Brought Home The Dream: '69 RS Z/28

[cruiserofland]

Hey all,

Just wanted to say howdy and show the car I brought home this weekend: a '69 RS Z/28.

It was sold new at Ferris Bros Chevrolet in Harvard, Illinois, restored from 2000-2010 out near Chicago, then went to Tuscon then Anaheim and now up here to the South Bay. No docs and unfortunately the second owner did a reproduction trim tag (maybe to match the swap to 713 interior), but otherwise it's to my eye a pretty solid restoration. The PO had Jerry M do a "data analysis" on the car from photos and Jerry is confident it's an original Z. Once the world returns to a bit more normal I'll have to get Jerry out here to California to do a proper certification.

Some quick details: 02D, from photos appears to be an original 72 72 car, warranty replacement CE 302, original BV axle, and not-original M21. Carb rebuilt by Jerry (runs great!) and most everything under the hood is numbers-correct so it's possible the original owner blew up the DZ and swapped over the accessories to the replacement motor. 403 bellhousing, 367 starter, 480 distributor, 837 alternator, UH radiator, spiral shocks, YH wheels, and a lovely-sounding chambered exhaust!

It likely started life with standard interior and flat hood (not sure about spoilers either), but the second owner swapped to deluxe houndstooth (my favorite) and cowl hood. That super scoop hood flap works great!

Lots of little things to fix and tweak and I have much to learn, but overall it's a pretty damned fun setup for a weekend driver. It's been an exciting, whirlwind weekend here at our house for sure - finally made the dream come true! On to photos...

[Lynn]

Congrats.

Too bad about the trim tag. Have you tried to see if a PO kept it? Would be nice to reunite it with the car, if possible. Otherwise, it is what it is, right?

Won't make it any less fun to drive.

For what it is worth, the white out treatment on the top of the cowl is similar to how mine came from the factory; although mine has less spill over onto the firewall.

See third pic in post #8 in this thread: https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=121748&highlight=updated+pics+project

Have a blast.

[cruiserofland]

Thanks! Sadly the second owner unexpectedly passed away shortly after that ten-year process to restore it. His wife then owned it for several years, then reluctantly sold it to a friend, then it went to the owner in Anaheim from whom I bought it, so the tag is probably long gone. But seems like the paint job was done with a real eye for making it look factory. I kind of like that the repro tag is on top of the cowl paint so it's obvious it's not original.

[cruiserofland]

Here is the car coming off the trailer on Saturday:

https://youtu.be/POz9dshTHVA

My thanks to Kevin and Darwin at Enclosed Vehicle Transport for great service in safely transporting the car!

[Mr. Chevy]

Congrats Nice Camaro..

Rich

[1crossram]

Very nice looking car, congrats.

[GrumpyJeff]

Neat car ,Sure does sound Good !!!

[ChimChim]

Now that's funny ....we have the same dream! :crazy:
Can you believe that little 302 sounds so awesome!
Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations!

[cruiserofland]

Thanks, everyone! Yeah, the chambered exhaust is just ridiculously fun. I'm also amazed at how well it idles, in part I expect thanks to Jerry M rebuilding the carb.

[Zedder]

Congrats! Great looking car!

[scuncio]

Very nice car. Congrats!

[PeteLeathersac]

'

Big congrats!
:beers:
~ Pete

.

[wundercluck]

Wow...nice score!!!

[KLars1]

Nice -- sounds TOTALLY mean. What a looker...

[cruiserofland]

:youguysrock:

Thank you!

[mssl72]

Nice car! I agree with everybody about how nice it sounds! Very cool!

[dykstra]

Sweet ride! Congrats. Sounds killer!!

[cruiserofland]

Had my first few little puzzles with the car this weekend. The first was with the reverse lockout. Turns out that if the steering column cover rotates counter-clockwise too far then it screws up the geometry of the lockout linkage and allowed me to move the shifter out of reverse. So I let out the clutch in "neutral" with the reverse bar on the Muncie still engaged... chirped backwards and stalled.... uh what?! After a few hours of research, putting the car on jack stands (before I had driven it more than around the parking lot), and learning all about how the Hurst shifter linkages work, I confirmed everything was tight and properly adjusted in the linkages and then found the twisting-column "bug" somewhere on one of the forums. Twisted that column all the way clockwise and it's good as new... No idea why it's rotating - maybe there's a missing screw or pin or something? For now it's a handy antitheft device, so long as someone doesn't try to put it in first and reverse at the same time :eek2:


Second little puzzle - I went to unscrew the antenna to put the cover on the car, and turns out the whole antenna mount assembly was loose, so it dropped into the fender and disappeared. With some magnets on sticks and some wire, I finally found the little pivoting washer that grabs the antenna body under the fender and pulled it out of that tiny crevice above the rocker.


Amazing how quickly you bond with a car when you're wrenching on it more than driving it in the first 48 hours :beers:

[cruiserofland]

Gratuitous front end shot to accompany those little fixes that weren’t particularly visually interesting...

[gtomike1967]

Beautiful!

[BJCHEV396]

Very nice! Congrats and have fun!

[hema]

Thank you for providing the useful information about the car. A great article

[A12pilot]

Beautiful! Enjoy it!! Spend a few minutes each evening just staring at it knowing it’s in your garage. Sometimes we all get caught up in numbers this, date code that, and we forget the sum of the parts is what gets our hearts pounding.

She’s a beauty!

Cheers:biggthumpup:
Dave

[cruiserofland]

Beautiful! Enjoy it!! Spend a few minutes each evening just staring at it knowing it’s in your garage. Sometimes we all get caught up in numbers this, date code that, and we forget the sum of the parts is what gets our hearts pounding.

She’s a beauty!

Cheers:biggthumpup:
Dave


Absolutely and thanks! I'll have to keep taking videos, too - amazing how much the sound is a part of the soul of the car, and you don't get that with just a few photos...


These past few days have been a steady stream of friends and neighbors coming by (at a social distance) to see the car. So many anecdotes of "my dad had an orange '69!" and "I have to show my friend - he's going to flip" and just all kinds of stories and smiles. And it's the loudest car in the fleet so it'll help that the neighbors are excited about the car too haha.


I've thought about a 1st gen Camaro for so long that it still doesn't feel like it's actually in my garage. More like I'm at the Monterey Historics and how cool that I get to stand this close to it! Great stuff, and what this hobby is all about.


Time to figure out why the steering column cover is free to rotate out of position enough to defeat the reverse lockout...

[cruiserofland]

Had my first twilight drive. The more seat time I have, the more I'm starting to "wear" the car, and the chambered exhaust is just addicting... Got stuck in reverse again after parking (where the shifter moves to neutral but the lockout stays engaged), and this time rotating the cabin-side steering column jacket didn't fix the lockout linkage alignment so I had to jump under to move the reverse rod back to neutral. I'm hoping the reverse bar just needs adjustment so will tackle this weekend. Might be fun to switch to steel bushings with a Hurst rebuilt kit while I'm under there - anyone do steel in the linkages and like it?

[Lee Stewart]

The first thing I did when I bought my 69 Z was to get rid of that horrible Muncie shifter. If you intend to drive it, put a Hurst in it. You will never regret the decision.

