Here's Why You Can't Afford a 1969 Camaro Z/28 

Bought a Lemans Blue '69 Z/28 from the original owner in 1980. Numbers matching everything, except the smog system was gone, removed the next day after he bought it. It is an early production car, no tach/gauges, and flat hood (now has a genuine, working, GM cowl hood bought in '81 on it now for the looks, but have the original flat hood safely stored). Deluxe black comfort weave interior, original, in very nice condition. It has original and ultra-rare Vigilite lamp monitoring system, much more commonly found on big GM cars and almost never on Camaros. It works, too! Original AM radio that works. Original spare tire in the trunk with original jack. Have all the paperwork including original dealer sales invoice, protect-o-plate, and bill of sale. It even came with the original (local) dealer license plate frames. Car was repainted in GM acrylic lacquer in 1982, and still looks great today. Original DZ-code 302, rebuilt to bone stock specs with original GM parts camshaft, with. Original block (codes on deck were preserved during engine work) got +0.030 bore with new GM parts _+0.030 pistons. Rods magnafluxed, shot-peened and resized. Original crank, lightly ground and re-balanced. New GM parts rockers, rocker balls, pushrods,. Heads surfaced w/new GM parts valves, springs, retainers. Rocker studs were converted to screw-in ARP parts, with locking pins to keep them from backing out. Original DZ-code Holley carburetor, aluminum intake, alternator, starter, water pump, Muncie M21 transmission, and original OEM Hurst Competition Plus shifter that's been freshly rebuilt.. Original exhaust manifolds (with plugs for AIR ports), all original glass (windshield has a crack in it, though...ugh), front cover, oil pan, distributor. Original 15" rally wheels with correct codes/dates, and nice (GM replacement from '81) rings, and original caps. Drives like a dream, and pulls very hard in every gear with original 3.73:1 12-bolt rear end. It sounds absolutely wicked at wide open with the cowl hood making a huge sucking noise, and the exhaust sound bellowing through your body. The car was sitting outside beside the original owner's house, and had dead tires on it, and it was clear that it hadn't been driven in quite a while. A friend of ours spotted it in his neighborhood and told us about it. We drove by there and looked at it briefly as no one was home at the time. The paint was faded, and had some key marks in it. The interior, though, looked like new. The carpet was worn and replaced with GM stock replacement carpet. When we went by later, we found out he was a school teacher, and he said that he thinks that some kids keyed his car when it was parked at school. It was his daily driver back and forth to the school he taught at. He said he kind of lost interest in it after it got keyed, and his family was growing and the Z/28 was not practical for hauling around kids. It was good for groceries, though, as it has an original fold-down rear seat in really nice shape. He said it was garaged for about a year, but then his wife got a new car, and the Z/28 got evicted to the side yard. His wife was holding a baby in her arms, and was obviously pregnant with another, so the family growing thing made sense. She kept telling him to sell it. He was reluctant, but we kept at him. The car was very straight, with no signs of any kind of body damage occurring during its life with him. He said he had backed it into something at one point, which dented the back bumper, but he had it repaired at a bumper shop, and re-chromed. Can't tell it ever happened. The body panels lined up well, and the doors closed well. There was not a spot of rust to be found anywhere. We bought it for $3,250. He wanted $4,000, and we talked him down because of the key marks and dead tires. We put a battery in it, disconnected the fuel line and drained out most of the gas in it which was probably OK, but we didn't want to take a chance. It was at least clean. Put 5 gallons of fresh 93 octane fuel, along with some octane booster into the tank, poured a little fuel into the Holley, squirted a little oil into the spark plug holes and replaced the plugs, and also replaced the cap and rotor. Drained the oil and put some good oil in it, and replaced the oil filter. Put in a new air filter also. Cranked it for about a minute with the ignition disconnected, and it sounded good with equal cylinder load, and oil pressure came up. Hooked up the ignition wire, and cranked it, pumping the gas pedal to the floor twice and releasing it, and it fired right up and ran good, especially after it warmed up. Even the choke worked properly. Couldn't drive it as the tires were shot. Got a flat bed tow rig to haul it home. don't know what it's worth, and I don't care, because it' not for sale, ever. It had 61,392 miles on it when we bought it from the original owner. in '80 Today, it has just under 66,000 miles on it, mostly driving to cruise-ins and an occasional nice drive out in the twisty country roads late in the day near dusk when the air is cooler. It eats up the roads effortlessly. Spends the majority of its time in the heated/air conditioned garage under its car cover. Writing this makes me want to go out and take it for a spin, but the skies are cloudy and there's a chance of some rain, so I won't risk it. It's /never/ seen a drop of rain the whole time we've owned it, and it hopefully never will. I'd put a photo of it here, but Google won't let me. Stupid Google. All the best to everyone. Be safe and keep 'em shiny side up!

