While 1967 had been a toe-in-the-water exercise for Chevrolet with the Z28 with only 602 cars rolling off the production line, 1968 saw the Z28 really start to hit its stride. With 7,199 cars being built, people had realized that the Z28 was a pretty good thing. Barn Finder Patrick S spotted this extremely original Z28 for us, so thank you for that Patrick. If an original survivor is what you are after, then this one is located in East Aurora, New York, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set the opening bid for the Camaro at $55,000, and while there hasn’t been any action up to this point, there are 46 people who are watching the listing.
Human beings are very visual creatures. You can describe a classic car in great detail, but nothing hooks us quite like some really good pictures. That’s where the seller falls down because the pictures that he supplies for such a desirable car aren’t the best. However, they do tend to show a clean car that is free of any obvious rust issues. The paint is said to be original, except for an area on the trunk lid that has undergone a repaint at some point. The chrome and trim also look good, and there doesn’t appear to be any problems with the glass. As near as we can tell then, this Z28 does appear to be a good one that is ready to be driven and enjoyed.
The blue interior of this Camaro looks to also be in very nice condition. Apart from the fact that the carpet might be beginning to show its age a bit, there really isn’t a lot to criticize about it. It’s a bit hard to tell from the photo, but it does look like that is a Sun Tach attached to the steering column. Given the fact that a tachometer wasn’t a compulsory part of the Z28 package until 1969, this may have been an aftermarket addition. Overall, the impression is one of this Camaro being quite a nice survivor.
Being a Z28, under the hood is the 302ci V8 engine, which is backed by a Muncie M21 transmission, while the rear end is a 12-bolt Posi. This is a full numbers-matching car from one end to the other, and the owner emphasizes that the engine has never been out of the car for any reason. The owner also states that the Z28 runs and drives really nicely. With a claimed (and conservative) 290hp on tap, the Z28 was a potent performer. There was also plenty of scope to increase performance under racing conditions, and when these were seeing ongoing active competition use, it wasn’t unheard of for a ’68 Z28 to be pumping out 400hp.
Some people may look at the opening bid for the Z28 and draw in a sharp breath. I understand this because $55,000 is a fair amount of money. The fact is though that this sort of price is well and truly in the ballpark for an original 1968 Camaro Z28. If this is as good and original as the owner indicates, then the bidding could go quite a bit higher than that.
I know this is not going to be popular, but I liked the Camaros that had sixes and three speeds. Simple, reliable, great on gas, low insurance, easy to work on. Just my opinion. The big question, are there any left like that? In my day, I saw plenty of them. Now I bet they are all cloned to look like this, so sad.
I hear ya. In HS, I had a ’69 Hugger Orange Coupe with white vinyl roof, 6 cylinder, 4 speed, white interior. It was a very balanced car and drove very well. Friends with V8’s were always impressed with how well it drove. But now I have a Z/28…and that engine is a hoot to spin up to 7,000 RPM….
Not necessarily cloned, but hot rodded. Six cylinder cars were an inexpensive way to purchase an early Camaro. Many buyers were more than happy to save a few dollars since they were never going to use whatever engine was in the car at the time of purchase. It made sense to go after the least desirable and cheapest cars that were for sale.
Steve R
Right there with you. While I love the Z/28 for the look and sound of the solid lifters i like the idea of cruising down the road. No longer any need for hot rodding.
It is popular with me Mr. Packard. I don’t like cloning, I like original. 235s to 427s
The 6’s are good on gas on the highway, but oddly not so much around town, tho the ridiculous intake & exhaust manifolds don’t help. lol
Imagine how many 1st gen RS’s are left with 6 cylinders – not that they are worth more as is(or desireable with the 6), than if u swap in a v8.
& i have NEVER seen a ’69 RS with the 230 or 250 six cyl.
I wonder if they made any ’70-3 RS’s with the 250 6 cyl. Nah. lol
Looks to be worth every penny.
Wow worth every penny,the real mccoy,just keep them coming till i can afford one
Interesting. Still retains the Body Broadcast Copy (aka build sheet). Pretty rare to see that bit of documentation in a ’68. Very cool car and amazingly original! Should sell for more than $55K…
Quite unusual to see one with the A.I.R smog pump and manifolds still intact.
One more thing about the smog pump. They were sold in the California market to meet new emission regs. If this one was sold new in Illinois, then I guess it was moved/traded from a dealer in California?
