1969 Camaro Z/28 w/Special Order Paint

[bkhpah]

This Camaro was very well known in Western PA. A lot of the old school guys to this day remember Clem's "purple" Z/28. I know the Grabiak Family and we buy from them. A VERY well known hi-performance dealer to this day. I really cannot imagine why some 45+ years later, the original owner of the car and the selling dealer would care one bit, to all get together and fabricate a story for the new owner. It makes no sense at all. And why would they insist, in writing, that the car was ordered this way if it hadn't been. It would seem that most people do not care for the OE color, even Clem himself was disappointed with it. All the people I talked to at Mecum told me the car was gorgeous in person. For some reason I cannot explain, the people that were there at the inception of this car in 1968, when it was ordered, and the day it was received at Grabiak's are treated as if they didn't have a clue ...BKH

[William]

What is seen on the inside of the door is factory primer with very little top coat. We looked in several other areas with much better original paint coverage. All we saw was some form of silver paint. Had you been standing there telling me it was EO I would have laughed at you. EO is much darker than either silver mentioned.

I'm well aware of how the car was initially ordered. EO was not a current model year color. So Central Office contacts the dealer proposing a substitution. His wife worked there; says ok. Maybe never mentioned it. That car was ordered 47 years ago and there is no mention of EO on the original paperwork. The "paperwork" you have posted was done decades later. 47 years is long time. Look up #81 on AutoColorLibrary.com under '69 Oldsmobile-looks very similar to EO but in reality is much lighter. Maybe that's why the owner was disappointed?

None of you guys saw the original paint. We did.

[cook_dw]

Obviously I am not a "Camaro god" but I am not color blind either.. How can one dispute the original owner, photos & others from the time and area that remember the car.?. My point is maybe it wasnt EO put it wasnt Cortez Silver either.

[Charley Lillard]

Are you saying this was done decades later ?

[Charley Lillard]

Does anyone have period pics of the car from back in the day ?

[bkhpah]

I would have to say that not a single person here saw the original color except the original owner and Grabiaks. Of course Mrs.Z is now a prime suspect in this mystery. ..BKH

[iluv69s]

the paperwork is fake??? maybe I am wrong, but seems 'special paint' would mean more than just stripe delete . Are there any other examples of stripe delete cars w paperwork?? how is it worded on their paperwork???

[Keith Seymore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: resto4u</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If special paint was ordered and that color was not in the assembly plant, what was the process to get it to that assembly plant? depending on what year, some plants built other car bodies with the camaro. Then they might have the color already in the plant. special paint, did it have to be a color available that year from any gm family? </div></div>

Special paint process, per author/historian Eric White (originally written for discussion on a Pontiac forum):

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: gtoric</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The procedure for getting a special-paint car ordered went like this:

• The customer (or dealership) determines what color is desired.

• An &quot;All Series Special Equipment&quot; order form is filled out.

The information required for a special-paint-request on this form is:
• Lower Color Paint No.
• Upper Color Paint No.
• Make of Car &amp; Year Paint Used.
I am guessing that obtaining the correct paint no. would be left up to the ordering salesman/dealership paint department.

In the '60s and early '70s, before colored plastic/fiberglass trim parts became common, any color paint could be ordered, as long as the dealer could supply the paint formula no. on the S.O. form. After the mid-'70s when the crash-bumper fillers became common place, special order colors were phased out except for large fleet orders.

Several codes were used on the Fisher Body trim tag to indicate a special-order paint. Codes varied between the years and between Fisher Body plants. Some of the codes used were:
1= Standard GM paint, not a Pontiac color
2= Special Pontiac color. Sometimes offered a half-year &quot;springtime&quot; color.
3= Cadillac FireFrost color. This paint was not normally allowed on a Pontiac build because of the special processes required to apply this type of paint.
4= Body in primer
SPEC or ** would indicate a paint color from a source outside GM (Ford, Chryco, AMC, John Deere, International Harvester, etc.) Colors could also be ordered to match school or business colors. As long as a formula no. could be identified by the dealership just about any color hue could be specified.

• The order was then routed through the Pontiac Zone office, which then routed it on to the Central Office.

• Central Office then entered a request to the paint supplier, usually PPG/Ditzler, for the appropriate paint.

• The paint supplier shipped a quantity of paint to the appropriate assembly plant.

• The special-order build was scheduled and coordinated between the Fisher plant and GMAD or Pontiac assembly.

• Build was delivered to dealership with a quart of touch up paint in trunk.
</div></div>

I have also seen a double &quot;&amp;&quot; (double ampersand) to designate special paint, on a Pontiac plant cowl data tag.

Most assembly plants have/had a special paint system, separate from the main line, where smaller paint pots could be loaded with low production volume colors, which would minimize the amount of waste when flushing the system. Typically these were done for fleet and special equipment runs (Grand Trunk RR, RCMP, Bell Telephone, etc). We also have had some plants were the special colors were run through the paint repair line rather than the main assembly process.

K

[Charley Lillard]

Looks lighter than EO to me but I see the purple tint.

[Keith Seymore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bkhpah</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
This Camaro was very well known in Western PA. A lot of the old school guys to this day remember Clem's &quot;purple&quot; Z/28. I know the Grabiak Family and we buy from them. A VERY well known hi-performance dealer to this day. I really cannot imagine why some 45+ years later, the original owner of the car and the selling dealer would care one bit, to all get together and fabricate a story for the new owner. It makes no sense at all. And why would they insist, in writing, that the car was ordered this way if it hadn't been. It would seem that most people do not care for the OE color, even Clem himself was disappointed with it. All the people I talked to at Mecum told me the car was gorgeous in person. For some reason I cannot explain, the people that were there at the inception of this car in 1968, when it was ordered, and the day it was received at Grabiak's are treated as if they didn't have a clue ...BKH </div></div>

So we have verbal testimony from the original owner, and signed/notarized letters from the original owner and selling dealership, and it is being disputed?

God help me. I don't stand a chance.

K