Chevrolet Camaro, 1969

 

 Chevrolet Camaro, 1969

The Chevrolet Camaro was introduced in North America by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors at the start of the 1967 model year as competition for the Ford Mustang. Camaro advertising would first be found on AM top-40 stations of the day - stations which appealed to young adults. 

Though it was technically a compact car (by the standards of the time), the Camaro, like the entire class of Mustang competitors, was soon known as a pony car. It may also be classified as an intermediate touring car, a sports car, or a muscle car. The car shared the same platform and major components with the Pontiac Firebird, also introduced in 1967. Production of both cars ceased in 2002 with only the Camaro going back into production in 2009.

Though the car's name was contrived with no meaning, GM researchers reportedly found the word in a French dictionary as a slang term for "friend" or "companion." In some automotive periodicals before official release, it was code-named "Panther." Historical examples exist of Chevrolet product managers being asked by the automotive press "what is a Camaro?", with the tongue-in-cheek answer being "a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs," a sideways reference to the competing Ford Mustang.

The Camaro was the flagship for Chevrolet, and was for many years one of its most popular models. If its frequent inclusion in automotive enthusiast magazines is any indication, the Chevy Camaro is one of the most popular cars for modification in automotive history.

The 1969 Camaro carried over the previous year's drivetrain and major mechanical components, but all-new sheetmetal, except the hood and trunklid, gave a car a substantially sportier look. The grille was redesigned with a heavy "V" cant and deeply inset headlights. New door skins, rear quarter panels, and rear valence panel also gave the car a much lower, wider, more aggressive look. This styling would serve for the 1969 model year only. Collectors often debate the merits of smooth, rounded lines of 1967 and 1968 model versus the heavily creased and sportier looks of the 1969.

The real treat for the 1969 model year, however, was the vast array of new performance options. A GM corporate edict forbade Chevrolet from installing engines larger than 400 in³ (6.6 L) in the Camaro. Chevrolet also knew that there was a market for ultra-powerful Camaros armed with the Corvette's L72 427 in³ (7.0 L) engine, as evidenced by the success of dealerships like Yenko Chevrolet, Nickey Chevrolet, and Dana Chevrolet, who installed their own. So, Chevrolet quietly offered two Central Office Production Orders (COPO) options, numbers 9560 and 9561, for the 1969 model year. The COPO 9561 option brought the fire-breathing L72 big-block engine, making an underrated 425 hp (317 kW) gross. Don Yenko ordered several hundred of these cars, along with a variety of other high performance options, to create the now-legendary Yenko Camaro. Overall, Chevrolet produced just 1,015 L72-equipped Camaros.

Even rarer was the COPO 9560. The option installed an all-aluminum 427 in³ (7.0 L) big-block called the ZL-1. Just 69 ZL-1 Camaros were produced, probably because the engine alone cost over US$4,000 — nearly twice that of a base coupe with a V8. Though rated at 430 hp (321 kW) gross, the ZL-1 made closer to 550 hp (410 kW), making it both the fastest and rarest of all Camaros.

The 1969 model year was exceptionally long, extending into December 1969, due to production problems with the completely redesigned second generation model. Many of the late production cars were titled as 1970 models, and there are GM press photos showing cars sporting "1970" license plates; this is also the source of the "1970 1/2" moniker sometimes applied to the second generation 1970 model year cars. Equipped with the lighter weight "split bumper" in the fron and with all the refinements and enhancements up to that point, these "1970 1/2" model year vehicles are generally regarded as the most desirable of the early Camaros, since the performance of those immediately following was to be hampered by the addition of heavy federally mandated bumpers as well as the power-reducing automobile emissions control systems of the period.

Production numbers:
+ RS: 37,773
+ SS: 34,932
+ Z28: 20,302
+ Total: 243,085

Chevrolet Chevelle, 1969

 

Chevrolet Chevelle, 1969

The Chevrolet Chevelle debuted in the 1964 model year as a mid-size automobile from Chevrolet. It was produced throughout the remainder of the 1960s and 1970s and was one of General Motors' most successful models. Chevelle models ranged from economical family cars (by the standards of the day) to powerful coupes and convertibles. The Malibu was at first an upmarket submodel of the Chevelle but later became a model in its own right. The Chevelle chassis (based on the reengineered GM A platform) provided the platform for the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a very successful model itself. The Chevelle lineup was originally envisioned as a Chevy II replacement; however, Chevy II sales filled the niche for the Chevrolet Corvair, which could not outsell its competition.

A utility version of the Chevelle station wagon, the El Camino, was part of the lineup. The El Camino outlived its passenger car counterpart until its demise in 1987; some suggest that sales of the Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck led to the El Camino's demise.

Chevelle SS
The Chevelle SS represented Chevrolet's entry into the muscle car battle. Early 1964 and 1965 Chevelles had a Malibu SS badge on the front fenders (which includes the sought-after Z16 option where 201 Malibu SS were produced); after 1966, the Malibu badging disappeared except for those sold in Canada. The Chevelle SS was the high performance version and had its own line of engines and performance equipment. The performance engines available included 327 in³, 350 in³, and 396 in³ V8s - rated at 325, 350 and 375 hp respectively.

Previous to 1970, GM had a restriction stating that no mid-size car could have an engine with a displacement over 400 in³, though some inventive people figured out ways around this through the dealership; 1968 and 1969 were the times of the COPO (Centrol Office Production Order), in which a car was ordered by the dealer with a larger than allowed engine in it for racing purposes.