I bought my triple black '69 Z/28 in 1994 for $2400...was a barn find with 32,744 miles,houndstooth interior and endura bumper...I restored her and yes it is driven and enjoyed....

No real car dude calls a Z/28 a "Z car."..a Z car is a Datsun/Nissan....real men call a Camaro Z/28 a Z/28....PERIOD.

I still have an Auto-Trader I bought in 1982 and looking through it now makes me cry. Most of these cars were just old gas-guzzlers that nobody wanted except for high school kids looking for a cheap, fast ride.

Excellent video! In December 1969 I purchased my 69 Z/28. There were several dealers in my area but few Z's left. This dealer had 2. An orange and white car and my garnet red and black car. IIRC sticker was in the $ 4200 dollar range. I bought it for $ 3700. Eight months later I was laid off form my factory job along with 21.000 others. I sold it for $2200. About 5 years later I bought a blue and white striped 69 Z/28 rally sport car. It belonged to a friend of mine from the local Z/28 club. Long gone now. I miss them terribly.

Bought a new one off the dealer’s floor for $4,250. Being out of HS for a year took all I had and my dad gave me $500, paid insurance for a year and a tank of gas per week. Man was that the car to have in our little town.

I remember in 1987 a girlfriends father mentioning that he would love to own another '69 Z/28 as he bought one new in '69. I was 17 in '87 and said "Why don't you go buy one?" he said, "Sh!t, they 15k to 20k for those cars now. No way would I pay that much for one." LOL! If we only knew.

Having owned one from 1975 to 1980 as a daily driver, took it off the road at 146,000 + miles due to major Canadian rust issues. With unleaded coming up and this engine being tweaked to 12.5 compression also the valve train not designed for longevity these were a constant problem. This was the highest maintenance, insurance cost and the most fun car I had and would start at -40 with a couple extra cranks and no block heater. But the one thing all vids I have seen never mention that the front disc brakes were corvette, hence the only production camaro's at the time with 15" rims!

Bought mine for $4500 in 1985😂

It’s the boomer era getting into retirement and knowing they can’t take their money with them once they pass, heck let’s buy one of those older classics I always dreamed of growing up. I have been fortune enough to own a few camaros and classics myself, in my early 30s but it’s heartbreaking knowing a majority of friends who don’t link an eye for a beautiful classic. I can foresee the trend moving downwards once a lot of the older generation begin to pass and the following gens are not nearly as interested. Won’t happen overnight but that’s my thoughts on how the trend will shift. Awesome channel my man, I’m up in BC Canada and the classic car scene here is stronger then ever. Keep up the great content!

In 1989 i bought my X33 RS-Z28 Cortez Silver for $1500 "ya no kidding "my car was a MI rust bucket but not any more shes like a shiny new penny and has been for 32 years ,at the time you could still get N.O.S sheet metal .I basically whet to my Local Chevy dealer and bought all the parts I could get + the stuff was still cheap (like $300 for a GM qt panel and $180 for front fenders ,$200 cowl hood & $115 for a door skin .Trim was a different story all together it was scares and hi priced. Luckily my frame was in good shape as stuff like frame rails and full floor where not herd of yet .If i was smart i would of bought all the sheet metal up and had a small gold mine !.It funny as some of the REPO stuff out there today is very nice and in some cases better than the old NOS stuff. p.s I have been offered well north of $100,000 for my car but NO WAY she's not for sale at any price !

It is because so many wealthy investors buy them, have no interest in actually collecting, then auction them for jacked up prices. These high priced corporate auction houses do not help.

