I have a 1969 Z28 which i bought new in August of 1969.
For the most part its original except for the odd wear part .
The car has 56,000 miles on it and is now looking tired and rusting slightly . Should i have this car restored and where are the best near good reproduction or original parts suppliers . The VIN of this car is 12437N638504 and i also have all the original documents including the protectoplate and warranty. My intentions are to keep the car as an occasional make me smile driver .

I would need to see MORE and DETAILED pictures, before I could advise you which way to go.
If that is ORIGINAL paint I would do everything possible to save it. Depending on extent of rust, you could Clean and scrub with Detergents and then Rust Inhibit everything with BoeShield T-9
If you must completely restore car, youre just going to have another 69 Z-28

Tough call,..cars are only original once,..and unrestored originals seem to win a lot of attention at the shows.

I think you could spend a lot of money on paint/body, upholstery, etc,..but not increase the value of your Z much.

Perhaps you coudl address the major warts and leave the rest alone,..sort of a compromise.

OT,..did she come with white stripes and a black grill?

If that is original paint...there is no way that I would restore it.
You may get your money back from the restoration but you probably will not get any return above it... and like was stated before you will have another restored 69 Z28...

If you are serious about wanting a driver just rub on her every chance you get, and she will be a fun car to drive and get better looking all the time.

Here are the ugly pics . Yes the car came with stripes and this is the original paint . No the grill is not original it was bright silver but failed the bird crash test in the 80s the black grill was the only one available . I was not concerned with originality way back then . I now wish to return the car to the day i bought it off the showroom .

Have a well qualified restoration shop that is familiar with original cars repair the rust issues and touch up the paint with laquer.
Paint the grille argent.
The engine compartment looks good to me... get busy with some degreaser and a tooth brush...
The car WILL draw more of a crowd as an unrestored car vs being a PLASTIC ie over-restored car. PLUS you will be scared to drive a 100k resto.
OR most people would be.

Agree with the above,..I would not do a total resto here,..she looks to be in great shape. The steering column is an easy resto and the exterior rust can be repaired without a total paint job.

If it were me, I'd do a "take a part off,..clean it up,..put it back on" type of resto.

OT...Try some WD-40 and fine scotch-brite on your blinker lever,..you'll be amazed,..it's chrome underneath.

Good luck!

I agree, don't to a full on resto. You are one of the lucky ones who has an original car, and like everyone says, a car is only original once. Also note that to do your car right it will cost 30 g's and up depending on how far you want to go and how much work you do yourself. I am in the same boat as you are right now and I don't even have an original car. Also all the advise that I have received when I asked the same question, was that once you do it all up nice and pretty, you will be afraid to drive it for fear of taking away the pristene appearance. What the world does not need now is another trailer queen or museum piece. The world does however need more original cars that are driven like they were built to be. Cars like yours are an inspiration to us all who are asking the same question as you, only in your case the answer is obvious.

Same here just fix the bad spots. That is one nice car you have there.
Bob

I have to also agree with everyone else....overdone trailer queens are everywhere , this is what made up my mind about my early 69 Z/28 that has only 29,000 miles on it.Marks in the paint , dirty engine bay ans slightly worn interior give it character.In the long run it will be the right thing to do.
Like the old saying goes "if it aint broke , don't fix it !"

Not to hijack the thread, but did Lemans blue and Dusk blue 69's get a silver grill? I would like to know because I am going to paint my car one of these two colors. I have seen a few post on this in the past, but I never really put much thought into it until I read this thread.

Oh, and Original69zed...that's one nice looking car you have there. I would take the others advice and just clean it up and repair the places of need...original Z's are bringing some big money now...but if you aren't happy with it...do a complete resto...either way you can't lose.

Gambitt

Thank you All for your input , and yes ive let the car get filthy. Im working on a clean up this week . My decision is to fix it - No restore, just replace the non original obvious aftermarket parts and Clean ,clean , clean the car . I did not realize people do not ever drive their cars untill i contacted an experienced camaro restorer , approximately 6 hours drive away and suggested id drive it there . He had a fit ,told me hed pick it up free if necessary . Restored or not the value of this car is in my minds eye. My other driver is a Super Viking
Both give me the silly grin syndrome .

...and do not put a "cowl" hood on it either!!

As far as i can remember all 1969 Z28s were equiped with a bright (argent)grille.
It was part of the z28 option package.
To William - NO - no cowl hood , the car will look essentially what it did when i purchased it . I,ll post more as this evolves.

no way would I EVER restore that car

there needs to be cars like that to remind people that they are just that, cars.

Cars get used and use will show

IF there were two of your cars IDENTICAL except one is as yours is and the other a trailer queen with the hose clamps at the correct angles, guess which one will have the HUGE crowd around it?

Yup, your original will

It will piss of the other guy who just spent mega bucks, but that is his ego problem

You have stories to tell on how the grille got broken by the bird, how .... and on and on

the other guy can only say how he got his checkbook out ...

I LOVE original cars, no matter their condition

I agree with the others. Just clean it up and leave it alone. You car is very nice as is and it is very rare to one that is truely original.

just my .02,
Nick

Very nice car. I like to see original cars also. Though I am not as opposed to restored cars as some of the others seem I would probably keep it original as possible. You could always restore it in the future if you wanted. I noticed it has wheel opening mouldings, did you install them?

I totally agree with the others. That is one special car, and a real car too boot. Clean and keep it clean, fix the obvious boo boo's, it's beautiful the way it is, I bet 8 out of 10 people who look at it don't see what you see.

As he stated above, 1969 GM replacement grills were black after about 1980.

Beginning the cleanup -not a toothbrush left in the house. Heres what i found in the trunk- rust flakes galore .Which products will assist me in removing surface rusting ? Do i tackle this repair or leave it to a shop?
Can anyone tell me if the mats are the original 69 gm vinyl ? i forget if they are. Next week i turn the garage into a shop ,tools ,compresser and lift. I will be removing a part at a time and having it bead blasted then i,ll paint them . Any comments - nay or yeah are appreciated .

Nope, mats are aftermarket. Toss 'em. Repro GM-style mats are available.

There are products that will remove rust and not disturb the remaining paint/finish. I would clean and de-rust this car as much as possible but I would not paint anything.

I agree with William.
I will be removing a part at a time and having it bead blasted then i,ll paint them.
That sure sounds like a restoration........

I'm a resto guy, and I say leave it unrestored. A good clean up wont hurt it, but dont go bead blasting and repainting/plating stuff. Once you start doing that, theres a decent chance it could snowball/domino effect into a full resto.

Ive had several low mileage survivor cars in my shop before, just to get them running and driving again after long periods of storage. I made sure to rebuild (functionally, not cosmetically) the original parts rather than replace, while not changing the original patina of the car.

dave