Rare Camaros |
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While almost any
first generation Camaro can be considered
relatively unique, there are a few cars, models,
and options that qualify as really rare. In this
section we'll explore some of them. 1967
1968
1969
While these particular options don't really increase the car's value, they are rare. The 1969 Pace Car
replica is not really rare, with over 3,675 produced, but is not all that common either.
In addition, factory JL8 cars used 11-3/4 inch front rotors, while regular cars used an 11 inch rotor. Moving on down the line of rare Camaros, we come to the special dealer prepared cars. One of the first dealers to build high performace Camaros was Baldwin Chevrolet in conjunction with Motion Performance. There were soon several hundred 427 Phase III Baldwin Motion Camaros rolling off the lot, although the exact number is unknown. It is believed that all the cars had a broad stripe running from front to rear down the middle of the car, as well as a special hood scoop. In 1969 the 427 Phase III Camaro listed for $4,998.95. In addition to the big block cars, Motion also built several Phase III Z/28's, which included Mallory ignition, dual electric fuel pumps, tuned equal length headers, special hood scoop, Scheifer Rev-Lok clutch and aluminum flywheel, and a Lakewood scattershield.
Dana Chevrolet was founded by Peyton Cramer, and named after a street, Dana Avenue. Dana Chevrolet built 427 Camaros from 1967 through 1969, but the cars remain a mystery today. It is not known how many were built. If you think you have one of these Camaros, please contact us!
Another such dealer was Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago. Nickey also offered 472/425 hp engines transplanted into the Camaro, but again, not much is known about these cars. I have seen figures that indicate about 35 of these Camaros were built, but this is not confirmed.
The COPO Camaros COPO stands for
Central Office Production Order, and these were the
real high performance Camaros. They were very
limited production, and of course, are very rare. Other rare cars
include 1967 Pace Car Replicas, with 200-350 built. We can add the actual 1969 Pace Cars, the ones that actually
paced the race. There were three of these, one given
to the race winner, Mario Andretti, and now rumored to be in New Zealand, and the two remaining ones are owned by Mark Levi and Gary
Nichols. And finally, what may be the rarest Camaro of all - there was one 1968 Z/28 Camaro convertible built for Chevrolet
General Manager Pete Estes on July 15,
1968. It is the only Z/28 convertible ever
built. Options included a folding rear seat, auxiliary console-mounted instruments, auxiliary
lighting, power windows, remote outside mirror, custom seat belts, performance
suspension package, four-wheel disc brakes, blue
light stereo system, positraction, 69 prototype fiberglass hood, cross-ram air and powder coated factory headers. This car was
then delivered to Mr. Estes through Bill Markley
Chevrolet in Detroit, whereupon the car was used as Mr. Estes daily transportation until December 17, 1968. On that day, it was
officially sold to its first owner, T.H. Standen.
Standen sold the car to Vern Nye, another GM employee, only two years later, in whose hands it remained for nearly 20 years. Only recently
was the car made known to the public. |