- Returned for an encore performance
- Built for the famous race
- Customers were offered a replica
A new, fresh appealing appearance
The Chevrolet Camaro had received a major face-lift for the 1969 model year and the end result was a new, fresh and appealing appearance. The grille area was revised with a deeper “V” angled shape, and the sides received simulated vertical rear brake louver vents, and newly-shaped squared-off heel arches were added, complete with stylish “speed streak” body lines.
The Camaro was Chevrolet’s “Pony Car” and thanks to smart styling and numerous available options, these cars sold well and were popular with the performance crowd.
The “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”
For the 1969 running of the famed Indianapolis 500—widely known as the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”—a Chevrolet Camaro was chosen by the USAC track officials.
This huge motorsports event took on May 30th, and the Pace Car announcement was noteworthy, as just two years prior, a Camaro was selected as the Official Pace Car for the 1967 race. In 1969, it returned for an encore performance and went on to become one of the most coveted Official Pace Cars of all time.
Camaros in 1969 were promoted as “Huggers,” that being a marketing nickname in reference to its taunt handling capabilities. The theme was a car that “hugs” the road. This Hugger promotion was also one of the available colors for the ’69 model year: “Hugger Orange.” When the design for the Official Pace Car was being done, the chosen color for the overall body was “Dover White.” However, the Chevy folks did manage to fit in some of the Hugger Orange hue, in the way of the car’s lettering, striping and interior coloring. A White car with Orange accents, and one that was pleasing to the eye.
Records indicate there were two actual pace cars, a primary car and a backup, that were specially prepared for the duty of pacing on the Speedway. These Pace Cars were “blueprinted stockers” that were built for the famous race. The 375-hp L89 396 big blocks were removed and disassembled, with all parts inspected and checked for imperfections. This was accomplished with Magnafluxing and Zyglo testing, along with visual inspections. Both powerplants were assembled and run at the Chevrolet Engineering Test Laboratory, as there was no desire to have one of them fail at such a huge media event. The Indy 500 is a big deal and not a time to have an engine failure, especially on the car leading the pack!
The Z11 option was available for SS/RS convertibles with the 350-cid 300-hp V-8 or with 396-cid V-8 (325, 350 or 375-hp versions). Pace car door decals with the markings: "Chevrolet Camaro OFFICIAL PACE CAR, 53rd ANNUAL INDIANAPOLIS 500 MILE RACE MAY 30, 1969" were available with this Z11 option, but not mandatory. The decals were included inside the trunk of the cars for installation at the Chevrolet dealerships, for customers who desired the door graphics.
Underwent a lengthy ground-up resto
While on a short journey to the Phoenix area, we came across this splendid Z11 “Indy Sport Convertible” Camaro and after a quick visual inspection, it didn’t take long to realize this car is one of the best-detailed examples of the 1969 Pace Car Camaros in the world.
This car under went a lengthy ground-up resto and when we say lengthy, it means just short of 12 years! And not a single detail was missed.
When purchased the engine numbers were verified: block casting # 3932386 was deemed correct for being the 300-hp 350-cid (non-Calif. AIR) powerplant. The Tonawanda, NY-built engine’s date code interpretation reflects the block was cast on January 3, 1969. This car has all the right parts and is beyond “fully documented!”
1969 was the first year for the ZL2 special ducted hood, and a rubber seal was positioned between the air cleaner and hood to insure a charge of cold air when the throttle was opened to 80 percent and above. Note the placement of the under hood sound insulation, which is the correct cut and material as equipped from the factory.
Careful cleaning procedures allowed traces of the original General Motors factory paint dabs to be seen during the disassembly of the chassis components. These reproduced marks were placed in the same spots as they appeared when new, and used the same coloring codes. The car has factory J52 front disc brakes as seen in this driver’s side image.
When restored, the yellow inspection marks were faintly seen, and later reproduced in the same fashion as originally documented. Unreal detail!
The original markings used on the car’s driveshaft, and faithfully reproduced the colors in their exact size and location as the day it was built. Remember, don’t high-pressure wash the parts without first checking for details like this!
Building a true “time warp” machine
OK, so there was not a lot of trunk space on these cars, just 6 cubic feet. However, if one needed to haul lots of luggage there was always the full-sized Impala and Caprice models…Optional Pace Car door decals were stored in this area when the cars left the factory.
These mysterious-looking canisters were filled with fluid, a suspended mass on a spring and they were “tuned” to a resonant frequency of the convertible to stop vibrations that occurred, particularly at certain speeds on the highway. When the roofless Camaro body was subjected to loading that would otherwise tend to make it oscillate, much of the energy was instead absorbed by the motion of the masses in the cocktail shakers, which were necessary to cancel out harmonic resonance vibration at certain speeds. This trick did solve the problem, although the mass dampers added weight, the four canisters weigh over 150 pounds.
This might appear to be a mistake done during the restoration, but in reality, it was done on purpose! The factory originally had a flaw in this area, and the painter was instructed to duplicate the error, exactly as it originally appeared all those years ago. Hey, if you’re building a true “time warp” machine, you might as well go all the way!
1969 Camaros with the factory RPO ZL2 cowl induction hood, have the top of the cowl ahead of the windshield and below the wiper filler panel, and painted the same stripe color, if equipped.
The Dover White hue was applied, and also masterfully painted on the hood and decklid “Hugger Orange” stripes. Acrylic enamel paint with hardener, no clear coat.
RPOZJ7 Rally Wheels “K19324YJ” --- “K” denotes Kelsey Hays (Romulus, Michigan Plant), “1” denotes wheel for Chevrolet, “9” denotes 1969, “324” denotes March 24, “YJ” denotes 14” x 7” Chevrolet Wheel. Goodyear Polyglas F70-14 rubber is used.
Deluxe Orange Hounds tooth interior (720) was part of the Z11 package, and while it was bright, it looked just right when combined with the stripes and special lettering.
Talk about are; the 1969 full-line press kit, with the Z11 featured as the main artwork. This rare artifact includes rare rolls of film featuring the products offered that year.
A total of 3,675 Z11 Official Indy 500 Pace Car Replicas were recorded as being built. Of those, 43 were Festival Pace Cars used by Festival Committee members and Speedway Officials associated with the race. There were an additional 80 Pace Cars allocated for the press and other members of the media. Some reports indicate that as many as 116 additional cars were designated as USAC Official Cars.
This Z11 was built at the Van Nuys Assembly Plant the 4th week of March 1969 and is factory coded as a “T481” car, which translates into “Indy Pace Car” for those that keep track of sequential internal code numbers. This is not a “clone” car; it’s the real deal. And without question, the car runs and drives like it was just driven off the dealer’s showroom floor back in 1969. The car gets neck-twisting looks everywhere it’s driven.
