In 1985, while traveling back from a GM plant in Flint, Mi., I stopped at a gas station for a fill up. While I was filling up and generally attending to my car, I spotted a nose of a Camaro peeking from behind the station. Approaching this old rusty car I noticed two things that were of interest to me at that particular time. First was that it had Z/28 emblems on the fenders and second was that it had an old faded for sale sign in the window. I jotted the phone number down and also had the presence of mind to get the VIN number and cowl tag info as well as the numbers off of the block. I phoned the number and chatted with the owner about this n that and haggled the price. I took the time also to call a friend of mine, Bill Piggins, to ask him a favor. Bill had a source inside GM that could quite possible let me know if this was a legitimate Z/28. His source was none other than his father, Vince Piggins, the genius behind GM performance/racing and the fabled Z/28. Within days I found that this was not only a "real Z", I also found that it was a "rare Z with the 140 service package", that included a special off-road camshaft and tubular headers, shipped in the trunk that would later be installed by the dealer, Draper Chevrolet of Saginaw Mi. This Z/28 was an old factory racecar that spent more time off the city streets and more time on a racetrack. Once I was aware of this, the price (albeit a steal) was irrelevant. I bought this rusted out hulk of a pony car, and nursed it down the freeway towards home. As I exited the freeway ramp towards my final destiny, I downshifted and felt the entire shifter drop through the floor and away from the transmission! Bad omens no doubt! 

    Things got better as I started the restification process. Restification you see is a nimble blend of restoring and modification, thus, "restification"! The whole idea was if to restore this car to its original state would mean it would loose the glory days it once enjoyed as a racecar. To restify would give the Z/28 its true heritage once again, a factory car modified for racing.     The process took over 1-˝ years. From the 5 different colors of paint that had to be stripped off, to the drivetrain that had to completed rebuilt, my friends and I labored long and hard. The final results are as you can see, 14 years after the fact. 

The real "Lost and Found" part of the story now begins! 

    In August of 1990 at a car show and cruise, a man approached my wife and I. He was in his late forties to near fifty and was totally taken by this car. "A 1968, Lemans Blue, 302 Z/28 Camaro" was what he sold just before he went into the service and over to Vietnam, he told me. It seems this guy never got this car out of his blood or his mind. He was bound and determined to find one again no matter what it took. He followed us, talked with us and finally pleaded with us to sell him this car. It was a week or so and I finally acquiesced and we came to a number. It seems after all the work I had done and trying to raise a family, this car meant more to him than it did me. The deal was done, final pictures taken with me, my 4 and 6-year-old daughters and the 68 Z/28. As the car drove off and the taillights disappeared into the hot summers night, IT BEGAN, SELLERS REMORSE!!!!!

    I tried everything to displace this silly car. I bought a boat. I got into Mt. biking. I even went as far as to buy my wife's cousins 911 Targa Porsche.     Years went by and I even sold the 911. I started to look for another car that could fill the void left behind by this silly car. Now being of sound(?) mind and body, a died in the wool, rock solid gearhead, I never stopped my Hot Rod Magazine subscription. I still looked for the monthly thrill all of us gearheads get when we open the mail box, sort through the junk mail, Visa bills and the weekly Victoria's secrets catalogues (who keeps sending these things to my wife anyhow? Keep it up!) And find the new issue of Hot Rod!

    What's this? A Power Tour? Guy's jump in their trusty rides and venture across this beloved U.S.of A., starting in L.A. and ending in…Oh man…..In THE DETROIT AREA (also known as Mt. Clemens!!) Count me in. A dash mark on the calendar was all that was required for me to pay way more attention that I really needed and with me not having a car and wanting one, why what better place to look for a car than this event. 

    The Hot Rod Power Tour arrived and that Friday it did, so did I. Taking off from work early, I made my way into a site that was unbelievable. Cars of every description, size color were parked in the downtown area. After hours of looking, I was on my way out and decided to take one more quick pass down a side street that I had missed. Out of the corner of my eye sat a, you guessed it, 1968 LeMans Blue Z/28. I made my way over to this ride. Man it sure looked like my old car. The closer I got, the more it became apparent. It was my old car!!! I was significantly more "used" than when I had last seen it exiting my driveway 6 years earlier. I circled the car for about an hour looking for the owner and picking on the points that were wrong with it now. Soon happened by a guy that seemed to know the car and after chatting about this car, I found that he knew the guy's first name and that he worked in an auto parts store in Mt. Clemens. Scott was his name and finding him was my aim! A detective I was not, but with the help of a yellow pages from the area, I started what I thought would be a "easy" task. Just call some auto parts store and ask for "Scott". Yeah right! 9 months later, after going through countless leads I found "Scott" in another town and at an auto parts store. 

    Upon reaching him, I asked if the car was for sale in which he replied" it might be". Great, that's a gear heads code for "you got enough money, I'll sell you my right foot. Now not to make matters worse, I couldn't let him know that this was my old car. The price would then be the dreaded "emotional buy" versus the " hey, I just want to go fast in an old car" buy. I arranged a visit to look at the car again, 9 months after I had seen it at the "TOUR", and would bring my wife to keep me in line, with both price and sanity. After an hour or so of talking with Scott, the price was set and the deal was done! On July 2 1997,the 1968 Z/28 made its way back home. 

    The car was abused by a street racing, nitrous oxide spewing demon (He must have driven the car like it was stolen). . One ride in the car with my wife and daughters (now 11 and 13) revealed a wounded bullet beneath the hood. Again, I would yank the motor and sent it to McClaren Racing Engines for a once over. Ed Babas, the mighty one at McClaren spent his energies to reveal a refreshed, .060 over 302 pumping out nearly 500 horsepower! I spent the winter and spring months refreshing or replacing the entire suspension and braking system. The interior has new carpet and insulation as well as some other items but remains mostly in tact, the way it was 30 years ago. 

    This last winter, I stripped the car down, again, replaced the doors, quarters and other weak items. The car was shipped from the factory with a black vinyl top and black stripes, so I went with the original scheme. As much of the original trim was reused and what was replaced was scrounged up used parts from swap meets or N.O.S. stuff. The car now sports 7" American Torque Thrust D's with BFG T/A Radials 225x70-15 on all 4 corners. Since this project is now 99% completed, my goal is to join you at the 2001 Power Tour and see if we can make the entire trip, trouble free! I want to thank you and your magazine for inspiring me to follow a dream to its reality, but more important, I want to thank my wife of 20 years, Sue, for letting me be me, an (ab) normal car guy.