In the racing world, flared body panels deliver practical benefits such as increased downforce and slippery aerodynamics. On a street car, flares let you fit wider wheels and tires while maintaining legal requirements for tires protruding from the car’s bodywork. In some states the allowable protrusion is zero. In other cases, like today’s featured car, flared body panels just look cool! This 1975 Chevrolet Camaro in Brookings, South Dakota looks much like this similar car we featured in December of 2018. It’s unclear if the vehicle has been modified or upgraded since then, but the listing here on eBay features a Buy It Now price of $11,000.
The listing features more boilerplate than information, but the 350 cid (5.7L) V8 is said to run good today, and the 2018 listing described this beast as a no-cost-spared show car with 375 HP. That suits my taste; a car should always be faster than it looks. Today’s show cars wouldn’t dare reveal mechanical bits, preferring to encase them in fiberglass and carbon fiber.
Side pipes and the skinnies and fatties pump up the ’70s look, and those rear meats should help hook up that stout 350, especially with today’s superior rubber compounds. At around 3300 lb, this second-gen F-body clocks in about 500 lb lighter than today’s Camaro, so don’t be surprised if this one can hold its own in a street fight. Many will expect sporty cars from the mid’70s to mid-’80s to be mostly noise and stripes, but this one backs up the fancy body kit with some real performance.
The excellent interior supports the seller’s hypothesis that the car may have only 33,000 miles. True mileage cannot be confirmed. The cloth upholstery definitely ups the class compared to many cars’ ubiquitous black vinyl. Yes, the steering wheel is a giant piece of plastic, but the size and shape should do just fine. It’s round, and presumably turns left and right. Some would love to see a manual shifter here, but if one thing will make an automatic tolerable, it’s power, and the slush-box suits the car’s use as a flashy mating decoration. Who needs the hassle of changing gears while you’re hanging out the window beckoning to members of the opposite sex? With the powerful V8, side pipes, and the super-trick body, this Chevy is like mechanical peacock feathers, ready to strut.
Before we get too nostalgic for the ’70s, it’s worth pointing out that no sporting-oriented car should have a gas gauge the size of a tea saucer or a temperature light in place of a gauge. Someone has added a completely mis-matched oil pressure gauge to augment what is probably an idiot light that comes on just as your engine is about to expire. The five-digit odometer recalls a time when, surely, you would return to the dealer for a new car before reaching 100,000 miles. Check out that plastic wood stuff; from thirty feet back, that might almost look like burled walnut! Joking aside, Chevy sold almost 150,000 Camaros in model year ’75. If you couldn’t afford a Corvette, this was the next best thing, and they appealed to a broad spectrum of buyers. Thanks to nastyz28.com for some details. Does this ’70s custom suit your flamboyant lifestyle?
Not to my liking, overdone front spoiler, roll bar, 8 track stereo! and (IMO) some of the ugliest wheels and sidepipes; it just don’t come together for me. I watched a guy labor for weeks adding larger flares than these to his Camaro, and not even a week after the final paint job, it was back into the shop with ALL four of them broken and damaged from suspension/wheel travel! Take a dip in the road, or a steep driveway with this one and the front spoiler would be done. The asking price was $8500 in 2018, now has a BIN of $11k. GLWTA
I agree, Moparman. Front spoiler is ridiculous, front flares as well. Car also needs new wheels and rubber. It looks like it was just taken off the blocks in front of the double-wide. Lots of help needed here!
That “Plastic Steering Wheel” is one of the nicest features and is original.
I’m not sure when this was built, but it was ugly then and it’s still ugly. Completely agree with Moparman about that front spoiler, it could be used as a snowplow. The shape of the Camaro wheel openings with the flat top just don’t lend themselves to flares at all. Not sure what the theme of this look was, but it is far from the look of real Trans Am and IROC race cars of the period. It sort of reminds me of the import craze with body kits on everything back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. The majority of them do nothing to improve aerodynamics, and usually make it worse. All that being said, this is a time capsule of the era, and hope the seller does well.
I am certain it has only 30,000 miles because you have to be stupid and drugged out to drive this ugly toad. I bet it burns your calves when you get out. It’s not just the front spoiler it’s the whole thing. You know I have seen this year of Camaro with steel Z28 wheels, 1977 Z28 front spoiler, 1980 Z28 fender vents and functional 1980 hood scoop and no Starky & Hutch stripes. It would cost a fortune to remove the cow catcher spoiler and the fender flares. The side pipes go to the recycle center and the thieving Cragar centerline STEEL wheel knock offs, well they wiil make great rusting garden hose reels, but not the front pizza cutters. Holy Christmas what an eye sore. Now who ever built this is a CLOWN. At least it has a flat hood!!
