Sixty-Nine Camaro verus GTO, a Pair of American Muscle Cars by AutoLavish of Michigan

MarcHarris

New member
1969 was a great year for cars, not good for pavement. Big V8s with tons of torque, relaxed LEOs, lots of attitude made for fun leisurely rides down the boulevard. Here we have two of the vehicles that dominated said cruises, beautifully restored to perfect condition.



Both these vehicles were some of the cleanest vehicles we have ever seen. The 1969 Pontiac GTO is driven almost every weekend to local or semi-local car shows and gatherings. Notice the trophies on the wall – just a sample, all for this Green Goat!



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Being driven regularly the car’s condition really stood out to us. Obviously very well restored to begin with, everything was clean and proper from the interior to the underbody. We stood in awe for awhile at the car, then at the walls.



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We had plenty of time to drool over this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS. Having already worked on a few vehicles for this owner we had seen this and others in his collection many times. This vehicle is restored to a near 100% original condition, including correct overspray on chassis, bolt finishes, etc. The battery had to be upgraded. This vehicle is barely driven.



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Side by side we see just how nice these vehicles really are. The condition of both is superb.



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Although near perfect, both vehicles needed polishing to clear the finish of swirls and RIDS collected over time. The GTO had lighter swirling, but were somewhat deep. The SS had more defects with many swirls, areas of marring and severe RIDS. Neither of the finishes were original, and both were clear coat systems.



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Cleaning starts first. The GTO had a tighter budget so we were not able to do things like the door jambs and engine bay, while the SS got a hardcore door jamb treatment.



Tires are tackled first. White lettering turns brown with time and wear. Over the counter wheel and tire cleaners had not been able to clean them back to white. We simply uses some Meg’s APC+ at 4:1, and a good scrubbing with a brush followed by a scrub with a SchMitt.



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Just using brushes to clean tires can result in this:



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Black SchMitt:



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The Camaro’s tires had barely ever been dressed, and it showed. Although brown (a natural occurrence of rubber in air), they cleaned up with a brush quite nicely.



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The Camaro’s wheels were cleaned with Sticky Gel at 3:1



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The Pontiac’s wheels were cleaned with the same foam used for the paint:



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Next were the details. Emblems, jambs, crevices and seams were hit hard with P21S Total Auto Wash, Meg’s APC+ at 10:1, small brushes and high velocity water.



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No, the interior did not get wet during that last shot, and any overspray was wiped off and dried immediately (an advantage of having two people).





The paint on the Camaro was hard, so we did not hesitate to use a brush for the crevices. On most soft paints using a brush, even a soft one like this, can result in marring. When you clean emblems and creases use very light pressure. Let the chemical do the work, and opt for Q-Tips or smaller more focused brushes when the risk of marring is high.



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Nice and clean:



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Clay was next. Both vehicles has some contamination, but nothing like a typical modern driver.



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After a final wash and drying with both microfiber towels and a leaf blower used only for detailing (never used in a dirty enviroment) we were ready for polishing.



The GTO received a two-step polish. We taped up the hood and proceeded to try out some combinations. Here we are refining with a black pad:



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The Camaro also received a two-step polish although the owner was not looking for much correction. This would require a more aggressive combination. After trying a few, here is the result.



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Marc here is working on the upper curvature on the body. Although the paint requires a more aggressive pad, the curvature is too extreme for a pad to conform.



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This would result is straining the paint at the edges and not reaching the paint in the concave. A softer pad with a small backing plate permits some flexibility and much better surface contact. It would take many more passes, but well worth it. Notice how Marc preps the pad for polishing by priming the edges as well.



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A similar process was used for the spoiler, which has even more concavity.



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The rain channels needed polishing as well. Marc applied both M105 and M205 to foam applicators and squeezed it into the gutter to polish.



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Refining under the LED Brinkman:



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Paint after polishing prior to sealing, looking under Halogens:



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Next was a final wash to rid the paint from polishing oils and the crevices from dust.



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Windy!



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LSP for the GTO was a Dodo Juice Rainforest Rub carnuba wax. Running out of time we were not able to get pictures of the application process. Similar to our other applications of sealants, laying it on the paint nice and thin using the PC is our preferred method. The GTO will be driven much more than the Camaro, and will be outside more of its time. So sealants were the logical choice.



For the Camaro we opted to use a wax appropriate for the vehicle:



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The top was cared for with 1Z Cockpit Premium as no additional shine was desired. The 1Z offers a minimal amount of UV protection, and the owner would be caring for it in the future with 303.



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The flat black trim was dressed with Meg’s Spray Trim Detailer and a soft brush, then buffed even. Mike Phillips from Meguiar’s recommended that I use this product on flat back a few years ago and it never fails. It evens out even more as it dries further.



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Applied to the bumper trim as well:



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The chrome metalwork was polished and waxed:



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Finally, the reveal:



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Insane shine!



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Two of the same picture white balanced differently. It is hard to capture the color in low light.



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Tires were dressed with a water-based matte tire dressing, Optimum Tire Shine.



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Reveal Camaro:



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The vehicle's color combined with the bright light makes for difficult pictures as well.



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Thank you for reading!



-AutoLavish



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Excellent work on two awesome antiques! The Cragars suit the GTO since they were popular back then, although some Torque Thrusts would look nice.
 
Wow - takes me back to my teen years! It's weird to think how plentiful those cars were back then and if we'd been smart, we would have bought a couple for investments. Always a pleasure to read your posts Mr. Harris, you rock!
 
Detailing Technology said:
Looks like a good time. Great job guys.



Much appreciated



DeanSweet said:
amazing.... needs to lose the cragar's on the gto thought? :)



I like the car how it is. The owner had one exactly like this back when they came out but with a different colored top. Very cool to have such love for the car after all those years.



Buff Guys Auto said:
Once again nice job, you guys always have something unique to buff on.



You never know what the next call brings in! Thanks for taking a look :)



Morgan_W said:
awesome job guys! those are some clean rides



Thank you and I agree- they're both awesome!



Leadfootluke said:
Very nicely done!



Two beautiful cars you guys have there.



Thanks a lot as always Leadfoot ;)



Pats300zx said:
Amazing work Guys...



Thank you Pat!



Thrillseeker said:
Excellent work on two awesome antiques! The Cragars suit the GTO since they were popular back then, although some Torque Thrusts would look nice.



It was very enjoyable to work on each one for sure. Thanks for taking a look!
 
Awesome work as always! :bow



Really love seeing quality American muscle cars like that, growing up in the 60s and 70s I still have a strong lust for those cars. One of my regulars has an Z/28 RS very similar to the 396 you posted including the black vinyl roof but with the Z/28 stripes. Still love the 1st generation Camaros.
 
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