From the Classifieds: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

Although Ford is generally credited with kicking off the pony car genre with the Ford Mustang in 1964, other US car-makers didn’t take long to jump onto the lucrative bandwagon.

Three years after the Mustang’s launch to a quickly-besotted US public, the pony car formula was adopted by virtually all its major competitors, including General Motors and Chrysler, setting off a boom that still reverberates today.

The idea of a relatively cheap but visually appealing two-door coupe (and convertible) based on a regular sedan struck a chord with American – and eventually international – buyers.

In fact, Ford didn’t quite beat the rest to market – Chrysler’s Valiant-based Plymouth Barracuda pony car was launched two weeks before the similarly-conceived, Falcon-based Mustang.

The long-snout, short-boot Mustang gave the obviously family car-based Plymouth Barracuda a severe whipping in its first year. For every Barracuda sold, Ford moved more than five Mustangs.

The General Motors response to the Mustang – the Pontiac Firebird/Chevrolet Nova-based Chevrolet Camaro – didn’t come until 1966 but, like its Ford peer, it had an undeniable presence.

With a wide range of engines beginning with pedestrian six-cylinders and finishing with a 6.5-litre V8, the GM pony car took no prisoners and started its path to legendary status with the launch of the high-performance Z/28 version later in 1966.

The Z/28’s 4.9-litre V8 engine was not the biggest available to the Camaro fleet, but it was special in that it had been developed for GM’s Trans Am race cars.

The Z/28 badge has been synonymous with Camaro right from the beginning, although it’s not included in the current sixth-generation model line-up that was available in Australia via HSV (which still has some stock left) but has been dropped with the switch to the General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) network.

Here, let’s go back to the very early days of the Z/28 Camaro – specifically to this rare 1969 model on sale through carsales.com.au and said to be the only example currently on sale in Australia.

The Le Mans Blue, white-striped, four-speed manual-transmission Z/28 is tagged at $115,000 and its credentials are mouth-watering.

The owner, who lives in the outer Melbourne suburb of Forest Hill, has gone for broke with a recent $30,000 refurbish which includes, among a multitude of other things, retrimmed front seats, a new centre console, new centre gauges, a new steering wheel and a new tacho.

Under the bonnet, the 302-cubic-inch V8 has a repainted engine block with new Edelbrock alloy heads, a new Holley 680CFM carburettor, new performance cam, upgraded forged pistons, a new harmonic balancer and new alternator, alloy water pump and timing chain kit.

There’s also a new Hurst shift kit, an Exedy heavy-duty clutch and a new bellhousing.

The Z/28 has also been fitted with upgraded brakes, new wheels and tyres – the list goes on…

Although the owner says that it’s not a full matching-numbers Camaro, suggesting that if it was, the price would be considerably higher, there’s little doubt as to the quality of this Z/28.

No surprise that it’s described as “a blast to drive”.

Take a closer look at this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 for sale on carsales