Don Morrison wasn’t really thinking about the appreciation value when he bought this 1981 Camaro Z-28 in 1990.
In fact, as he says, “I just wanted a driver” and the 9-year-old car looked pretty solid plus “it was a good deal”.
Don liked the price and the low mileage on the car but he never envisioned owning the 2nd generation Camaro twenty years later but something told him to take care of the car so he only drove it regularly for a year.
He’s never regretted that decision and now he does have a very nice original collector car-one that evolved from a practical need.
Don admits that the game plan changed when he realized that this car was “too good to wreck”. He never really thought about the fact that these cars are on the upswing in value simply because they are getting rarer and subsequently more desirable.
Later, he focused on the fact that this was the Z-28 model, it was a T-roof car and it was the last year for the design but initially Don just liked the fact that his Camaro was really straight and in good shape.
His inner car guy called and clearly Don listened, so here’s a great example of how a guy can be a part of the old car hobby simply by waiting long enough to see the value rise.
Long before that though Don simply liked the car so he treated it to a new paint job and ended up replacing the 350 after a stuck valve hacked on a piston-even that decision took the car into consideration. He decided not to put a monster under the hood because he knew that the torque would twist the T-roof Camaro.
Don is really casual with the car-his biggest worry at this point is that his daughter Megan wants it. Don can envision some young suitor driving away in his beloved Camaro.
Right now it’s simple-he burns up a few tanks of gas a year and only in the summer but he never regrets the day in 1990 when he answered an ad.
And ended up with a classic.
Jerry Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com
