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April 9th, 2000 I had the opportunity to make a trip to Baltimore today and visit Camaro Hi-Performance owned by ex drag racer and Camaro historian Jerry MacNeish. I arrived at about 1:00 and Jerry had to run some errands and decided to pull out the white rocket. For those of you unfamiliar with the "white rocket", this is a very low mile, very original 1968 Z28 with factory headers, factory cowl induction, M22 transmission and 4:88 rear gears. The errands required a nice drive up through some picturesque twisty roads in Carroll County located northwest of Baltimore. Soon after pulling away from the residential area Jerry got into the throttle and I could feel the springs in the seats popping as my weight was transferred. Although the car accelerated very hard, I later realized that Jerry had been holding back. Two miles further along, the road straightened out and I was soon to learn what a finely tuned Z28 with a deep set of gears runs like. We were moving along at a slow pace and Jerry romped down and the "white rocket" lunged forward like a cheetah on steroids. The cowl induction which is cut into the firewall made a roaring sound as the car rapidly accelerated. As he SLAMMED the car into second gear, at an RPM I won't mention for legal reasons ( It started with a 7) the car momentarily lost traction and then lunged forward again. This repeating routine happened until the car hit fourth gear and we were moving along at a pace I will not disclose... once again for legal reasons (but it was well into the three digits). I am sure that Jerry could tell by the grin on my face, I was thoroughly impressed. What a ride...
The pile of boxes on the lower right are components either coming in for restoration or are ready to be returned to their owners.
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Many manifolds have lost the original look over the years from age or being chemically dipped or glass beaded, and require this process to bring them back. |
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All internals have been rebuilt to either meet or exceed factory specifications. |
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If you have any questions or need quality work done, you can contact Jerry, or visit his website at http://wwwz28camaro.com
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We
arrived back at the shop and put the rocket away next to a couple
of Jerry's other cars. The next stall over sits a red 68 RS/Z28
that Jerry has owned for many years, and along the wall sits a gorgeous
Tahoe Turquoise RS/Z28 which you can see in the 
Here
sits a batch of assorted parts that have been prepped, plated and are
ready for shipment. Jerry specializes in show quality restoration and
plating of most components found on vintage GM cars.
Camaro
Hi Performance also specializes in aluminum restoration which includes
the valve covers and intake you see here. They use a special technique
to return the components to an original factory look. 
This
is a 1968 Z28 motor that has been fully restored and prepped by Jerry.
Every detail has been covered from the air cleaner wing nut to the oil
pan drain bolt. This includes re-plating all necessary components and
refinishing the exhaust manifolds.
This
is a customers car that Jerry has appraised and is in the process of
detailing some of the components. If I remember correctly, this car is
for sale. I am sure Jerry can fill you in on the details.