Kevin’s had this 1969 Camaro RS Z/28 since he was in high school in 1980, purchasing it from a gentleman in his home town in 1982.
The previous owner had blown the engine, and was looking to unload the Camaro. They had also installed Pontiac hubcaps and painted over the original LeMans Blue paint and stripes with silver.
He and his then-girlfriend now-wife used the Camaro as a daily driver for their teenage and young adult years, as well as enhancing it as they saw fit during that time. Eventually it was in an accident and was parked for several years, but the pair would continue to hold onto the Camaro, even building two garages to store it when they moved from place to place.
The Camaro was relegated to the back burner as important life events began to unfold. First it was engagement, followed by marriage, kids, school, university, and weddings. Fast forward many years and Kevin and his wife decided it was finally about time to restore the tired and forgotten Camaro in 2014.
“In 2014 I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. While sick I gave him a ultimatum…let’s rebuilt it or get rid of it. And so it began…my husband brought it back down to bare metal and took it apart and he started over.”
The restoration was targeted to begin by 2015. The husband and wife received the finished 1969 Camaro back from restoration by 2017, and Kevin had a rebuilt 350 small block that he turned into a 302, with the original 302 crank shaft and valve covers ready to drop into the refurbished ’69 in it’s fresh LeMans Blue with black stripes. He couldn’t source a period correct 302 block at that time, but is still on the hunt for one.
This Camaro is a special part of Kevin’s life because he and his wife originally dated while he was daily driving it. They’ve been married for about 35 years all the while holding onto the car. Now he gets to cruise with the grand kids and enjoys showing it off at local events.
“The car is special to us as we have had it since we were teenagers and now we are in our 50’s and enjoy cruising around and are going to start to do some local car shows.”
