Only a year after the inaugural SCCA Trans-American Sedan
Championship kicked off, General Motors entered the fray of the
now-renowned Pony Car Wars in 1967 with a truly standout
competitor: the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28.
This example is one of just 602 1967 Camaro Z/28s produced and is
reportedly one of the first cars delivered to the Pacific
Northwest. Although it was originally intended for a private buyer
in Washington c. January 1967, the Camaro was instead selected by
Alan Green Chevrolet to race in their distinct GM Pickup White and
Hugger Green metallic livery in the Trans-Am series. The
Seattle-based, dealership-backed team was feared in Pacific
Northwest SCCA and ICSCC circles for their successful
pre-production L88 Corvettes and Bill Thomas Cheetahs, but this
Camaro Z/28 would be their only entry into the higher echelon of
Trans-Am competition.
Its first event was the Sebring 4 Hours in April, with minimal
modifications and veteran SCCA racer Gary Gove behind the wheel.
Unfortunately, it succumbed to a broken water pump shaft on lap 61
of the unforgiving Sebring event. The Z/28 was subsequently sent
north to stock car experts Bill Ellis Racing in North Carolina to
receive a suite of upgrades, from NASCAR-derived suspension
components to a stripped-out interior with custom roll cage and
instruments.
Now a fully-fledged Trans-Am machine, the Alan Green Z/28 raced at
several events during the 1967 and 1968 seasons with Gove and Indy
500 regular Jerry Grant primarily at the wheel. Of note was the
Kent 300 in October 1967, before which Mark Donohue was approached
to test the car before the race. Donohue, who was in the middle of
his endurance career and even worked out of the Alan Green
dealership to develop the Trans-Am Camaros, was impressed by its
handling but said it lacked power-the 302's single carburetor the
likely culprit. Legend has it that a mysterious package from an
anonymous sender arrived at Alan Green Chevrolet a few months
later, containing two Holley carbs and an innovative Cross-Ram
intake manifold. It was this performance development that helped
propel Chevrolet to the Trans-Am title in 1968 and 1969-along with
Penske backing and some masterclass driving from Donohue.
This example's final Trans-Am race was the 1968 Kent 300, where it
was driven by Skip Scott and was painted in the reverse Alan Green
livery (green with white accents). Alan Green Chevrolet closed down
in 1970 and the Camaro was sold to Max Dudley, who raced it in the
SCCA "A" Sedan class and won the NorPac SCCA "A" Sedan Championship
the following year.
The Z/28 is believed to have remained in the Pacific Northwest
according to a letter written by Gary Gove himself in October 1995.
The car was restored to its original white and green Alan Green
livery as raced in 1967 around this time, with Gove mentioning in
the same letter that he was present during several points of the
car's refurbishment and could verify the restoration's
authenticity. Body and paintwork was entrusted to a firm in San
Pedro, California that had painted the legendary Vic Edelbrock's
vintage racers.
Since entering the consignor's care in August 2008, the Alan Green
Z/28 has been a regular contender in the Historic Trans Am series,
delighting vintage motorsport enthusiasts at many of the tracks it
raced at in period and competing against many of its old
adversaries. The consignor raced the Camaro for an impressive 16
years before retiring from historic racing in 2024. It was last
shown publicly at the esteemed 2025 Arizona Concours d'Elegance,
where it was honored among several of its compatriots in a special
Trans-Am class.
It is furnished with its FIA Form of Recognition dated January
1967, a binder of period magazines covering the 1967 Trans-Am
Championship, and a comprehensive history file of the Alan Green
Chevrolet Camaro's race history that includes period and historic
entry lists, many photos of the Camaro racing in historic events
over the past two decades, and other documents that trace its
ownership and competition history.
This ex-Alan Green 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is a compelling entry
into vintage racing, featuring thoroughly documented racing history
in period during the Trans-Am Championship's golden era.
Furthermore, nearly two decades of historic competition and a
recent rebuild of its screaming 302 cu-in V8, that crucially
retains the Camaro's innovative Cross-Ram intake, further enhance
this historic Trans-Am contender. It is listed in the Historic
Trans-Am registry, ensuring that it remains eligible for Historic
Trans Am series events, and is a welcome addition to prestigious
racing celebrations nationwide including Lime Rock Historic
Festival and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna
Seca.
ClassicCars.com has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States, successfully making the Inc. 5000 list in both 2015,
2016, 2017 and 2018. This prestigious accolade represents the continued growth of the company, and ClassicCars.com's dominance as the world's largest online marketplace for
buying and selling classic and collector vehicles.
The Stevie Awards, the world's premier business awards recognized
ClassicCars.com's first-class Customer Support team with a Stevie Bronze Award in 2019, celebrating the team's skills as exemplary customer support specialists.
In 2016 The Journal, brought to you by ClassicCars.com, was celebrated as the SECOND MOST INFLUENTIAL automotive blog in the world by NFC Performance.