CRG Discussion Forum
Camaro Research Group Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: VINCE Z28 on September 05, 2013, 11:44:02 PM
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Of the 200 thousand plus 1969 camaro's built, does the CRG have any idea how many are on the road today? Terry
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38,000 Z/28's are still on the road.
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And the number is growing!
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More every day!
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I remember reading a while ago (I think in Hemmings when that was the Bible of the auto world) that about 10-15% of a production run survives after 10 years for cars of that era. But like some have eluded to, a new '69 Z is born every day. Good thing for perpetual car regeneration. ;D
Mike
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I would think that the 10 to 15% survival rate is quite a bit low, and it would apply to your everyday run of the mill models. But cars like the first gen camaros, are brought back from the dead several times before they vanish. I would think that the number would be upwards of 40% of these cars. I see at least a couple everyday, and I drive out in the booneys most of the time. Haven't seen a Vega, Pinto, or a Gremlin in quite a while though, even at car shows.
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Guys are resurrecting 69 camaros all the time. A lot of time it doesn't matter if it was a Z, or an SS or plain jane. They run across a pretty tore up body, add new quarters floor pans, whatever and then once it is painted most of the time it is recreated into an pace car, SS COPO ZL-1 or what ever style they want. The recreated Z is a common joke now, but I would take it a step further. IMO a clean plain jane 69 camaro without the Z/28 stripes or added emblems seems hard to run across these days. I agree with mark and would say around 50% and growing. A re-body is still pricey, so if it hasn't been crushed , it seems no matter how rusty it is it could be back on the road one day. Eventually it will be hard to find a 69 project car I imagine.
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but.. factories are churning out NEW complete bodies for '69 Camaros......
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38,000 !!! . . . Ha, there is more than that just in L.A. . . . Most are all original with cowl hoods.
VT
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I can remember in the 70's and 80's a lot of the 69 camaro's we see on ebay as project cars were parted out or crushed. My how times have changed.... Terry
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Mark, here's one that didn't make it back on the road... In the late 80's I bought a 69 camaro SS 396 that took out a wooden fence, the driver running from "Johnny Law". I bought it for $900.00 (that was his bail amount) the front end was smashed up, frame, SS hood,motor push up to firewall etc. The car had some nice options, power disc brakes, power steering, power windows, console w/ gages, 12 bolt, TH400. I sold the car to a friend for $900.00 plus I kept the 12 bolt. Today that car would bring at least 5 K on eBay, and some one would restore it. The car was parted out and scraped.
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I worked as a roofing contractor in Miami after hurrican Andrew in 1991. For the next two years, my job was to supervice project and give estimates. I am not kidding when I say I have driven every single street in Miami and Homestead, south of Kendall Drive...seriously. I could find any address without a map and drive right to the house, and if you told me an address, i could picture the street in my head and tell you how far it was from the nearest 1969 Camaro. There were about 15-20 1969 Camaros of every condition, from wiped out to quite nice.
I bought a Z28 minus the engine for $50. It was black with gold stripes and had the 12 bolt, the muncie, and the front disc brakes, which I removed and installed on my plain jane 69 Camaro. The rest I parted out and made my money back and then some. It was rusted in the usual areas, but by today's standards, would have been a dream to to restore. After I got the parts off it I wanted, I junked it. A few years ago, I paid several thousand dollars for a car in way worse condition, just to get another 69 Camaro.
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I bought an original JL8 car for $1800 in 1976 stripped out everything I wanted and sold it for $1800.
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Ouch on the jl-8!
Just last night a Buddy and i were talking about the mid 90 Hondas he has dealt in. I said the ford Taurus was the biggest seller where are they? Hondas are everywhere but you don't see any Taurus. They must have not lasted. More 69 z's around!
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Robocop is still driving the police version of the taurus.....
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It's true.... he drove by my house yesterday in that taurus. ;)
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Was he looking for you? Were you hiding behind the closed garage door? *G*
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This was online this morning. Sad but interesting.
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post a link to the story for us
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This is a strange story... the car and three teens went missing on Nov. 20th 1970. They were heading for a football game that night. Their remains were found inside the car just recently. Plus a 1950's car was found next to the camaro with some more bodies.
