Okay, Jim wanted me to post an addendum to his Members Rides feature...and I am happy to do so! BTW, Jim sent it by regular mail! Jim, you rock!
Now you just have to get me pics and a write up for your Pace Car...
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Dec 02, 2007
Members Rides
Dear Bruce,
Please find enclosed CD. It contains various JPEG pictures of my 1968 Camaro. I included a MS WORD text story ‘write-up’. ( Back in Jan 2007) orig members write up submitted.
It was like Christmas in July. I followed up on a lead I received at work regarding a previous owner of my 68. After talking to the fellow I purchased the car from ‘Dave’ I asked if he had any ‘old’ photos of the car. He indicated he missed owning the car yet the 69 vette that replaced it has made up for the sale and sellers remorse. He recommended I contact his sister-in-law who was the third owner of the car.
It took a while to muster and feel comfortable to cold call her as he freely gave me the contact number and said a call should be well received.
Well the call was well worth the effort and yielded a wealth of car history.
I was able to find that she was working 1967 locally in the shipyard here in Bremerton and was utilizing regional bus transport to and from work. She was in need of a car with the new employment and desireded to own a Camaro. None could be sourced in the Bremerton Kitsap county area so she expanded her search to nearby Pierce county Tacoma, Wa. She checked with the dealer in South Tacoma, South Tacoma Motor Co. (Chevrolet) and they had taken a RED 68 in on trade for a new 1970 Chevelle 307 Malibu. They had not even prepped the Camaro yet and they took her to a un-attached warehouse for her to view the camaro. She purchased the Car ( Her first Car) even though the Red was not a favorite color (This would be rectified at a later date). She enjoyed the car as dependable transportation for years until a wreck occurred which enabled her to have the car painted Ralley Green by a local paint shop in Gorst. She mentioned parts where stolen (Carb & coins) from the car while in the care of the local towing company. I found many areas still with green paint when I painted the car in 1987. In about 1975 she parked the car and purchased a Datsun for commuting to work which was used to combat the price of fuel, this sound familiar.
The car sat in the garage (Notice it in the background of the photos) for 5 years until she sold the 68 to her brother in-law. He had a girl friend who hit a pole and the car saw a re-paint & GM metal back to Matador red. The car was subsequently sold to me in 1983 with 73,000 miles on the clock, the storage must have helped keep the miles down and condition up.
She was very interested that the car existed yet I could detect a little nostalgia that the car represented a by gone age of her life. She was very kind to loan me three vintage photos of the car taken in July of 1970 at her home. Notice that the Car has the incorrect grill emblem installed (Summer of 70), a RS vice SS emblem. That is exactly how I received the car nose emblem. Interesting to me that the emblem had been swapped out at some time early in the cars life yet survived 2 front end hits. For you 68 Guys the car is a LOS body build 12E, 5th week of December of 1967 and it has the rearward sweeping nose stripe! It was a bonus for me because back in the 1980’s when I was painting it I had to choice to make regarding the nose stripe and it is interesting that we nailed the black stripe!
Please add these photos as a follow up to my members rides write up and a ‘REST’ of the story addendum. It never hurts to make ‘the call’ and get lucky sometimes!
Thank you,
Jim Weaver (169INDY)
PNWCC member
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Here are his vintage pics!
