This is the factory paint job, with a vinyl top.
Dark black primer was the motif for nearly a year before we got around
to painting it.
Jerry Flynn did the custom brown and gold metallic paint job for me.
The photo doesn't do it justice.
Bracket Racing Trophy from Capitol Raceway c1977. The red
truck is from the electrical contracting company I worked for prior to entering
the USAF in November 1978.
This 1969 Camaro SS was my pride and joy as a teenager. It was purchased in 1975
for $3,500 from a fellow named Mr. Cavey, in Bowie, Maryland (I lived in Mayo, MD). He
had ordered it custom from the Chevrolet factory with nearly every option available in
1969. This was not a Z10 model, but did have most of the options. The
1969 Indy 500 pace
car was a Camaro SS convertible with a 396 engine and a white and orange paint
job.
As you can see in the top photo, my 1969 Camaro SS came with a white vinyl top,
the ducted hood, rally wheels, hounds tooth upholstery, foldaway headlamps, 3-speed automatic
transmission, 350 cu.in. V8 engine, electric windows, air conditioning, folding
rear seats, sport side view mirrors, and full instrument cluster on the floor console.
Being an enthusiastic teenage motor head (with a meager budget), I did all my own
maintenance and modifications. I added the Hooker headers, side exhaust pipes, traction
bars, spoiler, racing shift kit for the automatic transmission, Holley 4-barrel carburetor,
high-rise intake manifold (slight), side exhaust pipes, AM/FM/8-track radio, CB radio,
wide rear tires, electronic ignition, and probably a few other improvements long forgotten.
My best friend, Jerry Flynn, who owned a very nice 1964½ Mustang coupe, was a
body and fender guy. He did the paint work for me. We also flew, crashed, and rebuilt
many model airplanes, rockets, and helicopters together.
 By pure luck - certainly not expert driving skills
- sometime in the summer of 1978 I managed to win a 1st-place trophy from Capital Raceway
in the 1/4-mile bracket racing category. You can see the trophy sitting on the hood of
the Camaro when it was painted with the dark gray primer. The official ticket is posted
to the right.
I would be remiss for not thanking a man from Crofton, MD, who is partly responsible
for my owning this 1969 Camaro SS. Before finding it, I answered an ad the guy placed
in the Evening Capital newspaper to sell his 1967 Firebird. It was silver with a 6-cylinder
engine - nothing special at all. My parents took me to look at it, and he offered to
let me drive it for a couple days before deciding whether to buy. During those two or
three days I washed and waxed it, cleaned the interior, trunk, and engine, changed the
oil and all filters, replaced the sparkplugs and wires, did a tune-up and more. I returned
the car to him as agreed and he said to give him a day or so to get the paperwork together
and he would call me to come get the car. He never called, so I finally got ahold of
him about a week later. He told me he decided not to sell the Firebird after all. What
a scumbag! He never offered to reimburse me for the money or time I put into it. It's
a good thing I didn't have a car to drive, or I might have gone and punched him in the
mouth.
October 1, 2005
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