Great content as always

I could've killed my dad, his friend was selling a 69 RS SS Convertible for only 4K in 94. he said we will wait and buy it for $500.... GRRRRRRRR it's only flaw was paint wasn't perfect. NO rust. 427 included.

Very informative video. Thank you for sharing

One of the coolest cars ever built. I had a friend who bought a silver metallic 69 Z the year they were released. That thing was beautiful & fast as hell. These days I prefer the Firebird's though honestly. Especially for the money.

I have a Lemans blue w/ white stripes all original. Bought back in 1990. Installed CrossRam about 10 years ago. She's a runner!

The 302 was first put together on the dirt track (shortly after the 327 was released) before the factory Z28's local racers were putting the 283 crank in the 327 but they referred to them as a 301. I guess one rounded down and the other rounded up, It was easier than boring out a 283 and man did they run good. An experienced ear could tell them when they were idling thru the pits. They just sounded different in a good way, more snappy and ready with a lot of air movement out of the exhaust. I don't understand it but from the factory the Z's had small either 1 7/8" or 2" tailpipes. All the GM muscle cars had them doing that time period. Those little mouse engines would crank crazy rpm's and not many came apart considering. They cranked up so fast that almost everyone over revved them. There was an issue with journal size after the older 327 biocks got used up. If I recall right but I think it was related to the year model and then special main bearings and later a crankshaft was produced to solve the problem. Some had trouble with them spinning. I don't know what heads and cams the racer's used but some sounded like late models and would thump your chest. It was hard to believe just how much air that little engine would pump through it.

I have a 69 Z/28 matching numbers hugger orange std trim. I have learned a lot watching your channel over the past year. Thank you for your knowledge.

The tone and tempo or your videos are great. Also straight to the point with KNOWLEDGE.

Had a Daytona Yellow early production 69 X33. Endura front bumper, deluxe interior, stainless seatbelts, fibre optics light monitor, fold down rear seat, console & gauges. I still have the crossram.

bought one for $ 1,750 in 1982 still have it today ,eat your heart out Junior ! i uploaded on RU-vid if you want to see it

Great video

Great video 👍

Nice presentation!

My father had two rare optioned Z '69 Z/28s. A Daytona yellow X33 with a yellow houndstooth interior and 4 wheel disc, M22 muncie. He also had an X77 tuxedo black car no cowl, no console and radio delete. It too had the "rock crusher" transmission. Sadly the yellow car was stolen and stripped out. The black car was sold years ago and the current owner won't entertain selling.

I had one back in the early 70’s for $3,500. And had it for a couple years before selling it for a Nova

cant believe what grumpy did for muscle cars back in the day kinda like ol smokie gettin it done 🤩😁

One of my friends bought one for 17k in 1997, sold it for 60k in 2014- he was actually looking at new 97’s when he found the 69

Who said I can't afford a 69 Z/28, al it takes is money

So true!

Amazing!

I sold my 69 Z-28 to my brother, while I was in the service in 1974, for $1500. Hindsight!

I have a bro with a 69 zapper , white with orange stripes , is set up like my old black one , last I talked to him he would sell to me for 30,000 dollars 💵,I’m just about there 😊have 27,500 nearly there 😅

Born in 1968 but still was fortunate enough to have owned a few first Gen F cars. My own bad choice for selling and nowadays even a rusted out shell is over 10k.

Way back in 69 I wanted to buy a Red Z28 I just could not come up with the funds for that car, So I bought a new 68 RS with the 396 and the 4 speed and never looked at another Camaro. I still have that RS and man does it get the looks, Nothing like a Big Block..

