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Trailer Find: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Drag Car

Talk about a time machine: this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro was a drag car back in the day before being lost to a storage trailer where it stayed hidden for 29 years. Incredibly, it emerged with its race day patina still intact and was quickly put back into competitive use where it proved to still be a formidable opponent on the quarter mile strip. The seller has refreshed the Camaro and uses it often and it’s now listed here on eBay with bids to $11,500 and the reserve unmet.

Old drag racers really tell some of the best stories without even making a sound. From the nicknames the drivers assigned themselves and their cars to the sponsor stickers representing stores that shuttered long ago, the period-correct drag racer is a time capsule no matter its success on the track. This Camaro wears purple paint, huge slicks, and is powered by a 389 small block. The seller claims it was a regular at Island Dragway back in the 80s, which is a storied East Coast track.

The interior is all-business, and the seller claims it will still lift the front tires off the ground today. He has wheelie bars but they haven’t been installed; the brackets have already been welded in. The 389 features aluminum heads, hydraulic roller cam, and a tunnel ram with 2 Holley 450 CFM carburetors. The transmission is a “…race built full manual two speed Powerglide with a trans-brake,” and the rear end setup is a 12-bolt spool with 4.88 gears.

The seller claims in the high elevations of Las Vegas – where it currently resides – he consistently pulls low 10.80 quarter mile times. At a lower elevation, he’s confident it will break into 10.7s. The best part about this vintage drag racer is that it’s back to doing what it does best, and it speaks to the original builder’s vision to build a competitive car that can still trounce its opponents today. Value-wise, these cars never get the respect they deserve, but it sure seems like the fun-per-dollar ratio is hard to beat.

Comments

  1. Avatar photo Howie

    Very cool, no mention of how much HP.

    Like 5
  2. Avatar photo Maggy

    Cool name for an old race car. Wonder where it was raced and when it was first raced after converting it. Neat car. Too fast for my old bones though.I still go to Great Lakes dragaway in Union Grove WI. Fun times and memories past and present.

    Like 9
  3. Avatar photo Lloyd Ricks

    Back in the day before I had a driver’s license…my friends and I would ride our bicycles there from Somers, Wisconsin, where we lived…At that time there were several big oak trees on the East side of the track and we would sit in those to watch the races…What a great time to be a kid…

    Like 7
    • Avatar photo Midway

      I was a kid in the 70’s. Any given day in the summer I would see at least 10 Chevelles’ ,camaros’, mustangs, torinos , gtos, dusters, challengers. Chargers all street legal, back then there were alot of backyard mechanics. Those were the days

      Like 2
  4. Avatar photo Karl

    That’s a pretty neat old car, I wonder what mods they had to make to the car to make legal to race and comply with the new rules or NHRA guidelines?

    Like 2
    • Avatar photo bobhess Member

      Looking at the car I’d say fire and driver safety items addressed would get this one the track.

      Like 1
  5. Avatar photo Cisco

    I have a 69 Super Bee and everytime I get in and drive it I feel like it takes me back to when I was a teenager mid 70’s and I love the that feeling, it’s the closest thing to a time machine, I just wish that everytime I do get in it I would get my hair back, at least for a bit, lol

    Like 6

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