|
|
|
Automotive history lives and breathes at RK Motors Charlotte. You know we are passionate about vintage racing, having completely restored Project Six Pack to its original state, and more recently presenting the legendary Arlen Vankes 1967 HEMI Barracuda. Today we are pleased to announce yet another milestone race vehicle coming to us from one of the top names in the Camaro hobby. The car is Dave Sticklers 1968 Camaro Z/28 that won the 1968 Super Stock World Championship, and the man is Camaro historian and authenticity expert, Jerry MacNeish. The car has been comprehensively restored to as-raced condition, including some incredibly rare NOS items that came from Jerrys personal collection. If there is a more thoroughly documented, well-known, relevant and accurate early Camaro out there, Id like to see it. Make no mistake: this is the ultimate Z/28 and the cornerstone of any significant Chevrolet muscle collection.
Racing legend Dave Strickler dominated NHRA Super Stock racing during the 1968 season with this Bill Grumpy Jenkins-prepared Z/28 Camaro. Equipped with a stock intake manifold and carburetor, a stock hood, Stahl Headers, 5.38 gears, and nine-inch slicks, the Old Reliable ran elapsed times in the 11.70s at roughly 116 mph, which made it competitive with many big block Super Stock Camaros of the same time period. Its dominance culminated in two of Sticklers biggest wins: on Sunday, October 6, 1968, Strickler drove to a decisive victory over a stellar field at the NHRA Super Stock All-Star Meet at Englishtown Raceway Park. Two weeks later, he went on to capture the 1968 Super Stock World Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then the most prestigious S/S event on the NHRA calendar.
The Old Reliable Z/28 was featured in over 30 automotive publications during 1968 and 1969, making it the most famous Z/28 Camaro in race car history! Champion Spark Plugs, and Hooker Headers, two original sponsors, featured this car in their 1968 national advertising, placing ads in virtually all major automotive publications. Thousands of Camaro enthusiasts throughout the country were influenced by this World Class Camaro.
The Dave Strickler legacy speaks for itself: sixteen national class championships, forty-one national and world records, and a world championship title.
Following the 1968 season, this car was retired from active competition and sold, presumably lost to history. This was common at the time, as top racers knew that the factory would supply them with a new car each year, and old racing cars were not historically noteworthy at the time. Of course, we know differently today, but for more than 20 years, the Old Reliable Camaro languished in obscurity, trading hands twice, and being raced in relative anonymity at tracks all over the country. It was always a well-prepped car, but there was nothing beyond its incredible history that would make it immediately recognizable once the factory Corvette Bronze paint was covered up.
In March of 1993, Jerry MacNeish located and purchased Dave Stricklers Old Reliable Z/28 race car. It was actually through the help of Michael Strickler (Daves son) that MacNeish was able to track the car down. The Strickler family had kept documentation with the vehicles VIN number. Based on that, Jerry located the exact car used to win the 1968 World Championship and bought it on the spot, knowing what he had found. According to an article in Musclecar Review magazine, the car was just days away from being cut up for scrap when Jerry rescued it. Later, he discovered that the car still carried its original ball joint spacers, proving that this was EXACTLY the car Dave Strickler drove to the World Championship.
In the summer of 1993, the detailed restoration began. Jerrys intention was to restore the car to the exact condition in which it was campaigned in 1968. Drawing on extensive research, historical documents, photographs, articles, and other sources, Jerry and his team were able to precisely duplicate the cars decals and lettering (all of which was done by hand, as original, by the way). Mechanically, the car was better than new in every way, with upgrades that would make it competitive with modern machinery in NHRAs Stock Eliminator Class.
In the summer of 1994, Old Reliable made its debut at Super Chevy Weekend held at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA. It was still equipped with an original balanced and blue printed 302 engine. That same year, the Old Reliable Z/28 Camaro won the prestigious Best of Show Award at the US Camaro Nationals held in Dearborn, Michigan. In 1995, MacNeish finished the racing season placing 11th in Division One out of 185 drivers in NHRAs Stock Eliminator Class. In 1998, Old Reliable ran consistent elapsed times in the 11.20s at over 119 mph, (and thats without a crossram!). Not too bad for a stock 302 engine.
Later, in 2002, Jerry piloted Old Reliable to a win at the Delmar, Delaware US-13 NHRA divisional points race and finished out the season in the top 10 placing 8th for the year in Division One and 24th in NHRA world points. In 2004, Old Reliable won the E/Stock class at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and by that point ran 10.80s at almost 123 MPH. Since 1998, Old Reliable has accomplished many NHRA class wins and several Stock Eliminator wins.
In January of 2008, Jerry MacNeishs company, Camaro Hi-Performance, dismantled this car and did the necessary restoration work to put this Z/28 back to its original 1968 race configuration when it won the NHRA world championship title. Every detail is correct, down to the virtually unobtainable original Stahl front drag tires, Stahl tachometer, and rare cowl plenum air cleaner.
According to the original Pennsylvania title that comes with the car, this Camaro was never registered and as a race car, why would it be? As a result, it might be one of the lowest-mileage 1968 Camaros in existence and despite its history at the race track, much of it was in astoundingly original condition. During the 1993 restoration, the floors were replaced, and the hood and trunk lid were replaced with NOS pieces because a previous owner had installed fiberglass reproductions. All the original trim was still on the car and it was fully polished and restored as well. The cars original Corvette Bronze paint was duplicated in 2-stage urethane for a killer shine that will last for another 40 years. Youll note that the stripes have been embedded in the clear and are not decals as original, but this is definitely an improvement. Before you accuse them of taking the easy way out, however, note that they even went so far as to duplicate the decals cut-out around the trunk-mounted Camaro emblem most painters paint the strip and just install the badge over it. The quarter panels required a great deal of restoration work, since they had been cut and mangled by a previous owner to fit larger slicks, but those are, indeed, the original quarters.
Once the paint was in place and polished to perfection, Jerry and his team of craftsmen painstakingly duplicated every decal, every stripe, and every letter on the original cars paint scheme. If the original decal was vinyl, the new ones were made in vinyl. If it was hand-painted, it was again hand-painted on the car. Nothing was overlooked, and comparing photos from 1968 and from today, you need to look at the clothes people are wearing to determine which is the original and which is the restored car ...For more information please call the seller. 
|
|
STOCK/INV. NUMBER:
132119
|
|
