At the age of 18, I set out to buy my 1st car. I knew I wanted something different, and I had a special love for classics. My grandpa used to tell me stories about the cars he used to own, and so did my dad on the cars he worked on which sparked my interest. I also wanted a car that I could pass down through generations. So, I went searching online for a classic that would speak to me, I didn’t know what I wanted yet. Being young, I knew I wanted something that would make a statement, and was also fast. It took me weeks to decide what I wanted and save up money.
One day, I came across a listing online for a ‘67 Camaro in Reno, Nevada. It was marked at a suspiciously great price, which was within my budget. I put a down payment on the car to keep it on hold so I could check it out. After that I took a road trip to Reno!!!
When we pulled up to the dealership, outside was the 1967 Chevy Camaro waiting for me. I walked in, told them who I was, and got ready to test drive it and check it out. When I was looking at it, I noticed some things were missing from the pictures that were online. They handed me the keys, and I went for a test drive. It handled well, but the breaks were noticeably stiff, it didn't break correctly and as fast as it should have. I came back to the shop, and tried to get a lower price because of the missing objects and the brakes, but they were set on the price, because it had already been lowered.
I asked about the history of the car and they told me that a man from Reno sold them the car because his wife had passed away, and the car brought back too many memories. It was a one owner car, built in Van Nuys,CA, had a clean title, and only 1,000 miles because of a fresh rebuild, but I didn’t know how accurate that part was (ended up getting the whole motor stroked and built due to problems later). I ended up getting it for the listing price, and since I fell in love with the sound of the car, the story, the red color, and the price didn’t bother me because I had to bring it back to cali where its roots was from. We drove it back from Reno to the Cali border, then towed it to Los Angeles and drove it the rest of the way home.
Once we were home, I decided to open the glove box that I didn’t check at the time of purchase. When I opened it, I found the previous owners registration and insurance, and original glove box keys. I looked at the insurance and discovered the original owners first name was the same as mine! It was as if the car was meant to be and it made the story even better.
After a year of enjoying the car, it started to give me problems. I also wanted to know why it was so under priced. Since classics tend to have a history of hidden problems and extra work, I decided to gut the whole car to check for rust and other problems. After I gutted the car, I found hardly any rust, it had solid floors, but I sanded it down and freshly primed and painted the interior to preserve its metal. I also discovered that it had Mickey Mouse wiring, stuff was wired to the wrong places, it had wires that were connected but buttons weren't working, the gauges went out, the homemade cage that was built had booger welds but still thought it was cool idea to get that fixed, in the trunk a certain spot had been cut out and replaced with new metal and sheet metal screws, and as I daily drove it, the list continued. I knew it was going to be a lot of work but it had to be done to bring this car back to where it should be.
However, having the car has been fun, even with all its ups and downs. It also has led me to meeting a lot of cool people, new adventures and seeing other awesome builds out there. A lot of the work done to the car now wouldn't have been possible without the help of my dad and friends. Thanks to them, the car is where it’s at today as changes still continue. Hopefully, one day, my dad and I can cruise our cars together as he is building a 67 fastback along side me and get some other projects done that are sitting.
A special thanks to you guys following this page, even though it is taking time for me to build my vision, and also taking the time to read the story of how I came across this car.
