The Black Pearl

Mark Laymon’s ’70 Chevelle is his own personal time capsule.

Owned by Mark Laymon #22424688, Marion, IN

Photography by Colin Date

In 1969 I was a senior in high school, dating my girlfriend and driving a brand new Camaro Z/28. It was a great, magical time riding with my girl and cruising “Custer’s Last Stand”. Custer’s was a teenage hangout. A place to eat and watch all the cool cars do burnouts! One of my friends had a ’67 GTO, another had a ’66 Nova– which he still owns!

My girlfriend and I got married in 1971, and soon afterwards I sold my ’69 Z. Boy did I ever regret doing that. (Selling my Z/28, that is!)

Over the years, my wife and I raised our family and kept dreaming of owning one of those cool old cars.

Before I retired from GM, I bought a rust-free (from Arizona) 1970 Chevelle. I drove the car for about a year then got side tracked– I ended up parking it in my barn for the next 13 years.