The Supercar Registry - NorCam (Graeme Browne's) Lemans Blue 1969 Z/28

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- - NorCam (Graeme Browne's) Lemans Blue 1969 Z/28 (https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=157610)

NorCam (Graeme Browne's) Lemans Blue 1969 Z/28

Bruce,

Submission for a member's ride with a 69 Camaro Z/28 that I recently acquired

In the summer of 2019 was looking for another Camaro and had an ad running in the Cars Wanted Classifieds when I was contacted by Jeff Boone. (Whom I had dealt with a few times before) Jeff had just picked up a low mileage 3 owner Z/28 that he was preparing to sell and we got to talking about it in early September. It didn't take long to see just how nice this car was and Jeff and I managed to put together a deal on the car. The car didn't have a lot for documents other than its owner history, a few titles and an odometer statement from the second owner dating back to 1990. Jeff pulled an NCRS report but as it turns out, this was one of the late cars that didn't have any history on the dealer it was assigned to. Having back traced the owners and visiting with a couple of them, here's what was learned about the car.

The car itself was bought new in the Carolina's by original owner Woodrow Wilson Judge. It was traded in about a year later (1970) to Freddie's Performance Cars in Carlisle PA. Having 9000 miles on the odometer, the car was then bought by its second owner William A. Miller who traded in his 65 Impala SS to acquire the Z/28 from Freddie's. He drove the car and put about 35,000 miles on it over 20 years, and shared a story with Jeff Boone about driving the car from Pennsylvania to Daytona for the races back in 71/72. He owned the car up until 1990 and sold it for $12,000 at the time with 44,746 showing on the clock. The third owner was Wayne Harmon of Pennsylvania who owned the car until his passing in 2014 where the car then transferred ownership to his brother Dennis Harmon of PA.

Wayne had taken really good care of the car while only putting 4122 miles on it over the 24 years he owned it. From looking at old pictures (insert), it appears he also owned a Nova SS and Chevelle SS and really loved his GM cars. It was reported that Wayne had struck a deer with the car in the mid 90's and had the right front fender repaired by Tim Leiphart who owns Hot Rods and Restorations in PA. At that time, Tim had repainted the entire car and really did a great job with the repaint and the stripes. Upon the car being willed to Wayne's brother in 2014, it sat around while his brother Dennis had some routine maintenance performed prior to selling the car in August of 2019. Those routine repairs included having new front springs and shocks installed by a local performance shop near Carlisle, and he also had the original 302 gone through after it sat for many years. A replacement water pump and radiator were installed, the wiper motor was changed out and most of the original parts were kept with the car including the original radiator w/ UH tag, front springs and the wiper motor. In fact, the front springs were not in terrible shape and still have their factory paper tags intact so I may put those back on the car. The original radiator has since been re-cored, and Jeff Boone also installed a nicely restored DZ4053 carb onto the DZ302. Over the winter months, I plan on correcting a few other things like a service dated water pump that was installed, and hanging new exhaust under the car.

Since receiving the car and completely going through it, I was delighted to find it still wears its original front brake calipers, original rotors and has the 1177 rear drums which were all within mfg. spec. The original engine runs great, the factory M20 transmission shifts smoothly, and the rear BU diff runs nice and quiet. The car still wears a matching set of Sept dated YH wheels, and Jeff set the car up with some Goodyear wide treads before the sale was completed. I drove the car after it arrived today and aside from the bias ply tires, it one terrific old muscle car with a ton of originality throughout. My plans are to clean the underside and suspension and leave it much as it appears today. I will correct any irregularities in the serviced belts and hoses and will check all the fasteners while installing a few other odds and ends that are missing under the hood (lift brackets, original fasteners and such). A really great car that has a ton of things going for it, and one that is super clean and rust free throughout.

I love the fact the car wears all of its original panels, has all factory original floors, a super clean original interior and one of the cleanest firewalls I have seen in years. The original trunk paint & factory spare are intact, and the original PTB firewall stamps are clear and visible on both sides. A great specimen that is pretty much unmolested other than 1 repaint and a few service items. Think I'll be keeping this one for many years to come. Special thanks to Jeff Boone.

