75 tires, and a special reworked hood to provide functional air intake. There were other modifications called for as well, and 1 suggested we make the package available only in the Camaro coupe, not the convertible, and that the Z-22 Rally Sport option form part of the equipment for this car. Now not all this equipment went into the production Z-28 automobile, but those were the initial parts called for.”

Piggins got permission to have a pre-production Z-28 prototype built to these initial specifications. One of his first passengers in the as-yet-unnamed Z-28 was Chevrolet’s new general manager, Elliott M. (Pete) Estes. The ride didn’t come until just before noon. After some full-throttle acceleration runs and a few dives through a slalom course, Piggins let Estes take the wheel.

“Estes was quite impressed with the performance of this 283 engined vehicle,” recalls Piggins, “and as I explained to him what we planned to do to capture the Trans-Am championship and to produce a good performance image for the Camaro, it didn’t take much convincing for Pete to see what I was aiming toward.

“The only thing. . .” says Vincent, “while we were driving the car, I mentioned that we’d put the 283 into it because we’d built that size engine before. But I suggested when we got back to the starting pad that it might be a lot better to take the 327 block and put the 283 crank into it, giving us a 4 x 3 bore and stroke. That would put displacement at 302.4 cid, just under the SCCA’s 305 limit.” This configuration produced a high revving 302 cid small-block with a modestly rated 290 bhp (probably more like 350hp) and 290 pound-feet of torque (probably more also).

“So Pete immediately agreed, especially being an engineer and knowing the potential this car could have. Estes walked over to engineers Alex Mair and Don McPherson and said, `Let’s release this package and develop a 302 engine to go with it.’

“That was really the start of the Z28, and we proceeded to homologate that vehicle with the FIA as of Jan. 1, 1967 as a Group II car.” Even before that happened Chevrolet built a prototype 302 engined show car and displayed it for the motoring press at a special preview. This preview was held at Riverside International Raceway in California in November 1966 at the end of the ARRC events.

Chevrolet’s public relations person Walt Mackenzie set up a special track side tent at Riverside that had a technical news handout. It showed the Camaro coupe with what was called simply Regular Production Option (RPO) Z28. Magazine writers and editors from publications such as Motor Trend, Road & Track, Car & Driver, Sports Car Graphic, Hot Rod just to name a few were allowed to drive this first Z28. They all loved the car publishing rave reviews soon afterward.

What helped transport the Camaro from a wanna be to real competition for sedan sports car sales was the fact that the Camaro was successful at the track, beating the Mustang on a regular basis. Of course, the Z28 that the public could buy at their local Chevrolet dealership was not anywhere close to being the race-ready car that won SCCA championships. The race winner was, however, the basis for the cars that were made available to the public. The more racers learned about what they needed to win, the more Chevrolet was able to offer as performance parts for the Z28′s. For example, the Penske/Donohue race team was hugely responsible for bringing many heavy duty performance upgrades to dealers’ parts counters since any part that was used on the Z28′s being raced was required to be made available to the public.

One of the amazing facts of the first gen Z28 was its warranty. Chevrolet didn’t flinch and applied the same 2year/24,000-mile warranty to the Z28 automobile as a whole and its 5-year/50,000-mile warranty to the powertrain. That went beyond expectation and contrary to the practice of warranties for most high performance packages.

Sources: http://camaros.us/camaro-z28-history-first-gen/

http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-h...let-Camaro.pdf ...Page 50 of the pdf file

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrol...rst_generation)

[schoen311]

Originally Posted by BLU BY U

If you can find a (Camaro White Book 1967-2011) in the book store's, it should have some info. in there.

Well, I bought a white book from Amazon and just got it today. It has 2010 production numbers, but not 2011! :( Even though the book says 1967 - 2011.

Dangit.

T

[f5journal]

Originally Posted by toesuf94

Because it was added by the factory as a 'design piece'. It was fiberglass. Think of it as the prototype '69 hood.

Cool, huh?

Very cool

[BLU BY U]

Originally Posted by schoen311

Well, I bought a white book from Amazon and just got it today. It has 2010 production numbers, but not 2011! :( Even though the book says 1967 - 2011.

Dangit.

T

Dangit's, right. To bad I don't live close to you, I would buy it from you.

[aquablueL99]

I have a Ft. Wayne, Indiana newspaper article about it's possible sale at Auburn, In. at Kruse Auction. It was very interesting to note that it did not sell. As a matter of fact, all the original documentation was stolen from the truck that was hauling the convertible...can you imagine?...anyway, I will get the article posted for all to read.
This is great history for the Camaro and right in my back yard, no less!!

[aquablueL99]

I am sorry I don't have the year of the auction but here it is. This is from The Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette...

[With envy]

Thought I'd post my favorite Pete Estes photo:



One burning question though: Back in the days when I was first learning Camaro history, (Early Eighties) the available publications said that there were 602-604 Z-28's produced. The reasoning given for the discrepancy was usually assigned to GM's record keeping. I was wondering if this inconsistency has been settled in the intervening years, and what the real reason for the 2 car difference was?

And by the way, loved that crack about 1800 still in existence, Scott! Only a true Camaroist would get that one right away. That, and the guys making a fortune selling Z-28 badges in the 70's!

[Civilian]

Originally Posted by spyderbuddy

Advertised power of this engine was listed at 290 hp (216 kW). This is an under-rated figure.[2] Chevrolet wanted to keep the horsepower rating at less than 1 hp per cubic inch, for various reasons (e.g. insurance and racing classes). The factory rating of 290 hp occurred at 5300 rpm, while actual peak for the high-revving 302 was closer to 360 hp (268 kW) (with the single four barrel carb) and 400 hp (298 kW) (with optional dual-four barrel carbs) at 6800-7000 rpm.

Imagine if you had one of these new and always "short-shifted" at 5300 and couldn't figure out why you were so slow? Maybee the new ZL1's redline is understated by 1500-1700? Anyone want to try?

[79ZRAG]

Number 37 out of 380, convertibles.. Just thought I'd chime in with the "rarest" claim ;-)

[WiSSDiver]

Originally Posted by 79ZRAG

Number 37 out of 380, convertibles.. Just thought I'd chime in with the "rarest" claim ;-)

79 Stock convertible?

[Supercamaro64]

Very cool!!

[79ZRAG]

No not stock, if it were stock it wouldn't be rare.. LOL !

[AdamZ]

Mine is the only one in the world owned by me...so...that makes mine equally as rare