The owner of this 1967 Camaro states that they don’t believe that it is an SS, even though it wears some SS external badges. The car was built in May of 1967, while they state that the SS and RS weren’t introduced by Chevrolet until November of that year. I’ve spent hours chasing up to try to confirm whether this fact is true or not, and have had no real success. I can see that the SS and RS were introduced after May of that year, but not which month. So if one of our knowledgeable Barn Finds readers can confirm whether or not this is true, I would really appreciate it. The Camaro looks to be a fairly solid example, and would potentially make a solid restoration project. It is located in Cross Hill, South Carolina, and is listed for sale here on eBay.
The car has been in the one family since new, but the information that they provide is a bit vague in spots. There is some rust visible in the lower quarters, a small amount in the lower fenders, and some looks to be starting around the rear window. The floors and frame look solid, with only a dusting of surface corrosion visible, while the rockers also seem to be fairly solid. I believe that the car has undergone a repaint at some point in its life, as the Fisher Tag indicates that it started life finished in Deepwater Blue with a black top. It does seem a shame that this has happened, as I don’t think that this color really does the Camaro justice.
Under the hood is a 327ci V8 engine, which is backed by a Powerglide transmission. The car is also fitted with power steering. The owner doesn’t state whether this is the original engine. If it is original, then that means that this definitely isn’t an SS. The owner says that the engine runs and that the car drives. Hopefully, that means that there will be little or no work to perform under the hood, apart from cosmetic work.
If someone has changed the paint color on this Camaro, they’ve certainly gone to some trouble to make sure that the interior matches. However, with the driver’s door trim missing, I’m sure that I can detect some evidence of the original blue paint on the door. The Camaro was optioned with bucket seats, a floor console, and a floor shift for the automatic transmission. The interior is going to require restoration, but apart from the missing door trim, it does appear to be largely complete.
The Camaro was introduced as GM’s answer to Ford’s Mustang pony car. The RS, SS, and Z/28 versions are highly sought after, but the more basic cars aren’t quite as popular. Finding an unmodified car today is getting harder, as so many have been turned into clones of their more potent siblings. If this one is a numbers-matching car, then it offers a sound basis for restoration, as good, similarly equipped Camaros can sell for around the $35,000 to $40,000 mark. The owner has set the opening bid for this car at $10,000, and while there are currently no bids, there are 35 people watching the auction. There is also a BIN option of $15,000, which, on the face of it, seems fairly reasonable. If you bought this Camaro, would you build an SS clone, or would you restore it to original?
There’s still a piece of the trim on the door. It’s the door panel that’s missing. This car seems like a good foundation for a nice project.
If RS and SS cars weren’t built until November, 1967, there would be no 1967 RS and SS Camaros. Cars built in November, 1967 would have been 1968 Camaros. Am I misunderstanding something?
As noted in the writeup, the 327 was not available in the SS. A genuine 1967 SS would have the 350 or 396.
Well this was fun decoding. Thanks to http://www.holisticpage.com/camaro/parts/67trim.htm#b
05B … built 2nd week of May
67-12637 … 1967 custom interior camaro coupe
K … interior parchment / black (upper right hand corner Norwood facility only)
797-Z … parchment buckets; Z = w/o headrests
E-2 … deepwater blue with black vinyl roof
2MG … 2nd grouping location on cowl tag; M=powerglide; G=console
3K … 3rd grouping location; K=style trim group (assumed exterior w/wheel arch trim?)
I think this would have been a gorgeous color combo off the showroom floor in May or June of 1968.
There’s not much rust on it now; it looks fairly solid. In fact the more I look at it the more the colors do not add up. It’s easy to paint an exterior from blue to red but it is a lot of work to convert all the interior to the new color. Consider the red dash matches the exterior color, the upper door sills are red, the steering column is red, the glovebox is red. All of those should be deepwater blue for an E colored ’67 Camaro.
Makes me wonder if that cowl tag goes with that body. Any other ideas?
Actually,decoding VIN tags is rather entertaining and almost a separate genre of cargeek-dom, and can make an interesting educational activity during the coldest winter months…!
Considering all the confusion surrounding this Camaro’s specs I’m almost amazed about the seller’s honesty of it, whilst others might just put it up for sale as the real deal
Were the painted interior areas body color ? I thought they were black, they were black on a ’68 that I once owned, but that was with a light blue exterior & a black interior ,
I restored my pops ’63 Impala SS about 15 years ago. The color since he bought it new was Honduras Maroon. When I got it apart and co2 blasted under the Maroon was Red. Both colors were every where. We concluded the factory re shot the paint.
I’m fairly certain that 1967 Camaro SS’s had solid red tailights with the reverse lights under the bumper.
The RS had the solid tail lights with reverse lights under the bumper, I had one. The SS option was performance, not appearance.
I believe the solid red taillights were part of the RS package, which could be had with or without the SS package.
…. and cars with both RS and SS packages would wear only SS badges, which adds to the confusion
John & CC you are both correct. The taillights on this car are correct for a Camaro be it a base model, an SS or a Z28. IF the car had the Rally Sport package the taillights are solid red with the reverse lights under the bumper. An RR SS car, which I had a 67 RS SS, the SS emblems supersede and you can tell it is an RS by the hideaway headlights and the solid rear taillights. A camaro could be a base model, an RS, an SS, a Z28, an RS/SS or an RS Z28. the only thing it could not be is an SS Z28. AS John mentioned the SS package and the Z28 were performance packages and were completely different.
The 67 SS would only be a 350 or 396 as CC said.
A Z28 would only be a 302.
An RS, if only an RS, was probably only a 327.
& the ’69 RS could be had with either 6, but i am convinced NONE were built! SHOW me one. I’ve never ever seen one. lol
I’ve seen a handful of ’67 & ’68 RS’s with 6’s. I believe 6 cyl RS’s got a std 3:07 rear. Oddly, all ’68-9 six cylinder camaros(as well as of course the v8’s) got staggered shocks – i guess to simplify assembly.
I would like to go back to ’69 to buy an RS convertible with a 230-6, 4 wheel manual discs, liquid tire chain, ‘Vigilite’ Lamp Monitors , fold down rear seat, a/c, manual steering, cruise control,front bench seat, 3 on the tree, pedal dressup, p/w & no radio, so i could floor everyone today at car shows. lol
Nice biuld JoeNYWF64, all I can help you with is the liquid tire chain.
We have enough SS/RS/Z28 clones. Keep this one as original as possible.
The bucket seats were not an option. They were standard.
A bench seat was available. As an option.
Looks like a decent car for the money.
327 powerglide with multi leaf springs is pretty unusual.
I had a 67 RS/SS convertible back in 78. It had SS badges on the fenders but RS on the grill and gas cap. It was a 327/4 spd car, rust over rust with black interior (pale yellow…VERY rusty pale yellow) so today I would assume the SS badges were bogus since they were in the rear/side section of the front fenders and not up by the headlights.
Bought it for the drivetrain, as at the time I was building a 55 Chevy project and needed the engine. The 4 spd, seats and the console ended up being gravy.
When I look at prices now for a 67 vert I guess I screwed up. But in 78 it was a $500 car…
Okay….it seems we have a decent Camero for a rebuild…..it will cost you a little over a grand to play.