Xplantdad
12-05-2005, 02:20 AM
In October of 1968 Harry, (the original owner) left for Vietnam, during his year in Vietnam, he had time to think of what he would spend his money on when he returned home. He decided on a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a Camaro.
He returned home in October of 1969, and by December had bought a 900cc Sportster, in late 69, early 70, Harry went back and forth on what to buy, a Corvette or Camaro. A friend, who was a car guy, told him for the money, the 1970 Z28 was the car to get. So in early April 1970, he went into Al Hanoute Chevrolet, in Lake Orion Michigan, not being a car guy, he wasn't sure what to order on his car, but thought the 4:10 rear end and Rock Crusher Transmission sounded good to him. He didn't include the sport mirrors, but after seeing one on the showroom floor, wondered if he should have added them. When the salesmen filled out the order, he added them without Harry knowing.
The last week in April, he started driving through the lot, wondering if his car had come in, he saw one that was like his, except it had the sport mirrors. Harry was pleasantly surprised when the salesmen told him about the order change he had made and that he didn't have to take it, but Harry was glad for the change.
On April 21st 1970, he took delivery, the total cost was $2800.00 dollars. Wanting to build credit, he paid $2,000 cash and financed the $800. Harry kept the loan until September of 70 and paid it off, not having the loan long enough the bank sent him a letter (which I got with the cars paperwork) thanking him for his business but that he hadn't built any credit.
He drove the car about 5000 miles the first year; he had a VW daily driver so if the weather looked bad he always drove the VW. It hardly ever saw rain and never saw snow. The mileage dropped off year after year, finally parking it in the early 80s for no real reason other than loss of interest and now a family.
Fast forward to Sept 2004, my brother, who worked with Harry, heard that he had an old Camaro stuck in his garage, that had been sitting for years. My brother, knowing I was into 70 Z28s asked him what year the car was, which he said 70 Camaro, he didn't say Z28. So after getting his phone number and calling, Harry told me it was a SS 350 car, he honestly didn't know or remember what he had. But then he told me it had a Corvette motor in it, I said oh yeah, does it have stripes? He replied YES, now my heart was beating faster, it had to be a Z, he went on to tell me the story and that it really had never been touched and still had the original tires on it. Trying to hold back my excitement I asked him if I could come and look at the car, just to take pictures and to document a few things, not wanting to spook him too early.
We agreed on a time and date and to my surprise, it was only about 20 minutes from home. He told me if I wanted to hear it run I would have to bring a battery because he couldn't remember the last time he had started it. When I got to his house, the garage door was open and I could see the distinctive rear end of a 70 Z28. Like most cars that have been sitting for over 20 years without a cover on it, it was filthy, you couldn't see through the glass, it really looked pretty sad sitting there. I opened the door to find white and black hounds tooth deluxe interior that looked brand new. The driver’s seat looked a little dirty but the others looked like they had never been sat in. The engine compartment seemed to be all there but was a real mess.
He insisted on me starting the car, I told him that I’m sure the gas was bad and who knows what else was wrong with it. Harry said it ran good when he parked it, I hadn't even asked if it was for sale yet. I got my battery, pulled the coil wire, checked the oil and cranked it until the oil pressure light went out, then I put the coil wire back on and it fired right up and even idled. So I backed it out of the garage and let it warm up, I even took it down the street and back, it ran great.
I finally got the nerve to ask him if he ever thought about selling it, and he said that it’s been sitting here for years, in the way, and that his daughter was getting married so if there ever was a time, it was now. After about a week of negotiating a price, we finally came to an agreement. I told him I would be there to pick it up with my enclosed trailer. I never figured it would happen, and thought for sure he would back out. But I never heard from him, so I went to get it with my fingers crossed hoping things would work out.
After pictures of Harry and me in front of the car, and a few tears from his wife, (which made me feel guilty) she said “I went on my first date in this car and it’s in our wedding pictures.” I loaded the Camaro, collected all the paperwork he could find on the car and I was off. It was a great feeling knowing it was finally mine.
The next 9 months I was busy cleaning, with every type of brush, soap and solvents I could find. I cleaned every square inch of this car, careful not to destroy any of it originality. I didn't want to disassemble anything, so it was a long and tedious job, most of which was overhead with everything running down your arms and dripping in my face. I can say that I never touched a can of paint or restored one part even though it was tough at times. Some parts look rough but its 35 years old and that’s the way it should look.
