Shortly after selling the Chevelle, I was working part-time at a local super market collecting shopping carts from the parking lot. As I was making my rounds one evening, a white Camaro RS Convertible pulled into the lot. I immediately went over and told the owner how beautiful the car was. She thanked me and started to walk away. Of course, I followed and asked if she might be interested in selling the car. She politely said, "No, thanks", and continued walking. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. A few weeks later, the I saw the car in the parking lot again. I quickly ran into the store and got a pen and paper and scribbled down my name and number asking that they call me if they ever wanted to sell the car. I slipped the note under the windshield wiper as I had done with just about every Camaro I saw in a parking lot or on a side street somewhere. About a month later the owner called me and said they were ready to sell! I viewed the car the next evening and fell in love. It was a white on blue deluxe RS convertible, auto, power top, console, clock, deluxe steering wheel with interior decor group. This was my first Camaro. 20 years later I found out that the car was actually one of 10 Canadian small block Pace Car replicas (they were RS cars not RS/SS cars). If only I knew this back then...
As the years past I bought and sold a number of Camaros, Chevelles and Corvettes. By my mid 20's, I had owned 24 Camaros, a dozen Chevelles, and 2 Corvettes. Engineering school, Karate and my career were the priorities until my early 30's when I decided to get back into cars again. I became heavily involved with Corvettes and began judging at NCRS events across North America. I focussed mainly on the "unrestored" cars and this provided great experience for learning about what is "correct" and "incorrect" when it comes to collector cars. I soon grew tired of the politics involved in the Corvette world and decided I would go back to my "roots" - Camaros.
In March of 1998, I stumbled across a 1967 RS Z-28 near my home in Ontario, Canada. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to convince the owner that he should part with his car and it still sits in the garage where it has been for nearly 25 years. Since I was bitten by the Z-bug, I decided to continue my search for another '67 Z-28 to purchase. Unfortunately, these cars are extremely difficult to locate due to their relatively low production numbers (only 602 produced) and the fact that there is little written documentation available to aid a potential purchaser in identifying a legitimate one. I began searching the Internet and thanks to a couple of on-line Camaro enthusiasts, I located my first and second '67 Z-28's.
In November 1999, I founded the '67 Z-28 Owners Group in an effort to put owners of '67 Z-28's in touch with one another. We started out with just 5 members representing 6 cars and within a few months the group grew to 16 members representing 20 cars! Later in 2000 I decided that I needed to upgrade my education by earning an MBA degree. We also had a 6 month old son at home, so this left little time for enjoying my cars. Seeing them sitting there was torturous! I decided that I would sell my cars and parts and put my passion on the back burner until my degree was complete (while keeping in touch with the hobby via my web site). Having sold my cars, I decided it wasn't fair that I remain in the Group and passed the reigns over to another member that I felt would be capable of continuing on with my dream. The Group continues today, however the current leadership really hasn't nurtured the group as I had hoped they would have and membership is floundering. Hopefully, the future will bring leadership changes that will breath new life into the group and it will once again be capable of realizing the vision I had for an active and supportive gathering place for '67 Z-28 owners to share information and develop long-lasting friendships.
Fast forward to December 2003. I had completed my MBA degree and was eager to jump back into the hobby with both feet! Over the coming months, I began searching for another pair of '67 Z-28's but, just like in my youth, I found myself looking at Chevelles and Corvettes also. One day I was discussing a couple of potential Z-28 purchases with my wife (aka the voice of reason) and she asked me why I would want to own 2 cars that were virtually the same? Hmmmm...good question. She went on to say that if it were her, she would own a couple of different cars if she could afford them. You know, she was right! Owning different cars would allow me to enjoy a number of different car shows, web sites and car clubs. What a great idea! So, rather than focussing on '67 Z-28's like I had originally planned, I am now interested in owning a number of cars that I have on my "Dream Car List". I've broken the list down into "Must Have One Day" and "Like To Have One Day" categories:
"Must Have One Day"
I hope you enjoy the site,
Mark - AKA "Zedder" on many Internet Bulletin Boards :)