This car is the combination of two 1969 Camaros. The convertible body was delivered with a 230 C.I. 140 H.P. engine, Powerglide automatic transmission, Fathom Green paint with standard black vinyl interior and a black power top. Along the way a previous owner added a 307 C.I. engine and a three speed manual transmission with floor mounted Hurst shifter. The car was mistreated, neglected and its condition suffered from the typical rusting due to age, the northern winters and a bout with a garage door.
The other Camaro was purchased new in April, 1969 by the current owner and was a true SS coupe with the newly available cowl induction hood, rare in 1969 as only 4% were delivered with that option. The car was sold in 1971 to a family member who drove it in Rochester, NY and later Cleveland, OH, where the winters, road salt and neglect resulted in severe damage to the body. It was relegated to a barn in the mid 80’s and sat there until 1990 when the original owner got it back. The verdict at that time was it was not repairable because many of the body panels which sustained damage from rust were not available and the amount of reconstruction would have been too costly. The 350 C.I./300 H.P. engine, 4 speed transmission, entire rear member with 3.73 rear end, cowl induction hood, dash, steering column including steering wheel, center console with gauges and bucket seats were salvaged and have or will find their way into the convertible. Sadly, the remainder of the coupe’s body went to the scrap heap.
The plan in 1990 was to locate another coupe and restore it to the SS specifications using the parts taken from the scrapped car. However, before a suitable coupe could be found, the convertible body became available and the restoration plan was changed. The restoration began in 1991 and is still ongoing. Other than the Z28/Pace Car stripes, the restoration has sought to stay as close to the original Chevrolet specs as possible.