First Generation Camaro: Setting a Standard

The first generation Camaro is often coveted as the best and served as inspiration for Chevy’s modern muscle design. This is one of numerous features celebrating the Camaro’s 50th anniversary. Check in each week for additional coverage. Learn about a new generation, aftermarket potential, legendary racers, age-old rivalry and much more. We’ve included some throwback videos for your viewing enjoyment.

Setting a Standard (1967-1969)

The first-generation Camaro debuted in September 1966 for the 1967 model year. Its intention was to be the answer to the Mustang craze. Not to mention, a highly personalized pony car that featured many options for consumers to customize their ride.

According to Edmunds:

First generation Camaro - Courtesy of Chevrolet“Just as the first Mustang was based on Ford’s compact Falcon, so the first 1967 Camaro was based on Chevy’s compact Nova. The basic engineering of the Camaro was a unibody structure from the windshield and firewall back, with a separate steel rail sub-frame for everything up front. Double A-arms made up the independent front suspension while the solid rear axle was suspended by semi-elliptical leaf springs. As was typical of standard-equipped vehicles at the time, braking was by four drums. The steering was slow and manual, and Chevy’s rugged 230 cubic-inch straight six poked out an optimistically rated 140 horsepower while twisting a three-speed manual transmission.”

Engine Variety

“Buyers could opt for a larger 250-inch version of the six making 155 horsepower, a 210-horsepower 327 cubic-inch small-block V8 fed by a two-barrel carb, that same V8 with a four-barrel carb and a higher compression ratio was rated at 275 horsepower, or two versions of the 396 cubic-inch big-block V8 making either 325 or 375 horsepower. Those engines could be lashed to a series of wide or short-ratio three- or four-speed manual transmissions, or one of two automatics: the slushy two-speed Powerglide or outstanding three-speed turbo hydramatics.”

Rally Sport/Super Sport

“The Rally Sport and Super Sport packages could also be ordered together to form the most lavishly-equipped Camaro of them all, the RS/SS. And it was an RS/SS convertible powered by a 396 that Chevy provided as a pace car for the 1967 Indianapolis 500. Almost outside the regular Camaro line was the race-oriented Z/28. Introduced in December 1966, the Z/28 was powered by a special high compression 302 cubic-inch V8 whose displacement was achieved by matching the short-stroke crank of the 283-cubic-inch version with the big-bore block of the 327. Rated at 290 horsepower and built to rev, the radical powerplant was matched to a more aggressive suspension.”

Yeko and COPO

“The Yenko and COPO Camaros had unbelievable power for that era, with factory models exceeding 400 horsepower. (The 1969 Yenko 427 may have carried a Chevy dealer’s name, but it had a Camaro heart.) They were quarter-mile monsters and turn key,” said Dave Burke, Camaro enthusiast and Category Manager at Keystone Automotive Operation, Inc. “The first gen solidified the Camaro as iconic. Those years are like the Godfather of the Camaro legend.”

Adored by Racers

Penske

Racing legend Roger Penske would agree they were quarter-mile monsters. Penske snagged top honors in the 1969 SCCA Trans-Am Championship with his equally legendary No. 15 1967 Penske-Sunoco Camaro Z/28. Dubbed “Lightweight,” this vehicle took the team to eight wins within the 12 race series. It was the second Z/28 to roll off the lot. And it was “a car that has no patience for anything but a full-out sprint, bucking and spitting under 2800 rpm,” said Zach Bowman, author of Multiplication by Subtraction: The 2016 Camaro SS Returns to the Formula that Propelled the Original Car to Racing Glory – Weight Loss.

Ryan

“This car has never been a museum piece. Pat Ryan has owned the ‘67 for the better part of three decades, racing it all over the country in the Sportscar Vintage Racing Group. It was the first car he ever raced, something akin to learning to sail in a Category 5 hurricane, and he loves it as much as anyone can love a thing made of metal and oil, and rubber and glass,” continued Bowman.

Edelbrock Family

Likewise, the Edelbrock family bears a proud lineage in the performance industry and has fancied the sleek, high-powered platform since the very beginning. They have a minimum of one Camaro per generation. And that includes “a ’67 that was one of the first off the production line and even used as an early Hot Rod Magazine test vehicle. It was the first in California and also the first Camaro to be road tested for print media,” said Hot Rod Magazine.

In fact, “that ‘67 Camaro, mainly used for R&D, was used by a lot of companies (to develop a lot of parts). Hurst shifters, Hooker Headers, Holley carbs and Edelbrock Performance manifolds, valve covers, etc. were all part of the mix. There’s a lot of history attached to that car,” said Smitty Smith, Technical Sales Coordinator at Edelbrock Performance where he is a 25-year veteran.

From Shelby to Camaro

“I was racing a ‘66 Shelby Mustang GT350 since ‘91 in the vintage road races when my Dad offered me the chance to race his ‘69 Trans Am Camaro. The one formerly owned and campaigned by none other than Smokey Yunick. Of course I said yes! The car has an acid-dipped body, highly-modified chassis and tons of horsepower. The Trans Am class is filled with Sunoco Camaros, Boss Mustangs and a whole herd of amazing race cars with a long history in Trans Am racing. Guys like George Follmer and Parnelli Jones made some of these cars famous. They battled their way to championships in the 60’s,” said Camee Edelbrock, daughter of living legend Vic Edelbrock Jr.

The Smokey Camaro proved challenging given its stark differences from Edelbrock’s Shelby. “But after a few races and instruction from my friends in the Trans Am class I got the hang of it. And I learned that the harder you drive the car then the better it feels. It’s a car that likes to go fast and be driven hard. It’s built to be driven right to the edge and is not forgiving if you go too far. I have many great memories driving the Smokey Camaro. One of my favorites is a race in Lime Rock, Conn. I was in the front of the pack with two of the fastest, smoothest drivers in our class. We drove around ‘Big Bend’ side-by-side and continued close racing for the entire 10 laps. It was a blast!”

Aftermarket Friendly

Although the first generation Camaro only lasted through the 1969 model year, it’s still favored among performance kings like Moroso, Competition Engineering, Hurst, Kooks Headers and, of course, Edelbrock Performance. “Moroso has always been able to quickly build performance products for the Camaro because of the demand for them by racers and street performance enthusiasts. It started back
when the first Camaro was produced and continues to this day,” said Frank Thibodeau, Sales Manager at Moroso. “Popular parts include sub-frame connectors, oil pans, valve covers, spark plug wires, roll bars and cages, as well as traction devices,” he said.

Chevy produced a number of other Camaros, all of them legendary in their own right. Although the brand took a hiatus between generations four and five, it came back with vengeance. And boy did Chevy sweep the modern muscle category off its feet with highly anticipated fifth generation production. Soon proving it was the same legend symbolizing a new chapter for the Camaro. And its design inspiration? The first generation Camaro.

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