[cruiserofland]

Ah, thanks Lee, I had that wrong and thought the bushings were replaceable on the factory Muncie/Hurst linkages but looks like not. I might have to add that to the bolt-on upgrades list...

[William]

The original shifter for all '69 Camaros w/4-speed was a Hurst. I had several back in the day and the reverse lockout functioned perfectly. Yours is not correctly adjusted or has non-original components.

[Lee Stewart]

The original shifter for all '69 Camaros w/4-speed was a Hurst. I had several back in the day and the reverse lockout functioned perfectly. Yours is not correctly adjusted or has non-original components.

I bought mine used - had 18,000 miles and it had a Muncie in it. It may have been swapped out to a Chevelle SS 396. The car was not 100% stock: had headers. Flat hood Lemans Blue with White stripes and Dark Blue Interior. No spoilers.

And those damn RWL tires. I must have spent a 100 hours with Brillo pads working off the curb scuff's each time I blew parking it against a curb.

[cruiserofland]

William and others, this may be a dumb question but is the cabin-side steering column jacket supposed to be rotatable by hand? I'm wondering if there's a missing pin or internal fastener in the column that allows the jacket to rotate out of position and so mess up the lockout geometry. In the meantime I'll get the car on jack stands tomorrow to adjust the Hurst linkages...

[WorkinProgress]

You are probably missing the reverse lock-out rod. If you do not twist it after starting the car your reverse lights will stay on. If you twist it after engine is started reverse light will go off, but you will not be able to remove ignition key until you twist it back to the reverse position.

- Warren

[John]

....

... Wow ... Nice Camaro :flag::flag::flag:

...

[cruiserofland]

As it turns out, the reverse rod was two rotations out of adjustment. Got the car up on jack stands and used a carbide bit as a 1/4” pin to get the Hurst linkages adjusted. Now it shifts like new :beers:

Did not know until now that it’s adjusted that the steering column jacket is supposed to rotate when you shift into reverse. Today I learned...

[Lee Stewart]

the steering column jacket is supposed to rotate when you shift into reverse

Funny story:

My best friend in college had a 1969 Chevelle SS396/325 HP 4 speed. The car came without a tach. He liked the hood mounted tach the GTOs had and bought a look-a-like. Came in a black plastic housing. Then he went to Lee Chevrolet in Wellesley, MA (Babson remember) to get a quote for install and paint. It was more than the cost of the tach. So I recommended to him that he return it and exchange it for a column mounted Sun Super Tach which was the same price.

He exchanged tachs and we strapped it to the column, got the wires snaked and all hooked up and started the car. Bingo - worked perfectly. So we're sitting in the car waiting for it to warm up and when it did, he puts the shifter in reverse and the tach moves . We are both staring at it like it just spoke to us. Al looks at me and says; "it better move back when I shift into first" which of course it did. He hated that movement so much he would avoid shifting into reverse as much as possible. Without the tach we never noticed the column jacket rotating.

[cruiserofland]

That’s pretty amazing :smile:

[markinnaples]

That's interesting, never heard of that before. I do remember that was a big thing in the 70's, cruising around with your reverse lights on. As a stupid kid, always thought it was cool, lol.

[x33rs]

It was new for 69. That's what locks the steering wheel when parked. Basically you can't park it and take the keys out until you put the shifter in reverse.

Reverse light switch was also moved to the column so when it rotates it turns on the backup lights.

Easy to spot a 69-up with back drive linkage missing when someone jumps in to start it and the back up lights don't come on, or you see one parked in 1st gear and the keys missing.

Many thought it was a pain and why so many were removed early on. Once adjusted and working properly it's fine. The function never bothered me since I'm one to almost always back into a parking spot.

Neat Z by the way. :biggthumpup:

[enio45]

nothing better that a HO 69 RS/Z

good luck with the car and looks like your on track to fixing your reverse issues!

[StriperSS]

Back then, many of the headers available did not clear the reverse lock out rod, and called for it's removal. So if we were out street racing or cruising, and we saw a GM car with it's back up lights on, we knew it had headers. Kind of a clue to how stock it was if we wanted to 'have a go'.

[cruiserofland]

Thanks, all, and fun to hear all the stories. Lockout works great now - very satisfying to put in reverse and see the column jacket rotate, knowing all the little details that go into it...

[cruiserofland]

Here’s my current ride height. Measured today at the rockers based on the assembly manual for shipping heights (fuel tank was mostly empty) and it’s about 9 3/4” front and 9 1/4” rear, so slightly high in front and within spec in rear. I prefer more of a lower trans-am stance anyway, so I’ll have to check what front springs are in there but I expect Moog 6308s will be in my future :cool2:

[cruiserofland]

Did some investigative work and pulled the rear seats to check for any chalk markings. Turns out it looks like the car was taken down to bare metal to be repainted so no X3 behind the seat, but was a good opportunity to remove the protective plastic around the new upholstery that had been left behind 10 years ago. According to the records the interior was done by Biel Upholstery in Chicago - anyone know them? The seats are in killer shape, all replaced 10 years ago.

There were more hooks than I was expecting so photos attached for future folks looking to pull their rear seats. I used the killer trick suggested on Team Camaro to put a plastic mallet between front seat and rear, then lean on the front seat to help pop the rear seat bottom back and up to release it from the hooks.

[NorCam]

Just caught up on this thread. Looks like you found a real nice little driver. Love the color and I really like the stance.

[enio45]

stance is right on IMO!

[x33rs]

"right on" do you mean as a day 2 mod??

I agree that always looks good, but I assume a restoration like this down to the correct tires the OP is looking for the correct stance for a Z.

Don't know if the moog spring will get you there. I've never had much luck going that direction. I've always used Coil Spring Specialties out of Kansas and they've done an excellent job nailing the stock ride heights on various cars I've done.

[cruiserofland]

Thanks, all! Since this will be a driver, I’m leaning more towards mild day-2, at least if it’s bolt-on. It’s already NOM and desmogged, and eventually I’ll go with radials and save the bias-plys for shows. Thinking about either reproduction rallys (to preserve the original YH wheels) or since I’m a big Donohue/Penske fan maybe minilites. :grin:

I’m more into road racing than drag racing so that may be why I prefer the lowered front look, but I agree that it looks pretty damn good right now too...

[cruiserofland]

Pulled the speedo cable today to try to figure out why the speedo and odometer don’t move. Turns out they move just fine with a drill spinning counter-clockwise on the trans end of the cable. The teeth on the driven gear in the bullet insert seem to be intact, so I am wondering if there is a problem with the drive gear inside the tail housing? Looks like the factory-style plastic gear, and maybe a purple color? The yellow driven gear just barely fits through the bore in the transmission so it seems that it can’t be a bigger diameter, so I don’t understand why the teeth aren’t engaging unless there’s a problem with that internal purple drive gear. Hmmmm....

[MarcDant]

Hi cruiser your speedo gear and clip on the main shaft seems like it was installed upside down ,that purple gear should be in line with the hole in the boss. The steel clip that secures the purple gear is offset roughly 3/16. Nice clean z28.

