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Short lived 68 Z28
I thought I saw a vintage pics thread here in the past but have not been able to find it, so here are some old pics from the parent's albums. Figured some here might enjoy them.
In Sept of '68 my dad purchased a new '68 Z28, trading in his '64 Vette Convert and his soon to be wife's (my mother) 66 Impala SS. I haven't asked, never thought to, but dad may have been driving it as a demo at the wedding. Both cars were traded as he generally drove demonstrators, meaning my mother actually drove this a lot. While he had it, dad put headers on it, the factory Trans Am cam, did a little porting on the heads and cleaned up the ports on the intake as they were very poorly cast. 5.13 gears as well. Obviously didn't have the gears for the honeymoon... heh Wedding pic; https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...93-9x8rllp.jpg On honeymoon in the Black Hills https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...94-bx2hort.jpg https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...mbetterpic.jpg https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...96-nbm0002.jpg https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...98-mpakuuj.jpg Filthy dirty https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...99-przgga8.jpg June of '69 oops... Amazingly no one was seriously injured. A guy riding in the back seat bent the hell out of the passenger front seatback though. Only car he has ever wrecked. Pics taken in family Chevy dealership. I told him it didn't look THAT bad in pics and he chuckled and said it was bent like a banana. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...00-gym5ur2.jpg https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...01-mwps6rc.jpg https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...02-zk7h6zi.jpg Pretty much all that was left. Dad put it in a 66 Chevy II and really started modding it... I just noticed the cowl hood in this pic. The car wasn't built with it as shown in earlier pics so he must have added it. I'll have to ask. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...03-ppsupzr.jpg Back in the day he raced his buddies 427 Camaro, a "warranty replacement" shortblock they did on a 396/375 car that dad tuned, and the two Camaro's were about dead even. Mid 12's at about 115MPH. Interestingly he says the repop Wide Ovals on my W30 hook better than his slicks back in the day. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif[/img] The guy at the far right of the first pic was the owner of the 427 Camaro. Was killed in a motorcycle accident in the 70's. Pic of the Vette he traded and my grandfather's '68 in a parade; https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...04-vmcde7z.jpg https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics...05-ghqlbev.jpg Hope you guys enjoy the pics. |
Re: Short lived 68 Z28
Great pics! Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
Cool pictures thank you for posting them
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
Very nice. Cool pix! Great stories!!!
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
Thanks. I enjoy looking through these old pics and hearing the stories.
Turns out he did add the hood to the car when they became available on the 69's. After the wreck he sold it to his buddy with the 427 Camaro and the guy drove it around without repainting it for some time. Red with white striped cowl hood looked odd on a blue big block 68 Camaro according to dad. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img] Would be interesting if someone here has come across a blue 396/375 68 Camaro originally sold from a small town dealership in SW Wisconsin. If it has/had a cowl hood with red paint under the blue and a 427 in it... Dad could give some early history on the car. btw-The 64 Vette he traded was a 327/300 with a 4 speed that he slipped a "fuelie" cam in. Dumped it at the auction for $1800. Not bad for having 120K on it. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif[/img] |
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btw-The 302 ended up with a roller cam, tunnel ram with Holley 660's and such while in the red 66 Nova. I'll see if I can find the pics of it carrying the wheels at Byron. He sold that car in the early to mid 70's and the purchaser ended up getting killed street racing it. Dad heard about it over the radio.
About 20-25 years ago I was told the engine was still together and stored somewhere near Dodgeville WI. |
Re: Short lived 68 Z28
Very [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif[/img] stories! If you can retrieve any more from your dad's memory bank, feel free to post them here [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]
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Great stuff! Love that red gut on the '68 Z!
