67 B-M Camaro

[JChlupsa]

The first thing that was taken off cars back then by collectors (5 fingered kind) were the SS Gas Caps. Would like to see what the cowl tag on this car read to be sure. Or depending on the build date, did all SS's receive the SS cap??

[427TJ]

My guess was that it was either a L-35 or L-78 car to begin with. I think the front fender SS emblems have been removed from this car too, perhaps they went in the parts bin along with the gas cap. They probably just removed the SS emblems from the car when they modified it for strip use. No wait--perhaps it was a rare '67 COPO with the big-block but no SS package! Just kidding. Note the stinger hood.

[Supercar_Kid]

My guess would be that it's a base Camaro, and those are actually 427 flags from an Impala added to advertise the engine conversion. The lack of a bumblebee stripe supports the non-SS theory as well. Guess it doesn't make much difference what was now. Cool car either way.

[berger]

I think you nailed it kid, easily could be a z28 w/ impala emblem and stripe delete..- -

[Supercar_Kid]

[ QUOTE ]
I think you nailed it kid, easily could be a z28 w/ impala emblem and stripe delete..- -

[/ QUOTE ] That doesn't make much sense either. Let's take an already high ticket car and tear it to pieces, toss this 302 in the corner of the shop and plop this 427 between the fenderwells and go racing. Let's keep in mind that Joel Rosen built hi-performance cars because he made $$$ doing it. It just doesn't make sense making an expensive car even more expensive by removing the drivetrain that made it what it is in the first place. '67 Z/28's were very rare, already high performance cars that sold themselves...while lowly 327 or even 6 cyl cars sat on Baldwin's lot ripe for the picking, and they were cheap too. Add a $5-600 L-88 crate and it's off to the races. Joel was no dummy, my money's still on it being a regular old small block car at best. Any figures on stripe delete '67 Z's? Of 602 I'd guess about 15-20 at best, any way you figure the odds are certainly against this car being one of those. Just my 2 cents. Wish I was around back then to see for myself.

[SuperNovaSS]

But what about the disc brakes, 12 bolt, 4 speed, HD cooling, springs, etc that go along with the SS and Z28 cars? You are right Joel is smart and probably realized the cost and labor to add these parts outweighed the cost of ordering the car that way new.

Jason

[Supercar_Kid]

[ QUOTE ]
But what about the disc brakes, 12 bolt, 4 speed, HD cooling, springs, etc that go along with the SS and Z28 cars?

[/ QUOTE ]
According to the Camaro Research Group, the 12 bolt rear was standard on 1967-8 L30/M20 cars from approximately Dec 1966 through the end of the 1968 model year. Also, SS models didn't come standard with disc brakes in 67 or even power assisted drum brakes for that matter. Yes it's true the Z/28 package included power discs in front, but back then PDBs weren't fully accepted as being a must have performance option, especially among drag racers only concerned with stopping at the big end. Heck, most guys would have told you take the 2nd turn of road and save your money for speed parts, or you could have simply picked a PDB optioned 327 to begin with. Also, all 67 models used mono leaf springs in the rear, while there were undoubtedly different rates depending on which options the car came with (engine, A/C, etc.) I doubt it made much difference once Joel & Co. put the "Super Bite" goodies in place. And from a drag racing standpoint, there wouldn't really be a downside to having the lower rate springs in the front, as they'd let the heavy big block sit low until you nailed it on the line, transferring the weight to the rear and firmly planting the slicks on the 4.10-4.88 geared rearend set up, kinda like 90/10 drag shocks. While I'm no old time drag racer, I think it makes a lot more sense to start with a much cheaper L30/M20 car and go from there, rather than start with an SS or Z/28 car and try to justify the price difference. Only Joel knows for sure.