[rlw68]

Hi cruiser your speedo gear and clip on the main shaft seems like it was installed upside down ,that purple gear should be in line with the hole in the boss. The steel clip that secures the purple gear is offset roughly 3/16. Nice clean z28.

Maybe the clip broke and the gear slipped on the shaft? That would be likely if the speedo was working before. Either way the tail housing needs to come off.


:dunno:

[rlw68]

Just caught up on this thread. Looks like you found a real nice little driver. Love the color and I really like the stance.

Graeme, did you catch the 02D build?


:biggthumpup:

[cruiserofland]

Thanks, guys. The odometer reads the same as the paperwork from when it was restored 10 years ago so I would bet the speedo hasn’t worked since then.

[cruiserofland]

Graeme, did you catch the 02D build?


:biggthumpup:

02D club! Mid year is my fav: chambered exhaust AND functional headrests :biggthumpup:

[cruiserofland]

Adjusted the toe last night, to neutral with these bias-plys, and in the process finally straightened the steering wheel. It is amazing to me what a difference it makes as far as connecting with the car to have the wheel straight! Also cruised for the first time at night - gotta open the headlight doors manually but the headlights are level and the gauges are super well-lit. Now I really gotta fix that clock, and someday soon pull the tail housing to fix that speedo....

[x77-69z28]

Here’s my current ride height. Measured today at the rockers based on the assembly manual for shipping heights (fuel tank was mostly empty) and it’s about 9 3/4” front and 9 1/4” rear, so slightly high in front and within spec in rear. I prefer more of a lower trans-am stance anyway, so I’ll have to check what front springs are in there but I expect Moog 6308s will be in my future :cool2:

This is exactly how my 42,000 mile Z sits. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Buddy

[cruiserofland]

Got some interesting numbers this evening corner-weighing the car. This is with approx. 17 gallons in the 18-gallon tank. It’s possible my driveway isn’t totally flat although I measured the ride height as level left to right when I took the measurements. Just to break down the numbers on the screen, that’s 3380 lbs with no driver, approx 56% front / 44% rear, and a slight bias to the left side at the front end. Front/rear gets slightly better with me in it.

Pretty fun to see the mass distribution of what is essentially a factory RS Z setup, so spare in the trunk, factory-style interior (incl. carpet), console, cowl hood, spoilers, power steering and chambered exhaust, just no smog equipment.

[Mr70]

You & the device weigh 233 Lbs. :D

[cruiserofland]

That’s a really heavy device. Covid problems :grin:

[cruiserofland]

Big lunch? Heavy wallet. Lead foot.

[x33rs]

Got some interesting numbers this evening corner-weighing the car. This is with approx. 17 gallons in the 18-gallon tank. It’s possible my driveway isn’t totally flat although I measured the ride height as level left to right when I took the measurements. Just to break down the numbers on the screen, that’s 3380 lbs with no driver, approx 56% front / 44% rear, and a slight bias to the left side at the front end. Front/rear gets slightly better with me in it.

Pretty fun to see the mass distribution of what is essentially a factory RS Z setup, so spare in the trunk, factory-style interior (incl. carpet), console, cowl hood, spoilers, power steering and chambered exhaust, just no smog equipment.

That's about exactly right and nearly identical to mine. I took our 69 RS Z over to Ridetech and had it 4 corner scaled.
Mine with ZL2 hood, spoilers, deluxe houndstooth interior, console gauges, PS, full size spare and jack and a full tank of gas.

Left front 958
Right front 944
Left rear 748
Right rear 787
Front percentage is 55.34%
Rear percentage is 44.66%
Total weight was 3437 lbs. with no one in it.

[enio45]

interesting info - so the corner weighting - i get the distribution but what does that mean - how do you interrupt it and what do you do with it?

Appreciate the dedication - i would not know it something as incorrect or not?

[x33rs]

Those suspension places, like Ridetech where I took mine, use the corner weights to design the suspension/spring package for best handling/ride etc...

I'm sure all the SCCA guys do it as well to tweak their cars.

None of that was really any concern to me, I just found it interesting, and it was free :smile:

[enio45]

your car looks great!

[cruiserofland]

Good stuff and thanks! In theory you could select each spring and valve each shock to balance the car and so make it handle the same both to the left and to the right. For me, these numbers will help the conversation if I want to change ride height with custom front springs. I can then get specific with a suspension company based on desired height and type of driving, plus the knowledge that I don’t plan to change the rear springs or mess with the spiral shocks. And best to do all this with the numbers that include the driver in the car, lead foot and all...

[cruiserofland]

I was out for a lovely cruise yesterday evening, and while heading home the throttle rod fell off the carburetor :rolleyes2: I ended up using the little nose wire from my covid mask to reattach the linkage and drive home. Because 2020.

Looks like the little e-clip fell off and disappeared. It's about time I made a little go-bag for this car with tools, wire, tape, headlamp... Also kind of amazing that the throttle rod only stays on the carb with that little friction-fit e-clip. Do folks change that out for a different retention mechanism?

[ELEFUNTMAN]

Mine fell off on a spirited run up to the local mountains. I was lucky, the clip was on the intake. While I was putting it back on, local CHP pulls in behind me. He checks out the Z, we chat for a bit as he holds his light for me, nice young man! Acted like he never seen a Z28 up close! :flag:

[cruiserofland]

I'm still getting used to all the attention when driving the Z. My other cars have their fanbases but nothing like a bright orange '69 Camaro! No CHP yet but I've been followed into my work parking lot by a guy who bet his friend at a bar what year the car was as I drove by... the more fun one was a few weeks ago, leaving work and a kid on a bike starts chasing after me. I pulled over and he asked if he could take pictures. I was about his age when I started dreaming about this car so it was fun to pay it forward a bit. Pictures led to video and the question "... could you rev it?" Giant smiles from both him and me with that chambered exhaust singing above 4k rpm :biggthumpup: :biggthumpup:

[cruiserofland]

Thanks to the brilliant build thread from Lloyd over on TC, I learned that the reverse lights shouldn’t have rubber or foam gaskets around the chrome bezels. I’m guessing my reverse light bezels are reproduction but at least now my gaskets are gone :) Looks much sharper this way. It’s the little things...

[cruiserofland]

I spent some time tonight working on the throttle rod. The nub that goes into the carb linkage is much too long - I would bet the sloppy fit knocked the e-clip off during my drive last week - so I used a washer stack to tighten it up. I also finally checked the carb linkage position when the pedal is floored and found that the carb was not reaching WOT. So this throttle rod also appears to be overall too long! I lopped off the threaded end to make it as short as possible and it still won’t go fully wide-open when in the correct hole of the linkage, so for now I’m running the rod in the lower hole until I have time to tighten the bend and so make the rod just a little bit shorter.. In the meantime, the throttle feels vastly better with all that new pedal travel and the car finally feels quick!

Photos are from the rod in the correct position but not hitting the WOT stop on the Holley.

[ELEFUNTMAN]

usually with vacuum secondary it’s not any trouble to get full throttle. I have found with mechanical secondary sometimes a challenge. You can “bend” the actual rod inside the car farther away from the firewall however be careful, it may break- yes, I broke one once! :dunno: Love these cars!

