jamygalway: 1969 Chevrolet Turbo-Jet Z/28 Show Car

Somewhere between Factory Stock/Custom and Muscle car, but it is Camaro so I’ll post it here…

The Turbo-Jet Z/28’s name was derived from the label applied to cars powered by Chevrolet’s Big Block engine and a jet aircraft theme was also incorporated. The inclusion of Z/28 moniker was purely due to the meteoric rise and current popularity, including new race heritage of that option package. One of GM’s more bizarre creations, (but then consider the era), this Camaro based car included such oddities as a faux jet turbine intake in the grille and an afterburner exhaust between the taillights. Since it appeared to have standard dual exhausts, it is highly doubtful it did anything functional, not even as cool as the Batmobile (which it was arguably inspired by) in that regard…. Even the tail lights looked cheap being only the transparent red parts of the RS units with no chrome trim or even provision for back up lights.

While it appears to be made from a second generation Camaro at first glance, in fact it was built from a base model 1969 Camaro convertible. If you compare the “sheet metal parts” that look like a ‘70 Camaro with an actual one, you’ll see the shape and proportions are different even though the styling is similar in a somewhat warped fashion. Even the headlights are not set into the bezels as a ’70 would be. In reality, it had a fiberglass body except for the stock ’69 Camaro deck lid. The front clip is a seamless one piece unit. It has been suggested this was made by using an early F-body mock up version, or a fiberglass lift of a clay exercise intended to be an attempt at the second generation Camaro. The dash is also styled similarly to the second generation Camaro, possibly to give a glimpse of things to come, or leftover from the styling studio.

Furthermore, even though its name indicates that it had a Big Block (plus the Z/28s were all Small Block powered,) and the literature of the day claimed it did have an L88 427, most involved with the project say it was no real secret it was powered by an anemic 283 Small Block with a two barrel Rochester 2GV carb connected to a Saginaw 4 speed. It didn’t even have true dual exhaust, just a Y split off a common pipe.

The interior is also aircraft themed to some degree. The floor panels were perforated ostensibly to allow water to drain out due to it being a true speedster indicating there was some forethought to actually using it? Who knows… The entire interior was finished with an industrial gray/black Zolatone epoxy finish. The door panels mirror the floor design and mimic aircraft dive brakes, (literature stated from a Dauntless dive bomber) and the steering wheel sports an aircraft yoke-like configuration. Plenty of large gauges also give a nod to the aero look. A T.V. monitor in the console said “futuristic style” for the day. The headrests were said to be inspired fighter planes, as was the anti-glare panel on the hood. The rear spoiler was made of rubber and looked just like a 1969 unit. The windshield was made of acrylic or poly carbonate, not known for sure, but subsequent scratching as it progressed through the show circuit makes it very unlikely it was glass. The car also had no seat belts and the only door actuators were buttons inside the silver door panels. The traditional floor high beam switch location was actually where the start/stop button for the engine was located and no keyed ignition was used.

The Model:

I reworked the front of a ’70 Camaro and grafted the top and rear of a ’69 together. The dash is from the ’70 kit with gauges made from brass. Interior details, as were the unique “Turbo-Jet” parts were machined from aluminum.The wheels centers are fronts from the Revell Landy Charger with machined outer rims and backing plates. Graphics were copied and printed as decals.Testors Panther Pink looked to be a close match to the “Turbo Ma-Jet-A” color originally used.