COCHRANE— Boasting a collection of Camaros spanning decades, David Blomme has always had a love for the iconic rides.
Blomme lived overseas for 25 years and upon his retirement and return to Canada in 2017 his goal was to settle down and work on cars.
One of his more unique finds was a 1969 Z-28 Camaro he discovered soon after his return to the Cochrane area.
“The '69 Z was the right place right time,” Blomme said. “It’s special— It was a lucky, lucky find.”
The ride was from a private collection located in Lethbridge, Blomme said, and it was a race to get down to Alberta's windy city to purchase the Camaro before anyone else.
He acquired the Camaro in 2017 and it was a fortunate find, Blomme said, because it has required minimal maintenance.
Blomme was drawn to the 1969 model because he had always wanted a Z series from the year.
The car required some repairs, but was essentially ready to hit the road as soon as he brought it home.
“It would start up tomorrow,” Blomme said with a chuckle. “I just bought and I just enjoy it.”
The vehicle boasts all original parts including a DZ 302 engine and a Muncie 20 manual transmission.
“It's numbers matching, all the 302s, it has a proper motor, the carb is a proper carb, the transmission is for the car,” Blomme said. “Everything is correct for the car except for the paint.”
Blomme said he has no desire to modify the vehicle, either than changing the paint colour.
“You don’t mess around with original cars in my opinion,” Blomme said. “You don’t see original numbers matching cars pretty much period anymore.”
He is looking to paint the '69 the original Rallye Green from its current Daytona Yellow.
The only catch is he needs to get it into his garage so he can strip it and get it ready for the paint job. It is a challenging task because everything will have to come out of the Camaro so it can become a shell ready to be repainted.
“The Daytona Yellow is always a spectacular colour, but in my opinion, I still like the Rallye Green,” he said with a laugh.
The Camaro had 87,500 original miles on it when he purchased it and in the time he has owned it Blomme has put on about 1,000 additional miles.
“I didn’t drive the car much because it’s all original still and all good,” Blomme said.
The '69 is different from his other rides because he found it as is and Blomme has not put any of his personal touches on it.
Blomme has a number of automotive projects on the go, he said, and it is a balancing act working on different cars.
His main project at the moment is working to restore a 1967 Camaro.
He has been slowly working on the resto-mod for the last couple of years. Blomme said he takes on the project as parts for the car become available.
He has also had a 1969 Camaro he rebuilt with a number of modifications. He recently sold the vehicle.
One of his more unique pieces is the original Camaro he owned in high school. He stored the ride in De Winton, Alta. until his return from his work overseas.
The 1981 Z-28 Camaro was purchased on Nov. 20, 1980, and Blomme has maintained it to this day.
“I’ve got all of the original documents, the protective plate, the bill of sale … Everything's is in the dealership's envelope still,” Blomme said. “That’s my high school car. That’s one car I’ll never get rid of.”
