1969 Z28 Granted Freedom After Over 40 Years
Slideshow: Check out this rare find: a 1969 Camaro Z/28 that has been in storage for the past 40 years.
The Good News
Ralph Bizzaro had been trying to buy this 1969 Camaro Z/28 from Donnie Detzel for 20 years. Donnie's health wasn't at its best, which motivated him to make the call that would make all of Ralph's dreams come true. After receiving the call that Donnie was selling his Camaro, Ralph was there the very next morning to buy it.
The Condition
Although the 1969 Camaro had matching numbers, the engine was still apart, as well as various other parts, but everything was there, and everything was original. The Camaro came with a 302 small block motor. Donnie hadn't driven the car since 1976. Now stored Pennsylvania, he had bought it as a lightly-used car back in the day.
The Story
The story as Donnie told it goes like this: He was driving his Corvette in 1970 when he noticed this Camaro parked in front of a house. He immediately fell in love with it to the point of knocking on the door of the house where the Camaro was parked. Inside the house, a wake was in progress for a fallen soldier in Vietnam, who also happened to be the owner of the Camaro. The soldier's father explained that his son was extremely excited to come home and drive his Camaro, which, unfortunately never happened. The soldier's mother was understandably devastated and didn't want to part with the cherished Camaro. So they kept it, but in their will stipulated that upon their death it would be sold. Donnie bought it for $1,200.
The Camaro's Early Retirement
Donnie explained the reason behind parking the Camaro instead of driving it everywhere. Shortly after graduating from high-school, Donnie started working as a welder. He reminded us that back in the 1970s, you weren't allowed to do many modifications to cars, but he desperately wanted to install the Hooker exhaust headers, which connected to a four-inch pipe. Unfortunately, he kept getting pulled over and receiving $150 fines. After extreme frustration and many days of being late for work, Donnie dug a hole in his mother's backyard, and he buried the headers in them. He then pulled the engine out of his Camaro and parked the car in the garage.
Back to Original
For years and years, Donnie continued to spend half of every paycheck buying original parts for his Camaro. But unfortunately for him, he never got to install the parts, and he never drove it again. Now Ralph, who had been familiar with the car's story for years, plans on putting this Camaro back together to its original glory, and he plans on enjoying it the way a Camaro should be enjoyed... on the road.
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