Survivor '69 Coupe with a 6-cylinder and a 3-speed manual

[MO]

Hey MO...it was a joke!!! I like to insert some fun sh** once in awhile. I know there is no way that some fool would convert a V8 car into a 6, but I was nearly fool enough to create my own '69 6-banger from (12337 car) about 15 years ago with an original '69 with a swapped 350, 4-speed (swapped from the original 3-speed), and a really nice blue standard interior.  I had located a donor '69 Nova with a 230 and a 3-on-the-tree column and was hoping to rebuild it to its original drivetrain.  Unfortunately I waited a little too long and the car was sold (maybe it is now a '69 Z...I have that feeling).

Good one! I completely bought it.

[68SixBangerRS]

 

[68SixBangerRS]

With the dash close to being done, I took Charlotte today for an hour-long drive north on SR 315 along the scenic twisting Olentangy River and caught 10 miles of beautiful fall colors, then further up US 23 from Delaware (Ohio, that is) to Marion and back...53 miles of soul-satisfying joy.  She's got a little miss at idle, but still thrilling to drive.  She is quite a little eye-catcher and receives constant attention and approving signs from other drivers.

I cleaned up the U63 radio and polished the dial lens with Simichrome polish and a clean t-shirt rag, plus Qtips for hard-to-reach areas.  I painted the dial needle with Testor's fluorescent orange model paint and it really woke up the radio's front.  The speaker was removed and 52 years of dead gnats and fine dust were cleaned away with an ultra-soft toothbrush.  The speaker cloth has faded from dark gray to medium tan on the sunlight-exposed areas.  Note that the cloth "button" is still in the speaker's center.  The speaker's wiring and connector are in perfect condition, as well as the speaker's metal mounting bracket.

The heater box and controls project is now basically done with just the glovebox and lid, radio and speaker, and ashtray left to be bolted back in.  Thought I would post a couple of pics of the radio and speaker for your enjoyment.  Cars like this just don't come along every day, do they?

[68SixBangerRS]

Roadster, please extend my best regards to Dave and his wife (is she Connie?).  I know he has a '70 Z and is always on NastyZ28.

I must apologize as I could not get a good close-up of the voltage reg.  With my 20 yr-old digital camera I have to use macro to get good close-ups, but the code numbers are nearly impossible to photograph with detail due to their position even with the macro lens.  The VR has the GM #1119515 and is dated "9B".

[68SixBangerRS]

Another thing on the car that needs to be addressed is the very warped dash pad.  After removing it I can see why it has warped...improperly clipped to the dash shell which allowed it to warp from sun and heat exposure while inside the hot metal building in Nebraska where it sat for nearly 4 decades. 

My good friend Scott thinks he can rescue the pad...it would be impossible to replace with anything appearing close to the appearance of the original bright green pad.  I have seen the repop '69 pads...incorrect pebble graining, dull surface finish, completely incorrect looking in my opinion.  I am not a fan of anything reproduction and would much rather recondition and resurrect either one of a car's original parts, or rehab an original part from Ebay.  Scott's plan is to trim back the brittle plastic undershell to which the vinyl upper pad surface is affixed by approximately 1/4", then glue the upper pad to the shell using a clear RTV while using clamps and pieces of thick cardboard to act as a guide for the "new" edge while the RTV cures.  I think it is possible, and it is obviously the only path I am comfortable with.  If it doesn't work perfectly, I'll still be happier than I am with it in its current state, and I'm reasonably certain that it will look more presentable for shows.

Note in the first photo that there is a Sharpie pen pointing to a piece of masking tape that was painted over in the car's green interior paint (the tape is approx. 10" wide...purpose unknown).  Also note another piece of masking tape further to the right on the pad's upper edge.  The last 2 photos show the extent of the pad's severe curvature.

The '69 Camaro's dash pad design is far inferior to the much more robust design used during the first 2 years.

[68SixBangerRS]

Here are a couple of pics of Charlotte's emblems.  She still has her built-with 250 "Mountain Motor" six-banger...approximately half of '69 Camaros with sixes came with the 250 "Turbo-Thrift" instead of the standard 230.  It was a very torquey engine that was dead reliable and provided excellent fuel economy (19-22 mpg is what I get)...a well-regarded engine to this day.  Many don't realize that Vince Piggins pushed heavily to have the 250 Mountain Motor produced so that young girl secretaries would have something to race during their lunch hours.  The extra 15 horsepower could easily push top end of a Camaro so-equipped from 85 to 88 miles per hour ("Marty, the flux capacitor allows the car to go 88 miles per hour!", Professor Emmitt Brown  ).  The cost of the slightly better 250 was a measly 25 bucks...chump change. 

When I bought the car, the engine emblems were in a coffee can in the trunk and just needed a good polish to revive them.  The original owner, Charlotte, did not like the emblems (including the metal dealer trunk emblem) and had them removed when the car was repainted at H&H Chevrolet in Omaha, NE around 1975.  I was able to remove the battery and could see the holes for the right 250 emblem had been mudded...easily removed and I was able to put the emblem right back where it started.

