Rare Finds - 1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28

Finds - 1969 Chevy Camaro Z28.strong "Somebody let loose a juicy tidbit about an original '69 Z28 in a basement." Story by Jerry Heasley for Hotrod Magazinebr a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl2tL.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1775" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl2tL.jpg" alt"BBhl2tL" "728" height"476" abr Provided by Hotrodbr Skip Lecates found this Camaro the same way he found the Yenko Deuce that appeared on the cover of this magazine's Sept. '12 issue ("Mission Accomplished"), by talking with muscle heads in his area. He determined that the owner was a very individual. Instead of knocking on his door with no invitation, Skip asked "a friend of a friend" who works with the Camaro's owner to "talk to Larry and see if I can get in to look at the car." Skip knew asking if the car was for sale would get him nowhere. Larry had his Z28 brand new when he was just 16 years old. Obviously he was attached to the Z28. After a couple years, Skip finally got an OK to come out to Larry's house and see his Camaro. No harm would be done. Skip was a Camaro guy who just wanted to look. This car must have stayed in the basement for most of the last 35 years. a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhlhL2.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1777" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhlhL2.jpg" alt"BBhlhL2" "728" height"476" abr span class"attribution" Provided by Hotrod. span Skip Lecates says, When I saw it didnt have any door dings or nicks or anything like that, I much knew I wanted it. It was unscrewed with mechanically. It was unscrewed with Its just a very, very high-endbr "I don't know how many cars he had underneath the house there," says Skip. Most of the cars were covered. So they were not classic barn finds in the sense of being neglected. Larry back a car cover to reveal his original Z28, Hugger Orange with deluxe houndstooth interior. Skip has owned many Camaros, but he had never seen anything like this Z28. The car had obviously been well taken care of since new. He believes the Z28 originally wore Firestone Sports Car 200 tires, which the owner removed and saved. They were stored in the basement with the Z28. The odometer showed 21,229 in 1978. Now it has 21,672, 35 years later. This car must have stayed in the basement for most of the last 35 years. Apparently the owner always had another car to drive. When the Z28 was new and the owner drove to work, Skip says he drove another car. The Z28 led a sheltered life. a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl02u.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1780" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl02u.jpg" alt"BBhl02u" "728" height"476" abr span class"attribution" Provided by Hotrod.span The interior featured console and gauges, a Hurst shifter, bucket seats, a woodgrain wheel, and Houndstooth seats, all in excellent original condition. "That's much what the car is," says Skip. "I mean, this guy a battery in it and saved the original. He another battery in it; he saved that battery. He a water on it; he saved the original water The wasn't just original. It was "stellar," Skip says. Rust? The car was "not even thinking about rust." All he could see were some very minor touch-ups here and there, as if they were applied with a matchstick. a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl7su.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1781" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl7su.jpg" alt"BBhl7su" "728" height"476" abr span class"attribution" Provided by Hotrod.span Incredibly, the original owner saved the original battery many years ago. Skip saved this Y77 battery by fitting the case with new cells. Was this basement Z28 one of the best time capsules left in the world? Skip says, "There's no doubt about it." The car was not even thinking about rustbr The car wasn't for sale. However, Skip let Larry know that he wanted to buy the Z28. Larry was not ignorant of Z28 He knew what he had. He also, obviously, liked the car. However, this year Larry called Skip. Larry had decided to sell the Z28 that he bought brand new. "If you want to say he kind of lost interest, you could say he lost interest in it," Skip explains. "And the winter we had up here last year was a little on the harsh side. He said, I think I'm moving south.'" That's how Skip scored big-time with one of the most sought-after muscle Camaros, a '69 Z28, Hugger Orange, that is "a very, very high-end survivor car." Skip did not waste Larry's 45 years of excellent Camaro care. When he sent the original water out for repair he told the shop, "Do not do anything to the exterior of this water a href"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl4TG.jpg"img class"alignnone size-full wp-image-1784" src"http:blog.rickscamaros.comwp-contentrickscamarosuploads201502BBhl4TG.jpg" alt"BBhl4TG" "728" height"476" abr span class"attribution" Provided by Hotrod.span The rear bumper still had an Emrich sticker on it, a reference to the original selling dealer, Emrich Chevrolet in Manchester, Pennsylvania. Skip removed the bottom of the Delco Energizer blacktop battery and fitted the original case with new cells. The 302 is original down to spark spark wires, hoses, and belts. At this writing, Skip was to fire up the 302 and get the Z28 operational for the first time in many years.