They started in ’66 in California, the other states started in ’68. I worked for a dealership in Columbus, OH, in ’68, most stick cars had them, some autos didn’t. My friend’s ’68 Camaro 375-396 had one, that was the first thing we took off…
The ’67 Z/28’s sold in California had the pump, while the rest of the US did not require it yet… All ’68’s sold did have the air pump.
Nice low option Z/28! Would love to own it, even still has the air pump underhood!
If someone has the $$ it looks like a great car to add to someone portfolio. I don’t expect they’ll drive it a lot but hopefully it will be on the road.
In years gone by I bought and sold 21 ‘67 thru ‘69 Camaros; back then they were cheap! Some were nice, some were wrecked and some had blown engines. I agree with 36 Packard the “plain Jane” 6 cylinders were great cars-I had a ‘68 that I drove for sometime; I spent less money on that car than any car I ever owned! For what it’s worth, I sold a driver ‘68 Z-28 with a ‘69 302 Z engine for $2500. If only I could have seen the future!!
Where is the not optional “has to be there for homologation to run in Trans Am” rear spoiler?
It was not standard equipment.
Steve R
I know that the rear or front were optional for 67 but not sure for the 68-69 models. I know the cowl hood became an option on all camaros for 69.
Well to run in Trans Am (the whole point of the Z/28 package) any special parts had to be homologated and be on the street version, some times even if they were in the trunk.
The ZL/2 “Special Ducted Hood” was first available on the ’69 Z/28,SS,Indy Pace Cars and COPO ZL/1 models. ZL/2 hoods were also offered in fiberglass “over the parts counter” for the rare cross-ram manifold setup.
Check with Stefano at Nickey to confirm provenance. If it’s a Nickey Z, the value just went up another 10-25%. A Nickey Z will easily pull six figures. Especially one that is running and has the original drive train. You can throw in Dick Harrell, Bill Thomas, and Mr. Swiatek, and you have the connection to the Yenko’s, the Baldwin Motion cars and the Granatelli brothers racers. Lotsa cash now…
It almost seems kinda strange to see one of these early Z’s unmolested, all original, not even a set of headers. Mouse motor on steroids under the hood and racy good looks almost all the early Z’s I can remember were built street machines…and driven as such.
I wonder how many original 302’s are actually out there now, the very high winding nature seems like a time bomb waiting to happen. Sweet machine!
What’s that silver disc thingy over the brake pedal (yay it’s got a clutch!). Disc brake badge?
Yep the Z’s had front discs as part of the package.
Always nice to see something original…and yes if money was not important and the market value of this car not in the stratosphere…I’d love to have it.
Somehow.and I know this sounds dumb, but I’ll never get used to cars I grew up with selling for the price of a house…….albeit in this case…..a house in 1978 :)
Methinks it would be a rather large house…
The 302 in these cars were bad a$&!! Another gem coming out of the woodwork!!!
I think it is a $100,000 car, and no, I can’t afford it.
I always prefer an original car like this one!……and the 6 cylinder Camaro’s were actually great driving good handling cars also the 6 cylinder motors held up unbelievably well…….maybe because nobody was thrashing them!
Many of the I-6s were just plain bulletproof. Chrysler Slant 6, the Big Sixes of GM and Ford, Volvo, etc. Lots of torque and low maintenance.
They did go to the “hat” center cap in 1968 correct ? And a Z/28 with A/C I guess was an option ? Nice to see the bumper guards on the back but no Z/28 badge….not an expert by any means….
A/C was not an option on ‘67-69 Z28’s. This was a very radical engine with solid lifters. A buddy of mine had a 1969 Z28 RS in high school. Very high strung in city traffic, but a real blast to wind out through the gears.
I don’t remember my 1969 Z being “high-strung” in city traffic and mine was a daily driver back in 1972. I do remember all hell breaking loose when the tach needle approached the red zone! What a sound that engine made!
The 327 tweek was genius short stroke high revvin bad ass. The couple of years around this time because of emission controls were pretty much the peak of the end of muscle cars for me.
This is watershed car to me.
Killer, love to own it.
The car is located south of Buffalo in East Aurora NY. I think there is a major 1st gen Camaro parts provider located in that same area. I wonder if there is a relationship between car and business owner?
it’s Camaro specialties, they have been selling parts and restoring Camaros for years
Thanks. I will have to check them out next time I am in the BFLO area.
Did this car ever sell