[cruiserofland]

With all of the craziness of 2020 it’s sure damned nice to escape for a bit in the Camaro. Spent some time tuning the throttle rod again today then opened it up a bit to enjoy that roaring chambered exhaust. A good day and what this hobby is all about :beers:

[BJCHEV396]

Wow she's a beauty Matt.Congrats and enjoy!

[cruiserofland]

Wow she's a beauty Matt.Congrats and enjoy!

Thank you :) I’ve so far wrenched a fair bit more than driven it but it has been fun to dial everything in. I realized I’ve worked on almost every “touch point” of driving so far: shifter, steering, throttle... so brakes are next!

[169indy]

Great perspective shot, I like the angle.

[Stihl]

I believe that last photo is my favorite in quite a while. Awesome shot of a beautiful car!

[cruiserofland]

Thank you both :)

Next up will be fixing the clock. In the meantime, it makes a lovely view when wrenching on something else...

[mockingbird812]

Did some investigative work and pulled the rear seats to check for any chalk markings. Turns out it looks like the car was taken down to bare metal to be repainted so no X3 behind the seat, but was a good opportunity to remove the protective plastic around the new upholstery that had been left behind 10 years ago. According to the records the interior was done by Biel Upholstery in Chicago - anyone know them? The seats are in killer shape, all replaced 10 years ago.

There were more hooks than I was expecting so photos attached for future folks looking to pull their rear seats. I used the killer trick suggested on Team Camaro to put a plastic mallet between front seat and rear, then lean on the front seat to help pop the rear seat bottom back and up to release it from the hooks.

Just caught your post on this.....I do indeed know Beil Upholstery. Here is a snap shot of, then owner (ca March 2007), Gordy Carlson and me. Gordy was the original owner of my ‘62 Max Wedge Plymouth Savoy and my son and I tracked him down at his business for a visit. Wonderful visit filled with wonderful stories of surprising the 409 boys at the local drag strips!!!!:worship::worship:

[cruiserofland]

Just caught your post on this.....I do indeed know Biel Upholstery. Here is a snap shot of,then owner (ca March 2007), Gordy Carlson and me. Gordy was the original owner of my ‘62 Max Wedge Plymouth Savoy and my son and I tracked him down at his business for a visit. Wonderful visit filled with wonderful stories of surprising the 409 boys at the local drag strips!!!!:worship::worship:

Very cool! Looks like one of the previous owners misspelled their name, which I guess explains why I couldn't find 'em. The interior was changed to deluxe houndstooth around 10-15 years ago, so Gordy was likely the owner at that time. So thank you Beil Upholstery for your great work! :) :)

[cruiserofland]

A little evening attitude for ya:

[enio45]

Just caught your post on this.....I do indeed know Beil Upholstery. Here is a snap shot of, then owner (ca March 2007), Gordy Carlson and me. Gordy was the original owner of my ‘62 Max Wedge Plymouth Savoy and my son and I tracked him down at his business for a visit. Wonderful visit filled with wonderful stories of surprising the 409 boys at the local drag strips!!!!:worship::worship:

Who is that guy without the beard:-)

[cruiserofland]

Drove the car to work today and did a quick shot of the interior, with chambered exhaust soundtrack... I believe the deluxe houndstooth was added, given the standard black glovebox, but damn I love it. Console, rosewood wheel... one of the great interiors of all time!

apcAn9HNgHk

[mssl72]

Ahhhhh, that sounds nice...

[cruiserofland]

As I learn more about the history of the car, another question for y'all: anyone know of Foreign & Domestic Auto Body in Libertyville, Illinois?

This car was restored there from around 2000-2010 (or possibly earlier), I believe by the owner of the body shop, who then unexpectedly passed away not long after finishing the car. I understand that he bought it to restore from the original owner, and since the car was sold new at Ferris Bros Chevrolet in Harvard I'm guessing the car spent those first thirty years in Illinois, then about ten years around Tucson and the last two years here in California.

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

Better fix the Amp Gauge, needle is jumping around. Glad you are enjoying your Z...

[cruiserofland]

Better fix the Amp Gauge, needle is jumping around. Glad you are enjoying your Z...

Yeah, I need to check if it’s a gauge problem or a true reading of alternator output.

Turns out this car has the seemingly hard-to-find factory-style non-finned rear brake drums. I’m thinking to save these and run parts counter finned replacements since I plan to keep putting miles on the car. Just about every time I turn a wrench I learn something new about these cars!

Interestingly the drums are different left and right. Left side is p/n 3841177, which I think is the OE number but I don’t see a date code. Right side is p/n 3993560 which might be the early ‘70s replacement part? Note that the star adjuster windows haven’t been knocked out. Fun stuff.

Also pulled a wheel trim ring to see the date code. Looks like August 4th so not original to the 2D car but still fun to have YH wheels.

Happy New Year, all!

[Jonesy]

Your are right, the drivers side drum 3841177 is correct. The pass side is a later model drum.

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

Date code on the 560 drum looks like Feb.23 of 73??

[cruiserofland]

Aha! Yeah, looks like maybe a leading 8 actually on the 560 drum. Maybe during the resto the restoring owner could only source one of each. I don’t see any other markings on the 3841177 drum - maybe a replacement drum didn’t have a date stamping?

[cruiserofland]

Did some research on Newspapers.com to learn about the history of the original delivery dealer for this car, Ferros Bros Chevrolet & Buick in Harvard, Il. Figured it might be of interest if any others have a car from dealer code 164, zone 61 :beers:

Ferris Bros went out of business in the late '70s, and the only car that comes up in an internet search of them is a yellow '70 LT1 'Vette that sold at Mecum Indy in 2017 so not sure how many performance cars came out of there. Still, fun stuff. Pretty cool they would just put the sales manager's phone number in the paper!

Also curious that the NCRS report erroneously has the dealer in Wisconsin... and this 02D car was, like many, built in early March, this one on the 6th.

The archaeology aspect of the hobby is pretty fun too ;)

Anyone from the area recognize the dealer?

"Good deals are made on Ferris Wheels!"

[cruiserofland]

I decided to honor the history of the car a little bit and make up a Ferris Bros license plate frame. Since they’re from the Midwest I would bet they did dealer emblems at the time but being a California kid (and the concept being a bolt-on) I went for a frame, with the style influenced by so many classic California dealers.

The title blocks are 3D-printed in ABS plastic, then I hand-painted the letters, bonded the blocks to an old frame I had, and then clearcoated the blocks. I decided to leave the black print texture as it both mimicks the texture often found behind vintage license frame letters and showcases how this one was made. And then up close it’s clear that this isn’t original but a modern riff on a classic look.

Pretty happy with the result :)

[ELEFUNTMAN]

Great job!!

[olredalert]

----Very cool!.....Bill S

[firstgenaddict]

I flew out and looked at a January built Daytona Yellow 1970 LT1 vette which was sold new at Ferris Brothers.
Original paint and still had the original decal in the center of the tail lamp panel.

[cruiserofland]

I flew out and looked at a January built Daytona Yellow 1970 LT1 vette which was sold new at Ferris Brothers.
Original paint and still had the original decal in the center of the tail lamp panel.

