New guy new project 69 Camaro

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I bought this one in the spring of 1982 when I was a Junior in high school for $2,350! It was an original 68 SS 396, it had the Muncie M20 4-speed and a 3:31 12-Bolt posi. The car had 72,000 original miles when I bought it.

I had the original engine rebuilt, ported heads, big Crower solid cam, roller rockers, etc. It ran VERY well. Unfortinately 1 month after getting it back on the road with the new engine, clutch, trans, GT Qualifier tires, etc I was hit by an International pickup and the car was totalled.

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I owned this one in 1984. I traded a 1972 El Camino and some cash for it. I believe the seller was asking around $5,000. It was an SS-RS 396 with a TH400 and a 12 Bolt posi. This car had front disk brakes (which I could never keep from leaking) and the very rare Concert Sound Stereo system. The stereo worked great and had the volume, balance and fader on the console. It was a neat deal, as you tuned the stereo there was a blue Chevrolet emblem on the console that would get brighter as the station signal improved...at least that's how I remember it...long time ago! The car ran and drove great but it had been hit on the right side. I ended up selling it the same year to a person from Canada as I recall.

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This was a 67 SS350 that I bought around 1991 or so. It had a 4 speed and a 12-bolt with the factory traction bar. It had black interior. I paid $5,100 for this one if memory serves. I drove it for a while, cleaned it up and put new carpets in it and sold it a few months later. Its one of many that I wish I would have kept. It was pretty much all original. I believe it still had the California smog pump.

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This was by far my favorite Camaro. It was the L-20/M-30 car that I commented on in the article years ago. I bought it in 1985 for $3200 (a lot of money for a non-SS Camaro at the time) but it was in great shape. All original, even the paint. The car ran fantastic with the 327 Saginaw 4-speed, and 3:55 12-bolt rear. I did a few things to it including headers and exhaust and drove it every day. In 1986 a driver pulled out between parked cars and wiped the front end off of it. I ended up pulling the engine out and took it to the machine shop. A year later it had a solid lift cam, ported heads, roller rockers...etc. I put all new GM sheet metal on it to fix the front end. The built small block ran very good, eventually going low 13's in the 1/4 mile with a 4-speed and radials. In 1989 it was painted by a friend for $600, a great paint job for the money. In 1993 I added nitrous oxide and switched from a 4-speed to an automatic, the car ran consistent mid 12's off the bottle and a best-ever pass of 11.04 on the bottle. The fun was short lived when I burnt a head gasket and a piston while running the nitrous. Out came the small block and in went a full roller, aluminum headed 461 BBC. Ultimately the car ran back in the 11.0's on pump gas, driving it to and from the track, pretty respectable for the late 1990's. I made a horrible mistake and sold the car to a friend who had been riding me to buy it. I've owned a lot of cars (more than 80) and by far I regret selling this one the most. The guy who bought it from me ran it into the 9's on nitrous and then sold it to a guy in Redding, CA. No telling where it is now.

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This was a 68 RS that I traded a Firebird Formula 400 for in early 1982. This car had some quirks for sure. It was a 327 with a Saginaw 4-speed and a 12-bolt posi. It had dark blue fur on the door panels and dash...disco style. It didn't run that great so I tried to help it by putting on a set of 194 heads, a 4-BBL and a set of headers. The new heads had tighter chambers and after I got it running it had a lot more power but alas...it smoked! This car was tall geared, I never checked the ratio but I would guess it was 3.08. I burnt the tires further in this car than any other before or since. I ended up selling it later that year for $1800 as I recall, its what helped to pay for the light blue SS396 above.

[ko-lek-tor]

Thanks Dave. We live for old pics and the "good ole days". You must have had a good job while in school. When I was a Junior in H.S., I was not able to get anything even close to that. It sure was a nice looking ride. I had to laugh at the description of "fur on the door panels and dash...disco style." It sure brings back memories of some crazy stuff we all saw and did, back in the day.

[BULLITT65]

Nice collection of cars over the years.

(Cook could have fixed that 68 big block car...... almost looks like the same broadside hit one of his Camaros took. He posted pics on another thread)