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HomePick of the DayReady to rumble, 1969 Camaro SS convertible is top-down performer

Ready to rumble, 1969 Camaro SS convertible is top-down performer

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After checking out all the primo muscle cars this past weekend at Mecum’s first Arizona auction, my mind’s set on something fast and fun, something like the 1969 Camaro Super Sport 350 convertible chosen for the Pick of the Day.

This Camaro is freshly restored and with just over 50,000 original miles, according to the Geneva, Ohio, dealer advertising the car on ClassicCars.com, and it looks immaculate in the rare factory color of Garnett Red with Black insets.

Camaro
The convertible top appears to be like new

“Great opportunity for an investor or a collector to own a piece of muscle car history,” the seller says. “This is a desirable, well-optioned, low-mile Camaro SS in pristine condition.”

The SS is powered by an “upgraded period-correct 350 hp Turbo-fire 350 V8,” the ad says. “Rare (early production only) chambered true dual-exhaust system has the right sound.”

A number of desirable upgrades came with the Camaro SS, including power front disc brakes, spoilers front and rear, cowl-induction hood, aluminum valve covers and chrome-trim group.  The convertible top is like new, the seller adds, and comes with a parade boot.

Camaro
The refurbished interior looks very red

The bright-red interior also has been refurbished, with the correct bucket seats, console and an AM-FM 8-track audio system, according to the ad. The restoration was done on a clean convertible that originally was sold in Florida, the ad says.

It’s great to see one of these ’69 Camaro SS ragtops that has not been customized or resto-modded, instead standing on its correct wheels with powertrain and factory trim intact.  This is considered to be the best year for a vintage Camaro, a one-year-only design that sharpened the look of the original design that rolled out to much acclaim for 1967, and before the complete restyling of the 1970 cars.

Camaro
The 350 V8 has cowl induction

This would not have been the hottest Camaro of 1969, some of which were equipped with 396cid V8s from the factory, as well as the legendary COPO 427 versions special ordered through an imaginative dealer loophole. But the 350 should be plenty muscular, rated at 300 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque.

The asking price for this special Camaro SS convertible seems reasonable at $49,900.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Nice car but I don’t see any proof that this car is a SS. They also don’t present any evidence of the low mileage.

    • It’s virtually impossible to prove that a Camaro is a true SS. If someone wanted to go to the trouble of building a fake, with enough research, it can be done. I’m 3 years in the process of restoring a 69 SS and I’ve been all over and under his car. It has every marking and indicator that an SS is supposed to have. But is it real? I can only believe that it is, until someone proves me wrong.

      • I maybe naive , but I thought vin numbers would tell you what models and packages ie. an SS or Mach 1 etc

        There has to be some sort of inventory numbers on a car to tell you that when new ?

        Is it really that hard to know for a fact ?
        Someone that knows , please educate me
        Thanks W

  2. Understand the qualms about this being a "born as", true from factory SS package. So many clones and fakes, some better than new- how do ya really know? Still, a beautiful and most worthy car.
    My dream GM is a ’69 Rally Sport Camaro convertible, in that dramatic Rally Green, with white SS stripes and a white/black houndstooth interior/black dash & carpet, offset by a white top. Oh, and a 383 stroker backed by a modern Tremec 6spd, but 350 callouts on the fenders and a Hurst 4spd cue ball on the shifter; none of that crackly-pop chambered nonsense, ceracoated shorty headers into an x-pipe/ 3" with MagnaFlo into stock exits exhaust.
    Could I build this? Yeah, give up my GTO and take a second job.
    Would it be a "real" RS Camaro? Do you mean "born as" real, or what it IS real?
    I understand that there exists a segment of the hobby that only grasps for money and absolute provenance, for trophys that can be hoarded and gloated over. Fine. But automobiles are living machines, an integral part of our human history. They were designed, particularly the special ones, to be used. Flogged, fixed, and hammered again. Modified, and remodified. An original Super Stock Dodge, lightweight "Swiss cheese" Pontiac, ’64 Tri-power 389 GTO all were created with a purpose, as were 356 Speedsters, birdcage Maseratis, and 250 Ferraris.
    If they were alive, and could speak, would they choose to hide in museums and collections? I use a Torrid red ’04 6spd GTO as a daily driver in Fargo, ND. The original LS1 is, well, long since not original. Even with almost $1k in top of the line Goodyear snow tires, with the McLeod clutch and the computer turned down, it can be- and often is- a handful in the brutal below zero road conditions here. But it’s being used for what it was designed for. To be driven. By someone who loves and cares and revels in what it means. Yeah, I coulda had a Camry, or a penis extension 4×4 truck (yeeah, git sum!) Cut my wrist first.
    Buy the Camaro, drive it into the ground. Enjoy it, and use the machine for its intended purpose. Everyone benefits. Unless you’re a banker, you wanna drive it, do so. Do it!
    R

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