A perfect 1969 Camaro Z/28?

In this officeI hate to use the word “iconic.” It’s a word often repeated by unreliable automotive sites that have little understanding of the natural order of cars, and I want to move beyond that. However, if there is one muscle car that can be considered iconic, the 1969 Camaro is it.

Let’s be honest, the 1969 Camaro wasn’t a muscle car, it was a pony car. But if it was a Camaro Super Sport, COPO 427s, or a Z/28, you had a pony car that was a muscle car. While the Z/28 fell short in cubic inches compared to its small-block and big-block brethren, it was still one of the most popular muscle cars on the market. Fortunately for some, over 20,000 were produced, but unfortunately for others, the Z’s homologation history made it more expensive than its cubic inches would suggest.

Muscle Car Campy visited Tom Leighton of Robert’s Collision Center in Clearwater, Florida. Tom restored a 1969 Z/28 that had previously been stuck in Body Shop Hell. His restoration was very sensitive to the build date (to account for running changes within model years) and used NOS parts whenever possible. This Camaro also has some nice options and features, such as a tilt steering wheel, headrests, houndstooth interior, walnut steering wheel, gauges – and even a smoke rig!

Tom changed two things: He removed the standard stripes and installed a black grille (seen on SS and RS cars, except those painted Tuxedo Black) instead of the original silver; he also made a few modifications to the engine, but you can’t see them. Other than that, Tom built a better Camaro than Chevy built in 1969.

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