Good cars, good people, great forum!

[sYc]

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I'M SURE GLAD THESE 2 GUYS HAVE GOT THE CARS THEY WANT ... NOW .. IS THERE ANYONE IN <<< NEED >>> OF A OLE ''CORVAIR'', THEY CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT...I DIDN'T THINK SOOOO...NOBODY IS THAT BAD OFF... ...KASEY

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Hey, everyone should have a Corvair in their collection.

Wish you had not posted pictures of the Silver car, man I miss that car. Still looking good.

[Bruce]

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Bruce,you restored that car,correct?

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Mark, yes I did back in 96.

[Zedder]

Good for both of you! I don't know who got the better deal

[olredalert]

--------You and me both, Tom!!! Those pics bring back a bunch of great memories. Some of them would make a great story someday.........Bill S

[KnoxvillePig]

This post will be a little lengthy but hopefully you all will enjoy.

When I started looking for a 1969 L-78 Camaro approximately 6 years ago, I told my wonderful wife (girlfriend at the time) that I wanted it to be documented, possess its original drivetrain, have a 4-speed transmission and last, but ABSOLUTELY not least, it had to be an original CORTEZ SILVER code 69/69 car. Surely, I wasn't asking for much was I???

I scoured the classifieds, the Internet and networked with several contacts, almost on a daily basis. After several years of roadtrips and "wild goose chases" (However, I did meet some really cool people along the way.), I was slowly starting to give up hope on ever finding my "Dream Car". After many heartbreaks, I quickly came to the realization that I was probably searching for a needle in a haystack. My wife (usually being the more sensible) told me that I would have to make some compromises and would probably not have the luxury of chosing my favorite color of Cortez Silver.

A couple of years ago, I finally found a beautifully restored (Thanks to the talents of member, Bruce Hershberger) "Daytona Yellow" RS/SS L-78 Camaro w/ two build sheets and Protect-O-Plate. Unfortunately, Chris ( Member: mchriscad) beat me to the car and I called him w/ an offer. Chris told me that a "Daytona Yellow / Black and white Houndstooth" L-78 camaro was the car he had been searching for forever and after some tough convincing, I was able to purchase the car from Chris before he ever got a chance to pick it up. I was able to contact the original owner (who currently lives in Alaska) of the "Daytona" Camaro and we became very close friends. The car and story will be featured in an upcoming edition of "Muscle Car Enthusiast" magazine.

In December 2006, I was getting my nightly dosage of the SuperCar Registry, when I noticed a thread entitled "My L-78 Christmas". Chris had posted that he had sold his COPO and had just purchased two L-78's right before Christmas. The first was a 28,000 mile, documented, original drivetrain, three owner, 1969 L-78 Nova.

The second car WAS: "and what before my twinkling eyes did appear", but a documented, original untouched drivetrain, Cortez Silver, L-78 1969 Camaro with a BV coded 4:10 Rear (Sorry about the corny Christmas rhyme, but I just couldn't resist). The added bonus was that the car had only 9400 original documented miles, and was, for the most part, an untouched survivor. The car was also featured on several pages of John R. Hooper's book, "The 1969 Camaro Reference Book". At that time, I think it was reported to have around 7000 miles. I have also been since told that it was featured on a famous first generation Camaro poster and is also the "March" 2000 car for some unknown muscle car calendar. If anyone has knowledge of this calendar, please let me know.

Needless to say, I wasted no time in calling Chris, and I was on the road with my wife to Dayton, Ohio from Knoxville, Tn.
I looked the car over for several hours and could not believe how nice and original the car was. The paint looked great. Someone apparently clear coated the original paint sometime in the late 1970's or early 1980's. (Hopefully I'll find out exactly who did it soon). The good thing was the clear coat helped to preserve the original paint. The interior is Absolutely MINT except for a little fading of the rear package tray. The engine compartment, other than some dust, grime and grease, looked really good. You could still see the original Norwood Factory paint, body and trim "PBT" inspection markings (somewhat faded but still noticable). MOST IMPORTANTLY, all original components were there (alternator, distributor, starter, deep groove pulleys etc....)
The motor had started to show its age in areas with the typical wearing/chipping of orange paint around the block, heads and water pump but was nothing that was not to be expected. I was simply amazed at what I saw. Chris and I then talked and came up with a deal that was fair for both of us. This deal involved me trading my fully restored Daytona Yellow RS/SS L-78 for his Cortez Silver L-78 Survivor.
I couldn't believe that I was actually getting the car that I had set out to find 6 years earlier.


Today, I spent a few hours attempting to locate some previous owners of the Cortez Silver Survivor and have made some good progress. I will continue to follow up as time permits in the next few days. Everyone I talked with today had two things in common to say about the car:
"I wish, I would have never sold it" and "it was definitely one of the "MEANEST" cars that I have ever owned.

I finally got a chance today to drive the Cortez Silver Beast for a few minutes around my neighborhood. There is only one word to describe it, UNBELIEVABLE!! It had a really tight feel with no squeaks, rattles or noise. It ABSOLUTELY felt like I was behind the wheel of a brand new car. I haven't got to really push it yet. I can't wait because it sounds "Mean as Hell" and seems to have some "INSANE" torque. It is without a doubt (IMHO) a one-of-a-kind find.

In closing, I want to Thank the SuperCar Registry for putting me in contact with so many helpful people. You guys are truly a wealth of knowledge and I have made so many friends and great contacts in this hobby.

I also want to Thank my wonderful wife, Nikki, for all your love and support in the past six years ( Although, I know you loved all the road Trips).

Finally, Thank You for everything Chris. You were a pleasure to work with. Keep finding those Great cars. I'm glad you finally got your "Keeper". You have an absolutely Beautiful L-78 Camaro that I know you will be proud of for years to come. Nikki and I will surely miss her. However, I believe that Nikki is starting to like this old Cortez Silver beast a little more each day.
I think the "Patina" is starting to grow on her.

I am truly blessed.



Darrell J (KnoxvillePig)


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1969 Camaro SS396 L-78 Cortez Silver, X-22, Survivor. Original untouched Drivetrain w/ original Protect-O-Plate and Currently working on owner history (In case you haven't figured it out...I'm kinda proud of this one.)

[Hotrodpaul]

Darrell, congrats on the Awesome L-78. Can you post some additional pics of the car including the engine compartment. Thanks,

Paul

[Xplantdad]

I think Darrell should send pics and a write up for Members Rides....I think it would be a hit!

[Z-11 396]

+++ THANKS +++ TO EVERYONE THAT HELPS OTHER TO MAKE THERE /// DREAMS /// COME TRUE....SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE HELPED ME, MY SON, AND ARE GOOD FRIEND DARRELL, TO GET THE <<<< CARS >>> THEY ALWAYS WANTED, OR HELPED TO MAKE THE ''' CARS '' THEY GOT TO BE THE BEST ONES THEY EVERY HAD... THIS {{{ HOBBY }}} IS ONE OF THE GREATEST TO BE A PART OF, AND I HOPE IT ALWAYS WILL.....KASEY .....

[mchriscad]

Bruce, you did a great job. The restoration is holding up flawlessly. You gotta love Daytona Yellow, and yes I agree with you on the SS/RS.

[Chevy454]

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Someone apparently clear coated the original paint sometime in the late 1970's or early 1980's. (Hopefully I'll find out exactly who did it soon).

Today, I spent a few hours attempting to locate some previous owners of the Cortez Silver Survivor and have made some good progress.

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Re-read that L-78 Christmas thread...it should answer a lot of your questions!

Oh, and don't believe everything Hooper's book says about the car...