From your sad attempt at humor I’m guessing your not bidding on it.
No sad attempt there. Patrick’s got it pretty much covered.
I wonder Why the front seats switched sround? The safety belt guide loop is on the wrong side of the seatback.
Put them in wrong when installing the roll bar? Not sure where the seat adjustment levers are, must be in the front rather than on the side, otherwise you would figure it out real quick they were reversed!
The only movement you can get out of a 2nd. Gen F-body are forward or backward with a lever in the front and a lever to fold the seat forward to let someone into backset. The backseat is a birth control device. No leaning back so you can go head first into the windshield. There is another movement you can have in a F-body seat when riding in a big block car, but it is not fit for polite conversation.
Maybe the seats are from England !!!
Sorry !! I kill me !!
I had a friend long ago that used to do this with his Corvette. He had a hard time getting a date, so he would swap the seats from time to time so they would wear evenly. Seriously! What woman that you know would date a guy like that?
Do you know whats the different between a Corvette and a porcupine. That’s the type of guy that would make his wife give him all the household receipts so he can hold her to a strict budget. I don’t know how much unusual mechanical wear a Corvette can take by switching the seats, if possible. You risk interior damage as well. Does this guy worry about the wear on the door hinges? I you want it perfect, don’t drive it.
GMoparman; good catch on the seat belt guides. Overall, this thing is ugly and way overpriced. It’s only asset is perhaps an decent engine but it lacks a 4 speed, pw/dl or ac. Also with the flares, the front tires should be somewhat wider.
Super tacky custom design of the late ’70s. You either love them or hate them.
Hate them
Those aftermarket inside door assist handles here should have been put on the doorsm of all f-bodies by GM & Pontiac when you got the std interior. Trying to close the door with the window up, holding onto the shallow plastic lower door panel area just in front of the armrest was awkward & difficult to say the least – especially for females & if parked
with the car tilted & gravity not your friend.
I would have rather this car was made to look like a ’77 z28 – my fav of the ’74-81’s – that would have been ez!
The front seats were no doubt switched because of very high mileage & the original driver’s seat is all worn out. Poor man’s “restore”.
Passenger may complain sitting in this car. lol
I NEVER thought i would see an f-body in the FUTURE that was heavier than this gen, let alone 500! lbs heavier! & with a useless back seat yet!
If this doesn’t scream 70’s, I’ll tear down my Farrah Fawcett poster!
These front air dams always reminded me of James William Bottomtooth lll. Another example of mid 70’s appeal. Like the “Free Spirit ” Buick, air dams ( useless under 130 mph) side pipes, vinyl tops, stripes, it “personalized” your car. You weren’t just a schmoe driving a silver jellybean. And your imagination ( and pocketbook) was the limit. I wonder what ever happened to that? I sure miss those times, these were neat cars.
Now…did Pontiac start the chin spoiler wars with the Trans Am or Chevy with the Z-28? Extreme chin spoilers were indeed a mid-70s cultural thing much like the current “brodozer” thing or massive wings on import tuner cars. At least Pontiac tried to offer real performance by offering the 455.
As far as the woodgrain instrument panel goes, this cultural trend began in the early 1970s. CB radios of the era followed this, with radios from Pace, Radio Shack, Cobra, and Lafayette featuring wood-grain style steel cabinets, while the Cobra 135 and Lafayette SSB-100 featured real wooden enclosures.
CB began in 1958, and the Sixties featured heavy use of chrome plating on the cabinets. The Courier 23 was quite popular at this time and featured a “triple chrome cabinet”.
By 1980 the wood and chrome were long gone.
I forgot to include the Browning Golden Eagle Mark 3. It features a woodgrain overlay on its cabinets. It was introduced in 1972 and was replaced by the Mark 4, also a woodgrain overlay radio. Tram D201s featured wooden cabinet end pieces…no cheap wallpaper when you’re laying out $700.
drivers side carpet indicates 133,000 to me not 33k
They should have put the body on a 4×4 truck frame ……….cool
I like flares on a vehicle but In my opinion the wheels and tires should be even with the outside of the flares. Skinny tires that look lost under the flare like the front ones on this car look kind of dumb. I reckon this was someone’s idea of a cool ride in the seventies but it missed the mark IMO. Good luck to the owner with the sale.