In 1970 the COPO dropped the displacement rule, and that was when the bigger engines came out. The first change was that the 396 engine was bored out to 402 in³ , but the car kept the 396 badging, as so much advertising had been put into the 396 namesake that they didn't want to change it. Most notable was the 454 in³ LS5 V8 rated at 390 hp and the LS6 at 450 hp. It was the 454 that made the Chevelle a legend. The LS6, with 450 hp and 500 ft·lbf of torque, would rocket the Chevelle through the 1/4 mile in low to mid-13 second times at 105 to 108 mph. After 1972, the engine ratings declined quickly. 1972 would be the last of the great Chevelle SS models. With the top engine rated at 245 net hp (183 kW), the car was a good performer, but not nearly as muscular as its previous iterations.

The customers, however, chose the Chevelle as an economical family car that, while not as expensive to operate as larger models (including the Chevrolet Impala), had enough room to seat a family of five in reasonable comfort. Popular convenience items ranged from power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission, air conditioning and stereo radio; plus appearance items including vinyl top, full wheel covers and whitewall tires.

On screen

• Chevrolet Chevelles appear in the background of a number of Dirty Harry films including The Enforcer and Magnum Force.
• A 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu appeared in Quentin Tarantino's cult movie Pulp Fiction. It is the car owned and driven by Vincent Vega.
• A 1964 Malibu sedan was in the movie Repo Man, starring Emilio Estevez.
• In the movie S.W.A.T., Sgt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson drives a 1972 Chevelle.
• In Dazed and Confused a 1970 Chevelle with the 454 V8 appears, driven by Matthew McConaughey's character Wooderson.
• In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Reese Bobby, Ricky's dad, drives a black and gold #13 1969 Chevelle, an apparent homage to Smokey Yunick who campaigned similar Chevelles with driver Curtis Turner in NASCAR in the mid 60's.

Chevrolet Corvette C3, 1968

 

 

Chevrolet Corvette C3, 1968

The Chevrolet Corvette C3 is a sports car patterned after Chevrolet's "Mako Shark" (designed by Larry Shinoda), it produced between 1968 and 1982. It is the third generation of Chevrolet Corvettes built and marketed by Chevrolet.

The generation has the distinction of being introduced to the motoring public in an unorthodox — and unintended — fashion. 1968 marked the introduction of Mattel's now-famous Hot Wheels line of 1/64-scale die cast toy cars. General Motors had tried their best to keep the appearance of the upcoming car a secret, but the release of the Hot Wheels line several weeks before the Corvette's unveiling had a certain version of particular interest to Corvette fans: the "Custom Corvette", a GM-authorized model of the 1968 Corvette.

GM enlarged their small-block again to 350 in³ (5.7 L) in 1969, and in 1970 the 427 big-block was enlarged to 454 in³ (7.4 L). Power peaked in the 1970 and 1971 models, with the 1970 LT-1 small-block putting out 370 hp (276 kW) and the 1971 454 big-block having its last year of big power with 425 hp (317 kW). In 1972, GM moved to the SAE Net measurement for power (away from the previous SAE Gross standard), which resulted in lower values expressed in hp. With the move to unleaded fuel, emission controls, and catalytic converters, power continued to decline and bottomed out in 1975 — the base ZQ3 engine put out 165 hp (123 kW), and the optional L82 engine put out 205 hp (153 kW). Power remained fairly steady for the rest of the C3 generation, ending in 1982 with the 200 hp (149 kW) L83 engine.

Styling changed subtly over the generation. In 1973, the Corvette dropped the front chrome bumpers for a urethane-compound "5 mph" bumper but kept the rear chrome bumpers. In 1974, The rear chrome bumpers became urethane, too, making 1973 the last Corvette model year with any chrome bumpers. 1975 was the last year for the convertible, and 1978 saw the introduction of a glass bubble rear window. In 1980, the Corvette got an integrated aerodynamic redesign that resulted in a significant reduction in drag.

Jeep CJ-3B, 1953

Jeep CJ-3B, 1953

The CJ Model was updated in 1953, becoming the CJ-3B. It had a taller front grille and hood than its military predecessor in order to accommodate the new Hurricane F-Head four-cylinder engine. 

The CJ-3B remained in production until 1968 and a total of 155,494 were manufactured in the U.S. In 1953, Willys-Overland was sold to Henry J. Kaiser for $60 million. The Kaiser Company began an extensive research and development program that would broaden the Jeep product range.

Jeep Jeepster, 1948

Jeep Jeepster, 1948

The original Jeepster ("VJ" internally) was produced from 1948 through 1950, though some leftover models were sold under the 1951 model year. 

After World War II, Jeep trademark owner, Willys, believed that the market for the military-type Jeep would be limited to farmers and foresters, therefore they began producing the "CJ" (or Civilian Jeep) to fill this growing segment as well as producing the new Jeep Wagon in 1946, and then the Jeep Truck in 1947. Realizing a gap in their product line up, Willys developed the Jeepster to crossover from their "utilitarian" type truck vehicles, to the passenger automobile market. 

 

The car (from 1948 to 1950) was originally only offered with rear-wheel drive, limiting its appeal with traditional Jeep fans. While its distinctive boxy styling (created by industrial designer Brooks Stevens) was a hit with critics, it did not catch on with the intended market segment. Sales were also limited by sparse advertising. In the end, 19,132 original VJ Jeepsters were produced (1948 - 10,326; 1949 - 2,960; 1950 - 5,836).

The VJ Jeepster was powered by the 62 hp (53 kW) "Go Devil" engine, a 134 CID (2.2 L) straight-4 also used in the CJ. A 3-speed manual transmission with optional overdrive was used, as were drum brakes all around. The vehicle's front end and single transverse leaf spring suspension, was from the Willys Station Wagon, as was the rear driveline.

 

The flat-topped rear fenders were copied from the Jeep truck line, as were the pair of longitudinal rear leaf springs.