In 1967, I was in the Air Force stationed in North Dakota. I was shopping around for a car at the Chevy dealer. This dealership was into muscle cars, and the salesman steered me to an all black '67 Camaro in the showroom. There were no hood/trunk stripes, just a plain looking black Camaro.....that is until you looked on the side of the front fenders just behind the headlights. On each side was the familiar Z/28 emblem lettered in red. Under the hood was the 302 engine. Took it for a test ride, along with the salesman who happened to be a drag racer himself and was able to wring it out. Sticker price was $3195. Sadly, on an airman's pay at that time I couldn't afford it. I did, however, manage to pick up a 1965 Malibu with the L-79/327/350hp and factory 4spd. After giving it a test run, I can honestly say that that Malibu would have SMOKED that Z28 in a drag race. Incidentally, in my visits to that dealership, I saw a 1957 BelAire 2drHT being prepped for resale with SEVEN ORIGINAL MILES on it!! Black with orange/black interior and 283 Power Pack. Somehow they managed to come up with a replica window sticker. Original sale price was $2795. Also saw a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville bubbletop with Tri-Power and only 1500 miles on it. Those were the days.....😊

I remember those cars back in the 70's, all hype and no go!!! If you put a set 5.13 gears in them, it helped launch them, but a 302 cubic inch motor is still a 302!!!! A strictly track car obviously is faster, but it's a track car!!!

Bought mine 1970....X2 2:21 8 RS Huggher Orange

Glad I bought mine in 1979 for $3000

My neighbor bought one for her son in '79 for $1200 . Original DZ motor, X77 white/black stripes. He ended up leaving it in his driveway with a frozen block (no anti-freeze) and sold it for $600.

Both Smokey Yunick and Roger Penske re-worked these 302 engines to produce over 450 hp. This is not a myth, it is a fact.

In 1985 i had a Red with white stripes 1969 Z28 with a Heinz Brothers , Built 10/1 compression 3/4 cam 327 drag racing engine. With what i was told to be a Muncie 4 speed, I was 16 @ that time in my Dreamcar Camaro Well, This is what happened. I was hanging out with my girl at the local game room at around 12 midnight and up pops my mom in a gown brandishing a fireplace poker and embarrassed me in front of my girl , So Mad as hell, I jumped in the Camaro and Dad tried jerking the keys from the car and what he didnt know was the ignition was turned on just enough that the car had a pushbutton start and she fired right up. I left doing a burnout a hundred feet or so, Hell i was just a kid, Mad as hell running at a high rate of speed I came up on a Cop coming off the north 52 ramp , I floored the gas pedal, Hit 52 south and i watched the blue lights go to a spec in my rear view ,I left him setting as later on he asked what size engine i had because he was doing 130 and i walked off and left him , Drizzling rain and running red lights thru Mount Airy at a high rate of speed and decided to take some off roads to get away from the cops ,As i started to turn off 52, I was trying to make up my mind on staying on 52 or taking the off roads and somehow managed to get her stuck in 2nd gear just like the Sammy Hagar Song , I CANT DRIVE 55, How the hell i crossed up a muncie 4 speed i will never know but ended up taking a left down a dead end road in which i thought went all around the neighborhood with a fence at the end and i slid to within inches of the fence gate. I sat there a good 10 to 15 minutes shaking because i had never been that fast in my life , Anyways a line of cop cars came over the hill behind me and i jumped out and the first one on the scene racked his shot gun as i said "Son of a B^tch" as he racked a shell in the chamber and he said 'What did you say' ???? I thought i was a goner and only being 16 i said,' i was talking to the car' I begged him to take me to jail because i was pissed at mom who had embarrassed the hell out of me in front of my sweet blue eyed blond, girlfriend and begged him to lock me up as he ablidged and hand cuffed me and put me in the back seat, I looked back at the Camaro and smoke was still rolling off my 10 inch Craggars and it was like some movie scene. I spent the night in a single cell with the smell of burnt matches and urine, No pillow and a stainless steel bed. So i took the blanket and used it as a pillow.The next morning i was served green eggs and some other crap in which I quickly flushed down the toilet. They came and got me a few minutes later and said someone's here to get you out which i was glad to leave that nasty place so when i got home Dad had picked up my car and drove it home,I had that car wound out so much that i thought i had blown the engine but i crawled in her and she fired right up, I started out the driveway and just as i pulled into the road the right front tie rod broke completely off and the frame hit the asphalt ,Man just the day before i was running in access of 130 mph and could have been killed, Dad fixed it and a few hour later two guys come by to look at the car, Both were drunk as a skunk ! Dad said you are going to get killed in that car and sold it to two guys from T&S Motors in Mount Airy N.C. I purchased the car for $1700 ,I begged Dad not to sell it that we could just park it in the garage a few years and it would be worth $20,000 but he sold it any way and all i have is a picture and the memories, A lady friend came up to me and said she saw it headed toward the Martinsville/Stuart Va area on the back of a car hauler . It is what it is and God was riding with me that night because what are the chances that the day before i was Flyin High and if that tie rod end had broken that day, I guess i wouldnt be reliving my story with my 1969 Camaro Z28