Last June the car received Vintage Legends class certification at Carlisle, it was great to see and hear all the people appreciate the fact that it’s all original and not just another restored car.
He returned home in October of 1969, and by December had bought a 900cc Sportster, in late 69, early 70, Harry went back and forth on what to buy, a Corvette or Camaro. A friend, who was a car guy, told him for the money, the 1970 Z28 was the car to get. So in early April 1970, he went into Al Hanoute Chevrolet, in Lake Orion Michigan, not being a car guy, he wasn't sure what to order on his car, but thought the 4:10 rear end and Rock Crusher Transmission sounded good to him. He didn't include the sport mirrors, but after seeing one on the showroom floor, wondered if he should have added them. When the salesmen filled out the order, he added them without Harry knowing.
The last week in April, he started driving through the lot, wondering if his car had come in, he saw one that was like his, except it had the sport mirrors. Harry was pleasantly surprised when the salesmen told him about the order change he had made and that he didn't have to take it, but Harry was glad for the change.
On April 21st 1970, he took delivery, the total cost was $2800.00 dollars. Wanting to build credit, he paid $2,000 cash and financed the $800. Harry kept the loan until September of 70 and paid it off, not having the loan long enough the bank sent him a letter (which I got with the cars paperwork) thanking him for his business but that he hadn't built any credit.
He drove the car about 5000 miles the first year; he had a VW daily driver so if the weather looked bad he always drove the VW. It hardly ever saw rain and never saw snow. The mileage dropped off year after year, finally parking it in the early 80s for no real reason other than loss of interest and now a family.
Fast forward to Sept 2004, my brother, who worked with Harry, heard that he had an old Camaro stuck in his garage, that had been sitting for years. My brother, knowing I was into 70 Z28s asked him what year the car was, which he said 70 Camaro, he didn't say Z28. So after getting his phone number and calling, Harry told me it was a SS 350 car, he honestly didn't know or remember what he had. But then he told me it had a Corvette motor in it, I said oh yeah, does it have stripes? He replied YES, now my heart was beating faster, it had to be a Z, he went on to tell me the story and that it really had never been touched and still had the original tires on it. Trying to hold back my excitement I asked him if I could come and look at the car, just to take pictures and to document a few things, not wanting to spook him too early.
We agreed on a time and date and to my surprise, it was only about 20 minutes from home. He told me if I wanted to hear it run I would have to bring a battery because he couldn't remember the last time he had started it. When I got to his house, the garage door was open and I could see the distinctive rear end of a 70 Z28. Like most cars that have been sitting for over 20 years without a cover on it, it was filthy, you couldn't see through the glass, it really looked pretty sad sitting there. I opened the door to find white and black hounds tooth deluxe interior that looked brand new. The driver’s seat looked a little dirty but the others looked like they had never been sat in. The engine compartment seemed to be all there but was a real mess.
He insisted on me starting the car, I told him that I’m sure the gas was bad and who knows what else was wrong with it. Harry said it ran good when he parked it, I hadn't even asked if it was for sale yet. I got my battery, pulled the coil wire, checked the oil and cranked it until the oil pressure light went out, then I put the coil wire back on and it fired right up and even idled. So I backed it out of the garage and let it warm up, I even took it down the street and back, it ran great.
I finally got the nerve to ask him if he ever thought about selling it, and he said that it’s been sitting here for years, in the way, and that his daughter was getting married so if there ever was a time, it was now. After about a week of negotiating a price, we finally came to an agreement. I told him I would be there to pick it up with my enclosed trailer. I never figured it would happen, and thought for sure he would back out. But I never heard from him, so I went to get it with my fingers crossed hoping things would work out.
After pictures of Harry and me in front of the car, and a few tears from his wife, (which made me feel guilty) she said “I went on my first date in this car and it’s in our wedding pictures.” I loaded the Camaro, collected all the paperwork he could find on the car and I was off. It was a great feeling knowing it was finally mine.
The next 9 months I was busy cleaning, with every type of brush, soap and solvents I could find. I cleaned every square inch of this car, careful not to destroy any of it originality. I didn't want to disassemble anything, so it was a long and tedious job, most of which was overhead with everything running down your arms and dripping in my face. I can say that I never touched a can of paint or restored one part even though it was tough at times. Some parts look rough but its 35 years old and that’s the way it should look.
Last June the car received Vintage Legends class certification at Carlisle, it was great to see and hear all the people appreciate the fact that it’s all original and not just another restored car.