Which first gen. Camaro was top dog?

[LOWDOWN]

Specially built for "Pete" Estes, supposedly on the line in Norwood, 7/15/68. NOT as an RPO or COPO car, but as a "one-off"...under a special internal build code, and Dealer Code 00-500.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=sgcM...rtible&f=false

Kinda like Lt. Dan gettin' a ZL1 Convertible GM-built with an LS9, if he was into that sort of thing...

Or better yet, kinda like ME gettin' an Oshawa-built MY-'12 LS7 "Z/28"!!

[f5journal]

Originally Posted by billscamaros

Great thread!!! This was tossed out on the first page, and nobody bit on it. So I will ...........

This is totally against anything that I've read or seen over the past forty years ...... got solid data?

"Production" and "produced" impies by Chevrolet.

A coupe modified by someone else into a convertible doesn't qualify as "production".

Proof please.

I know it exists, but know nothing about it

[2cnd chance]

Wow that is a heavy dose of faith.

I've seen this car in a magazine it was built as a what if car. It was not factory done. I believe it was blue. Just looked at the link, this is not the car I had seen.

[billscamaros]

Pretty interesting ... I've seen that book in the discount section of the bookstore, and have always passed it by. I'll have to check into finding it again.

Regardless, that's certainly a rare car. Always new stuff to learn, no matter how old or smart you think you are ..... at least in my case!!!!

Thanks for the info.

[chevy454]

The '68 Z/28 convertible Estes had built was British Racing Green...it went through the Central Office (COPO) and started on the production line and finished in engineering, iirc. There was some factory paperwork of some kind (P-O-P imprint) and Jim Mattison had some information on the car as well, but the original paperwork was stolen when a briefcase belonging to Al Maynard was taken out of his vehicle I believe, back in '04-ish? Al passed away about a month ago, unfortunately...

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

Specially built for "Pete" Estes, supposedly on the line in Norwood, 7/15/68. NOT as an RPO or COPO car, but as a "one-off"...under a special internal build code, and Dealer Code 00-500.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=sgcM...rtible&f=false

Kinda like Lt. Dan gettin' a ZL1 Convertible GM-built with an LS9, if he was into that sort of thing...

Or better yet, kinda like ME gettin' an Oshawa-built MY-'12 LS7 "Z/28"!!

Absolutely correct, it was a one off built on a Chevrolet production line, the only first gen. Z/28 vert built by Chevrolet. Many people that don't know about it presume it to be untrue, it is well documented in dozens of books about early Camaro history.
Clyde

[LOWDOWN]

NOT questioning anyone about anything regarding the "convertible", but it would be nice to see the VIN...and the data plate (if there was/is one). And, of course, Chevy "documentation" from back then is not quite as "documentable" as Pontiacs are through PHS.

As Chevy454 sez, after leaving Norwood, "Engineering" had their way with the car...JL8 brakes and ZL2 hood (both RPOs for '69-only models, depending) and cross ram and 4.88s (!!) would make the finished product "unique" and, therefore, "non-production". The original intent, and final result, was a vehicle built "outside" more to "show car specs" (not uncommon...still done today!) than "let's build some more of these just like this one".

As to the 302 being married to the convertible chassis, in Norwood, I wasn't there to see it...

This entire saga blurs the definition of "production car". Yes, obviously, it spent some time at Norwood. Spent some time in "Engineering". What all did those folks do? Who can verify what? What "documentation" exists? Since it was commissioned and performed by GM (apparently), does that make it different than a Yenko...or a Baldwin-Motion one-off? If so, why? Because GM "customized" it, instead of the ABC Tuner/Custom Shoppe?

An interesting piece of "auto history", shrouded in a bit of mystery, with a touch of "who dunnit?" thrown in...

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

Wow that is a heavy dose of faith.

I've seen this car in a magazine it was built as a what if car. It was not factory done. I believe it was blue. Just looked at the link, this is not the car I had seen.

The Pete Estes Z/28 vert was factory done. As far as the cross ram, they could be ordered from the factory and dealer installed, it would come off the production line with the standard 780cfm single four barrel and the cross ram intake and two 500cfm Holleys in the trunk, so "Engineering" simply performed the service that the dealer would normally do, same deal with the factory headers that could be ordered. The Z/28 came standard with a 3.73 rear axle but could be ordered with 4.88 rear, nothing that unusual there. The JL8 4 wheel disc brakes were parts counter items in '68, they were regular production options in '69, nothing that unusual there. If you want to hear of a really rare Camaro option, read the following as documented in Wayne Guinn's book and others:

"One of the most interesting, rare and overlooked high performance options available for the early Camaro is the Heavy-Duty Dual Disc Clutch, Regular Production Option MA6. This heavy-duty (HD) performance option was first released for use on the high-performance optional engines during the 1969 model year. The intent was to offer a clutch system that would stand up to rigors of performance driving and, as it turns out, the design may have been overkill. The durability of this clutch is absolutely amazing; combinations similar to this were used as slider clutches in dragsters handling well over 1200 horsepower!
The unit is especially well-suited for use with the Z/28-302 in conjunction with the M21-M22 transmission using the 2.20 first gear and any rear axle ratio numerically lower than 4. l 1: l . The combination of the 302 being relatively low on torque at the bottom end and the standard gearing being relatively stout requires higher revs and more slipping of the clutch to get rolling at a moderate pace. Even more revs and clutch slippage are required to get off smoothly and quickly. This action substantially reduces clutch life and the standard 10-1/2" clutch with its marginal performance characteristics was a compromise at best. In recognition of this, Chevrolet offered the optional HD dual-disc clutch. Unfortunately, the high cost of the option was a factor that kept it from being ordered on many cars. In fact, if a car was to see any real high-performance work, standard protocol of the day was to replace the stock unit with one of the lower priced high-performance aftermarket units. We know today in retrospect, however, that the dual-disc system was far superior."

Other than the Pete Estes car being a Z/28 vert, nothing else was that unusual about it.
Clyde