I had a 69 model that was rough shape but it had a lot of horsepower and it was a hot rod car. And I sold that car and gave it away from 2,000 bucks but it was rough shape. Now it's my understanding if you get a mint condition Flawless original 69 Z28 a real one you can expect to pay somewhere between 100 and 150 thousand dollars and they're not going to do anything except go up because they were the best at Chevrolet made. The only thing that would compete would be a 427 Copo model Camaro. But those are well over $200,000

Barrett-Jackson has decimated the possibility owning an affordable muscle car for the average person interested in the hobby.

I see a blue one at my gas station. Crazy

Its really a victim of circumstance SCCA rules were no more then 305 cubic inches ,it's just a 283 bored out to the 327 4 inch bore a L79 350 HP 327 will put the hurt on a 302 ,the 302 doesn't make much torque if the 302 had an auto trans it would suck with out a really big stall converter ,in 70 the Z/28 was offered with the 350 \LT1and an auto trans because it made good torque

I’ve had 68s and 69s. A 73, a 78, and a 2000SS. Without any hesitation, I’d say the 69 is by far the best looking of all but they really don’t drive very well despite looking like they should. They really give the impression that they should handle well but they kinda suck. The Chevelle of the same year is night and day a better driving experience.

They are well over 50 years old GM only made so many, and people want them.

I have a 69 Camaro with an R/S body, it's an x44 but I don't know how to code it to understand what this car is as a Camaro, not sure if it's an original R/S body or if someone put a front clip and rear valance to make it look like a real R/S. Does anyone know if a code x44 is a R/S OPTION car ? Because when I bought it about 5 years ago it looks like options as R/S SS, hideaway front clip, rear R/S backup lights, but front lights don't have the mechanical option to open the headlight doors, doesn't have the gauges on the console, doesn't have the handle above the glove department. Any thaughts about knowing a true coding of this car.

I heard its hard to prove cali built camaros as z cars, due to how they stamped the tags! So good luck too proving a lot of them without originating docs

sorry if it was mentioned, but why was that Green Z at Barrett Jackson sold for $275k ...wth!, also a non RS car, was it all orig, all #'s match with JL-8' or what?? thx

Some sweet ones over here in Australia that sre sitting in collectors storage. We got alot of rare US muscle cars during the late 70's and 80's that aren't restored. Hard to pick between one of these 69 z28's or 69 boss mustangs= both are sweet as CaNdY!!

My car on RU-vid "Camaro 68 Z28" from the engine back I have what came from the factory including the muffler and tail pipe. The engine has parts that came from the factory but not the block. The hood and trunk have not been painted. The car is as it came never any restoration, notice the door closing. Do you offer people advice on what to do with cars like this as I am near 80.

I can. I won $1,000 a week for life 2 years ago. After I put my grandkids thru college, I can then think of myself.

You can always build a clone since parts ready are available! 😮

I couldn’t buy my RS/SS again! Insane prices!!

It won’t be like this for ever though. 15 years from now when gas is $10 a gallon who’s going to buy a $200,000 muscle car that gets 5miles to the gallon?

I have a 1969 . I liked the video about the Chevy Camaro.. To bad I can't put a picture of my Camaro on here

My all time dream car

I’d just build a brand new 69 camaro for this kind of money. Couldn’t care less about being original. When everything brand new is identical to a 50 year old car, it’s a no brainer. And I could make the car exactly how I want. Color, engine, interior etc

WHen you got back from Vietnam you bought one with the reelastment bonus!

You got very very lucky 🍀

Depending on the options and how rare it is will drive up the price but you can still get one 100,0000 or less 😏 Barrett Jackson are beef up prices try Mecum better buys 😉

It all because people are willing to pay outrageous prices at an auction and once they pay those outrageous prices it just keeps getting worse none of those cars are really worth those prices but only too the person making the purchase

Yeah 👍 However, look upon a. Copo # 57 of 69. 427 baby.

