SCCA Camaro

 I finished grad school in 2000, and had gotten married in 2002; my wife and I had our first daughter in May of 2004, and I had waited long enough—I was buying a project car, and it was going to be something cool.  I looked at some 40s Chevy hot rods, but wanted something that I could race as well as tour in, and also wanted something a little easier than an old hot rod for my first project car, especially since my time, budget, and experience were limited.  First generation Camaros are supported by an enormous aftermarket, so much so that in fact you can buy every single part of a Camaro from a catalog now, making “crate Camaro” a reality.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this article at HotRod.com.  My love of the first generation Camaro started while I was attending Pinconning High School.  My parents had purchased a 1967 Camaro (Red, RS Convertible) in 1988 and they had been generous enough to let me drive it around quite a bit, so I was partial to the first generation Camaros.  My Father is an old drag racer and had owned a 1961 Corvette upon his return from Viet Nam, so the Chevy apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  In fact, my parents brought me home from the hospital (where Mom was in labor for 49 hours—thanks Mom!) in a 1958 Chevy.

Then late in May 2004 a 1968 Camaro showed up in the classifieds for $5500.  The 1968 Camaro is, in my opinion, the best of the first gens.  There were multiple engineering improvements for ’68, like the staggered shocks that fixed horrendous axle wrap up and resultant wheel hop in the ‘67s, thus eliminating the torque rod used as a bandage on the ‘67s.  Stylistically, the removal of the ventiplane side windows dramatically cleaned up the look of the car while retaining the smooth coke bottle shape of the coupe.  The one year only design of ’69 is the most popular, but is more angular and aggressive looking and therefore lost some of the sex appeal of the ’68, in my opinion. 

I went to look at the car, a red coupe with a small block chevy and 4 speed manual.  It looked like an appropriate canvas—a former drag race car not yet restored with little rust and no interior.  But the performance goodies were all there—a Chevy 350 with a hot cam and headers, a Muncie close ratio four speed (M-21), and a 12 bolt GM rear differential.  After a quick inspection and a conversation with my sainted wife Cris, a deal was struck.  The car was mine for $5000.  It had a burnt out clutch and some rockers that were rattling like crazy and was about 40 miles from home—so I struck the deal for the former owner to deliver it to my house.