1969 Camaro

March 2, 2010

Just So You Know – A Few Tips to Buy Your Camaro Safely

By David Atkin

Here are a few tips to buy your classic camaro safely, as you know there are a lot of people cloning camaro’s , and when that happens you also find that there are a lot of people that can’t refuse to try and rip you off, just so you don’t become a statistic, I’ll give you a few things to look for.

First of all if you’re looking at a 1969 model, and the car you looking at is an SS, or a Z/28 camaro, easy to tell if it’s real or not, there are some things that most rip off artists will over look during the build of the clone that their going to try to rip you off with.

First let’s say one thing here, there is nothing wrong with a person building a clone of their favorite camaro, unless they decide to sell it, and try to rip of the person buying it, OK now, first of all if the car is a Z/28 camaro and it’s represented as original it must have a 302 CI engine in it.

You can tell this by looking at the rpo code of the car, the rpo code is located on the passenger side of of the engine block on a machined pad in front of the cylinder head, you can’t miss it, if you don’t see one there, it may be covered in grease, just clean it off, and if it’s a genuine 1969 Z/28 it will have the letters DZ in the rpo code.

A 1968, or 1967 would have the letters MO in the rpo code, now the other area on the engine that you should look at is the casting number, because this number cannot be ground off and replaced, the casting number can be found on the transmission mount on the driver side engine block at the back, it’s sometimes hard to see, but it’s a must to look at, it will tell you year, size, and application of the engine.

The casting number will also tell you if the engine is a four bolt main or not, and a 1969 Z/28 should always be a four bolt main, A 1969 Z/28 should also have front sway bars from the factory, and should have a Muncy M21, or M22 transmission, or of course a turbo 350 automatic transmission.

Now for the SS, depending on if the car is an SS 350, 396, or some special build car, it should have all of the above, minus the 302 CI engine, obviously id it’s an SS 350 it will have a 350 CI engine, and if it’s a SS 396 it will have a 396 CI engine, the SS ant the Z/28 both came with a 12 bolt rear end housing, and multi leaf springs, these should be on any car that you purchase,

Both also had the 120 MPH speedometer, and the 8,000 RPM tach, and these should be present in them also, you going to want to check trim tags, and paint codes, check all the numbers, and if they don’t match, don’t second guess, the rpo code, and the casting number should match, the rpo code will also tell you what transmission the car came with from the factory.

Both cars came from the factory with front power disc brakes, and should always have those installed, and a lot of the had the option of a center console, and the console is cool, but it’s not a must to show that the car is an original, if you check these few things, you’ll save yourself a lot of agony in the end.

I’ve been in the automotive business for about 20 or 25 years, I have worked in all facets of the industry, from parts to restoration, all different makes and models, I just want to keep people interested in the old cars because it’s where my heart is.

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1965-66 Ford Mustangs

February 24, 2010

By: Bobby Webb

The Car Designed to be Designed by You

The Mustang was introduced on April 17, 1964.  There was one white hardtop and one red convertible available for each dealer.  I was fortunate enough to purchase the white hardtop from my dealer during my lunch break on April 17th.

It doesn’t invite much argument to say that the Mustang was the most important car of the ‘60s.  The initial 1965 model (there was never a 1964 1/2 as many believed) sold a staggering 680,989 copies and changed forever the young America’s attitude toward Detroit cars, which was just what the Mustang’s patron and creator, Lee Iacocca, had hoped to achieve.

Iacocca, the wizard sales ace who rose from obscurity to a vice presidency and the head of Ford Division within five years after joining Ford, had observed the gap left by the long-departed two-seat Thunderbird.  He was sure the youthful, sporty, inexpensive car – but with four seats – which was peppy and snazzy looking and started at under $2,500 would be a powerful new product.

Ford designers set to work with these product objectives:

  • The car should be as low-priced as possible — to compete in the volume segment of the market.
  • It should seat four passengers, and have front bucket seats to complement the over-all sporty appearance of the car.
  • It should have good trunk space.
  • It should offer both good performance and good economy — meaning a wide range of engine choices.
  • It had to be soundly and exquisitely styled.
  • It had to be versatile and adaptable to a wide variety of tastes.

When they completed their objectives, there were three models: a hardtop, convertible and semi-fastback coupe.  A six-cylinder engine was standard, but there were 260-cid and later 289-cid V-8’s on the option list, along with just about every other accessory one could imagine – a key ingredient in  Mustang’s broad appeal to several different market segments.

Careful use of the option book, for example, could result in a basic-transportation Mustang, a thundering drag racer, or a deceptively nimble sports car. Several choices of transmissions were available; including automatic, four-speed, three-speed, or overdrive. You could even get bench seats instead of the standard bucket seats if you preferred. There was a GT package available for $170.  The GT package included front-disc brakes, full instrumentation, driving lights, and special badge identification.  These many options allowed you to purchase a Mustang for $2,372 or you could spend as much as $4,500 if you desired all the options.

The Mustang has a “look of performance,” characterized by a low profile with sports car proportions. Full-wheel cutouts and the forward-thrusting hood accentuate the Mustang’s sporty design.

The ever lasting love for the Mustang is proof of its unbelievable success.  Even today, 45 years later, the American car buyers still love the Mustang.  I do not see that changing anytime soon.


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