1969 Camaro Pace Car convertible

[Matt Harwood]

While I'm not a big time Camaro enthusiast, I've always liked the 1969 Camaro pace cars. Sure, the white and orange combination is a love-it-or-hate-it thing, but it's hard not to like a fully dressed RS/SS convertible with in-your-face styling and a rumbling V8. This car is a real-deal Z11 pace car, one of 3675 built and shows just over 54,000 original miles. Its early history is not known, but it has been in long-term ownership for more than two decades and has a nice combination of restored pieces and awesome originality. It's not a trailer queen, it's not a show car, and it's not a restoration candidate, it's just a really nice driver where everything works.

All pace cars were obviously Dover White with Hugger Orange stripes and the Z11 package bundled everything together: RS and SS equipment groups, a cowl-induction hood, a white convertible top, D80 spoilers, Rally wheels, and the incredible orange houndstooth interior. The effect is one of the most eyeball-popping Camaros of all time and there's no denying the amount of attention it generates in the showroom. I'll admit to being a little puzzled by the paint, which appears to be a combination of original and repainted pieces, most notably the hood, which is just too shiny and perfect to be 1969 enamel. However, the rest of the paint is pretty good and the only reason I suspect that it's original is because there's a little checking on the horizontal surfaces. If it has been repainted, it was done very accurately, very carefully, and more than 25 years ago, giving the car a great all-of-a-piece look. The chrome and stainless remains in excellent shape, including the requisite SS badging. The RS folding headlights are a great look and work properly thanks to a recent electric motor upgrade to replace the original vacuum system (which is still in place).

Aside from the front seat covers, which were installed less than a month ago, the orange houndstooth interior is entirely original and in spectacular shape. The door panels aren't cracked, the black carpets look great, the center console is still sharp and the back seat looks almost completely unused. It's really nice. The car is optioned with an AM/FM radio, full gauge package, a tachometer, sport steering wheel, and perhaps most importantly, a 4-speed manual transmission. The clock in the center of the dash still works, the radio pulls in signals loud and clear, and all the gauges are functional except maybe the fuel gauge, which doesn't park at E when you turn off the ignition. The top is also quite possibly the original white top that fits great and shows only one notable pinch mark, but I have to believe that the rear window has been replaced since it's crystal clear. The trunk is correctly outfitted with a plaid mat and full-sized spare with jack assembly, plus what I believe to be the original pace car decals, which were never installed. It's also worth noting that the original "soda shakers" are in place and the spotless trunk floor wears original spatter-finish paint.

The engine is a NOM 350 cubic inch V8 which looks pretty authentic living under that cowl-induction air cleaner. It decodes as a '72 block, but has been rebuilt with a few upgrades, including what feels like a slightly oversized camshaft. This sucker has a wicked idle and pulls harder than any 350/300 I've ever driven. It starts easily, makes good oil pressure, doesn't get cranky, and pretty much works the way you'd expect. A great-sounding dual exhaust system gives it an appropriate sound without getting annoying. Clutch take-up is good and with 3.73 gears on a Posi, acceleration is explosive. The underside is extremely clean and has not been undercoated, so you can see every seam, spot weld, and bracket in clear detail, again suggesting a super-clean original car. Factory Rally wheels are virtually unmarked and wear correct F70-14 Goodyear bias-ply tires for a period-correct look.

I dig this car. I took it to lunch the other day and found a crowd had gathered around it in only the time it took them to make me a burrito, and everyone was digging it. It's a pleasure to drive, fast enough to live up to the image its looks suggest, and will always be on the short list of highly collectable early Camaros. We're asking $59,900, which is actually a pretty good price for an RS/SS convertible with a manual transmission, and we're always open to reasonable offers. Thanks for looking!