Tina and Brian of Discount Closets and Garage Organizing remind us of what we’ve been missing from an F-body

What Tina Alaimo and Brian McDermott’s beautiful ’69 RS/SS reminds us all is that the popularity of the F-body muscle car is derived from the motorsport heritage itself, or at least here in America. The Camaro, originally, was conceived by Chevrolet as the automakers’ SCCA Trans Am series opponent to Ford’s Mustang

, and the fact that the Trans Am series is such an integral part of the car is evident not only in its body lines, but in the options available for it from the factory.

Brian and Tina, co-owners of Discount Closets and Garage Organizing in Northridge, California, own an RS/SS Camaro that is far from an exception to the rules. Their car is actually what was known as the “Z10” option from GM, including the 350 small block as an engine option. But what makes the Z10-optioned Camaro significant to the realm of motorsport is the RS/SS Z10 package itself. As you can see from the photos, this particular car was ordered originally as a “pace car,” though not all F-bodies ordered with this cosmetic package were actual pace cars used in the Indy 500 race for that year. Regardless of whether or not this particular unit was used in the Indy 500, however, it still stands that the couple’s immaculate example of a ’69 Z10 Camaro is highly representative of the kind of dealer/factory-available options that did just what the original muscle car-era campaign said: “win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” For example, Chevy offered, for the 1969 model year, four-piston caliper disc brakes, an option that sold at that time for exactly $500.30, and an available option meant to boost competitiveness within the Trans Am circuit. This option was available under the RPO JL8 factory code.

What also differentiated the ’69 Camaro from the first two years of the first-gen, F-body run was its use of all-new sheetmetal, a body feature that gave the car as a whole a more “aggressive” tone. All of the car’s sheetmetal was new, with the exception of the hood and trunk lid, and it is said that this new use of sheetmetal on the Camaro gave the car a “lower” profile as well.

The story behind Brian and Tina’s Z10 car is that they actually found it in the Temecula area, and apparently the car, unrestored with original options and paint, was in-tact and resting in the garage of the original owners. The couple would later discover that the car’s owners had no idea that their Camaro RS/SS was indeed a Z10-optioned car when they bought it brand new in 1969, and it was for this reason that they acquired the car for a “steal,” as Tina herself so colorfully put it when describing the transaction. She explains, “It looked like a 4-speed...but something wasn’t right. Then I realized that the tranny was actually a 3-speed after the car wouldn’t shift-up any further.” Apparently, the original owners in Temecula actually ordered the car in Texas, and when they did, the standard 3-speed manual that was most commonly found in Chevy’s truck and passenger models was actually offered as an option in the F-bodies.

What makes this Z10 car unique is actually not so much what’s under the hood as what’s on the hood and trunk, along with the rear panels along the wheel wells. In this instance, the hood and trunk are adorned with Z28-style, Hugger orange racing stripes with Hugger pinstriping along the rear-quarter panels. Also noteworthy is Chevy’s abandonment of the traditional, square-punched hood usually found on an SS-optioned Camaro, instead using the Z28’s “cowl induction” profile to give it a more race-oriented look from the front.

All-in-all, Tina Alaimo and Brian McDermott’s ’69 Z10 RS/SS Camaro is a remnant of the original muscle car movement, a movement that called for a market where anyone who was a discriminating and enthusiastic car buyer could order, for the right dollar amount, nearly anything they could think of.

- Sal Alaimo Jr., B. A. (3/8/11)   S. J. A.