Zedder's Garage
Bender-Chapman 1967 Z-28
In May of 2005 I received a phone call from a fellow who was responding
to a wanted ad that I had run looking for a '67 Z-28. He was very
soft spoken and I wasn't quite sure whether he actually owned a car or
was fishing to see what he might have to pay for one. So I came right
out and asked him if he owned a '67 Z. He responded that he did and
I then asked how long he had owned it. "From new" was his reply.
What??? A one owner '67 Z??? After a few more questions, he
confirmed that he bought the car new in 1967 from Bender-Chapman Chevrolet
in Chandler, Arizona. We quickly made a deal contingent on him sending
me a few digital pics. A few days later, I received these pics...
WOW! This thing was basically unmolested with the exception of
a repaint in the mid '80's. Under normal circumstances, I would not
have hesitated in the least, but I had just unexpectedly lost my job after
16 years of dedicated service and I was afraid to spend any money on anything
that wasn't a necessity. I showed my wife the pics and we decided
that after being kicked in the gut by my employer, I deserved this car!
If worst came to worst, we would just sell the car to one of my friends
who were looking for a Z if we had to. I called the owner and
made arrangements to wire him the funds.
History
In May of 1967, John M., a member of the US Air Force, and a friend
went to Bender-Chapman Chevrolet in Chandler, Arizona to purchase an L78
El Camino for John's friend. After the deal was written up, the salesman
turned to John and said that he had made his quota for the month and offered
to give him a great deal on any car that he wanted. John said that
he would love a new Z-28 like he had recently saw at a local SCCA race.
Being that these were still relatively unknown cars, the salesman had no
idea what a Z-28 was. They grabbed his order book and John called
out the options that he wanted. The car totaled $4050 and the salesman
offered him the car for $3,450...sold! A little over a month later,
John was the proud new owner of a Butternut Yellow '67 Z-28.
John used the car as a daily driver until 1980 when he was transferred
to Great Britain. He actually shipped the car over to the UK with
him for the 3 year stint, were he even had the car repainted. John
kept meticulous records on the car and provided them to me with the car.
These records even included the shipping documents for the trip to the
UK and all original invoices from day one!
In 1983, John returned to the US and was stationed in Florida.
He drove the car sparingly for a few years and eventually put the car into
storage in 1998 where it sat until it was pulled out for shipping to me.
Options
When John filled out the order sheet for the car, he was torn between getting
an SCCA racer and a street cruiser and the options he chose clearly show
this. He wanted a Z-28, with 3.73 posi and metallic brakes, console
with tach and gauges, shoulder harness seat belts and cowl plenum breather
for the racer in him. He added to that an am/fm radio, tinted glass,
deluxe interior, fold-down rear seat and deluxe seat belts for comfortable
Saturday night cruising. All in all, this is one of the most highly
optioned '67 Z-28's in existence.
Current Condition
The car is basically undisturbed but in need of a total restoration to
the tune of about $50,000. Here are some pics of how it looked after
a quick cleaning...
If anyone visiting this web site has any information or recollection
of this car from the past, please contact
me.
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