Jon Mello's Z/28 #1

[1967Z28]

Thanks to all of you guys for the very nice compliments.
I was initially a little hesitant to do a write-up on this car for the members ride section because the car is not yet restored. Thanks to Belair for a little friendly coaxing to get me to do it anyway.

I do plan on getting the paint and body work done next year but there would still be a sizable amount of work left to do for it to be race-ready. I can pretty much guarantee that I won't be racing it next year but maybe it will be a little less ugly and I can drag it out to a show or something. Regarding the mismatched paint, it was a case of individual panels being repainted as the need arose and somebody not taking the time to get the color just right. I can tell you that the three paint jobs it has had since then have not been an improvement.

There are definitely no fiberglass body parts on the car. All the sheet metal that is currently on the car is what was on it at its last race at Daytona. The right front fender and right rear quarter panel were replaced because it got up into the wall at Daytona in '67 and the left rear quarter was replaced also but I'm not sure which race they did it after.

All the drivetrain components currently in the car are out of the '68 Camaro that they replaced my car with so I know the VIN of that car too. I have done a search in 30 states, but so far no luck.

There is no doubt that the car could have easily been "lost to history" or whatever you want to call it. I am extremely fortunate to have found the car and when you realize what kind of long odds it would be to stumble across a car like this and then actually figure out what it is, you can't help be feel humbled and honored. Another neat thing is that everybody who drove or co-drove the car as a race car in '67-'68 had the initials J.M., Johnny Moore, Jim McDaniel and Jim Murphy. Now there's me. Kinda gives you one of those "meant to be" feelings.

Anyway, here's a picture of the interior currently. The wheel is not the original but is accurate to what they used. It did run an ST-601 Sun tach and 4 SW gauges underneath that in the center of the dash. The aluminum panels you see are copies of what was done and I installed them using the same holes that were still there.

The car did not come with a spoiler as delivered from the factory (I do not know of any '67 Camaro that came off the assembly line with a rear spoiler) and one did not make it onto the car until it's second race at Sebring (late March '67). There are no factory holes to mount the spoiler on the lid. They just drilled what they needed to get it mounted. When the car was sold, they removed the spoiler and patched up the holes.

-Jon

[68TopStock]

When I first heard about this car, and Jon finding it, I knew it was a perfect match. It will be fun to see the restoration process. Way to go Jon!

[DarrenX33]

Webster needs to create a new word to describe how cool this is. Awesome Jon. What an excellent car and story. But shame on you for not thinking it was worthy to feature considering it's not restored yet.

[JChlupsa]

What a great story and congrats on getting this Z.

[Jeff H]

That's awesome! What a great piece of Chevrolet and Camaro history. I love seeing these old race cars(drag and road race)being restored to their old glory.

[Steve Shauger]

Great car and story with historical significance. Thanks for sharing the history.


Steve

[427TJ]

What's that thing on the driver's door that looks like an inside rear-view mirror? It's inside the white number circle ahead of the 4. You can see the SW guages through the wing window in the top photo at Daytona.

[CopoCrunkus]

Looks like an outline for Daytona

[1967Z28]

Thanks again to all. The thing next to the number 4 is a number light. The car was running in a 24 hour race at Daytona and the scorers needed a way to keep track of the cars after sundown. The red Mustang driven by Jerry Titus did not have a light on it because I believe they were using a big glow-in-the-dark white background behind their number 1.

I have attached a page which shows Z28s #16-25. I have VIN numbers for 10 of these first 25 and lots of partial information on many of the others. It is my hope to someday account for all of these first 25 cars in one way or another. I am working on a long term book project concerning the '67 Z28 and the personalities involved with them. I have had four '67 Z28s. Wish I still had all four but at least I still have 50%!

I agree that there are some really incredible cars owned by people who frequent this website. Thanks to all the others who have shared their stories as well. Let's help out Belair and keep him stocked up with member's rides features!

-Jon

[JoeG]

Cars got Great Pedigree---