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
Great story and pictures. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bill Pritchard</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Very [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cool.gif[/img] stories! If you can retrieve any more from your dad's memory bank, feel free to post them here [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img] </div></div>
He had some nice rides back in the day considering most of the time he didn't need to buy a car as he drove demos. His first new car was a '65 442 4 speed, red/red. Sold that at 9 months old as he went in the Army. Put a dent in the quarter when he took a corner a bit too fast with an axle in the trunk. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/blush.gif[/img] Changed the 3.55's to 3.90s and ran high 13's, fast enough that the Goat's didn't give him much trouble on the street. One time my grandfather had to borrow this car to run down to Chicago and was complaining about having to stop and get gas on his way. Only car he had driven that couldn't get TO Chicago on a tank and it's only about a 3 hour drive. Being a Chevy-Olds-Caddy dealer he had driven a lot of cars... Normally a Starfire, that ol grand dad whooped a 389 tri power Catalina with I'm told, at that time. Interestingly, the guy with the 427 Camaro mentioned above also bought a 65 442 4 speed new that was a complete stripper. Post body with rubber floor. Dad's was optioned pretty well with buckets, console, tach, etc. He had several C2's including a 67 427/435, Marlboro red with black stinger coupe, that they have a picture of hauling his racing snowmobiles in the dead of winter. IIRC is had the factory pipes as well. Took the tri power off and put a 850 DP on as it was faster. Mom banged it into a car while parallel parked as she forgot to shove in the clutch. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/blush.gif[/img] Sold that for $2500 in 73. One of his good friends has a 67 C2 427/390 4 speed with pipes that he has owned since 69 that is 95% original paint and all original drivetrain. He has a mini parts department in his garage as he bought spare parts for it way back in the early 70's for most anything imaginable. Including a spare engine that has sat on his engine stand for 40 years. All new in AC Delco boxes. His brother, my uncle, had a 70 LS6 4 speed. (don't recall the color) Back in the 90's when I mentioned he should have kept that he responded "Shit, I would have killed myself in thar car!" relating how he got sideways passing a semi with it. He didn't keep it long as he wasn't into performance to the extent my dad was. That car came out of Thorstad (May have been going by Hult's at that time?) in Madison as they couldn't get one allocated from Chevy for some reason. His group of friends generally ran at Byron, they always call it Rockford, and there are some pics of their cars as well. The aformentioned 427 Camaro, a friend (actually second from right in wedding pic) with a 427 Nomad, a big block El Camino, 69 Z28. They'd be down at the dealership after hours working on the cars, tuning them with open headers while paint chips fluttered down from the ceiling in the shop off the old wood trusses. He's never really said but I get the impression that the 68 Z was his favorite of the bunch. Being in the business he's always had more of a commodity mentality when it comes to cars, but that's the one that seems to stand out with him. And he still prefers it to the 69's. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif[/img] Saying that, he doesn't have much desire for the old stuff. Had a chance to pick up a 65 442 4 speed that was actually traded in during the late 80's but passed on it. Granted, it did need some work, but it ended up being MY first car. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img] Follows the Pirelli World Challenge to see how the CTS-V's and now ATS-V's are doing. I may have him talked into going to a vintage race at Road America this summer though as he used to go to the Trans Am and Can Am races there in the 60's. Seems interested in that. btw-That friend with the 69 Z; I believe he still owns it but I have not seen it for a couple decades. One owner car that grenaded the DZ and decided to put an LT1 in. Thing is we had already ordered the warranty engine for it. So while the LT1 went in, the warranty engine sat in a crate at the shop for 15 years or more until he decided to put it back to original. Even though dad hadn't been service manager, or even worked on cars, for a very long time at that point he still insisted dad do the install. He had that kind of reputation for making them run. Completely self taught going back to racing go carts in the 50's when he was doing ignition mods at 12 years of age. (And talking grandma into running her 58 dual quad Vette down the local "drag strip" that was marked on a highway outside of town. She is so prim and proper that I laugh every time I hear about it. She does as well at 93 years of age. She also clocked his go cart at 70mph on a public road by driving said Vette alongside him.) [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif[/img] Even now if I'm tinkering with the W30 he can do it in half the time and better than I. Lots of words and not any pics. I'll have to get some more pics and details of some of the above from him and mother. |