Learn to fix them ,and not need to be 100% unless using them as investment. I could build a driver 69, LS 6.0 muncie 4 speed for right around 20 25 thousand.

Z28 is a legit collectible car... I'd just want a driver and those types of cars aren't... they've become collector cars that you shine and drool over.

It's because televised car auctions have shown the world how much baby boomers with disposable income, are willing to pay to get something like a pristine condition 1969 Z28. As a result, those who have say a plain jane 69 Camaro, suddenly think theirs is worth just slightly less. And then the guy with a non running 69 Camaro on blocks in the backyard, is somehow worth slightly less than the pain jane guys Camaro.

The camaro in any form has never been a muscle car. Or a sports car. Same as the mustang. Its a pony car and the first one was the Cuda not the mustang. Also the 5.0 tags are untrue. 302 is 4.9 liters not 5. The Z engine is 302.4. A great engine for some applications but due to its high rpm rev and hp not great light to light.

It’s called a “Loan” lol

They hype these cars to get the prices they want and act like they're doing someone a favor. You can buy a lot better cars for the money than they want for these, so don't get drawn in by "look what I got! Rich kids." Even if you could afford to buy one you can't buy the gas that they were meant to run on.

One good thing; the 69 Camaro whether it was a Z28, a SS or a RS was probably the best styled Camaro ever. I could have bought one in a barn 20 years ago for $6900. I offered $6K but no go so I didn't do it. The funny thing is; It's a freakin Detroit built Camaro! Nothing really special and really some pretty mediocre design after it's all said and done, compared to new tech. I have to laugh because I've already owned four 69 Camaros and glad I got that out of my system. People are nuts.

When I was in high school many years ago, I was offered the chance to buy a 1969 Z28 orange with white stripes with a black interior, 4 on the floor clean with low miles for only 1000 dollars! I did not have any money. Talk about wrong place at the wrong time! It had the hide away headlights, and the factory yenko engine. It was sweet!

No shit mine was a tuxedo black z-28 dz 302 cross ram intake 4 spd and 12 bolt posi

Don’t need to. I already have a 68 z.

Supply and demand. Nothing to do with auctions or anything else.

back in the day those rides were everywhere and you could still get one ,not anymore , these auction houses drive up the prices sooo much only the super rich can afford ,its BS

I need to get my 69z out from under the 10 tons of junk that is sitting on top of it in my garage!

Jumk, and the auction breeds dishonesty. Bring it home and discover that its all cobbled together from generic parts and pieces. A sucker is born every minute

The Pontiac firebird is much more beautiful.

Neat car, no doubt. But a low 15-second car in reality…

Boy am I kicking myself in the Ass. In 1978 I sold my 69 Z28. It was a 350 car. Not a 302 car but original engine, trans and rear. Quad Guage center console. I got 1, 200 for it. Unfortunately it was totalled about 3 weeks later

Thanks to barret Jackson everyone who has a rusted out POS in their yard thinks it's worth a million

I Want To Buy One And Let My Girlfriend Drive It!

unfortunate the info in this video is misleading and some is incorrect. buyer beware when following someone who only has surface level info.

Would you consider a Z 11 pace car a Z car?

Was that rally green one at auction Reggie Jackson’s brah?

302s had the 4 bolt mains the 283 and 327s didn't.

Good lord, you sound like a computer talking, had to shut you down.

Not worth as much as a Copo or a Yanko

So, are you saying "Bidenomics" has affected the automotive market? NO! YA DONT SAY!

And wait until the baby boomers pass on and the younger generations could care less about old muscle cars....then what?

Stop

Overrated, the 302 is a lousy street engine. Only big blocks rule on the street.

Ridiculous $

WHY WOULD I WANT THAT POOCH WHEN FOR THE SAME MONEY I COULD HAVE A BOSS 302 WITH THOSE AMAZING CLEVELAND HEADS INSTEAD OF THOSE SHIT CHEVY 202,s which forced chevy to go with a much bigger cam and lifter set up then the Boss that made more hp than the Chevy motor with less camshaft lift and duration and comp ratio.