Chevrolet didn’t especially encourage the purchase of Z28′s
by private individuals in 1967 waiting until 1968 to advertise the new Z28
option. Many people believe that the 1967 Z28 didn’t debut until late in the
’67 model year but that doesn’t seem to be the case. A few Z28′s were in
private hands by Feb. 1, 1967.
The first 25 Z28′s were built between Dec. 29, 1966 and Jan.
12, 1967. These went strictly to favored dealers mostly for reworking as
all-out competition cars. Below is a list of the first 21 1967 Camaro Z28′s
produced and where they went.
Z28 #1 was shipped to Aero Chevrolet in Alexandria, Va.,
where it was groomed as Johnny Moore’s entry in the Daytona 24-hour
Continental.
Z28 #2, #3, and #4 went to Yenko Chevrolet, Canonsburg, Pa.,
for driver Ben Poster, also for Daytona.
Z28 #5, #6 and #7 went to a Seattle dealer named Alan Green.
Reselling one to a Daytona, Fla., dealer, one to a local Northwest dealer, and
the third to a local customer. This means that Z28 #7 was probably the first to
fall into private hands.
Z28 #8 was ordered by Ron Tonkin, a Chevrolet dealer in
Portland, Ore. It was placed on his Beaver Racing Team that ran in mostly West
Coast events. Unfortunately it was involved in an accident while being
trailered to its first race which ended its competition career before it
started.
Z28 #9, #10 and #11 went to Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago
which got into racing in a big way. You might remember them putting 427′s into
Camaros for the drag strip. Two of these Z28′s ran at Daytona along with the
Aero and Yenko cars.
Z28 #12 went to Roger Penske. Roger’s friend George
Wintersteen picked the Z28 up from the factory on Jan. 10, 1967 and drove it
back to Penske’s Chevrolet business in Reading, Pa. Penske wasted no time in
tearing the car down and shipping the engine to Traco trying to get it ready to
enter Daytona.
Z28′s #13 – #20 went to a variety of customers, including three
that were shipped to other GM divisions and one sold to a GM Proving Grounds
engineer named David D. Horchler.
Z28 #21 was delivered to stunt driver Joie Chitwood in Tampa, Fla. Chitwood raced the car
and has subsequently used Camaros in all his thrill shows ever since.
As a side note. In Chevrolet’s attempt to get the first
Z28′s to Daytona, the first 16 1967 Z28′s used a 4-P body style code. The 4-L body
style code was used after the first ordered Z28′s were shipped out.
Posted in April 17th, 2008
http://www.stevescamaroparts.com
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