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I n 1969 I was driving a 1967 Camaro SS 350 which was purchased new in 1967. It was a great car that I had done some modifications too—cam, headers, etc., and was a fun car to drive. We were driving through Huntsville, Al., and purely by chance we decided to go by the local Chevy dealer to see what they had on the lot.
I spotted a LeMans blue 1969 Camaro on the show room floor. We decided to check it out. Turned out it was ordered by an individual who decided not to purchase it when it came in. It was an SS/RS with 396 fender emblems. Much to my surprise, it was not just an “ordinary” 396, but a 375 H.P. engine with an L-89 aluminum head option!! It had the full cowl induction package, gage package and the M-22 “rock-crusher” transmission, and was only $4800!
Much to my surprise, it was not just an “ordinary” 396
With a little trade-in negotiation, etc., we were driving the new ’69 off the lot, and headed home. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed in the way it ran compared to the “67. It sounded good, but seemed to be “holding-back” in the power department. Very shortly after driving it for a few days, I realized that it needed to “breathe”. ...WOW, DID THAT CAR COME ALIVE!!... I removed all the restrictive smog equipment(which had just come out), and installed a set of Hooker big tube headers and straight-through mufflers. WOW, DID THAT CAR COME ALIVE!! It was a totally different car, a great performing street car. I quickly got a reputation for having a locally “bad” car, and began to win most street races. I especially remember a black 1969 Plymouth GTX with a Hemi engine that was hard to beat. Whoever got the best traction would win the race!!
On Saturday nights I would take the car to a nearby drag strip with racing slicks in the trunk. We would uncap the collectors on the headers, put the slicks on, and run eleven second quarter mile times. The only problem I ever had was the shift linkage. Because the linkage was mounted to the car frame instead of the transmission, the linkage would hang-up when shifting from second to third gear. I lost a few races because of this; very frustrating to have to keep from over-reving the engine, and coast back to the pits to un-jam the linkage!
At the time, I did not know how rare this car was with the aluminum head package, but, according to Chevy facts, there were only 305 produced.
In 1970, I started college, and our first son was born. With money being scarce, and the pressures of trying to get an education, we decided to sell the Camaro. Regrettably, it wasn’t long before the car was gone, and we were driving a 1968 Chevelle that was “donated” to us by my father to drive while in school.
To this day, I often wonder where the car is, and if it is still running, or did it become a full time race car, or is it being taken-care-of by a collector somewhere in Alabama or somewhere else. At the time, I did not realize how rare the car was, and one day I hope to diligently try and find out if it still exists. It was truly one of the greatest cars I have ever had!
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