Spindy's: Car Database

THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMARO:

The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang. The car shared its platform and major components with the Pontiac Firebird, also introduced for 1967.

Before any official announcement, reports began running during April 1965 within the automotive press that Chevrolet was preparing a competitor to the Ford Mustang, code-named Panther. On June 21, 1966, around 200 automotive journalists received a telegram from General Motors stating, "...Please save noon of June 28 for important SEPAW meeting. Hope you can be on hand to help scratch a cat. Details will follow...(signed) John L. Cutter – Chevrolet Public Relations – SEPAW Secretary." The following day, the same journalists received another General Motors telegram stating, "Society for the Eradication of Panthers from the Automotive World will hold first and last meeting on June 28...(signed) John L. Cutter – Chevrolet Public Relations SEPAW Secretary." These telegrams puzzled the automotive journalists.

On June 28, 1966, General Motors held a live press conference in Detroit’s Statler-Hilton Hotel. It would be the first time in history that 14 cities were hooked up in real time for a press conference via telephone lines. Chevrolet General Manager Pete Estes started the news conference stating that all attendees of the conference were charter members of the Society for the Elimination of Panthers from the Automotive World and that this would be the first and last meeting of SEPAW. Estes then announced a new car line, project designation XP-836, with a name that Chevrolet chose in keeping with other car names beginning with the letter C such as the Corvair, Chevelle, Chevy II, and Corvette. He claimed the name, "suggests the comradeship of good friends as a personal car should be to its owner" and that "to us, the name means just what we think the car will do... Go!" The new Camaro name was then unveiled. Automotive press asked Chevrolet product managers, "What is a Camaro?" and were told it was "a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs."

The Camaro was first shown at a press preview in Detroit, Michigan, on September 12, 1966, and then later in Los Angeles, California, on September 19, 1966. The Camaro officially went on sale in dealerships on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year.

First-generation Camaro debuted in September 1966, for the 1967 model year, up to 1969 on a new rear-wheel drive GM F-body platform and would be available as a 2-door, 2+2 seating, coupe or convertible with a choice of 250 cu in (4.1 L) inline-6 and 302 cu in (4.9 L), 307 cu in (5.0 L), 327 cu in (5.4 L), 350 cu in (5.7 L), or 396 cu in (6.5 L) V8 powerplants. Concerned with the runaway success of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet executives realized that their compact sporty car, the Corvair, would not be able to generate the sales volume of the Mustang due to its rear-engine design, as well as declining sales, partly due to the bad publicity from Ralph Nader's book, Unsafe at Any Speed. Therefore, the Camaro was touted as having the same conventional rear-drive, front-engine configuration as Mustang and Chevy II Nova. In addition, the Camaro was designed to fit a variety of power plants in the engine bay. The first-generation Camaro would last until the 1969 model year and would eventually inspire the design of the new retro fifth-generation Camaro.

The above text was reused from Wikipedia and can be found by clicking here.

ABOUT THE 1967 CAMARO: (click here for images)

The debut Camaro shared some mechanicals with the 1968 Chevy II Nova at a base price of $2,466. Almost 80 factory and 40 dealer options, including three main packages, were available.

The RS was an appearance package that included hidden headlights, revised taillights, RS badging, and exterior rocker trim. It was available on all models.

The SS included a 350 (5.7L) V8 engine (the 350 was only available in the Camaro in 1967, it became available in other carlines in 1968), and the L35 and L78 396(6.5L) big-block V8's were also available. The SS featured non-functional air inlets on the hood, special striping and SS badging on the grille, gas cap, and horn button. It was possible to order both the SS and RS to receive a Camaro SS/RS. In 1967, a Camaro SS/RS convertible with a 396(6.5L) engine paced the Indianapolis 500 race.

The Z/28 option code was introduced in December 1966 for the 1967 model year. This option package wasn't mentioned in any sales literature, so it was unknown to most buyers. The Z/28 option required power front disc brakes and a Muncie 4-speed manual transmission. The Z/28 featured a 302(4.9L) small-block V-8 engine, 3" crankshaft with 4" bore, an aluminum intake manifold, and a 4-barrel vacuum secondary Holly carburetor of 780CFM. The engine was designed specifically to race in the Trans Am series (which required engines smaller than 305(5.0L) and public availability of the car. Advertised power of this engine was listed at 290hp (216kW). This is an under-rated figure. Chevrolet wanted to keep the horsepower rating at less than 1hp per cubic inch, for various reasons (e.g. insurance and racing classes). The factory rating of 290hp occurred at 5300 rpm, while actual peak for the high-revving 302 was closer to 360hp (with the single four barrel carb) to 400hp (with optional dual-four barrel carbs) (269 to 298kW) at 6800-7000 rpm. The Z/28 also came with upgraded suspension, racing stripes on the hood, and 'Z/28' emblems for the fenders (in 68 & 69). It was also possible to combine the Z/28 package with the RS package.

Only 602 Z/28s were sold in 1967. The 1967 and 1968 Z/28s did not have raised cowl induction hoods as was optional on the 1969 Z/28s. The 1967 Z28 received air from an open element air cleaner or from an optional cowl plenum duct attached to the side of the air cleaner that ran to the firewall and got air from the cowl vents. 15-inch rally wheels, were included with Z/28s had while all other 1967-9 Camaros had 14-inch wheels.

The Camaro's standard drivetrain was a 230 (3.8L) straight-6 engine rated at 140hp (104kW) and backed by a Saginaw three-speed manual transmission. A four-speed manual was also available. The two-speed "Powerglide" automatic transmission was a popular option in 1967 and 1968 until the three-speed "Turbo Hydra-Matic 350" replaced it starting in 1969. The larger Turbo 400 three-speed was an option on L35 SS396 cars.

The above text was reused from Wikipedia and can be found by clicking here.

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1967 CHEVROLET CAMARO

INFORMATION