Graeme Browne
Calgary, AB

Thank you for the thread and for posting the pictures Bruce. You do a great job with these threads and your contributions are very much appreciated. :youguysrock:

I plan on going through the car again today to identify all the bolt head markings and check further to see if I need to address anything other than what was noted above. Plans are to keep it mostly original and dress it with a few day 2 bolt on items including some vintage Cragar headers, a restored set of vintage Lakewood traction bars, and a set of Torque Thrusts with some Wide Oval Radials. The original YH wheels and tires will be stored away as will the original smog system and the factory exhaust manifolds. The car is a true gem, but will need some cleaning and detailing of the lower body and suspension where previous owners attempted to dress things to a limited degree. I don't think it will take much to revive it back towards being an all factory original car below the body lines and I will post more pictures of the car as I progress.

As an aside, a set of NOS door edge guards and NOS wheel opening moldings were added to the car by the third owners brother. Those trim parts will stay intact as I like the exterior trim as presented on the car.

I'm now attempting to track down the original owner and I have an associate in the US doing some title search work to see if the history of the cars first sale or original title exists as reported to me. The cars integrity truly speaks for itself and I was pleasantly surprised to see just how much of it remains original and untouched. With winter knocking on the door now, I have lots of time to go through the car and discover more about it. I will share things as I go through the process.

Cheers...Graeme

Great car GB. Booney is a good dude!

Quote:

Originally Posted by [email protected] (Post 1467667)

Great car GB. Booney is a good dude!

X2 For Graeme and Jeff. Oh, and the Z of course!

Dave
67 Nova Boy

Congratulations! Great car and thanks for sharing the detailed history of this fantastic car.:beers:

very nice 69 z28 Graeme.

Would you care to clean off the diff stamp a little further to the left of the BU. Curious if it has a peened “C”. Thanks & congrats.

Wow great Camaro!!!

I can’t wait to see the detailing on this great canvas!!

Ryan W31

WOW!!! looks like a Keeper ?!?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCam (Post 1467666)

I'm now attempting to track down the original owner and I have an associate in the US doing some title search work to see if the history of the cars first sale or original title exists as reported to me.
Cheers...Graeme

The black stripes on Lemans blue looks fantastic ! Do you know if this originally sold in North Carolina ?

:biggthumpup:

Looks great Graeme! Keep us posted!

Beautiful survivor Graeme! Super impressed.
Buddy

Great find. Love a survivor! Look forward to following along.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlw68 (Post 1467680)

The black stripes on Lemans blue looks fantastic ! Do you know if this originally sold in North Carolina ?

:biggthumpup:

Hello Rob,

It's not known what dealer it came out of originally, but it was reported to be a North Carolina car? The NCRS report came back with no dealer information available for this VIN. I also checked with GM Vintage Canada which came back as negative. Ownership from 1970 onwards was Pennsylvania based with all subsequent owners known.

Of course I'd love to learn more about where the car was originally sold and titled. I'm trying to look into that now and have another person digging as well. Do you know or recognize the car from somewhere?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrumpyJeff (Post 1467679)

WOW!!! looks like a Keeper ?!?!

LOL...Like I ever keep anything. :no:

We'll see how long I can hang onto this one. As much as I love these cars and the hunt, I've always enjoyed being a seller as well. I call it a Compulsive "Non Possessive" Disorder.

I'm really trying though. Maybe this one will become a keeper? :dunno:

Congrats! what a great car. I am not a fan of vinyl tops, but I have to say, with your color combo it looks great.

Beautiful Z.

Do you happen to know the website address for searching GM of Canada records, or is that something that you have to send in to the regular GM VIN search?

Quote:

Originally Posted by markinnaples (Post 1467704)

Beautiful Z.

Do you happen to know the website address for searching GM of Canada records, or is that something that you have to send in to the regular GM VIN search?

