Were there any special California 1969 Camaros?

[92646]

I have had the car for about 2 years. I know the car was cleaned up and resold in San Diego about 6 to 10 years ago. After that it pretty much just sat in a garage. The trans is an earlier 010 muncie M-20 and the motor that was in the car was a mild 454. I have not checked out the rear end codes but it has 3:73 gears in it and it is posi. The car is in great condition and you can tell that it was well taken care of but there was no concern for numbers when it was redone. I have no other information on the past owners or the other history on the car. So are the holes on the top of the core support for A/C lines? Am I right about the cowl induction hood not being available on a October 1968 car? Was there any high performance dealers in the San Diego area? I do not think it could have been a Dana car because the rear suspension looks stock. It was my understanding that they would modify the rear suspension for better traction when they modified thier cars.
Mark Sheppard

[92646]

Steve I am sorry I just sent the last post before I read yours. I assumed it was a Corvette set up on the car because of the short water pump and the pulleys looked like what I remember came on 70s 454 corvettes. You are right about the brackets and the alt. wiring coming from a 1968 camaro. The car never over heated with that motor but you could feel the heat through the floor boards when driving the car. I pulled that motor and installed an LS6 454 last year. I have now pulled that motor and I am putting a bigger motor in it now. I thought it would be kind of neat to use a stinger hood because of the holes on the core support. I do not think the car is any thing special but I would be sick if I found out the car was something special and I modified it when I should have been restoring it back to original.
Mark Sheppard

[nuch_ss396]

Mark,

You're hurting me here! You pulled and LS-6 to put an even
bigger motor in? I'll take that useless LS-6 if you can't
stand it anymore......

See if you can get the rear codes and post them here.

Steve

[Yellow 69 z28]

My LOS built Dana prepped camaro sports a OTC L88 with iron 840 heads and a corvette "163" intake. Bracketry for alt and ps pump are from 68 for a short water pump. ZL/2 hood was added at repaint in 80's. Original factory combo was short block, 3 speed, and 10 bolt. Original owner was Topper Farrar who financed the car and the upgrades that terrorized SoCal with a black plate that read "Topps69". He used to get in trouble so much that his Brother and Mother schemed (and did for a day) to steal the car from him to keep from jail and or worse. The trans and rear end ratio were changed regularly. Speed parts galore over the years was the main theme.

Dana Camaro

[92646]

There is nothing about the rear end that tells me anything other than it is a replacement. The best I can make out the code, it looks like BL 0117G1. I did not get a chance to look at the cast in date code but I do not expect it to make much difference. Tell me more about the DANA modified car please. Did I make a mistake changing over to the 1969 brackets and pulleys? So am I safe to say that my car is a run of the mill SS RS 396 Camaro and it will be ok to put in the 540 crate motor sitting in the garage? What is everyone's opinion on the stinger hood? I love cowl induction hoods but they are on everything now and I am certain that my car never came with it to begin with. Would it be a little neater if I could get the Holley Dominator under an SS hood?
Mark Sheppard

[nuch_ss396]

[ QUOTE ]
... So am I safe to say that my car is a run of the mill SS RS 396 Camaro and it will be ok to put in the 540 crate motor sitting in the garage? ... Mark Sheppard

[/ QUOTE ]

Mark,

Nothing run-of-the-mill about a 69 RR SS big block.

I would opt to take that thing right back to stock. I had
my hands on one of those years ago and let it just slip
away for peanuts. You just don't see them much.

It's quite interesting what Rich added about his Dana prepped
L-88 - huh? I would like to know a lot more as well.

Steve

[nuch_ss396]

[ QUOTE ]
My LOS built Dana prepped camaro sports a OTC L88 with iron 840 heads and a corvette "163" intake. Bracketry for alt and ps pump are from 68 for a short water pump. ZL/2 hood was added at repaint in 80's. ........

[/ QUOTE ]

Rich,

What exactly is a "Dana prepped" Camaro? Is it beyond a
day-two conversion? In other words, did the original buyer
have the car for a while in its stock condition, then decide
on the L-88 upgrade? Is your car being discussed here a 69?

If your's is a '69, I'm as confused about the '68 bracketry
as I was with the original subject car. The fan would sit
so far away from the radiator that slow speed cooling would
be nil. What do the rear codes indicate as the original
ratio on your Camaro?

I would never have thought that a dealer would install
bracketry from the previous year ( long to short style ).
What would be the advantage of that?

Steve

[92646]

Steve, Belive me there is nothing that is on the car that can not be unbolted and put back to stock. The motor is big but I should not hurt anything because I have 14x7 XT style wheels with 215/75/14 redlines. So if I try to go fast it should just go up in smoke. When I bought the car I knew it was not numbers matching and it had a bunch of chrome under the hood and under the car. The car was very clean, rust free and well taken care of. So I thought I would have a little fun with it first before I put it back to stock. After awhile I will find a 68-70 Nova to put this drive train in.
Mark Sheppard

[Yellow 69 z28]

Steve,
Just about a year and half ago I sought the assistance of a few very helpful members of this board to research this car.

Link to that Post.

This car was ordered as a 350 - 3 speed and converted by Dana but not sold as a pre-sale converted car. I still have this car and it has been a blast being involved with the driving, showing, and all the research.

To answer some of your tech question. The fan was an original fiberglass after market fan with a spacer to fit just inside the S/B fan shroud. The S/B bracketry was replaced with what ever was available in parts or from service to complete the conversion. I imagine the 1968 parts were more readily availble OTC than the 1969 parts. Since Dana did conversions pre-sales, the parts department kept parts on hand. I do not know what how many S/B to B/B conversions were since 1967 at Dana.

Rich

[nuch_ss396]

Rich,

With L-88 internals, this thing must run its pants off!
Certainly should clean the clock of any L/72 equipped Camaro.
The L-88 certainly explains why the transmission & rear went bye-bye.

I'd love to build one of these one day. Got the L-88 parts,
just need to motivation.

It just seems odd that a small block to big block conversion
would have been done. But then again, we are talking about
35+ years ago and who cared what was right back then. These
things are our ( collective ) lot in life now.

I would really love to have the opportunity to go over this
car in detail to see what associated BB parts did not get
added along with the L-88. Things like the radiator, engine
frame mounts, BB 4-speed X-member, power steering pump and
plumbing, shifter linkage & reverse lockout, etc..

I guess what I am saying is that I'd like to know just how
thorough Dana was with this conversion. Any more details
Rich?

One last thought: I for one would love to know more about
other less well known dealer BB conversions. Some months
ago, there was a 68 Camaro here ( I believe ) that was
sporting a 396 with a tri-power setup. Don't know how well
it runs, but it looked sexy as hell. Anyone else know of
any other BB conversions ( like L/71's, L-88's, etc.. )

Steve