1967 Chevrolet Camaro w/ 500HP 383 Stroker (professionally built)

Boys and girls,

This is my one and only classic car; a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro. Unfortunately, just as it’s happened many times before, the wife and kids tend to cause a change in life’s priorities. And the rest becomes history...

Summary

Model: 1967 Chevrolet Camaro (I have put approximately 500 miles on it since I bought it in 2005)

Engine: 383 C.I. Small-block - balanced and blueprinted (less than 250 miles)

Transmission: TH350 Transmission - built by Ridings Automatics (less than 250 miles)

Condition

This car is truly one of the cleanest cars I’ve seen. It was extremely clean when I bought it in March of 2005 (which is the reason WHY I bought it) and remains in pristine condition today. I have invested a significant amount of money in this car since I’ve owned it and I feel that I made as many improvements that were financially possible (to me) in that time.

I, personally, have never driven it in the rain or snow. Some people are okay with their hot rod occasionally sitting out in the rain or with taking it for a spin in the winter. Maybe I’m just different. Moisture causes rust and I don’t like rust. If I’m not out driving it on a sunny day, it’s under a car cover in my garage. It gets washed 6-8 times per year (depending on how frequently I drive it) and I give it 2 good coats of Meguiars wax per year.

Genuinity

This is a standard Camaro. It’s not an RS or an SS (despite the “SS” on the gas cap that was installed by the owner before me). Many of the components ARE original to the car. I will explain all of the components that I replaced myself as well as, to the best of my knowledge, the components that I believe were replaced prior to when I owned the car.

A Little History

I am the 3rd owner of this car. From what I’m able to determine / remember, the car was purchased by the original owner in Tennessee and stayed there until it was sold in the late 1990s to the 2nd owner of the car. I purchased the car from the 2nd owner in March of 2005.

Body / Paint

One specific reason why I bought this Camaro in 2005 was because of the pristine condition of the body. I spent 9 months looking at hot rods around Michigan, Ohio and Indiana only to be disappointed every time with “rust-buckets”, under-coating sprayed on the bottom of the floor pans and body panels filled with bondo. I’ve seen all the tricks.

When I found this car, I saw none of these problems. I couldn’t find rust or bondo in any of the body panels. To put it simply: This car is bondo-free and rust-free.

One of the reasons why the body is in the pristine shape it’s in is because the 2nd owner of the car took the pains of replacing a front fender, a quarter panel and the floor pan. All body panels are clean from the outside and they all look visually clean when you look at the inner side of the panels from underneath the car.

The 2nd owner also had the car painted. I’m not sure whether or not he painted it himself. Overall, the paint is very nice. With a coat of wax, it really shines. There is a very small amount of “orange-peel” on the roof of the car but you really have to look hard to find it.

Both the front and rear bumpers are original to the car and rust-free.

Engine

As you’ll see, I have invested about $8,000 in the engine alone. A local performance engine builder professionally built, balanced and blueprinted the engine. He has built many reliable drag racing and street motors in recent years and the quality of work he put into mine is no exception. The machine shop used exclusively was Bryant’s Engine Rebuilding in Mount Morris, MI.

The goal with this engine build was to make 500 horsepower and 500 ft. lbs. of torque. I’ve never actually put it on a dyno but if it’s not making 500 HP / 500 lbs. of torque, it’s gonna be close.

It has all the “good stuff”:

• GM 4-Bolt Main Block

• Forged 4130 Crankshaft (internally balanced)

• Forged 4130 I-Beam Rods

• Forged 4340 Keith Black Pistons +.030

• Aluminum AFR 195cc Eliminator Heads

• Comp Cams Hydraulic Cam and Lifter Set

• Comp Cams Pushrods

• Performance Headers

• New water pump

• New AFR Head Bolts

• New AFR Header Bolts

• New High Volume Oil Pump and Pickup

• New Oil Pan + Heavy-duty Rubber Gasket (reusable)

• New MSD Distributor

• New MSD Coil

• New Valve Covers

• Edelbrock Performer Air-Gap Intake Manifold

• Barry Grant Demon 700 CFM Carburetor

• Velocity Carb Spacer

The block used has 4-bolt mains. It was professionally bored (+.030 over) and honed by Bryant’s Engine Rebuilding. The clearance for the crankshaft was line-honed as well as the crankshaft-end of all the connecting rods. The machine shop also professionally clearanced the block for the 383 rotating assembly.

The only leak that I am aware of occurs when the car sits during the off-season. The engine will leak about a dime-sized spot of oil. During the summer if it’s driven regularly, it won’t leak at all.

I always use Valvoline VR-1 20/50 racing oil.

Transmission & Converter

The transmission is a TH350 professionally built by Ridings Automatics from southeast Michigan. He guaranteed it to hold up to 700HP. The transmission has less than 150 miles on it. For added peace of mind, I installed a dedicated transmission cooler to replace the one built inside the radiator.

The converter was also built by Ridings Automatics. It’s a 3500 stall and can be quite aggressive. It will definitely put you back into your seat.

Rear-End

The rear-end has a 4.10 limited slip. The differential fluid was changed when the motor and transmission were rebuilt, about 250 miles ago.

Wheels & Tires

Manual brakes and manual steering. All 4 brakes are drum. The wheels are standard rally wheels. Beauty rings and center caps are new.

Engine Compartment

I had an electric fan installed to improve cooling and to eliminate the belt fan. I hate belt fans. New transmission cooling lines were also custom installed to fit the new transmission and transmission cooler.

Under the Car

During the engine build, every nook and cranny of the frame rails, floor pans and engine compartment were painted with glossy black paint. That was something I’ve always wanted to do and was finally able to do while the engine and transmission were out of the car. The intent here was to provide protection against rust, rocks and dirt; NOT to hide some pre-existing problem.

Trunk

The trunk pan was replaced by the 2nd owner. It is clean and rust-free.

Windshield and Glass

The windshield was replaced at some point but I’m not sure if it was done by the 1st or 2nd owner. The rest of the glass in the car (windows and rear windshield), from what I was told, is original to the car.

When rolling up the passenger window as you near the top, you have to pull up on the back of the glass a little while turning the crank. I think it might be off-track. This window doesn’t get rolled up and down too often and is of minimal to no issue for me.

Dashboard

Mechanically, all gauges function properly. There are 2 small issues: (1) the lights behind the gas gauge do not light up because the $98 circuit board (Part #: W-523) on the backside of the dash needs to be replaced (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AMD-W-523/). (2) Since the motor and transmission were rebuilt, the speedometer cable has not been connected to the transmission as the correct gear needs to be ordered and installed. These were items that I just never got around to do.

I also had an Autometer tachometer with shift light installed. Temperature controls, blower motor and stereo all function properly with no issues.

Interior

The carpet, seats, backrests and headliner are all in excellent condition.

Driveability

If you have a serious interest in this car and would like to schedule a time to look at it or if you have any questions about something that I did not cover in the article, call Kyle at (248) 289-0226. Please do not call before 6am or after 10pm EST.