Dad can ‘rest in peace’ and ride in style

Lindon Zentner told his boys to sell his precious cars and split the money. It was tough, but Herman Zentner told his dad, facing death from cancer, he couldn’t and wouldn’t.

“OK,” Lindon said. “Don’t fight over anything.” They didn’t. Herman got one Chevrolet Camaro, his brother another and this weekend Herman has brought his car and a remarkable story to the 50th annual Majestics Car Show at Evraz Place in Regina.

Lindon loved cars, plain and simple. He spent a lot of time in his garage, inviting in his boys. Some of Herman’s best childhood memories are of travelling with his dad to races and car shows across Canada and the U.S.

When Herman turned 13, his father told him to start figuring out what kind of a car he’d like to get — dad would help him buy it. And he did. Meanwhile, Lindon had his own special car: a 1972 RS (as in Rally Sport) Z28. He bought it around 1978 after it had been owned first by Regina’s Tom Kellett, then Yorkton’s Richard Boychuk.

After buying it, Lindon mostly kept it in a garage for about 30 years. Even now, it has only about 31,000 miles on the odometer.

Lindon died at 53 and Herman, who hails from the town of Chamberlain, northwest of Regina, got it. He drove it for about a year before deciding it needed considerable work. MGD Customs worked its magic and it’s a beaut.

But people really became interested when Herman brought this Z28 to the Draggins Car Show in Saskatoon earlier this year and told the rest of the story: because his dad loved cars so much, Herman had the ashes of his father concealed in a compartment in the console.

For Herman, it means “he can rest in peace — and can go for one more ride.”

Like any good car guy, Herman marshals an amazing array of statistics about the Camaro in general and this car in particular:

How in 1972 there were surprisingly few Z28s built because of a strike at the factory.

How only 2,575 Z28s were produced that model year.

How only 372 had a Rally Sports package.

How just 172 had a Z28 package and only 54 had the Muncie M22 four speed.

How even GM isn’t sure how many Rally Sport/Z28 combinations were produced.

How this car, nicknamed Snooze, had a very high 35 of the 56 option codes that were available.

How its original colour, Placer Gold, was available for only two model years, 1971 and 1972.

And how people have offered to buy it from Herman — who says, “It’s not for sale.”