Stored 40 Years: 1967 Camaro RS/SS 350 Convertible
Here’s an honest Barn Find if ever I saw one. The claim the owner makes is simple: someone bought it in the 1970s, put it up until he could get around to it for restoration, and never saw that day come. Now, the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS350 being sold here on eBay is moving on to the next lucky owner. The car is presently in Doylestown, Ohio and is bid short of reserve at $15,100. What would you do with it? If you could get it to run and drive, it might be tempting to have a “Summer of 1970s” period with it. Get a white vinyl jacket and some platform shoes and camp it up at your local cruise-in. When you get sick of playing Travolta, then look at it to restore. Or don’t restore—that’s the conundrum.
When you look at the rusty junk people start with when doing a resto, and then you look at this pretty red RS/SS, you’d be tempted to think that this is a way better platform to begin with than much of what you see. You’d be right. But everything here is so within the curve of “keeper” that it might be best just to get out the toothbrush on the interior, redo the engine to make it serviceable, and shine up the paint as best you can, then label it a survivor and go with it. Look at that tire change instructions sticker under the deck lid—c’mon—who’s got the heart to peel that off and put a catalogue one in its place? The one thing that seems odd is that, according to the seller’s decoding, the interior should be parchment. Is that a mistake? Because the interior there now sure looks like an honest original.
What does it need? Well, if the owner is correct and his word is true, not sheet metal. That’s the best news you could hear, and looking inside the trunk gives me confidence this is the case. The engine obviously needs going through, and the degree to which feel comfortable spending money doing that depends upon whether you can verify the seller’s tentative claim that the block is original. He has provided lots of numbers for you to chew on in this regard. If you’re going to do a driving phase before a redo, maybe set this engine aside and drop in a crate something-or-other, or the 350 Chevy that’s probably sitting in your shop waiting for “someday.”
There’s little stuff that points to a hard life—no door pull on the driver’s side, no horn button, no key cylinder in the driver’s side, no gas cap, no wheel centers, a crack in the windshield covered with an “X” of tape—but that’s all easy stuff. I do wonder why there’s a new passenger-side door included in the sale. Are the pictures not revealing accident or rust damage? Whatever the case, all you have to do is squint a little, and you can see the beauty of this car’s lines and the snazziness of its color and tape-stripe adornments, even in this condition. Do that, and you’ll be tempted to recondition it first, fast, and drive it. Then when you’ve had enough of that, throw an expensive restoration at it. Man, will you ever have the bomb.
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Comments
I thought the SS 350 cars received chrome valve covers and air cleaner tops?
I believe you are correct 19sixty5. My brother has a 1967 rs/ss 350 that he has owned since the mid 1970’s. It has chrome valve covers and air cleaner top.
If it was stored for all those years with the radiator cap off the entire cooling system is going to have to be cleaned including the engine. Can imagine what kind of critters made a home in there. Could be a really nice car some day.
Who wouldn’t do that anyway, lol?
Fantastic car. It will be a pleasure restoring it.
Man this seems like a deal if it sell for anything near the price it’s at now. Boy I would love to build this little camaro it could be the sister car to my 69 camaro. As for the motor unless someone dropped in a 305 or 307 l’m going to rebuild what’s in it right now repaint and new top along new upholstery. Love the wheels they will be refinish, but this is just a good old daydream for now😑
That aircleaner is off a newer small block
Looks like the one from my 1970 Chevelle 307 2 barrel.
I like this more every time I look at it…
September engine stamp & december body is not a match