Mark...it's Vintage Vehicle Services in Oshawa Ontario, They have the microfiche records for all Canadian sold cars and Canadian Export cars. If you think you have a CDN car you can request a search. If it's a Canadian car they will have docs and charge a fee for this service. If your car is US made and it doesn't return any data, the fee is $16.95 for the search. I only checked this car because the NCRS came up empty and it was worth a shot in case it was originally a Canadian car. It wasn't but I didn't expect it would be. Here's a link to their website where everything is well explained.

https://www.vintagevehicleservices.com/

I went through a few things on the car today and unpacked some of the original parts that came in the trunk. First off is the smog system. Everything is in great shape and the pump is dated October 20 (293rd Day) as per the factory stamp. It has the correct 3932458DA deep groove pulley with the raised stamp outlined as per factory. Smog rails are original and the diverter retains the original GF ink stamp on it. Interestingly, it also has the wire reinforcement on it. Weird for a late date is it not?

I think the ribbed hoses are both original and the Wittek tower clamps look original, but I have not cleaned them to check the dates as of yet. I'm thinking the check valves are also correct but need to look for the part numbers when I get a chance to clean them up with some soap and water. It also has the correct elbow and all of the correct RBW bolts intact as well. I'll need to find original mounting brackets for this kit and once cleaned, I'll put it away with the original smog manifolds for future recall and use if or when needed. All in all some nice original parts that came with the car.

https://i.ibb.co/PY3GCpW/IMG-6997.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/JkrxVqD/IMG-7010.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/Xs4YF99/IMG-6991.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/QvrddLD/IMG-6992.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/jhND3fx/IMG-6993.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/4JfmcKs/IMG-6995.jpg

I thought the Diverter ink stamp was changed to a sticker on the late cars...��*♂️
I could be wrong but my 9E car had the sticker instead of the ink Graeme..

Here's a shot of the original radiator that came with the car. Jeff had sent it out to be re-cored before he shipped the car and then packed it away within the trunk. It got the typical rad shop paint job even when he asked for them not to paint it, so I'll strip the tanks and paint it correctly before installing it over the winter months. The UH tag was kept aside so it didn't get lost and I'll be sure to snag some better pictures as it goes back into the car real soon. At the same time, I'll install a rebuilt 692 water pump which will correct 2 of the things I need to do in the engine bay. The CB tank is also dated J for October.

https://i.ibb.co/4spDSc6/019e.jpg

I snuck my camera in behind the radiator today to check out the front of the clutch fan. I can only tell you I was real happy to find it was as clean as the rest of the car and clearly showed the original CV ink stamps and dating from Eaton. This will be gently preserved when the radiator and water pump go back into the car. August 21 of 1969 dating.

https://i.ibb.co/z58WTsQ/IMG-7039.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/z20PmLj/IMG-7040.jpg

Took some pictures of the date codes on the LOF issued glass today as well. All original glass is intact with date codes matching up nicely. The front windshield and all side glass is dated YV (October) while the back glass is dated AV (September). Nice to see it's all original and in great shape with no scratches to be seen. Another indication that this car was very well cared for.

https://i.ibb.co/hH4Kw9z/IMG-7005.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/yX4FVmm/IMG-7002.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/JsQDxbb/IMG-7004.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/q5CStrr/IMG-7003.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike1971 (Post 1467713)

I thought the Diverter ink stamp was changed to a sticker on the late cars...��*♂️
I could be wrong but my 9E car had the sticker instead of the ink Graeme..

I'm not sure when or how the dates and GF stamping vs decal changed Mike. Being a late car built in the first week of November of 69, I have been told by multiple sources that a lot of parts were scavenged from everywhere to get the cars completed prior to the plant retooling for the second generation. The pump was dated 293'rd day, and perhaps this was an early diverter valve that was pulled from older stock for use on a late car. I believe the reinforcing wire was an early thing was it not?

Maybe I'll check with Bill Hodel to see what he has to offer. I need to get some brackets and the smog tubes anyways so I will ask him this week?

