69 z-28 camaro ?

[Dwight Southerland]

Originally Posted by bob gonier

ACTUALLY GUYS............ It was a production date issue. The early production cars had the flat hoods and the cowl induction hood came out later into the model year. SO....... ALL early production cars came from the factory with a flat hood and ALL cars built after a certain date got the cowl hood. It was standard equipment on all the later built Z/28's and ALL the Pace Cars and COPO Camaro's. Those the facts.......
bob

Wrongo, Bob. I worked at a Chevrolet dealership in 1969 and was best friends with the owners. The cowl hood was an option on all 4-bbl equipped Camaros after 10-1-68, including Z28s. It was spec'ed as a required option with the Pace Car package and the COPO 427 cars, but never a "standard equipment" piece on anything. It's like a four-speed transmission. The Z28 option required ordering a four-speed and front disc brakes, but they were not part of the Z28 option. The Z28 code option only included the special engine, special suspension pieces, HD rear axle, HD cooling and the badging. The cowl hood option was not required on the Z28. Its option code was ZL2.

In the period between 1969 and 1973, I owned a '69 SS 396-325 with a cowl hood and the spoiler package, a standard '69 Camaro 350-255hp with the cowl hood option (Wierd car. It had a four-speed, disc brakes, 12-bolt w/posi, then a single exhaust. The original owner special ordered the car but didn't realize that the regular gas engines all came with a single exhuast system.), a '69 coupe with the Pace Car package, 350-300 hp which required the cowl hood option, a couple of cowl hood optioned Z28s, and a '69 SS 396-375 with the cowl hood package. I also owned a late-July 1969 built Z28 with a flat hood, a December '68 built 1969 Z28 with a flat hood and no positraction (dumb!), a '69 SS 396-350 hp with the standard SS hood and a '69 307 PG standard car with a flat hood. All were original production equipped cars.

The cowl hood was a 1969 year option only.

The short '68 style spoiler was never factory installed. There was a supplier problem shortly after the '69s were introduced because the spoiler package was so popular and the demand exceeded the supply. Many dealers responded by installing the '67-'68 spoilers, which were available, to satisfy the buyers.

The cowl hood has always been such a popular item and so many have been installed on early Camaros that the production availability facts have been blurred in time.

Those are the facts.

Dwight Southerland