Author Topic: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show  (Read 19697 times)

VINCE Z28

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 760
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #15 on: December 06, 2013, 11:41:08 PM »
SMKZ28 there's a paragraph on the cars in the book, Camaro From Challenger to Champion page 45. Terry
« Last Edit: December 07, 2013, 12:07:51 AM by VINCE Z28 »
" He who knows naught, knows not that he knows naught"  It's not you...  It's just the way my brain is wired.

SMKZ28

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2816
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #16 on: December 07, 2013, 03:07:45 AM »
SMKZ28 there's a paragraph on the cars in the book, Camaro From Challenger to Champion page 45. Terry

Thanks Terry.

I checked my copy and Gary L. Witzenburg wrote, "Back in Detroit on May 2nd, Chevrolet unveiled a trio of Camaro 'dream cars.'  A candy-apple red customized convertible called 'Cherokee' sported aluminum wheels, a rear-deck spoiler and twin exhaust pipes.  A pearl blue SS-396 convertible called 'Cabriolet' was fitted with heavy-duty suspension and engine mounts, and other high-performance components, plus simulated air scoops on the hood.  And most unusually, a pearl yellow Camaro coupe called 'Californian,' with special paint stripes and exhausts exiting from behind the front wheels, was mounted on a matching trailer pulled by a matching Chevrolet pickup customized with Camaro styling cues."

I'm wondering about the "May 2nd" mentioned in the book.  The New York Auto Show ran from April 1st to the 9th, 1967.  Is this a misprint in the book?  Did he mean March 2nd?  The car couldn't have been introduced a month after it appeared in front of the public at an auto show.

Very cool to find out that the car was yellow.  That means I was finally able to identify the car and truck combination in the attached picture I have had for a while.  It is a blown up picture from the September 1967 edition of Hot Rod Magazine.  I found this version of the picture here: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=267224

Now to find info and pics on the "pearl blue SS-396 convertible called 'Cabriolet.'  Anybody have a picture of this car?
« Last Edit: December 07, 2013, 04:51:36 AM by SMKZ28 »
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

Jon Mello

  • CRG Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4413
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #17 on: December 07, 2013, 05:16:29 AM »
Here's a larger version of that page from Hot Rod. I've had it cut out of the magazine for over 30 years. Couldn't remember
what magazine it was originally in. I'd like to see more pics of the '67 Z-28 show car. I believe it is the 15th Z-28 built, a
very early car. Never knew they had D-spoke Americans and Firestone racing tires on it. Very cool.

It interesting that the Cherokee has a red interior here and the one at MCACN has a black interior. The statement was made
that the car at MCACN had the original interior except for the carpet. It does seem like there must have been more than one
Cherokee made but the question would seem to be why.

Jon Mello
CRG

SMKZ28

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2816
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #18 on: December 07, 2013, 06:17:29 AM »
Thanks Jon!  Your huge collection of stuff comes through again! 

Not sure why they would have made a second Cherokee but maybe the first one (red interior/white stripe/non-tach hood) was destroyed in a shipping accident or maybe they wanted to display it simultaneously at two different venues?  At first I thought they might have just changed the interior color, removed the stripes and added the tach on the hood for its appearance in the fall Can Am races but the build date of the surviving Cherokee (June) comes after the date of the photos I posted (April) so there must have been a second one constructed.  This also begs the question, were there 2 Californians built as well?

I also liked the look of the Americans with Firestones on the Z28 show car.  Do you know what color the 15th Z28 was?  It's obviously a lighter color.
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

dannystarr

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1745
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #19 on: December 07, 2013, 06:23:55 AM »
But what does the other plate say??... Danny

Jon Mello

  • CRG Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4413
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #20 on: December 07, 2013, 07:25:34 AM »
I also liked the look of the Americans with Firestones on the Z28 show car.  Do you know what color the 15th Z28 was?  It's obviously a lighter color.