The chromed potmetal Misle Chevrolet dealer trunk emblem had fortunately also been saved and was in a ziplock bag in the glove box (along with the plastic pouch that held the Protect-o-plate and owner's manual, and a treasure trove of interesting receipts, registrations, and matchbooks).  Also in the bag were the original screws that had held the emblem (Home Depot sells essentially the same tiny screws, but they aren't chrome plated).  I have always liked dealer emblems and few have survived to this day because most guys don't (they were fairly common back-in-the-day).  The emblem was beat-up but usable.  I was at a small car show in Sept. where I met a nice guy named Bill from Richwood, OH who owned a burgundy '69 Z28 with 12k original miles (the car had a flat hood and no spoiler and was absolutely stunning).  He liked Charlotte and noted the original Misle emblem...and said he had one that he would give to me (figure the odds!!!).  I met him for breakfast shortly after that and he gave me the spare emblem.  It is in much better shape than the original, and I polished it to nearly new condition with Simichrome fine metal polish and put it on the taillight panel using the original drilled holes which were easily uncovered.  Note that the dealer emblem is slightly off...not quite level.  I decided to put it back on the same as it had been installed on the evening of Sept. 19, 1969.

If you're on here Bill, MANY THANKS!

[MO]

Nicely done!

[68SixBangerRS]

Hey MO...great to hear from you!  I often wonder if anyone is actually reading this garbage I post...after all, it's a SIX-BANGER!  As you can see, I like to throw in a zinger here and there just to keep from falling asleep while creating a post.

I just uncovered another really cool thing to add to Charlotte.  I'm going to KC next weekend to visit my sister and will stop along the way to get this incredibly rare part.  I'll post photos of it when I get back.

Thanks for your comments...much appreciated.

[68SixBangerRS]

One really cool thing about "Charlotte" is that she still had her Protect-o-plate in the glovebox.  It is very difficult to find a 1st Gen Camaro with its original P-O-P (and there are many, many fakes out there...and more coming).  I figured there might be some interest about what a real, actual, non-fake '69 Camaro P-O-P looks like (hey, maybe I should call this posting "How to spot a fake P-O-P").  Note the faded Misle Chevrolet dealer stamp below the metal plate.  Dealer stamps on fakes nearly always look too dark and the fonts look like something from a Staples office supply store (they will make you a custom stamp).  Note the yellowed "GM" tape with true 52 yr-old patina (aka: "age")...difficult to fake (the fake P-O-P's always have really new looking tape and are easy to spot).  Another thing that's easy to spot is that the repop P-O-P booklets look brand new (because, oddly enough, they are), and the paper they're made from isn't the same thickness as the originals.  Another thing is that many fakes don't even have real addresses on them (next time you see a suspected fake, run the address through Google and see if it is a real place..."123 Anyplace Street" is not an actual address  ).  Another dead giveaway on a fake is that they don't have a yellowed glue edge visible (look at the bottom of this POP's metal plate and you will see the glue).  Not all real ones have a portion of the glue strip visible, but most do.  Note the stapled insert telling what maintenance the dealer will not cover.

I was at Hershey a couple of years ago and saw a guy comparing an original P-O-P to one from a '68 Camaro that was for sale.  He said the easiest way to spot a fake is to compare it to an actual one...touché!

[janobyte]

Reply to #82,,,following👍

[Delco115]

I often wonder if anyone is actually reading this garbage I post...after all, it's a SIX-BANGER!

Oh my...... your posts could never be described as garbage !!! They are very informative and extremely enlightening. I, like others I'm sure, are always looking forward to the coming additional offerings of your passion to preserve your Camaro. Don't ever stop, and many, many thanks for all you've provided us up to this point.

My hat is off to you and your dedication to continuing this superbly informative (and often unobserved) side of the history of Camaro. Thank you. 

Chuck

[x66 714]

Like Chuck says....Joe

[67conv6cyl]

I certainly read everyone….and learned a few things!
Keep em coming!

[jwbavalon]

I enjoy your posts especially the early photos.  It is like stepping back in time to a much different era.

[68SixBangerRS]

Wow...thanks to all of you.  I have much more to post on "Charlotte" and I hope to stay on here to comment on others' cars.  I feel welcome on this site...you're a great bunch of guys.

I know Charlotte is "different" and one of 3 (maybe 4) 6-cylinder '69s with a 3-speed manual that are still known to exist...the red convertible, the silver coupe with the flamed front, and maybe a Lemans Blue convertible...that's it.  She is the most un-screwed with 1st Gen Camaro I have ever owned and I want other 1st Gen nuts to see her and all her little bits and pieces.  I know that there is a ton of info already known about 1st Gens and probably little else will be learned in the future as there simply are no more cars to gather data from (other than the odd car like this one).  Our hobby is changing...older guys like me who grew up in the '60s and '70s and saw these cars when they were brand new, either raced them or raced against them (that was me), and basically destroyed their original classic cars to make them into street racers (also me).  Now these cars are approaching priceless status and, as a result, they are seldom street driven.  Young guys can't afford them, and neither can most older guys.  They are drivable works of art...stunningly beautiful from day one...easily the most beautiful design to come out of Detroit in the 1960s.

Over the last 30 years I have owned several 1st Gen Camaros...only one had a V8.  The sixes were rare 30 years ago and always cheaper to buy...about $3-5k in 1990.  I heard a lot from other Camaro guys then that a six-banger wasn't worth putting any money into, and I saw most of the sixes converted into V8s.  I will preserve Charlotte the way she is because she deserves it...