Vehicle Description
1969 RS/SS PACE CAR. 350 CU IN, TURBO 350, POWER FRONT DISC, POWER
STEERING, A/C, 12 bolt posi . Z10 option package.This is a very
Camaro that is in great shape owner since 79 by same person that
only wanted the best. Article on Z10. It was a well kept secret for
a number of years. The pace car convertibles had a sibling! There
were a limited number of RS/SS coupes built via the option code Z10
that received the pace car style orange Z28 striping, essentially
coupe versions of the pace car. Paperwork documenting why the cars
were made has not been found, but they were sold in the Southwest
(TX, OK, NM, LA, and AZ) and in Tennessee. The option was somehow
communicated to dealers in these states (probably via a zone
letter) and the dealers then placed their orders (Chevrolet did not
build cars without a dealer or customer order). Production records
have not been found. However, using CRG's data on known Z10's, Z10
production is estimated to be about 450 to 500 cars. This estimate
is higher than other prior estimates, but the estimate is derived
from analytical data. Just under 200 cars are currently known. All
Z10's are RS/SS's, painted Dover white (code 50) with white rocker
panels. SS396 cars had white tailpanels. Required options for the
Z10 package were D80 spoilers, ZJ7 rally wheels, ZL2 special ducted
hood, Z22 Rally Sport, and Z27 Super Sport. The Z10's were built at
Norwood and Z10 was stamped on the cowl tag. All the cars were
built between the third week of April (04C) and the first week of
May (05A). No Los Angeles-built Z10's have ever been found and
since LA was in the midst of a strike when most Z10's were built,
it's very doubtful any were made there. Five different interiors
have been observed in Z10's. Approximately 40% of the Z10 cars
received the ivory standard (code 727) interior. The other 60% were
relatively evenly split between four other interiors: black
standard (711), black deluxe (712), black houndstooth (713), and
ivory houndstooth (729). No Z10's have been found with the orange
houndstooth (720) interior used in the pace cars. Most Z10's have
the L48 350/300 hp engine, but the 396 engines were optional. Most
of the cars that did have the 396 were equipped with the L35 325hp
engine, though there was at least one L78 396/375 hp Z10. The
3-speed manual transmission was the base transmission, but, like
most SS cars, most Z10's were optioned with an automatic or a
4-speed manual. About 40% of the known Z10's are manual and 60% are
automatics. Any other 69 Camaro option was available on the Z10. A
large percentage (about half) of Z10's have air conditioning and
several cars with vinyl tops have been found. The Z10's were not at
the 1969 Indy 500 race. Although they are sometimes referred to as
'pace car coupes', neither the Indy 500 race nor the pace cars are
referenced in any known Z10 documentation. RPO Z10 is shown on the
window stickers as "Special Accent Striping" for $36.90; the same
price as the Z11 option. Door decals were not included with either
Z10 or Z11 cars. We do not know the reason for lack of reference to
the Indy 500 in the known Z10 material, but we can speculate.
Perhaps it was to avoid the Indy licensing fees, or perhaps there
was a limitation in the Indy contract that restricted replicas to
be convertibles. They definitely have a relationship to the pace
cars, but until documentation is found, it's all speculation as to
why these coupes were built and then distributed in such a limited
area. (As a side note: The Z10 RPO code was used over the years for
other special Chevrolet builds - e.g. the 1974 Spirit of America
Nova, etc.) You can help with the CRG's research on Z10's. If you
own a Z10, please contact the author Kurt Sonen and include a
picture of the trim tag. Thanks!