Scott, I don't know the color of the Z for sure but suspect it was Butternut Yellow.
Jon Mello
CRG

MyRed67

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 805
  • SZZLN 67
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #21 on: December 07, 2013, 07:40:57 AM »
Very interesting. Th Californian car and the others look like they got some serious polishing and most likely a wet sand. I have never seen pictures of any new Camaros from back in the day with that munch depth and shine in the paint. Also check out the lower front valence panel, it has much smaller/ narrower cut out than the stock model. Also the ride height on the cars seems quite high. Look at the gap between the tires and the top of the wheel well opening. Since they were car show cars, I wonder how real they were and what mods that had. I am wondering if they were even actual drivers or strictly display?
Mike, I also noticed the smaller opening in the lower valance.   On a original valance the opening goes up behind the Bumper, on this car they removed the Bumper, filled the upper part of the opening and painted the stripe on below the Grille.
1967 Camaro  LOS  11A
Original Engine   Z - Tribute
Mike C.    NW - Illinois

Mark

  • CRG Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1089
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #22 on: December 07, 2013, 03:01:40 PM »
Heres one of them in the GM Design Center, probably the first one since its obviously not a white Camaro (which the 06B car was) and this one hasn't been painted yet.

Mark C.
1969 Indy Pace Car
350/300HP RPO Z11

SMKZ28

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2816
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #23 on: December 07, 2013, 05:52:08 PM »
Heres one of them in the GM Design Center, probably the first one since its obviously not a white Camaro (which the 06B car was) and this one hasn't been painted yet.

Great point Mark!  That makes total sense.  The pieces to the Cherokee puzzle are all coming together.  Its funny, I never get tired of looking at that cool picture.  The design drawings on the wall are so cool!
Scott
I don't have a 1st Gen but I have 1971 Z28 RS 4-spd, 1997 Z28 Z4C 6-spd, 2000 SS Convertible, 2010 RS 6-spd

VINCE Z28

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 760
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #24 on: December 07, 2013, 06:01:05 PM »
Jon, I don't know if this helps.... but In the book  The Great Camaro on page 70, Lamm's shows a picture of a 67 Z  yellow in color that was the first Z released to the press. Terry
" He who knows naught, knows not that he knows naught"  It's not you...  It's just the way my brain is wired.

Jon Mello

  • CRG Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4413
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #25 on: December 07, 2013, 06:54:16 PM »
Terry, that's not the same car as at the NY Auto Show. It had RS equipment and a black vinyl top.
Jon Mello
CRG

Jon Mello

  • CRG Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4413
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #26 on: December 07, 2013, 07:02:23 PM »
Here's the only other Auto Show '67 Z-28 photo I have seen to date. No RS pinstripe on the side, stripes on rear go up too high for the car to have a vinyl top and there are no rear bumper guards like on the Press Preview Z. Also, the rear spoiler is not flat across the back like that car either and has a unique cut-out shape around the emblem on the decklid. This is Z-28 #15 off the production line for the Central Office Show Program. Notice that Z-28 had a hyphen and not a slash for all '67 Z-28s. The slash did not start until the 1968  model year. Then it became the Z/28.
Jon Mello
CRG

MO

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1132
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #27 on: December 07, 2013, 07:04:48 PM »
maybe they wanted to display it simultaneously at two different venues?  

Scott, That is probably the the answer. With all of the car shows across the US, the same cars couldn't possibly be at all of them. So there must be variations of those models to use as fill-ins. Most attendees wouldn't have known if it was the real show car or not. If it had the nameplate (or license plate) and color, it was most likely perceived as the actual show car by most people. At least that seems logical and likely to me.


Jon Mello

  • CRG Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4413
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #28 on: December 07, 2013, 07:06:58 PM »
Here's a larger view of the red interior Cherokee. This car has a nice form fitting cover for the convertible top and the black interior car has the standard production cover.
The wheels on this version of the Cherokee are not the '67 Corvette finned wheels like on the car at MCACN. Hard to say for sure but it appears there might be a black
four-speed shift knob visible in this shot.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2013, 08:41:46 PM by Jon Mello »
Jon Mello
CRG

Jon Mello

  • CRG Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4413
    • View Profile
Re: 1967 CALIFORNIAN Camaro Show Car pictures from 1967 New York Auto Show
« Reply #29 on: December 07, 2013, 08:34:06 PM »
Cherokee competition-style gas cap says SS396 on it.
Jon Mello
CRG

 

anything