Rides from the Readers: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro
Hagerty readers and Hagerty Drivers Club members share their cherished collector and enthusiast vehicles with us via our contact email, tips@hagerty.com. We’re showcasing some of our favorite stories among these submissions. To have your car featured, send complete photography and your story of ownership to the above email address.
Today’s featured car is a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. During this model year, Chevrolet designers upped the car’s visual aggression with a “v”-shaped grille opening (visible head-on or when looking down at the car) and tucked the headlights farther back in the fascia for a touch more menace. Some of the easiest visual differentiators from the 1968 model year lie in the 1969’s triple-lens taillights and louvered three-quarter panels; inside, the square gauges broke from the circular trend set by the 1967 and 1968 model years. Z/28 models continued to boast a 302-cubic-inch V-8 but gained a Hurst shifter and, as worn by this car here, an optional cowl-induction hood.
This particular Camaro belongs to Drew Efimoff, who recently completed a nut-and-bolt restoration on his 1969 … and threw in some modern flair during the process. The Z/28 keeps things visually subtle, but mechanically it’s had quite the makeover. A GM Performance Gen V LT1 sits under the hood, capped with a cold-air intake and channeling 530 hp through a Tremec five-speed and a custom-built Ford 9-inch rear end. New wiring and electronics weave through the car, enabling LED headlights, a fully electronic gauge cluster, an e-brake, and air conditioning system.
“The custom-made stainless-steel exhaust sounds mean, but not obnoxious,” writes Efimoff. From where we sit, it looks like Efimoff’s polished off a seriously classy restomod.
