We talk a lot here at Barn Finds about the importance of long-term, documented ownership and buying from caretakers that had long-term visions when building their cars. It’s hard to find these days given how many flippers and investors are playing the vintage car scene like one more index stock (fortunately, that may be shifting a bit as the economy transitions.) That’s why this 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS is so appealing, as it’s been in the seller’s family for 45 years, belonging to his late father who bought the car in 1977. The current caretaker has carefully restored the Camaro with the help of leading performance and restoration experts in Northern California and built the car according to the vision he believes his dad would have had should he have had the chance to finish it. It’s now offered here as a Barn Finds Exlusive for $61,999.

If you’re a Wall Street Journal subscriber, you may recognize the photos of the Camaro from a photo shoot when it was featured in A.J. Baime’s column, “My Ride: Living the High-School Dream With a ’67 Camaro.” After the seller’s father died of a heart attack as a young man, the Camaro – which is a real-deal, first-year model with the Super Sport package – sat in his mother’s garage for over a decade. Like many of us with a special car in our lives that we can’t quite get to at the moment, the seller never forgot about it, nor did he forget the vision his father likely had for it when he brought it home for the first time. After consulting with some legendary drag car builders in northern California, the seller was convinced to remove the car from its long-term garage spot and begin restoring it.

As told to the Wall Street Journal, the seller didn’t just do everything your typical Concours judge would say to do: instead, he built the car he wanted, which is to say he made it beautiful and a hoot to drive. The tired original 350 was removed and replaced with a modern crate engine pushing 385 horsepower; the original seats were removed and replaced with far more comfortable modern buckets with deep bolstering; reliable air conditioning was retrofitted; disc brakes were installed in place of drums to ensure the Camaro had ample stopping abilities for all that extra power. And it’s not like the owner started with a train wreck of a car; the Camaro was a solid driver before the restoration began.

In an era when restomods are all the rage, this Camaro SS strikes an ideal balance: a car that is infinitely more pleasant to live with on a daily basis than the original Camaro without going so extreme all traces of its history are erased. The original builders of this car are likely known to residents of northern California, including Jack Nilson, who owned a performance shop near Sears Point, and Steve Cassatt, owner of Sears Point Auto Body. Jack has since passed but Steve is still alive and remembers the car. The owner worked with Jack and Steve for a decade, and the results speak for themselves. The ’67 Camaro SS is a family heirloom that is ready for a new home; get in touch via the form below.

• Price: $61,900
• Location: San Francisco, CA
• Mileage: 100,000
• Title Status: Clean