Kenny Hubert wrote a wonderful recap of the history and current work on his 1968 Camaro SS
The car specs.
1968 Camaro SS RS with a Courtesy Chevrolet installed 427/390hp engine with stock Turbo 400 transmission. 3.55 ratio 12 bolt differential.
Originally purchased from Courtesy Chevrolet San Jose Ca September 13 1968 (Friday)
By Ron and Nancy Chalmers (My sister and brother in law.)
The engine was replaced under warranty in the early 70s. The 396 was burning oil and Ron worked at the dealership as shop foreman at the time. He had the parts department order a 390hp 427cid short block. This was installed under the 5 year 50,000 mile power train warranty.
The first time I rode in this car I didn’t like it because I could not see over the dash.( I was 9 years old)
In high school I borrowed the Camaro because my car was in the body shop. The short story is, I got caught by the local law enforcement drag racing at lunch time. The cop knew my buddies mom and I was so shook up he let me go with a warning. (I waited a few years to tell Nancy and Ron about that one.)
Nancy’s daily driver for many years.
In 1997 the Camaro was non-oped at the DMV and stored in mom’s garage.
July 4 2010 the car was signed over to me (Ken Hubert) and restoration began.
David (My son) and I are doing most all the work on this car at home with the help of friends.
We started with sandblasting the trunk and repainting inside with GM spatter paint.
Removed the gas tank and cleaned and reinstalled.
Aftermarket mag wheels were replaced with 14 x 6 rally wheels and BFG Radial T/A tires. (P215/70R14) White letter tires if course.
Removed Carburetor and my friend Greg Willis rebuilt it with David and myself helping.
Drove the car for about a year till the cam went flat.
June 2011 we removed engine and sent to Marino’s Machine Shop to machine as close as possible to factory specs.
David and I reassembled engine complete with the help of a friend Dave Toriumi making sure we were doing everything correct.
We cleaned the transmission then resealed by another friend Ed Ponce.
We removed everything in the engine compartment as well as front suspension brakes and steering.
While the engine was out, we cleaned and prepped engine compartment, firewall down to the end of the frame, the sub frame and front inner wheel houses.
My friend John Ortega came over and painted all with two part paint in the garage.
David and I then reassembled the suspension, steering, brakes and reinstalled engine compartment components. We replaced worn parts as needed or media blasted small parts like control arms and refinished.
We then reinstalled the engine and transmission.
Dave Toriumi came over for the first fire of the rebuilt engine. (this was the scariest part of the process for me) All went well. Engine started and with a few adjustments all was ready for the first test drive.
It took a few hundred miles to work out the bugs. After 500 miles the oil was changed and it was time for a rigorous road test. We smoked the tires through the first two gears. (I apologize now to the neighbors down the street)
It took about three months to complete the engine, suspension, brakes and paint under the hood.
January 2012 We installed a new Alpine stereo CDE123 (with wireless marine remote) in the trunk with 6X9 speakers in the package tray a two small speakers in the front dash location.
We entered the car in the Twin Lakes Church car show July 7-8 2012 and won our first trophy. We were pretty much stoked to the max!
August 11-13 2012 Another friend Mike Brumit came over and removed and resealed the back window.
While window was out David and I replaced the carpet, package tray and glove box. Painted the inside garnish trim below the back glass. David prepped and refinished the console complete with new flocking in center compartment and compartment door.
That’s where we are at this time. Saving money for front seat covers and exterior paint job. We want to do as much of the prep work on the paint job and will be looking for someone to do the skilled work.
http://www.stevescamaroparts.com
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