Very cool! That is indeed the car I had seen before. Fun to see that decal up close. I would love to learn the story of the original owner of mine but who knows if I will be able to track down the story. The restoring owner supposedly bought from the original owner in the 90s. Would be fun to know what happened to the original DZ and Muncie... maybe blown up drag racing somewhere in Illinois... :3gears:

[firstgenaddict]

FWIW it is reflective material with over printed Black back ground - with the border and lettering knocked out.

Not too difficult to reproduce if one wanted to... attach it to a sheet magnet and then put it on your Camaro.

At least they didn't drill the tail panel...

[cruiserofland]

FWIW it is reflective material with over printed Black back ground - with the border and lettering knocked out.

Not too difficult to reproduce if one wanted to... attach it to a sheet magnet and then put it on your Camaro.

At least they didn't drill the tail panel...

Thank you for the details. I think I got pretty close, now gotta figure out where to print...

And agreed, never was crazy about sheet metal screws for dealer badges so good for them to run stickers, even if likely most all of them are long gone by now. All it took was one survivor and now the logo can live again!

[cruiserofland]

In these crazy times, sometimes you just have to put down the wrench, stop tinkering, and drive the damned thing.

In this man’s humble opinion, hugger orange and chambered exhaust is as good as it gets...

I_JMEMPrw64

[cruiserofland]

I’ve been working on some little projects with the car, and just finished changing up the battery topper. I stripped the red R59 details and repainted them yellow to be the correct Y55, and I found an original Delco Eye to replace the fake one. Cut the sight plastic to be flush, repainted the top, and removed the threads so it could pop right in.

Seems like Delco Energizer was unpainted in ‘68 but I’ve seen the text both painted (in a photo from Hot Rod Mag) and unpainted. Decided to paint the letters as it looks pretty sharp.

One more engine bay detail improved :beers:

[R68GTO]

Nice work!

[1967 4K]

What color should the battery caps be on a 67 model ?

Richard

[Mr70]

Seems like Delco Energizer was unpainted in ‘68 but I’ve seen the text both painted (in a photo from Hot Rod Mag) and unpainted. Decided to paint the letters as it looks pretty sharp.

That's because Delco Batteries installed into vehicles when on the assembly line,Did not have the words DELCO ENERGIZER highlight painted,just their vent caps & eye were.
But Over the parts counter & in store sold Batteries did.

Nice work.

[cruiserofland]

That's because Delco Batteries installed into vehicles when on the assembly line,Did not have the words DELCO ENERGIZER highlight painted,just their vent caps & eye were.
But Over the parts counter & in store sold Batteries did.

Nice work.

Aha! Makes sense, thank you :)

[NorCam]

Looks good. I like the yellow added. Gives it better contrast IMO.

[cruiserofland]

Finally got the car up in the air today to take a look. Seems like the folks who restored this car well over a decade ago for the most part did really nice work. I also loosened and retorqued all the front control arm bushing bolts with the car on the ground just in case that was why the front sits a bit high, but nope seems they were tightened correctly the first time.

It sure is fun to crawl around, continually cross-referencing various books and sites, as I learn more about the little details of ‘69 Zs as well as what my car has correct and not yet correct (and the various not-factory-correct stuff I will leave alone).

Always learning and still just getting started...

[cruiserofland]

BV stamp - date seems about right for a vehicle production date of March 6th?

[SamsDZ]

Beautiful Z28 Matt, great thread.

[cruiserofland]

Thank you very much, Sam, and congrats again on yours! You may have noticed, a '69 Z in Hugger Orange with Deluxe Houndstooth is my all-time fav combo :grin:

[cruiserofland]

Decided to go for it and finally complete the deluxe interior transformation started around 20 years ago on this car and so install woodgrain and grab handle in the glovebox area. Classic Industries had a killer Valentine's Day sale, and I know I'm a lucky SOB when my wife is excited for me that I ordered a big ole box of Camaro parts on February 14...

So far I've ported over the ash tray and cigarette lighter (slight rebending of the OER tabs to get the ash tray to seat) and the glovebox lock (bent paperclip to depress each of the pins to release the lock).

While I have the glovebox out I decided to finally investigate the radio. Looks like the car is indeed wired for radio power (confirmed 12V when key is ON) and there is a new-looking Custom Autosound 140W speaker bolted to the underside of the dash, wired with a factory-type connector. The antenna cable is also already routed to the radio area.

[cruiserofland]

I have in a box what I understand to be the original radio, model no. 91BFP1 so a 1969 AM/FM mono unit, RPO U69. Delightfully it has both connectors on it, which I may have to use since the car's new harness looks to have an aftermarket radio power connector.

I pulled the existing Motorola AM radio from the car - not sure why it's in there and not the Delco, except maybe the restoring owner found out the Delco doesn't work? The Motorola speaker wires were tucked away into the body of the radio as was its power wire, so looks like the restoring owner never got around to wiring it up for the car (or didn't plan to). I was tempted to leave in the Motorola since, randomly, this car was sold new in Harvard, Il, the hometown of Motorola's founder, but I'd have to change the connectors to match the factory-style harness and the AM/FM Delco with slider is too cool not to try to get working.

The first three photos below are of the Delco unit and the rest are the Motorola. The Motorola speaker wires have a black in-line connector then bare ends.

[cruiserofland]

Today is the one year anniversary of me flying down to SoCal to check out the car, so I had to get it out over lunch. I realized I usually park in the shade or see the car in the garage so it's rare to stare at that Hugger Orange in full sun... not a bad view...

[cruiserofland]

Always a good day when I can drive the Camaro to work...

[Dave Rifkin]

Beautiful car

[cruiserofland]

Beautiful car

Thank you :beers:

[cruiserofland]

Been busy with work and life but finally finished some Camaro interior projects. Cleaned up the Delco AM/FM radio, checked the harness, and installed, but with 12V and a new speaker and antenna it doesn't yet work. At least it looks good! Until I can have a pro figure out what it needs fixed internally.

Also finally finished the woodgrain install on the passenger side with new grab handle, ashtray, and glovebox, all made by OER. Still going to tweak fitment a bit but it's pretty close, and man it just transforms the interior along with the radio woodgrain. Glad to have finally finished the deluxe interior transformation that the restoring owner started over twenty years ago. This combo in my mind is one of the great American interior designs of all time :beers:

[rlw68]

Also finally finished the woodgrain install on the passenger side with new grab handle, ashtray, and glovebox, all made by OER. Still going to tweak fitment a bit but it's pretty close, and man it just transforms the interior along with the radio woodgrain. Glad to have finally finished the deluxe interior transformation that the restoring owner started over twenty years ago.

Looks great Matt. Some deluxe seatbelts would really 'finish' off the interior. Whenever my wife asks when the car will be finished, I tell her that it will never be finished.

:rolleyes2:

[cruiserofland]

Thanks Rob! Only took me four months to respond :wink: Work and life keep me busy but this month marks one year with the car!

