This Big-Block ’67 Camaro Makes the Case for Tribute Cars
Muscle car aficionados will immediately know that the 396 was the big-block offered for 1967 Camaros from the factory, and that 454s weren’t available until 1970. But numbers-matching originality isn’t important to every buyer. For those that just want to enjoy driving, a restomod tribute that backs up on the promise of performance made by the pricey original can be just as good and more affordable. Besides, there’s no way to distinguish a 396 from a 454 from the outside, unless you advertise that fact. This 454-equipped 1967 Camaro sold on Hagerty Marketplace for $43,870 including fees, and manages to blend an attractive tribute with useful—and powerful—updates.
Open the hood on the Camaro and there are more signs that this isn’t a showroom-precise restoration. The exhaust headers, single-plane intake manifold, and Moroso valve covers all look the part of a ’60s hot rod. Zoom in further and you can spot a Holley throttle body fuel injection system that does a good job cosplaying as a carburetor. The improved cold starting and part-throttle fuel economy that comes from fuel injection would be welcome on the big-block.
Aside from its larger powerplant, this Camaro has a few more notable upgrades. It’s wearing front disc brakes and a Hotchkis suspension improves on its ’60s suspension geometry. It’s all well-hidden behind rally wheels and appropriate BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires. The Marina Blue paint, its original color, was sprayed in 2015 and still looks great.
Inside, there’s another bit of modern performance hidden in plain sight. A Tremec five-speed manual transmission adds overdrive and, when paired with the Holley EFI, makes the Camaro a more viable road-trip choice. The modern air conditioning and updated gauges don’t hurt, either.
At just shy of $44k, this big-block-powered, first-year Camaro SS tribute appears to be a great way to get a lot of car with an SS look—it came in at 63 percent less than a numbers-matching #3 (Good) example of a true Super Sport. If numbers matching originality is you thing, this Camaro is not for you, but it this car makes a good case for driving and enjoying a restomod with all the power and features you want—especially if it’s the one within your budget.
Tribute/clone is “restored to stock” using components the particular car didn’t originally come with but were available as options at that time on that model… aka there are more RS 69 Camaros on the road than GM actually built… The car in the article has a little bit of this sure.
Really this is a modified car. Some with throw the “restomod” label at it but that seems like an un-needed term to me (if it is truly restored it is not modified at all —we don’t buy froze-elted icecream, at least not on purpose).
Many of the muscle and pony cars you can simplify the pricing: survivor original, restored original of desirable spec, clone to desirable spec and modified to desirable current trends are all the top dogs in an order which will vary by the specific model an rarity. A survivor super low mileage 6 cyl 67 Camaro in unpopular colours with a bench seat is super cool, but not the most-desired.
It seems like the upper half of the early Mustang and Camaro market is getting a lot of modified cars in it which is very different than the prewar classics market (aside from the coachbuilder aspect).
Some readers will know that I’m a fan of building “tribute” cars to enjoy but not to “flip”. What I mean is that if one can get the thrill of driving a big-block SS Camaro for half the money (and a lot less stress) than a numbers-matching car, why not? As long as they are not trying to scam a potential buyer by passing off a clone as the real thing, where is the harm, really? I’ve been told, “but if you’re driving down the street and people take it for the real deal, you’re cheating them”. I see the teeny-tiny point there, but when you try to measure the harm caused, it gets pretty infinitesimal pretty quickly. Maybe some folks will never get to see the real thing, so if they see your clone (even with some modernizing and/or period-correct hot rod resto-mods), I fail to recognize the damage caused.
For the builder and/or owner of this car, I say BRAVO. Nicely done.
This level of restomod is something I can live with. Even if it is not VIN correct, it is mostly period correct
I’ll take it. Price isn’t out of line for what it is.
“Tribute” “Restomod” “Clone” “Survivor” are useless terms. Everybody has their has the own definition of what those terms mean. NCRS has defined “Survivor”. Perhaps other groups have that I am not aware of, have also attempted to put some brackets around those terms.
Not much not to like here. A nice blend of old school upgrades with a few somewhat modern additions. Replacing the carb with F.I. has become almost like getting rid of the old points and condenser setup. “Just set it and forget it!” That fifth gear overdrive is a nice slot to shift into instead of ‘ a few more rpm than I’d really like to be turning’ at highway speeds. In that regard staying with the rally wheels instead of a ‘the bigger the diameter the better ‘ choice. Everyone seems to want to bolt those on everything and often the look misses the mark. Not to mention I’m not hearing of many people getting out the calculator and figuring in how it will affect gear ratio.
I drive my cars regularly and this is 100% what I would look for to buy. I love original, numbers matching etc but I could see racking up a lot of miles on that Camaro 😉
I think of my 1955 Studebaker President sedan as a restomod in reverse. I kept the original motor and chassis, but had to replace the body as it was too far gone. The replacement is from the exact same model, so there is no difference other than a modern paint color of my choosing. I upgraded to 12 volts and an alternator and added an electric fuel pump and electronic ignition. Fuel injection seemed like a step too far. I know some folks say 6 volts were good enough back in the day, but if I need a jump I like to know I can take one from any passing Good Samaritan. The 1955 automatic transmission could not be salvaged, but I only upgraded one generation, to the model offered in 1956.
Looks perfect to me. I have a ’72 El Camino that appears to be a 454 SS, but it’s not. Do I care? Nope. Will I try to misrepresent it as a real SS. Nope. Anyone that knows even the basics can tell it’s not a real SS. Will I drive it and enjoy it as long as I can? You bet I will.