Wow, just, wow!
Ugly.
Is that an original chrome Hooker Show Bar / roll bar? If so, that and the Cragar SST’s are the best part of the car.
Just think SOMEONE at one time thought this was an improvement? Really?
Proves the saying that “Sometimes less is more”
Deliver me from JC Whitney! No expense spared IMSA wannabe! You’ll still see vehicles customized like this in my area, with body panels held on by double sided tape, shiny sombrero decals in the back window and huge brahma bull decals plastered on the doors.
Your funny! JC Whitney does deliver some great part like mellon oil pumps. It model is like The Mens Warehouse. Removed brand labels. It kicks ass on convertible tops. I replaced one on my sisters 1968 Cadillac, perfect fit.
sorry, yuck all the way around for me fellas. Well, may B the interior is OK even fair to good. But the over bling under the hood, I guess I just didn’t like the car after ’69, ’70 anyway. All the extras just lead further down that same path away…
Talk about overkill……..
One word…….. U-G-L-Y. That goes for the seats, too.
It happened to be the in thing I guess, straight outta the custom van craze era I suppose. The rear flares work for the wide meats, the front is over kill, the paint is not really wild at all and on a less “enhanced” body would look pretty cool. Stout 350 and hopefully a bang-screech shift kit automatic behind it. That’s the thing about custom cars like this,, it’s a personal taste, your very own and the next owner will more than likely change something about it for theirs. It’s not the same as the world of numbers matching originals to the exact nuts and washers.
If this were a house, I’d call it “re-muddled”. Yuk.
No AC, idiot lights. am radio, tach on the console, racer X flares, front runners, vinyl top, Granada fabric on the seats, goofy black stripes and a American Pickers eight track. There is snow on the ground, so I don’t know about rust from salt that might be on and in all four wheel wells. Smogged out 350 that has been opened. Gee, should I buy this one or one of the other 10,000 Camaros that are for sale. The only thing that it’s got going for it is that is a straight body and low miles
You miss the point. By a mile.
We get it Pat. After your 500 negative comments about this vehicle clearly you’re not interested in buying. It’s not for you.
As seen on a “ChiPs” episode! Better call Catrara and let Ponch and Jon Handle the customizer on this one!
Most of you miss the point. YES IT’S HORRIBLE. It’s a laughing “That 70’s Car” parody to look at now.
But back in the day, just like the van craze, this thing was considered pretty cool. The horsepower was down so customizing was up. In 1978 a LARGE part of the car crowd (not me) thought this was the bomb.
We had a few local speedshops to get parts from and a few catalogues. This car was built in 1978 and is literally a PERFECT time capsule for the era. I was 12 and THIS is what you saw in Hot Rod magazine issue after issue.
So all the haters, you miss the point. It’s awful by todays standards but I’m sure you will find people that stare at the pics warmly and remember the crappy 70’s gas shortage.
Also, I guarantee you bring this thing to cruise night and it will be the belle of the ball because it’s so different.
Beautifully put, BK.
Thanks…
Thanks. I guess the people looking at this don’t quite get it. We all know it didn’t date well but this was probably a really cool car back in the day. It says 1978 it hit the show circuit so…
Only one comment about the vinyl top? I’m surprised. A white 75 Camaro with a vinyl top and without air just screams old, elderly, frugal purchaser at the new Chevy dealer. So who thought to add to spoilers, gauges, rollbar, graphics and too narrow steel wheels? If this car was given to me, I would bring it back to the “old person” look and keep the engine as is. Judiciously strip off all the black stripes, return the stance to stock with Chevy rally wheels, peel away the goofy air dams etc, etc. Bid to $4600.
“mechanical peacock feathers” — that’s gold!
This Camaro is at my shop in New Jersey. We’re working on the carburetor. One of my long time customers bought it. The vinyl roof was damaged in shipping ,Its in very nice shape otherwise.
Just an update on this Camaro i finished working on it the car got 2 trophies in the past couple days at local car shows here in nj
Hello Cook. Thanks for your comment; it’s great to get updates on our feature cars. Glad you’re enjoying this tricked-out Camaro and it’s getting a second life and winning trophies. Has anything on the car changed since we featured it?