Since my last post I've had a steady stream of little projects. The car came without much documentation from its restoration (~2000-2010), so in part I've been "baselining" the car bumper to bumper and documenting everything, correcting little bits as I go (and with regular reading of this forum, CRG, and TC, I learn more every day about the nut-and-bolt details of how an 02D RS Z would have rolled off the assembly line).
:youguysrock:

I'm eventually hoping to document more or less every nut and bolt, with a list of what's correct, what's not, and whether what's not correct will be replaced or left alone. Two examples: I plan to keep it desmogged and I don't mind leaving the shiny valve covers with drippers since it's a CE block. Biggest ticket item to fix in the engine bay: swap the repro booster & MC with the originals that I've got in a box and need to send out for restoration.

First fun project from this summer was to pull the diff cover to check the gears. As I suspected after counting driveshaft revolutions with the wheels up, sure enough this is a 4.56:1 gearset inside the original BV (4.10) housing :burnout: Looks like "Zoom" gears from the stamping "41 x 9 PHT 3093" (which I believe is Perfection Hy-Test). This Z was originally bought in Harvard, Il, and later restored in Chicago, so I wonder if the owner went with Zoom gears since they were local (Harvey, Il, at the time) or just because they're awesome :headbang:

205218

205219

205220

Looks like the original "4-series" gear carrier, the heaviest-duty from GM which would have carried the original 4:10 set. Assembly stamp is A 23 J so Jan 23rd '69 - seems right for 02D?

205221

I also added a posi lube tag to the diff fill plug, adding the period after "diff" to make the repro look more correct (a slight touch from a center drill to deboss then a drop of white paint). While under there I went for 2 qts of fresh Lucas 80W-90 for the posi with a new Fel-Pro gasket and 1.5 qts of fresh Sta-Lube 85W90 GL-4 for the M20.

205224

205222

205223

[napa68]

Great to see you enjoying the car and the process the way that you are:biggthumpup:

Beautiful car!
Tim

[L_e_e]

....

[cruiserofland]

....

Lee, I spoke to the folks at Lucas when I could not find anything definitive online about whether additive was required with this oil. They suggested over the phone that additive was not necessary with this formulation for use with mechanical limited-slips, and I have not had any chattering so far. That said, I don't have experience in this area so happy to hear recommendations.

[cruiserofland]

It has been too long since I posted so time for an update! Since October it’s been a combo of enjoying the car around town, meeting great folks at cars & coffees, and working on a whole lot of projects, mostly in the engine bay. I’ll post the latest project first - I had the original 9204 booster and 309 master cylinder in a box from when I bought the car, and so I finally sent it out to Mike Gibbons and Brake Boosters. I also had them restore my original metering valve and replate its bracket, plus I sourced some restored hardware from Rich Pasqualone. This is no surprise to folks who have worked with Mike but everything came out beautifully!

Installed everything and got the brakes bled this weekend, now taking a moment to enjoy the view. I’ve still got a few little projects left to go but this engine bay has come a long way in the last year and a half :beers:

[olredalert]

----It's so nice to see a correctly done master cylinder. Yours may be a tad too nice, but I love it and the fact that you left the machined areas bare. So often guys just paint the whole master black and that just didn't happen!.....Bill S

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

Looks good Matt!! Two things, your upper radiator hose is on backwards and your ground battery cable should go to the thermostat where the alternator bracket bolts too. All it needs next, is a complete smog system and you will be done. Nice job...

[COPO]

Terrific photos and nice details.

[dykstra]

Turned out great!!

[cruiserofland]

Thanks, all! Good point, Mark, on the upper radiator hose. I must admit I didn't notice that!


On the ground cable, I've got a battery with the positive terminal inboard and so away from the fender, which I like from a safety perspective, but it means I need to source a factory-looking but longer ground cable to reach that factory ground point on the thermostat.

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

Matt,
If you run your Neg. cable in front of your washer jug instead of the backside, it looks long enough to reach the thermostat housing stud. Give it a try!!

[cruiserofland]

Doesn’t quite reach, but it turns out that Lectric Limited carries extra-long negative cables for just such an occasion so order placed :beers:

Today I finally installed an NOS temp sender that I’ve had on a shelf for a while, correct for the console gauges, and crimped a ring terminal onto the existing wire to replace the clip-on connector from the old stud-style sender. Swapped the upper radiator hose around while I had the water out - slowly knocking down projects. Gotta clean those plug heat shields!

[cruiserofland]

Took a few photos with the new iPhone today… can’t imagine a more fun way to commute on a beautiful fall Friday :D

[markinnaples]

Man, that thing is beautiful, congrats.

[cruiserofland]

I mounted our CamBox “helmet” camera to a hat to capture a bit of today’s beautiful Sunday drive. Totally addicted to that chambered exhaust. Happy fall y’all.

5LpBmp3yi3M

[69Z11Pacer396]

Beautiful car! Congrats! Have Gardner chambered exhaust on order for my big block pace car, can't wait to hear it..

[dykstra]

I mounted our CamBox “helmet” camera to a hat to capture a bit of today’s beautiful Sunday drive. Totally addicted to that chambered exhaust. Happy fall y’all.

5LpBmp3yi3M

Sounds great!!:headbang:

[NorCam]

Great job dialing in all those little details around the car Matt. The engine bay looks so much better with all the little details having been addressed correctly. Booster and master look just killer now.

Very well done!

[cruiserofland]

Thanks, all, for the kind words - it means a lot! :beers:

[cruiserofland]

Finally fixed the stance!

My front ride height was at about 26” to the bottom of the center of the fender wells (rears are a lovely 24 3/8”). I worked with Kevin at Coil Spring Specialties on a custom set of front coil springs, and I first ordered in the spec recommended by Wayne D Guinn. This brought my fronts down to about 25 3/8”. Not quite happy with it but now having a proper baseline, I ordered a second adjusted set and now the front sits level front to rear, at about 24 3/8” �� Perfect!

Thanks very much to my friend Mark for prepping and painting “as-cast” then installing the second set :beers:

So far no rubbing anywhere, on 215/65 BFGs and factory YH rallys, and the spring rate of 507 lbs/in feels planted but not too stiff.

For reference, the front left actually sits about 1/4” higher than the front right, but I decided to keep the custom springs the same left to right. Not sure if others have observed this ride height different left to right but it’s ok w me :3gears:

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

My Z sits at 24.5" front and 25" at the rear. Both front and rear springs are original to the car with the correct Firestone Sport Car 200 tires. I would say, yours are close. I'm sure my springs sat a little higher when the car was new. Once those front springs settle, they will be at my level or a little lower.

[napa68]

You might be having the most fun of anyone on the SYC forum with your car. Kudos to you!

[60sStuff]

Matt,

I bounce around to different cars/topics on this site and your ‘69 thread is one of my periodic stops.

Besides the great story, your photos are incredible!

Thanks, Chris

[frankk]

FWIW if there is one thing I do remember of a brand new 69 Z from when I was a kid, its that they sat slightly up in the front. Not level

[cruiserofland]

Thanks, all, for the kind words, and fair enough, Frank. I know there’s a range in the AIM and maybe they came out differently in the factory, but honestly I went for the stance that I like. The car just looks wider, and meaner, now. It is amazing to me in person what a difference the new ride height makes to the presence of the car :beers:

[cruiserofland]

This weekend I finally finished a project I’ve been working on for over a year - a new set of wheels and tires for the Z.