I agree Graeme Bill is top notch on the Smog world!.��

Lovely.............just lovely!

I'm looking forward to see how "detail it"

Great find Graeme!

Thanks Dave...

I'm enjoying this one while discovering things I never knew about late built cars.

Checked out the wheels, trim rings and derby covers yesterday. Everything appears to be factory issue with original 4 clip 3901708 trim rings and factory 3925805 dual flute derby caps. The wheels are original 15" x 7" rallies with K-1-9 9 9 YH dates from Kelsey Hayes. Hard to see behind the valve stem in this shot and will have to verify if there's another digit such as a 1 under the leading edge of the valve stem? To this point it looks like the 9th day of September unless there's another number at the leading edge of the hole? Insides of the wheels are a little crusty (survivor state) and have never been restored by the looks of things. All lug nuts have the 3 triangle markings on them as well. Once I mount some driver wheels, these will be stored away. The spare in the trunk matches the others and has an original Sports Car 200 spare tire on it. Jeff Boone added the wide tread F70 tires to the car before it was shipped. He had a set of these sitting around and while they are not the correct E70's, they will do since they are coming off to be stored anyways.

Thanks for adding these to the car Boonie. :biggthumpup:

https://i.ibb.co/S00Js5t/IMG-7025.jpg
Original factory issue trim rings and derby caps.

https://i.ibb.co/CJWMCKV/IMG-7022.jpg
Might be a 1 hiding under that valve stem. Will check later.

https://i.ibb.co/3Bk4h9q/IMG-7024.jpg
Dual fluted derby cap as issued by factory.

https://i.ibb.co/WszcT9k/IMG-6905.jpg
Wheels have not been restored by looks of the inside.

https://i.ibb.co/J3JQTvH/013c.jpg
Original spare tire intact.

Not knowing a lot about the engine other than a report of it being checked out recently by a PA machine shop, I took a peek inside the covers to see what the dates were on the cylinder heads. They are in fact a late set of 186 heads with October 1st casting dates and have not being converted or altered with screw in studs or guide plates. I found the rockers to have M markings on them which was odd, and immediately saw that the covers also had drippers? The M markings are long slot rockers for big blocks are they not? The covers then had me wondering if this was a late change up due to it being a late car as these would be the same as 1970 covers. Anyone in the know what other late cars came with? In the coming week, I will try and learn more about the motor having been gone through to see if the bore is standard or if the rings / bearings were done while it was checked. At this point I am expecting the short block is purely stock with exception of the cam which was reportedly changed to a Comp 3849346 solid lifter replacement cam #12-107-3. Sounds a little docile to me but cam specs are pretty much spot on with the original 30/30. Runs out pretty good from the first few test miles put on the car this week. Not exactly the bottom of the page grinds that I am used to...but it will have to do as I struggle to keep with something stock. More on the engine as it's discovered.

https://i.ibb.co/DQp67P4/IMG-7032.jpg
The passenger side showing stock manifolds and spark plug shields. Manifold bolts appear incorrect. (bin bolts)

https://i.ibb.co/Wpwm57M/IMG-7026.jpg
Correct 186 Camel bump heads dated J 1 9 (October 1st)

https://i.ibb.co/WvtWQ3G/IMG-7027.jpg
Long slot rockers with M markings? Thought this was odd...big block rockers?

https://i.ibb.co/Dr5YNbY/IMG-7028.jpg
Motor has 474207/474208 covers with drippers? They look original but...

https://i.ibb.co/b3dvgMq/IMG-7029.jpg
Retains original wire separators with correct M marking bolts.

December 15th Addition: I have since learned that the above valve covers are in fact 80's dated replacements, however it has been interesting to learn that more than a few Nov built survivor cars have been found to have come with 70 style dripper covers. I may be changing these covers out to an earlier set of 3965543 & 3965544 covers at some point. I have also been in further contact with the engine builder who told me the rockers are Manley long slot rockers that were added when the engine was rebuilt a few years ago. They are claimed as being a suitable replacement and are marked with an M.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cook_dw (Post 1467677)

Would you care to clean off the diff stamp a little further to the left of the BU. Curious if it has a peened “C”. Thanks & congrats.

