CRG Discussion Forum
Camaro Research Group Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: jwbavalon on August 07, 2020, 07:48:22 PM
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Hi, first time poster. I bought the 1968 Camaro Z28 (8L344315) that was talked about on this forum in early July. Thanks to rszmjt for sharing some of his knowledge and helping me find a recent history of the car. Unfortunately, the Protect-O-Plate vanished some time ago during an owner transfer and being a ’68 that makes authenticity that much more difficult. However, to the best of my knowledge and understanding based on the numerous decoding books on the market, I believe this car to be a genuine deal and numbers matching. The original resto was done around 2000 by Heartbeat City Camaro.
Having bought a L78 Nova in 1970, I remember the anxiety that muscle car owners went through in the mid 70s when the oil crisis hit. Dealers were not interested in muscle car trade ins. Mine became a second car till it was parked and the rust started to grow. Then someone with lots of ideas saw it and bought it in the late 1980s and started the restoration. In January of this year it sold at the Mecum Auctions for $99K. Reading the auction listing brought back a lot of memories but I’ve no regrets.
In the summer of 1968, a local Chev dealer had a Z28 on display. I admired the car and had been following its progress in the Trans Am series but owning one was not to be as it was too expensive at the time. Now I have one.
It will primarily be used for sunny weather drives and the local show and shines once we get Covid19 under control.
I’m looking forward to my time with the 68Z and hope to be contributing to the forum in the near future.
Be safe
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Beautiful car! Congratulations
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X2 - Congratulations
Richard
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Congratulations!
Love the color~
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There you Go!!
Can't wait to see more.
Cheers.
Jim
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Congratulations on a nice looking car! While any original documentation is a bonus to have, the car can be verified without it. Too much to go in to here, but there's plenty of help available here to do that. Good luck!
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Congratulations and enjoy it.
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I worked on that car,,,,did much of the restoration,has a kind of strange story,,,I did the work for its then owner, Mike Keener of Check Mate race car fame,,,Mike sold it back to Jim at Heartbeat
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I worked on that car,,,,did much of the restoration,has a kind of strange story,,,I did the work for its then owner, Mike Keener of Check Mate race car fame,,,Mike sold it back to Jim at Heartbeat
So did Mike buy it from Dan Montgomery?
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Love the color👍
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If it possibly was sold new in Canada, GM Vintage Car Services can be your documentation 'friend' - just give George or Frank a call and with the VIN they can immediately tell you if it was or is a car they have all of the documentation and details on..
Probably being a Cal car its a long shot - but still worth a try!
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Great looking car! Congrats on the purchase!
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This Z28 was sold new in California @ Harry Mann Chev
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Love the color👍
Mike bought from,,,,and sold back to heartbeat
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My friend also owned a 1968 Z28 that was originally purchased from Harry Mann Chevrolet. When he bought the Z28 in 1970 from a friend, it was British Green with a black interior and had 302 emblems. He sold the Z28 in 1973 to someone in Los Angeles and unfortunately we don't know what happened to the car. Harry Mann was well-known dealer for selling high performance Chevrolets in the area. - Mark
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oh yes, beautiful car :) :D
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Awesome Car!
Congrats!
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Thanks for the encouraging comments. With the help of rszmjt and tomstiel I have pieced together a brief history from 2000. Unfortunately, the Protectoplate, California 1968 license plate and the Harry Mann Chev license plate frame have long since disappeared. Probably in the trash and now a land fill somewhere. But this car deserves a documentation package so from info on this forum and the Camaro Research Group, I will endeavour to find out what I can.
Happy driving and be safe.
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I just received the NCRS Shipping Data Report for my car and it says the production date was 24 June 1968 and the delivery dealer was John Geer Chevrolet in Sacramento. I wonder when Harry Mann Chev came into the picture?
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Could've been a dealer trade. The NCRS report only show which dealer the car was sold to....Joe
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Selling dealer was in Sacramento.
Harry Mann was in LA - too far for a dealer trade, IMO. Almost 400 miles.
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If the Harry Mann connection was a dealer licence plate frame, maybe it was traded in there?
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How about this? The 68Z was bought at John Geer Chev but after a short while the owner wanted a Corvette. So where do you go for a Corvette but Harry Mann Chev where the person traded in the 68Z. That would explain why a previous owner said the car had, in addition to the protectoplate, a California license plate with '68 tags and a Harry Mann license plate frame.
Mysteries are fun unfortunately the truth will probably be never reviled.