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One drag racing story I forgot about;
There were quite a number of fast cars in this small town of 5000 people, one of which was a 69 442 W30. Well, one weekend a bunch of them head down to Byron and dad lines up against the W30. Well, the guy with the W machine has slicks and dad didn't bring his this weekend so this is going to be interesting he thinks. He still had the 3.73's in it at this point but had done the other work on the car so it was going to be a bear to launch to screaming, no torque 302. The lights come down and the W30 leaves him like a bad habit on the line as the Z blows the tires off. Dad pedals and pedals the car and finally gets it hooked up and "on the pipe" and starts running down the Olds. The Olds runs a 14.2 while the Z ran a 14.3. The difference is the MPH. 97 for the W and 110 for the Z. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img] Dad never left home without the slicks again. The guy with the W30 said he thought he had him easy until dad came screaming by him through the lights. Being an Olds fan I don't mind this story as the 68-69 small bore 400's are complete stones. And with a little work the 302's would really scream. According to dad when he got the car it was not fast at all. About a 15 second car. The intake ports were damn near triangular on the car from the factory. Some porting, headers and the TA cam transformed the car. Wasn't much fun to drive around town though as it didn't get on the cam until 4 grand or so. |
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Being an Olds fan I don't mind this story as the 68-69 small bore 400's are complete stones.
When I ordered my 69 W-30, I included the 3:91 gear and TH400. Many factory Muscle Cars of the day remembered only the tail lights on my Black 442. Only mod was a set of Hookers and tweeking the curve. TAZ |
Re: Short lived 68 Z28
70w30, Great stories. Feel free to post any more old pics and/or stories from BITD. Great stuff.
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
Did your dad remember having had the long block replaced in the 68 Z? The entire engine looks like it has no paint, the oil pan, waterpump, and balancer all are painted orange which leads me to believe it had a long block done and with 5.13's I can understand if it did...
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: firstgenaddict</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did your dad remember having had the long block replaced in the 68 Z? The entire engine looks like it has no paint, the oil pan, waterpump, and balancer all are painted orange which leads me to believe it had a long block done and with 5.13's I can understand if it did...
</div></div> I noticed that as well. He has never mentioned it but the things they did under warranty back then it wouldn't surprise me. See the "warranty replacement" short block in the 396/375 Camaro. There was nothing wrong with that engine at all other than the owner wanting a 427. Was put in at the dealership. On the flip side, I do know it was a two bolt block as he has commented on that as he feels the 4 bolts really were not necessary and spun the 302 up to 10 grand when it was in the Nova with the roller cam, rev kit and tunnel ram. I'll ask him about it though as I am curious as well. I know the top end had been off the engine as he ported the heads but no idea why the block and heads would be bare. |
Re: Short lived 68 Z28
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 70w30</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know the top end had been off the engine as he ported the heads but no idea why the block and heads would be bare. </div></div>
If it had been vatted or replaced is the only reason I could come up with... The replacement idea came from a thread on here where it was stated warranty engines rarely were painted the correct color if they got painted at all... some of the service guys said it was based more on if a random can of engine paint was laying around. " they didn't get paid to paint engines... just replace them." |
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all the "crate" replacement short blocks I recall from back then were NOT painted
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Re: Short lived 68 Z28
I just asked him about it and he did replace the engine under warranty. Said it was using oil.
Back then GM was pretty easy going with replacement engines compared to today. The pulled engines didn't have to be sent back or anything. And being the service manager at the time getting a replacement would have been no problem. He also said they didn't bother painting them back then. It would just slow them down and they were paid on rate. The faster they did the jobs the more they made. Kinda surprised he didn't paint it on his own car but that's probably the commodity mentality again. He helped me pull a 455 once and I basically got out of the way other than handing him tools. Was amazed at his speed while never appearing hurried at all. That was from his time in the shop and being paid on rate. |
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