[NEPA Joe B]

Honestly I would buy a BBC SS or even a clone and bank the other $20k.

Believe it or not I kinda started out that way 2 years ago so your rational makes total sense. My problem is the more i looked, the more i got into the originality. At the time, I was willing to pay 40k for something like that, but then figured it would be worth the extra $$ to jump in the deep end!!

 

[X-77 keith]

Post some pictures of the car. Someone here may know the car, or point something out that you may have missed, or something just plain wonkey. Just because it was restored last year doesn't mean it's a great car. To some restoration is just a paint job. You need to be very careful, they all are hiding something.

 

[Jonesy]

In today’s market I would not trust anything a seller says no matter who they are. I have seen so many real matching number 69 z28s turn out to have restamped components and missing a lot of original pieces.
In my opinion $60k is not going to get you a perfectly restored true original born with drivetrain car.
I am with you on originality. Those cars bring the money. They are hard to find and when one does show up they go fast if priced reasonably. Please do yourself a favor. Don’t leap and buy before you do the research and ask someone who knows real stampings from fake. Real components from fake. This will save you a lot of money and heartache down the road.

 

[NEPA Joe B]

In today’s market I would not trust anything a seller says no matter who they are. I have seen so many real matching number 69 z28s turn out to have restamped components and missing a lot of original pieces.
In my opinion $60k is not going to get you a perfectly restored true original born with drivetrain car.
I am with you on originality. Those cars bring the money. They are hard to find and when one does show up they go fast if priced reasonably. Please do yourself a favor. Don’t leap and buy before you do the research and ask someone who knows real stampings from fake. Real components from fake. This will save you a lot of money and heartache down the road.

Yea, thats why I'm definately gonna have a professional look at it with me to be sure it is as advertised.

Thanks

In today’s market I would not trust anything a seller says no matter who they are. I have seen so many real matching number 69 z28s turn out to have restamped components and missing a lot of original pieces.
In my opinion $60k is not going to get you a perfectly restored true original born with drivetrain car.
I am with you on originality. Those cars bring the money. They are hard to find and when one does show up they go fast if priced reasonably. Please do yourself a favor. Don’t leap and buy before you do the research and ask someone who knows real stampings from fake. Real components from fake. This will save you a lot of money and heartache down the road.

 

[cruiserofland]

Not difficult to check if the rear is 3.73 or 4.11. The housing should be stamped BU (for 3.73) or BV (for 4.11) for posi. Other codes are at CRG: 1967-69 Camaro Drivetrain Decoding

To check what gears are in it, just jack the rear off the ground, rotate the tires one revolution (if posi and so they both turn together) and count the turns of the driveshaft. Mine has its original BV housing but turns out when it was restored the guy put in 4.56 gears...

 

[jcabuilder]

If it can be confirmed as a fully restore 1969 Z28 then IMHO $70k is well worth it. I've seen unrestored Z's going for that price. The tranny wouldn't bother me at all. Good luck!

 

[NEPA Joe B]

Not difficult to check if the rear is 3.73 or 4.11. The housing should be stamped BU (for 3.73) or BV (for 4.11) for posi. Other codes are at CRG: 1967-69 Camaro Drivetrain Decoding

To check what gears are in it, just jack the rear off the ground, rotate the tires one revolution (if posi and so they both turn together) and count the turns of the driveshaft. Mine has its original BV housing but turns out when it was restored the guy put in 4.56 gears...

Thanks Matt

If it can be confirmed as a fully restore 1969 Z28 then IMHO $70k is well worth it. I've seen unrestored Z's going for that price. The tranny wouldn't bother me at all. Good luck!

Thanks

If it can be confirmed as a fully restore 1969 Z28 then IMHO $70k is well worth it. I've seen unrestored Z's going for that price. The tranny wouldn't bother me at all. Good luck!

Thanks, that seems to be the general consensus. I've been watching all the sites for the past 3 years and they seem to start off between 50 to 70K. 70K being dealer prices usually.

 

[Vega$69]

I sold the 69Z I restored a couple years ago. All numbers matching completely rebuilt to factory specs including $2200 I spent to rebuild/restore the Muncie. Carb Dizzy everything done right

Body down to bare metal and show quality paint. I bought it as a project and was hoping for a $65K sale price. After a fair anount of time on the market I sold it for $52K.

The market on these cars is no sure thing. I believe what hurt was the color.