Checked out the diff this morning and removed a little more paint toward the strap and there was no C to be found. There are some marks that look like it could of been peened over from the factory. Is this where the C was sometimes found on late differential housings?

https://i.ibb.co/PjkkKg1/IMG-7056.jpg
BU Stamp dated October 28th. Housing is clean with no rust or pitting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCam (Post 1467707)

Thanks so much. I may give it a shot, appreciate it. Again, just a beautiful Z.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCam (Post 1467759)

I found the rockers to have M markings on them which was odd, and immediately saw that the covers also had drippers? The M markings are long slot rockers for big blocks are they not?

Big block long slot rockers were marked with a L or H.

Very nice car that will clean up nicely, they are still out there !

Just got off the phone with the engine builder who went through the motor about 5 years ago. I learned an interesting story about Wayne Harmon's former girlfriend in that call today. Apparently she decided to run a bunch sugar though his cars and this engine got the same treatment. Wayne pulled the motor out of the car to protect the DZ block and installed an LT-1 into the car to serve as his driver. He had the 302 on a run stand in his shop and would run it from time to time. I guess she nailed his cars, his truck and this engine which was run not knowing she had hit the stands fuel tank with sugar as well. It was brought to the machine shop as a complete running long block that needed to be gone through because of the sugar that was run through it (very nasty woman). :hmmm:

You can see from the pictures that the sugar had gummed up and solidified in the lifter valley as well as around the heads. The machinist took it all apart to hot wash and clean the block and heads thoroughly before measuring everything out on the rotating assembly. It had all original internals and I am told that once it was cleaned, it received new rings, bearings, a camshaft and a timing chain before going back together as standard bore motor. He also recalled doing valve seals on the heads and has sent me some pictures of it as it was coming apart.

Looks like it had O rocker arms when it came to him but they were changed at some point after that? He thinks he might be able to dig out the invoice for the work he performed on the motor and may be sending that to me when he has time. Today, I also grabbed a couple pictures of the DZ carburetor that Jeff Boone sent out to be restored for the car prior to selling it to me. Carb is dated 2nd week of October 69 and is very nicely restored. Just need to find an original choke rod as that went missing at some point. Oh yeah, and a set of O rocker arms. lol

https://i.ibb.co/bg6zRHW/IMG-0334.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/MDhZvrJ/IMG-0383.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/6vDZqcy/IMG-0388-1.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/DMcp1xw/IMG-0384.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/XVLvR9Z/IMG-0387.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/jWRw6nm/IMG-7031.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/grLQ1c7/IMG-7030.jpg

Really fun reading the story as it happens! Thanks for sharing and I admire your tenacity!

I'm going to get a beer and be right back............. so I can watch this thread.

I know right...

I just went out to check the trunk and make sure there were no boiled bunnies in there anywhere. Took a few pics to show how clean the spatter paint is while I was at in there.

No wabbits!:biggthumpup:

https://i.ibb.co/w6RjcwT/IMG-7014.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/zGzDRkQ/IMG-7015.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/6RVK9cf/IMG-7016.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/vwh9hmp/IMG-7019.jpg

Frame rails are clean and solid in the back with traces of original overspray by the looks of things. Also took a couple pics of the front springs that were changed out by the third owners brother. Might clean these up a but and reinstall them. Tags are still there but the part numbers are barely visible after 50 years. Glad they stayed with the car.

https://i.ibb.co/tQk55x8/IMG-7062.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/S5HDx5m/IMG-6999.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/FYL36jw/IMG-6998.jpg

Sure looks like a great car, congrats!
Several owners of late-built '69 Camaros have reported having dripper valve covers, and also star-head door striker bolts. That sure looks like a peened-over 'C' before the BU on the axle tube, but will defer to Darrell and others who have been researching that.