I hadn't really thought about it until I was looking through some digital files this morning that I keep on different topics and was looking for something else and went into my 69 Camaro's file and looked at the NCRS Data Shipping Report and was reminded that my car's Official Production Date was today, Thursday, Feb. 27, 1969. From there it was shipped to Bill White Chevrolet Co. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It didn't travel very far as I suspect it was sold and owned in Oklahoma and through title searches in my home state of Kansas and in Oklahoma back in April of 1987, I have learned of 7 owners, including myself, who bought it on June 26, 1979. However, I do have a gap from it being sold new at White Chevrolet until Feb. 22, 1975, when a Dwight Nail, then of Wynnewood, Oklahoma, is shown to have had title to this car. From there it moved to South Central Kansas, around Wichita, up until today (I live about an hour away from Wichita). Of the 6 owners in Kansas from June 13, 1975, until my purchase in June of 1979, only 1 was a used car dealership. I knew the 2 owners prior to myself, Brad N. & Dallas B, and have talked to the 2nd Kansas owner by phone probably ~30 years ago which didn't give much information. When I bought the car in 1979, the previous owner, Dallas B., was going to make a fake Z/28 with much of the emblems & trim shaved off. He had it in a storage building and I don't think he had paid for that so it was pushed outside which is where I found it. Bare metal, no engine or transmission. All I saw was Disc Brakes, 12 bolt rear end, Tachometer & gauge package, so I assumed it was a Big block car. From what I knew then, which was very little, meant knowing nothing about Trim Tags, X22, single fuel line, and 6000 redline tach, I knew I needed (really just wanted) to buy this car. I worked at the same plant that summer as Dallas B. as I was also attending college. This may seem far too good of a deal today but in 1979 this was just a well-used Camaro that was missing many items and was far from road worthy. I found Dallas B., offered him $200, He discussed with his wife and came back with $600 being acceptable, and I then upped my offer to $300 which they accepted. The next Sunday I rounded up a high school classmate, took my folk's 1970 Impala and a chain and we drug it and its loose parts home about 15 miles. Somewhere prior to my purchase, this Camaro traveled its last mile under its own power.
As the information about 1st generation Camaro's grew from then until now, I came to see that my car was originally constructed in Norwood as an SS 396 with the L78 engine option, Muncie 4 speed, and 3:55 non-posi rear-end, It also is an RS car in Hugger Orange with the standard 711 black interior, console & gauges, Power steering, & AM radio with rear speaker. The car came with a non-original M20 with a 68 build date and no vin. anywhere, steel wheels that I later learned where code CL that came on 1970-72 Camaro SS's. The reason these wheels where on it was because of the owner prior to the one I bought it from, Brad N., was who I also purchased my 1967 Camaro RS from in September 1976. When I was in Grade School in about 1971-1972, our local town guys, like everyone else did, loved to drag main up and down the street countless times and at that time Brad N. had a 1970 Camaro SS/RS in Citrus Green with a 396 L78 motor and M22 transmission in it. I wish I had been old enough to have bought that car from him. Anyhow, that is where the wheels came from and I also, later, acquired the smog pump system from that car. This Camaro was disassembled by myself and all parts are stored as I fairly quickly came to the realization to not through anything away.
I have certainly made errors in the unfinished progress of this restoration. The 2 most regrettable were early on I was going to add every option I could instead of just rebuilding it as it was originally. So I have acquired D80 front & back spoilers, Cowl hood, Tilt wheel, Woodgrain wheel, Power windows, Deluxe interior seats, seat belts, & door panels, Fold down rear seat, all the lighting packages, Blue tooth radio, Rear defrost, 3:73 gears & posi unit, Darrel Shepherd built M22, Transistor ignition set up, and countless other parts acquired from local Chevy dealerships in my wife and I's BC days (Before Children). Those ideas have been changed and discarded as I know want to keep it as close to as original as constructed. Another regretful mistake was purchasing new GM quarters and having them installed as the originals were not bad at all. But then it was just the cool thing to do then to put on new sheet metal. Another mistake was taking the bare body to someone with a sandblast operation. When finished, they told me someone must have had this car walked on and the dents filled with putty as both the original SS hood and trunk lid have been warped and I'm not sure if that can be brought back or not. Obviously, they were just covering for themselves as they used too much pressure and or time on those panels and they distorted them themselves. Not being very smart and having any knowledge or concern in those days, I did not try to protect the Trim Tag and so it was also pitted although certainly readable.
I have acquired many correct and original GM parts for this car that I have to confess, are worth more than the garage I store them in.
There are a lot more sentences I could write but this has gotten far too long, to begin with, so I'll stop here.
Happy Birthday to my 1969 Camaro
Loren