Car was original Fathom Green White Stripe. I hate Fathom Green. I wanted to paint it either Cortez Silver/Black Stripe or Tuxedo Black/ White Stripe. Well I caved to others opinions and went with the original FG color.

I had several people look at the car and stated they would give me my asking price if it wasn't FG. They said if it was Hugger Orange, Cortez Silver, Lemans Blue etc. they would buy it. They could have cared less about it being the original color and honestly most of them didn't care about matching #s. They wanted a high quality car that looked good.

Just sayin

 

[NEPA Joe B]

I sold the 69Z I restored a couple years ago. All numbers matching completely rebuilt to factory specs including $2200 I spent to rebuild/restore the Muncie. Carb Dizzy everything done right

Body down to bare metal and show quality paint. I bought it as a project and was hoping for a $65K sale price. After a fair anount of time on the market I sold it for $52K.

The market on these cars is no sure thing. I believe what hurt was the color.

Car was original Fathom Green White Stripe. I hate Fathom Green. I wanted to paint it either Cortez Silver/Black Stripe or Tuxedo Black/ White Stripe. Well I caved to others opinions and went with the original FG color.

I had several people look at the car and stated they would give me my asking price if it wasn't FG. They said if it was Hugger Orange, Cortez Silver, Lemans Blue etc. they would buy it. They could have cared less about it being the original color and honestly most of them didn't care about matching #s. They wanted a high quality car that looked good.

Just sayin

Funny you said that. Trust me, yes it was the color!! I prefer hugger orange and white, Lemans blue and black or white, and the black. But unfortunately for me pretty much every vehicle I've owned is/was black so I know what a pain it it to keep clean. But it totally get staying original.

 

[NashvilleCat]

Its not an investment, it's more like a life long obsession which is why I'm so hung up on perfection and the options. My intent is to have it till I die, but just want to cover all my bases. My thoughts are im willing to sacrifice the trans because the car is essentially brand new. Was just wondering exactly how much it "hurts" the value if any is all.

Thanks for the input,

Joe B

Since the trans isn't original, why not put the new Tremec TKX 5 speed in it so driving is much more fun ?
With 3.73 gears, you're gonna need an overdrive.

 

[dhutton]

Believe it or not I kinda started out that way 2 years ago so your rational makes total sense. My problem is the more i looked, the more i got into the originality. At the time, I was willing to pay 40k for something like that, but then figured it would be worth the extra $$ to jump in the deep end!!

Curious if you have ever driven a 69 Z28. They are not exactly what I would call a cruiser. And yes, I have owned one....

Fantastic garage art though....

Don

 

[69-er]

Since the trans isn't original, why not put the new Tremec TKX 5 speed in it so driving is much more fun ?
With 3.73 gears, you're gonna need an overdrive.

Hmmm, I don't know... With a 302 it might be even more of a dog cruising around with the RPMs any lower than normal. From what everyone with experience says about these motors is that RPMs are your friend!

Maybe get the TKO500 since it has a lower first gear. Maybe the other gears are lower too?

 

[Sauron67MM]

I've said this before because I have driven them. A Z is a POS to drive unless you are winding the crap out of the RPM's. Newbies want one as a status symbol. They have no clue how a Z performs on the street compared to other cars.

 

[NEPA Joe B]

Since the trans isn't original, why not put the new Tremec TKX 5 speed in it so driving is much more fun ?
With 3.73 gears, you're gonna need an overdrive.

Unfortunately I'm hung up on originality. Otherwise I'd be doin a restomod with a 383 stroker!!! Not a bad idea tho.

 

[Henry Cloutier]

So I'm just gonna say when I figured out I could venture out and possibly purchase one of these classics, price within reason of course, I wanted a Lemans Blue car. After looking for some time I needed to broaden my horizons regarding color. I also figured out my original color selection was driven by childhood dreams regarding color and not necessarily reality now. Personally I never cared for the orange and white colored styles. Now I have a 1969 Fathom Green Z28 and could not be happier with the choice! The car turns heads everywhere we go and I have no illusions of the cars' capabilities. 3.73 rear doesn't lend itself to a trip from Wichita to Denver and back. But out for a Sunday drive or downtown on a Saturday night way cool to say the least. Not the fastest car on the planet but classy from nose to tail!
Hank

 

[NEPA Joe B]

