Numbers Matching Camaro Z/28 RS 302 JL8 Cross Ram

While the big block Camaros were getting all the glory on the streets, the Z/28 was earning it on the track. Despite its relatively small V8, the Z/28 was one of the more formidable machines to ever come out of the F-body stables and is perhaps the best-balanced car for guys who actually use their cars to their potential. This stunning Lemans Blue Z/28 is not only matching numbers throughout, but also includes rare and desirable upgrades like a real JL8 rear end with disc brakes and a correct date-coded Crossram intake with dual quads. If you're going into battle on a road course, this is the weapon you use.

One look at the cowl tag confirms that this is a real code X33 Z/28, and as long as we're looking at cowl tags, let's see what the rest of it says:

ST69 1969 model year
12437 Camaro hardtop
NOR Norwood assembly plant
356954 Body number
TR 715 Blue standard interior
PNT 71 71 Lemans Blue (no vinyl top)
06A Built first week of June
X33 Style Trim Group with Special Performance Equipment (Z28)
D80 Air Spoiler Equipment

It's definitely legit. Look closer, and you'll also find that it's beautiful and accurate. The Lemans Blue is flashy, no doubt about it, but in a car that moves like this, that's no sin. Someone invested heavily in the bodywork, and it looks straight and clean from any angle. Good gaps suggest that they took their time putting this Camaro together, and even the rear spoiler fits snugly to the quarter panels. Paint is clearly two-stage urethane, and the SS stripes have been painted on, which always looks great because the badges don't interrupt the lines. There's a genuine GM cowl induction hood (not a reproduction) feeding the dual four-barrels underneath, and the front and rear spoilers are part of the D80 package that makes these cars look so right. The final touch is a set of pinstripes outlining the wheel openings, which match the primary stripes and tie the whole car together nicely.

You've also undoubtedly noticed that this car wears RS equipment, which is most notable up front with the folding headlights and flat grille with Z/28 badge. In back, the unique tail lights feature new lenses. All the chrome has either been professionally refinished or replaced with reproduction pieces, and this Z is fully dressed: polished wheel moldings, gill inserts, and bright rocker trim give it a lot of eyeball appeal. Z/28 badges as well as the requisite '302' emblem on the hood have all been replaced with correct items, and the overall look of the car is beyond factory fresh.

Most Camaro fans will look under the hood and be delighted to find that Crossram intake atop the original, numbers-matching code DZ 302 block. While the merits of dual four-barrel carburetors on a street-going small block are debatable, nobody can argue that it doesn't look cool as hell. A pair of matched and dated Holley 4295 carburetors feed the engine, and you can check the numbers on the intake for yourself—it's the real deal. There's a GM off-road camshaft living in the block, and the engine snarls and barks like a real competition piece, especially with that chambered exhaust system. Chevy Orange is the order of the day when you're talking V8 engines in Camaros, and the polished finned valve covers are Z/28 items cribbed from the Corvette parts bin. If you're sharp, you've already noticed that this car also carries a fully functional smog pump system, and all the components have been correctly restored. Then there are things like the shift stamps on the firewall and all the decals—including the one near the master cylinder warning that it has the JL8 disc brake option—which has all been accurately duplicated. If you're a numbers guy, you can have a field day with this car, because it's full of date-code correct components.

The high-winding small block is backed by its original Muncie M21 4-speed manual transmission. Out back is not just a 12-bolt with a disc brake kit, but a correct QX code JL8-spec rear end with the correct rotors, calipers, and hardware, along with a set of 3.73 gears on a Posi limited slip. The suspension has been fully rebuilt, including the fast-ratio power steering box. Like the engine bay, the chassis sports a lot of reproduction decals in all the right locations, like the springs, brake backing plates, and even the balance stripes on the driveshaft. Clean floors and satin black paint make the detailing pop, and even things like the inspection marks on the transmission cross member have been duplicated. As I mentioned, there's a chambered exhaust system that sounds amazing, especially at 6000 RPM. New Chevy Rally wheels wear correctly-sized F70-15 Goodyear Wide Tread GT bias-ply tires.

The standard blue interior is anything but ordinary, and calling it standard does a disservice to the guys who designed it. The bucket seats wear correct reproduction covers that are the right shade of blue—not too light, not too dark, and with just a hint of metallic, and the door panels and dash pad match almost exactly. New carpets on the floor are protected by matching blue bowtie-logo floor mats, and this car is so fresh that there's still plastic in the foot wells to protect the carpet. The lovely center console is fully restored, and includes those gauges that aren't so handy for racing, but look so good you can't help but love them. The primary gauges are recently rebuilt, with crisp markings and clear lenses, and the AM radio comes in loud and clear. The trunk offers a new mat, full-sized spare, and a complete jack assembly.

Fresh off a complete nut-and-bolt rotisserie restoration, this Z/28 is put together the way many of us would have spec'd our own if were knew then what we know now. Disc brakes are almost mandatory for a car with this Camaro's performance envelope, and the correct components used in this one are probably worth a fortune. And while there are reproduction Crossram intakes out there, this one sports a correct GM piece with date-coded carburetors taking it up a notch above the off-the-shelf cookie-cutter cars out there. Details are well done, and the restorer definitely did his homework when it came to duplicating the factory production marks and techniques. Like many of the more unusual Camaros RK Motors Charlotte has featured in the past, this one seems destined not to stay for long—they never do. Call today!