By: Steve Cato

It was the summer of 1969; I was sixteen years old when I saw the car that I knew I would own someday. It was the most beautiful vehicle I had ever seen. A friend of mine came to my house in a brand new 1969 Z28 Camaro. The color was Lemans Blue with white stripes. I knew immediately that one day I would have one.

Now at 55 years of age I have one. I found my car on the internet in London, Kentucky and my son and I drove there to pick it up. This car was an original Rally Sport V8 with Cortez Silver paint. I had it completely disassembled and the body was taken down to bare metal. Many hours were spent getting the body ready to paint. Since the first 1969 Camaro that I saw was Lemans Blue, I chose to re-paint it that color. After re-painting, I had the subframe repainted also. I had all the chrome pieces replaced along with all the glass. New springs and shocks were added, along with four wheel disc brakes installed. A Muncie M21 transmission and a Moser 12 bolt rear with posi was the next step. The entire interior was replaced including the gauges and console. The 350-crate motor then had bowtie heads with roller rockers installed. This complete rotisserie restoration took over one year and many headaches. After seeing the end result, to me it was all worth it. I had an extra garage built to house it. My wife keeps asking me if I am going to install stained glass windows in this garage.

This is the car that I have always wanted. It just took me 40 years to have it. My wife says the car will never be finished and she is probably right. I just know that the car that I dreamed of at sixteen, is now mine. I am very fortunate to have a wife that understands that an old mans dreams should never die.