So I'm just gonna say when I figured out I could venture out and possibly purchase one of these classics, price within reason of course, I wanted a Lemans Blue car. After looking for some time I needed to broaden my horizons regarding color. I also figured out my original color selection was driven by childhood dreams regarding color and not necessarily reality now. Personally I never cared for the orange and white colored styles. Now I have a 1969 Fathom Green Z28 and could not be happier with the choice! The car turns heads everywhere we go and I have no illusions of the cars' capabilities. 3.73 rear doesn't lend itself to a trip from Wichita to Denver and back. But out for a Sunday drive or downtown on a Saturday night way cool to say the least. Not the fastest car on the planet but classy from nose to tail!
Hank

I went through the exact same thing when I began this process. I was hell bent on hugger orange and white, or Lemans and white. Then I saw a Lemans and black. So I've told myself not to get hung up on color as long as it has the options I want and in good shape.

Thanks again for the input,

Joe B

 

[rhcdmd]

I had a similar situation 10 years ago when I bought a 69 SS 396 with a non-original block, but the rest of the drive train original. I bought it and then had a ground up restoration done. I have way more money in it than I can sell it for. I also plan to keep it until I cannot shift the gears. It is damn near perfect and I figured if I get a few thousand dollars worth of happiness out of it every year, then it is well worth it....even with a non-numbers matching block. After 10 years, I am still happy with my decision.

 

[NEPA Joe B]

I had a similar situation 10 years ago when I bought a 69 SS 396 with a non-original block, but the rest of the drive train original. I bought it and then had a ground up restoration done. I have way more money in it than I can sell it for. I also plan to keep it until I cannot shift the gears. It is damn near perfect and I figured if I get a few thousand dollars worth of happiness out of it every year, then it is well worth it....even with a non-numbers matching block. After 10 years, I am still happy with my decision.

Good story, thats pretty much my game plan is to have it forever...hopefully, thanks for the input.
Joe B

 

[NEPA Joe B]

I've said this before because I have driven them. A Z is a POS to drive unless you are winding the crap out of the RPM's. Newbies want one as a status symbol. They have no clue how a Z performs on the street compared to other cars.

Hey, my apologies somehow your post got lost in my notifications and I just now read it. This car has been a life long obsession for me since I first saw one when was a young lad. In my neighborhood when I was growing up there was a 76 vette, a 73 vette, a 69 Lemans, and a black and white 57 Belle Air. A buddy of mine I worked with had a 69 or 70 black and white chevelle ss in mint condition with the 454. My first car in 86 was an 83 Z 5 speed, so I'm somewhat familiar with a martini shaker (my taste changed). And yes, i am fully aware of the changes in technology and engineering between the 83 and a 69, and imagine the 69 is worse.. After four years of no problems I racked up 3 speeding and 1 reckless driving ticket and almost lost my license. So, I made the decision to sell it to a buddy and decided I need to get out of V 8's for a while and got a 90 jeep wrangler 5 speed soft top, which i had for 10 years. Believe me when I tell you I went from a martini shaker to a blender!!! Plus, the soft top and plastic windows shook so violently in the highway im pretty sure thats why I'm loosing my hearing today in my early 50's!!! Every vehicle I've ever owned, accept the jeep, I bought because of the body lines and drive train, which is how I got hooked on the 69Z, primary the body lines and paint scheme. Should I get one, its not gonna be a cruiser. My intentions are to take my kid for icecream or a nice drive in the mountains during the summer and it will sit in my garage for 6 months as I live in NE PA. It's not a status symbol, its gonna sit in the garage and I can care less who sees it. But it will be MY 69Z sitting in MY garage and I will be content. I'm not gonna buy one before driving it, my main concern is I haven't driven a manuel trans in 30 years!! Unfortunately, getting one with an automatic is not an option.. And, if I drive one and decide its uncomfortable I won't buy it, and move on from there. Maybe a Chevelle SS? That might not make sense to some, but that's my story and I'm stickin with it.

Thanks for the input, I do appreciate all the advice I can get.

Joe B

 

[DuskblueRS/SS]

Thanks, that's pretty much my feeling and the answer I'm wanting to hear!!!

If you are loving the car, I don’t think you can go wrong once you get it checked out. If the only thing that is not correct is the transmission, then all you have to do is look for a proper date coded M21 to put in it. The numbers did match the VIN so that would not be a big deal. Drive the car and continue to look for the tranny.