In the Fall of 1966, the Chevy Camaro became the first serious competitor to the insanely popular Ford Mustang “pony car.” And Chevrolet put a big dent in Ford’s sales by selling 221,000 copies of the new Camaro in its first outing, the 1967 model year. This example has been off the road since 1974 and was recently discovered in a barn in The Lone Star state. A tip from Larry D, the story of its salvation and what comes next is told here on Motor Trend.
Greg Hope of Holiday, Texas already owned one of the first-generation Camaro’s. He acquired that car, a 1968 model, from its original owner back in 1992. It’s burgundy in color with white stripes and 327 scripts on the front fenders. Being a fan of the Camaro and American muscle cars, when he heard rumors of this ’67 Camaro which was thought to be a 396 big-block automobile, Greg went to check it out. The car had been parked outside from 1974-04 and then brought inside a barn before Mother Nature completely took control.
When Greg arrived at the scene, he found the car’s engine had been removed and it was a 375 hp 396 cubic inch motor. And its companion 4-speed manual was still in the car. However, with a check of the VIN, he determined the engine and tranny had been swapped as the car left the factory with an inline-6 and 3-on-the-tree. Although a bit disappointed in that discovery, Greg still thought the Chevy was worth saving and struck a deal with its owner to let it go. He later found out that the ’67 and his ’68 were both sold brand new at the same dealership in Texas!
At first, he thought he would clean up the Camaro and sell it to make a few bucks. But his 13-year-old daughter fell in love with the car and wanted it as her first car. So, plans for the car now are to keep it stock looking as its production numbers weren’t rare. But Greg plans to drop in an LS V8 with an overdrive transmission – and install vintage air conditioning because those Texas summers can be murder. We hope the daughter, Kendall, enjoys this find when her time comes to get behind the wheel!
I’d like the old drive train if it wasn’t so far away and not trashed…
A big dent? Wasn’t Ford working on 3 million when the Camaro came out? It that what “lead from behind” means? LOL
Ford had built 1.28M Mustangs from 1964through the 1966 model year. They sold 472k in 1967, so I would say 221k Camaro’s in their first year was indeed a sizable dent. Tell me Ford wasn’t concerned. The 64.5 Mustangs sold well beyond expectations at 121k. With the early (brilliant marketing strategy) introduction in 1964 and wild popularity, the first full year of production in 1965 sold 560k cars! Impressive to say the least.
i was stationed in vicenzia italy in 1966-68. the first camaro we saw, was an export only, red on red. 6 cyl, 3 on the tree, bench front seat, am radio, steering on the normal left side, guages in italian. i never saw another camaro in italy while i was there.. i had a yellow 55 chevy 2 dr sedan. easy to spot in any parking lot among a country full of fiat 500s..
Located in Holiday, TX
I’d rather have the six and three-speed. How many have anyone seen, ever?
Such a beautiful design. Just perfect. Compare to that current Camaro parody.
Someone could actually sit in the back seat. And roll the rear windows down. And see out of the front, back or sides.
Trim, lean, clean lines. The right size and width as well as weight.
Good it’s going back on the road
I agree with Psychofish2, restore it with the factory 6/3-speed set up but floor shifted or possibly an automatic. I don’t know if building an LS powered ’67 Camaro for a soon-to-be 16 year old that most likely can’t keep her eyes off of her phone is a wise idea! LOL. Great story, Barn Finds.
So disappointed that the daughter views vintage car ownership as nothing more than a twist-&-go vehicle requiring an automatic transmission when the 3-peddal is readily available. I feel rejecting this rare opportunity by any age or gender would have the best outcome with the purchase of a modern vehicle.
I basically agree about the manual trans, but… depending on where you live, a manual trans can be a real pain in the butt in bumper to bumper urban traffic. I would hope that maybe her dad has some manual trans cars available to teach her, but as a daily driver, an automatic may be the best choice. I’m happy for her to be able to drive a 67 Camaro, and the fact she thinks it’s cool. Regarding LS engines, they are not all monsters, you could use an LQ4 all the way up to the LSX series. I lived in the Washington DC area for 45 years, I love my manuals, but areas with congested roads an automatic again may be the best choice. Maybe they live in an area with hilly terrain, who knows. That being said, 4 out of my 6 vehicles are manual trans. My daily driver is a 6 speed, and 3 out of 4 of my muscle cars are manuals. Only my trucks (Duramax and 70 El Camino SS 396) are automatics. I’ve been driving stick shift cars daily for over 55 years, and will continue until I am physically unable