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I'm not good with link's but here it is...http:// usnews.nbcnews.com/news/2013/09/ om-of-lake?lite.
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http://kfor.com/2013/09/17/officials-crews-pull-cars-from-foss-lake-possibly-connected-to-1970-cold-case/
for everyone else who doesn't live in Oklahoma City....
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Here's what the car looked like when new... Owner Jimmy Williams, age 16 years old, right before they went missing.
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Ok, so there is one Camaro found that wasn't on the road. My guess is this one will not be back on the road, although that front bumper still did look cherry. Some spit and polish...oh never mind they will probably just crush it, I think it would be neat if they were able to put them in a little museum for the Lake, just wash off the mud and have placard that tells their story once they put all the pieces together.
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Ok so i read another link to the story and now the hood is off the 69 Camaro and this guy looks like he is parting it out? Maybe we will see the parts on ebay....
Seriously though I was surprised they would have removed the hood and is this guy investigating the motor? Also it looks like the front clip is there where did the rest of the car go?
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Here is the cars VIN 124379L517123. Taken off the missing person report.
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How sad the story is. I wonder what happened. Racing and lost control and went into the lake possibly?
At least the families have some closure by getting the remains back to give a proper burial.
Mike
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I think from what I read, there wasn't any signage saying boat slip ahead and on a dark night it was easy to be cruising along and drive right into the lake. I doubt he was racing with 2 other people in the car. But same thing for the older sedan probably drove right in and then couldn't get out of the car because of the water pressure on the doors.
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Disturbing...crush what's left ,RIP.
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RIP and glad the families at least have some type of closure.
Not to change the subject, but back in the early, early 80's my father bought a 69 SS/RS L34, 4-speed Cortez car but the owner wanted another $500 for the tag, vin & title. Dad passed on the TT & vin (Ahhh hindsight) and that car sat in the back of my parents property up until 2008 when I finally hauled it off to the scrap yard. The engine is in a 69 SS Chevelle of a relative, trans was sold, houndstooth interior was sold, subframe, doghouse & diff used on another project. The only thing left was a shell and it was completely rotten &/or gone. Even used part of the firewall on another car. Needless to say, wish we would have bought the other items originally and just restored that car. Did the same to a 68 Firebird 350 auto car too.. That doesnt include the countless others over the years.. These were just the two that stuck out the most.
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So what was the original cost of the cortez car? What was your father planning on doing with it without the vin and title? (parting it out)?
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The car was $500 & yes he just wanted to part it out. He always said he didn't know why he didn't just go ahead & buy the tags & vin.. Guess he felt the body was too rough at the time.. It already had rot in the floors, trunk & quarters when he bought it. But that's just the way it was back then..
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UPDATE ON THE CAMARO IN THE LAKE:Trooper George Hoyle told the Daily Elk Citian newspaper that the Camaro was running when it hit the water. He said the driver was driving "a little faster than he should have." He says the impact damaged the radiator fan, a motor mount and the fuel pump.
Hoyle says the evidence suggests foul play was not involved and that the driver may have been unfamiliar with his surroundings.
So I think that puts it to rest. To bad they couldn't get their bearings fast enough to swim out of it.
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The noted damage is interesting, wonder if the broken motor mount had anything to do with putting the car in the water.
Mike
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The noted damage is interesting, wonder if the broken motor mount had anything to do with putting the car in the water.
Mike
Didn't the broken engine mount issue sometimes cause the throttle to stick open, hence the recall to fit interlocking mounts?
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The noted damage is interesting, wonder if the broken motor mount had anything to do with putting the car in the water.
Mike
Didn't the broken engine mount issue sometimes cause the throttle to stick open, hence the recall to fit interlocking mounts?
Yes, a broken LHS motor mount *could* cause the accelerator to jam up (I had it happen to me with my dad's '63 Impala.. :) ... but I doubt that would have been an issue with the car less than 2 yrs old? and I don't believe it had a HP engine in it... the mount could have broken as a result of hitting the water at speed...