The story of this car has been passed around Tucson for many years. The story turned out to be real. I'm probably the only one who didn't actually know where this car was located. I heard it was on the south side & then I heard that it was on the east side. Somebody was in the right place at the right time with the right amount of cash & it wasn't me. The car has been sitting outside all these year & the Az sun has taken it's normal toll. The car is a 09A 1968 built car so some things are different. The born with engine & trans were still with the car. The new owner just wants to make it alive again, but leave the car as is. Enjoy :)
Joe
Great way to create suspense and anticipation Joe! I, for one, am looking forward to the pics!
picture
Pinstriped fenders...Joe
Narrow rear spoiler original to this car...Joe
I moved the thread to this section.
Lots of good information will be gained from this car.
D96 striping with Z28 is quite unusual. Bill can expand on that.
This is a significant find for a number of reasons.
Production date
The VIN indicates the car was final assembled at Norwood on or about September 5, 1968. That makes it one of the earliest known '69 Z/28s. There are only 3 known earlier Z/28s at Norwood; I do not include N500003, which was a Pilot build.
Originality
Of the relatively small number of surviving early production cars built at either plant, few remain in original condition. Fewer still, are Z/28-RS. Based on a few other known original finds over many years, the RS and Z/28 grille emblems are original to the car.
The D96 fender striping was to be included with RS/Style Trim but subtlety dropped from Z/28 in an update to the Showroom Album, dated September 12, 1968:
"FENDER STRIPING (RPO D96, Body-side accent stripe) included with Rally-Sport and Style Trim Group. Not available with Sport Striping (SS or RPO D90). Available in combination with Front Accent Striping (RPO DX1) or with RPO Z28."
I interpret this to indicate is D96 was now optional with Z/28 or DX1 and Z21/Z22, no longer included.
The car also retains its original bright trimmed directional lenses.
Engine
The engine was built August 28, 1968. The code is on the pad as usual and matches up with other August '68 stampings. What is unusual is the con VIN stamping is on the side of the block by the oil filter. This is rare but consistent with other very early production cars built at both plants.
We are fortunate to have Joe involved with the preservation of the car. He has noted it retains its original negative battery cable, grounded at the core support. No telling what other surprises may be in store.
Vintage photo of an early production VN Z/28-RS.
Very cool find, Joe. How odd to see the RS and Z grille emblems together.
Joe does the Wiper arms have black or white spray on them?
Wiper arms were installed after the cowl was painted, so there should be no overspray on them.
Wiper area.....Joe
This photo appeared on the cover of the June, 1969 Sports Car Graphic. It was an early production VN Z/28 also featured in the January 1969 Hot Rod and March 1969 Popular Hot Rodding.
The Petersen Archives has many photos of the car; this is the only one that shows it was built with two grille emblems. Maybe Chevy asked them to remove it?
Quote from: x66 714 on December 18, 2023, 08:28:06 PM
Wiper area.....Joe
That's not the first car I have seen that had the wiper transmission with white sprayed over the black.
I spy Fiber Optics!
Quote from: cook_dw on December 19, 2023, 10:11:50 AM
Quote from: x66 714 on December 18, 2023, 08:28:06 PM
Wiper area.....Joe
That's not the first car I have seen that had the wiper transmission with white sprayed over the black.
It Does make me wonder if the cars with the Black-Wiper transmission levers oversprayed with Stripe color were part of a repair action and not normally processes.
Quote from: william on December 19, 2023, 08:18:13 AM
This photo appeared on the cover of the June, 1969 Sports Car Graphic. It was an early production VN Z/28 also featured in the January 1969 Hot Rod and March 1969 Popular Hot Rodding.
The Petersen Archives has many photos of the car; this is the only one that shows it was built with two grille emblems. Maybe Chevy asked them to remove it?
Now I know why my wiper transmission has white paint on it.
I'm supposed to go back & see if the car has some over spray in some certain areas. That will be next week....Joe
Could you see about getting a pic of the underside of the trunk lid? Especially near the area under the emblem?
Will this work or do you need more detail?....Joe
Thanks for posting that, it has what I wanted to see. Were you able to tell the date code at the front center underside (bottom center if looking at the pic shown).
I'll look the next time I see it. William wants me to check out some things also.....Joe
I always wondered why the RS emblem was added to this Baldwin Motion '69 Z because I thought it looked stupid with both on there. I guess it may have been on there from new and they just moved it up for unknown reasons.
Quote from: cook_dw on December 19, 2023, 10:11:50 AM
Quote from: x66 714 on December 18, 2023, 08:28:06 PM
Wiper area.....Joe
That's not the first car I have seen that had the wiper transmission with white sprayed over the black.
Same here. It warrants further research.
JohnZ said that the linkage was installed later, after paint. Most that I've seen do not have stripe paint on them.
Plant sequencing difference, repair, etc - there was something that caused this to vary.
For clarity I was not saying ALL white stripped Z's had white (or orange on the Z10/11 cars) overspray on the wiper transmissions but that I had seen it previously on other examples from original paint cars. I fully expect it to have been a internal repair, order change or a goof type of scenario.
I have never seen original examples where the splined stubs for the wipers and the associated mounting screws for those had stripe color on them so I agree it was mounted after the cowl was painted. The long horizontal part of the linkage is the one that occasionally has some stripe color paint on it where you can see it through the cowl vent. Whether that is due to "internal repair" or some other reason, I don't know. For guys who have their car judged, I don't want that little splash of stripe color to be considered wrong because it did legitimately happen on occasion.
Quote from: Jon Mello on January 02, 2024, 07:52:51 PM
I have never seen original examples where the splined stubs for the wipers and the associated mounting screws for those had stripe color on them so I agree it was mounted after the cowl was painted. The long horizontal part of the linkage is the one that occasionally has some stripe color paint on it where you can see it through the cowl vent. Whether that is due to "internal repair" or some other reason, I don't know. For guys who have their car judged, I don't want that little splash of stripe color to be considered wrong because it did legitimately happen on occasion.
Jon, I am in 100% agreement with your statement.
The wiper transmission was obviously over sprayed white prior to installation on the Chevy side. I think it would have been a simple matter to maintain a small inventory of those in production. Maybe painted in enamel in the wheel production area?
Certainly possible William. For the record, I have seen it both on NOR and LOS cars.
Cool car. Hope to see more pics of it.
More pics, more pics, more pics! 😁
T/S lens with trim.....Joe
Original booster & 309 US master cyl. Also has original radiator. Note, original spring ring cable...Joe
Some body shots....Joe
More....Joe
Engine is the born with....Joe
More engine...Joe
Pack rat nest in the pan. Dist still with car. Sorry about the shadow...Joe
Thanks!
Amazing find. Good to know they are still some out there.
Curious about the block pad....I thought those were masked to not hide the stamping with paint or is that only when the VIN is on the pad?
I suspect the engine pad got that paint after it left the vehicle assembly plant.
Somewhere in it's life somebody has been inside the engine. It was still standard but has one replacement piston & non GM bearings. Also, the cam bearings were installed incorrectly. Sadly, nothing remained standard...Joe
Quote from: bcmiller on December 30, 2023, 10:04:44 AM
Thanks for posting that, it has what I wanted to see. Were you able to tell the date code at the front center underside (bottom center if looking at the pic shown).
Date code on the lid was T31.....Joe