New Build - '73 Z/28 Pro-Touring

[Gumball]

Well, I've decided to jump back into the fray with yet another project. After clearing my shop and just enjoying 7074 for the past year, I gave in to the desire for something more to work on. I was still looking for an early '60s station wagon, but came across a one-owner '73 Z/28. I've always had a soft spot for 2nd gen F-bodies, especially the early ones with flat rear windows... and more so the Camaro with round tail lights.

The seller bought it new in Jan '73 when he was 21 and immediately turned it into a drag race car, so the majority of the 16k original miles on it were racked up at a quarter-mile at a time. He worked at Ford for 30 years, then retired and did a ten year stint at Roush Racing (mostly on aviation engines) and another 10 years at GM racing (Cadillac ALMS engines). He was super meticulous with the mechanical work and did whatever he wanted to from the standpoint of preserving the underside - meaning there's not much of the original finishes left.... lots of gloss black Imron paint from the '70s and '80s. Living in the Ann Arbor / Detroit area, he ran it mostly at Milan Dragway, but it sounds like it also got regular workouts late at night along Woodward and other Detroit haunts.

Through the years, the original engine was blown and replaced with an early solid lifter LT-1 (which is currently in the car), the transmission was blown, rebuilt, and replaced, and same for the rear end center section. So, it's an all original metal and paint survivor, but without any of its factory birth markings or underside finishes - and the numbers matching drivetrain is long gone. As a result, I've been referring to it as a hot-rod survivor - basically trapped in time around the early '80s. He retired it from racing in the early '90s and then it sat for quite a few years before being returned to the street to live a life of car shows and cruise nights. Recently, he refreshed the engine, including the addition of Edelbrock heads/intake/carb kit, and upgraded the transmission to a TKO600, which now has just under 500 miles on it.

It's also a bit of a unique car - it's a true Z/28, with a "T" in the fifth place of the VIN and "Z28" on the cowl data tag. It also is a true 4-speed car. But, instead of being optioned from a base coupe, it started out on the line as a "Type LT" - '73 was the first year for that model, which replaced the "SS" version that year. The LT added creature comforts, but not A/C, and replaced all the exterior badges with LT, rather than Z/28. Between that and the fact that you couldn't order stripes from the factory on the LT models, it was the ultimate sleeper Camaro for the times.

My plan, since it's been a hot-rod from the beginning, is to continue that tradition and go full-on Pro-Touring with the build. I'll probably shy away from the 4-link conversion kits, as those are more track oriented, but will do a complete suspension upgrade, as well as big brakes, super light forged wheels to fit over the 14" rotors, aftermarket A/C, a decent stereo, some interior upgrades, and non-original stripes in matte black vinyl to match the roof, rockers, and rear panel. The last thing to go will be the engine - which will be replaced with either an LS427 (the wet-sump version of the LS7 that was found in the last generation Z/28 and Z-06) or one of the current LT engine offerings. The LS427 is in the top spot right now, as it would be a perfect fit with the existing TKO600 transmission.

Here are a few pics of it back in the day......