The Minilites are from Trans Am Race Engineering in 15x7 with 4” backspacing and 15x8 4.5” bs. They come in a beautiful coat of painted silver but I decided to customize them, working with a local shop to polish the outer lips, media blast and leave raw the centers, then clearcoat.

Tires are BFG T/As in 215/65 and 255/60, modified by Diamond Back Tires to have smooth sidewalls. I then drew up a stencil based on the current Blue Streaks run by historic Trans Am. Thanks to my friend Jason for cutting the stencil with his Cricut. We used manila envelopes for the material. I then added some tape as spacers to keep the stencil slightly off the rubber surface for a clean release. Paint is white Plastidip in a rattle can, which has held up well so far on a test tire I painted a few months ago. One great aspect of Plastidip is it is easy to clean up if you make a mistake or have overspray. It took me several tries experimenting with technique before I was happy with it.

Really happy with the wheel and tire fitment. Thanks to John at TARE for the custom machining for the backspacing as well as the custom lug depths so I could use the factory 7/16” wheel studs. Those studs are approx. 0.800” in rear proud of the drums and 0.900” in front, so with John’s machining I’ve got a good 7 threads engagement for the lug nuts.

More photos to come :beers:

[cruiserofland]

A couple glamour shots…

[Crush]

Looks like it’s ready for some road racing!!

[markinnaples]

Love the Minilites! Car looks great!

[dykstra]

Looks awesome!

[mssl72]

Nice!!! :3gears:

[cruiserofland]

Here are a few shots of the process, including the Minilites with their beautiful painted finish as shipped and then after customization by the wheel shop. I thought it would be fun to leave the centers raw (under clear) to showcase the casting a bit. Turned out pretty good. I used Gyeon Rim ceramic coating on the wheels to minimize brake dust and make future cleaning of the clearcoat easy. One photo shows a printout of the Goodyear letters to check sizing and letter position before cutting the stencil.

[cruiserofland]

Little tape spacers on the back of the stencil are to space the letters off of the rubber surface, after lots of trail and error to see low spots on each letter shape. Also included are a few shots of the inspiration behind the look, from Laguna Seca a few years ago :beers:

[dykstra]

Very cool.

[John]

... Very neat looking !

... I have a similar set of wheels made by Western !

... :beers:

[olredalert]

----Wheels came out great. Love 'em! I'm curious as to what the two studs across from each other on all 4 wheels are for. I see it on some of the racers, but not all.....Bill S

[cruiserofland]

My theory is that on original magnesium race wheels you could machine the back side of the dimpled areas to counteract and balance the weight difference made by the valve stem area. Or maybe it’s just a visual indicator to quickly locate the valve stems on a race car? Curious if anyone knows for sure…

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

Matt, nice job on the stance. It's perfectly straight and even across.

[cruiserofland]

Finally made it out for the first time in a while to our local cars & coffee, Ronnie’s Morning Get Together (every 2nd Saturday for y’all in the San Jose area!). Great turnout and fun to meet folks and talk about the car. Also, gotta love a quiet cruise through town at 7am on a Saturday :beers:

[Steve Shauger]

Matt your car looks spectacular! All changes you've made are well done. I purchased my first orange RS/Z in late 70's which has black stripes and vinyl top. I've always loved that combination, but recently I purchased another orange RS/Z which has white stripes must say I really love that look as well.

Like you, stance is very important to me. I used the Moog 6308 front springs on my orange/ black Z and it sits perfect 24.75. I also have had 215-65-15 TA's fronts.

The orange/white Z front needs to be lowered. The rub is Moog 6308 springs are no longer available! I may contact Coil spring specialty and have a set made like yours.

Kudos for bringing your car to the next level and sharing your journey with our members!

[cruiserofland]

Thank you Steve!! :beers: Both your HO Zs looks great. What a fun pair.

Working with Kevin at Coil Spring Specialties was great. My first set came out at 25 3/8” to the bottom of the front fenders, with 215/65s and rallys. My second set I just did same specs but -1” ride height and they came out right at 24 3/8”. I bet if you just ask about the orders from Matt from California, they can dial it up or down for whatever you are going for.

Here’s a dash of Hugger Orange and chambered exhaust for everyone’s Sunday:

nZy8NfvesS0

[dykstra]

Sounds great!!!!

[70LS6454]

I just came across this post. Love the stance and the upgrades you have made to an already Super car!

[cruiserofland]

Thank you! Had fun meeting folks at a few local shows this summer. Engine bay is getting better all the time, with just a few little things left to go. I’m working on the tune… more details in a future post.

[cruiserofland]

I can’t believe it has been almost a year since I last posted. We had a baby boy, and the fuel pump died, and something about those two events conspired to pause things for a bit :laugh:

I wanted to take the opportunity of replacing the pump to snowball the job into going through the whole fuel system… so pulled the tank, cleaned everything, replaced all of the hardware, cleaned and painted the straps satin black, and replaced the rubber fuel lines. Lloyd very generously gave me some spare fuel hoses he had stamped, and my goodness do they look great. I’ve got some square-tang original fuel clamps on the way so pay no mind to the repro round-ended ones on there now.

I have yet to find an original dated fuel pump so for now I’m running a Carter M4685 from Summit, rated for 7 psi. To keep the crank-driven pushrod up and ready for the pump arm to slide in, I used the technique of running one of the pump mount bolts into that nearby threaded hole that then lightly presses against the rod (too tight and it could bend the rod so went easy on it). Worked well (I tried just using grease and couldn’t get that to work at all). On the tank grounding strap, I used some spare fuel line and some tape to simulate the strap retention setup to protect the wire from the tank strap. I also removed the padding that the restoring owner had used between the tank straps and the tank, as originally there would have been no such padding. Looks sharp now.

All put back together, the car fired right up and is running great again. Tuning improvements from last year combined with a new pump have proved to be a great combo. Back to life! More photos to follow.

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

Looks good Matt! When you get a chance, paint the back side of your spare wheel a satin black. The factory used a black primer on the Rally Wheels. Try and find some original green 3/8 fuel line clamps that have the flat crimp tips or grind down the rounded tips, so they look flat. They just can't repop stuff like the original for some reason.

[tom406]

If you spray the back of the wheel black, don't let the overspray come through and get on the argent face. They were originally coated with black primer and the face was shot with argent, with some argent overspray coming through onto the backside through the vents.

[cruiserofland]

Good point on the rallys, though I won’t do it until I want to refinish the argent as well, to get the overspray on the backs. And original fuel clamps are in the mail :)

I got a set of beautiful decals from Don Lightfoot, so I went through and replaced all the decals from the original restoration from 2000-2010. I am guessing some of these were what you could still get over the counter at a dealer 20 years ago, but I’m grateful for Don’s work on all of these details!

For the posi decal, I used some Nitto tape and cut it into a rough “x” to approximate the way the decal would have been glued at the factory. That allows the edges to be a bit off of the paint which is a fun detail.

[cruiserofland]

A few more details… I brush-painted the trunk bolts with hugger orange touch-up paint from Mahopac, after a layer of black primer, done two at a time off the car so as to not realign the trunk, then final touch-up on the car after wrenched down.

I sourced a pair of restored Wittek upper radiator hose clamps. The dates are not correct, but I am amazed how much nicer originals are than the thin, fragile, and frankly BS reproductions. My brand new reproductions bought at various well-regarded suppliers are now forcefully jettisoned into the recycle bin. As many of you know, the repros can fail catastrophically, and in my small sample size maybe half of brand new repros go on just slightly crooked and become junk immediately. Maybe this is obvious but originals are so much stronger, and easy to use. I was close to just switching to modern clamps for peace of mind, but these originals are fantastic (and look great too) :beers:

New repro alternator belt from Quanta, B-442 or GM 3932438 which is for a small block automatic w/ AC and also the right length for a desmogged Z. Puts the adjuster bolt right in the middle of the slot.

Restored air cleaner wingnut with repro stud - correct black nut for cowl hood instead of the chrome finish nut that would match a chrome air cleaner. I also removed the rear side marker exterior gaskets - looks a lot sharper with that polished bezel directly against the hugger orange. I guess those GM designers knew what they were doing…

Cleaned up, tuned up, and ready to rock! :3gears:

[Donnie]

be careful the first time I ran the rpm's up with the quanta belt it flew off.

[Mr.Nickey Nova]

Good point Don, mine almost twisted off, but tore the belt bad. Put the Napa ones back on. Those little details make a difference Matt...

[cruiserofland]

Hmmm, thank you for the tips about the Quanta belt. I had seen recent posts suggesting it was alright, but it's easy enough to change to have a driver belt and the occasional show belt...

[cruiserofland]

Went to our trusted local parts store (of which there are fewer and fewer), and got the AC Delco 15445 which was a match for the old GM 3932438. It’s just slightly longer so I’ll have to repaint that bracket again…

Thanks, all, for the idea :beers:

[njsteve]

Those Quanta belts are ONLY for display purposes regardless of what they tell you. They will shred, fly off, and damage anything in their flight path, the first time you rev that engine up.

[BillyHawk]

Lovely ride. Enjoy!

[Charley Lillard]

Route the PCV hose around the front of the carb :-)

[Mr70]

..and wear shoes.

[cruiserofland]

..and wear shoes.

Ha!

And good eye, Charlie. The 3310 on there now has the PCV inlet on the back of the base, so I didn’t have to change the hose length to route it that way. I recently had the original 4053 restored by Eric Jackson at Vintage Muscle Car Parts and my goodness what stunning work. So the 4053 will be back on there soon :)

Photos by Eric from his test stand:

[LITTLE TOMMIE]

can you show us a photo of the fire wall tag

[cruiserofland]

The tag is a repro, installed in the ‘90s or early 2000s when the restoring owner changed the interior from black standard to deluxe houndstooth. Original tag is likely, sadly, long gone. Jerry MacNeish said it was “one of the better reproductions” but definitely repro. Maybe the original will turn up in the restoring owner’s family’s things someday, in some attic cardboard box…

[cruiserofland]

Got out for my first cars and coffee of the year. Running strong and hugger orange enjoying the sunshine :beers:

[dykstra]

Way cool! As usual your car looks great!

[Lynn]

Sweet car. Looks great. Like the wheels.

[big gear head]

The fit on that grill looks excellent! Headlight doors fit great!

[cruiserofland]

Beautiful day and spectacular cars at my first show of the summer :beers:

[cruiserofland]

NojyyL-WFDM

[enio45]

I know this was already said - but man, that is the best fit i have seen in a long time on the grill to headlamp covers......perfect all the way around!

[dykstra]

Car looks great!! Thanks for posting.

[cruiserofland]

Hugger Orange in the sun…

[olredalert]

----This Z is (to me)exactly how a 69 Z should look. Stance is great and wheel and tire combo is better than great. Have to ask, (I may have missed it),,,where did the Goodyear stencil come from?....Bill S

[cruiserofland]

----This Z is (to me)exactly how a 69 Z should look. Stance is great and wheel and tire combo is better than great. Have to ask, (I may have missed it),,,where did the Goodyear stencil come from?....Bill S

Thank you for the kind words. I drew the stencil in Illustrator based on some photos I took of the modern Goodyear Blue Streaks used on the historic Trans Am series cars. A friend cut the stencil with his Cricut out of manila envelopes, I spaced it slightly from the sidewall with blue tape to get a bit of soft edge to the letters, and sprayed with white Plastidip from a rattle can. The color is fading nicely with the rubber coming through to yellow the white, and it takes to Meguiars hyper dressing really well. It’s been over 2 years and still holding up. A rough rub with water and a microfiber would remove the letters, though easy enough to respray. Pretty happy with it :) Note that the flying shoe is not quite accurate, as I had a hard time finding a great photo of the 60s era of the logo (at least in the time I had to borrow time on my friend’s cutter).

[Mr70]

Amazing looking car,you did it proud.

[olredalert]

Thank you for the kind words. I drew the stencil in Illustrator based on some photos I took of the modern Goodyear Blue Streaks used on the historic Trans Am series cars. A friend cut the stencil with his Cricut out of manila envelopes, I spaced it slightly from the sidewall with blue tape to get a bit of soft edge to the letters, and sprayed with white Plastidip from a rattle can. The color is fading nicely with the rubber coming through to yellow the white, and it takes to Meguiars hyper dressing really well. It’s been over 2 years and still holding up. A rough rub with water and a microfiber would remove the letters, though easy enough to respray. Pretty happy with it :) I am happy to share the stencil file if anyone wants. Note that the flying shoe is not quite accurate, as I had a hard time finding a great photo of the 60s era of the logo (at least in the time I had to borrow time on my friend’s cutter).

----Never thought to ask, but pretty sure I can guess the answer,,,are the tires actually Goodyears?

[cruiserofland]

----Never thought to ask, but pretty sure I can guess the answer,,,are the tires actually Goodyears?

They are actually new BFG Radial T/A’s, modified by Diamond Back Tire to have smooth sidewalls. Diamond Back Tire calls them their “DBIII Blackwall Smoothy” which gives you the DOT-legal, old reliable BFGs but with a blank canvas to do the stencil. Diamond Back’s main business is adding whitewalls or red lines to modern tires for hot rods and Cadillacs and such, but they also can just do black :) Tire sizes and the wheel details are in a previous post of mine but these are 215/65s and 255/60s on 15x7 and 15x8 :beers:

[cruiserofland]

Went for a beautiful drive up into the Santa Cruz Mountains yesterday with a rather eclectic crew. First proper drive since doing a lot of the above-mentioned work on the suspension, steering, cooling, engine tune, wheel & tire combo... in particular I am really happy with these stiffer front springs - confident cornering while still a comfortable ride.

I continue to be delighted how fun the '69 Z can be on twisty mountain roads. The European GT inspired N34 steering wheel, the chrome ball Muncie shifter, the cloth-insert seats on a hot day, that chambered exhaust with the windows down... what a good day :beers:

[cheveslakr]

Those mini-lites just scream run me till I beg for mercy.
Perfect complement to a beeyouteeful Z.