The 1967 Camaro as Seen at Auto Shows & Unique Promotional Exhibits in 1966/1967

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November/December 1966, Detroit, Michigan continued

Both pictures came from here (http://pilotcarregistry.com/rare-vintage-photos.html)

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November/December 1966, Detroit, Michigan continued

Notice that the girls in this and the next photo are wearing the same style “Chevy” cheerleading outfits that were worn on the day Pete Estes made the conference call announcing the name of the Camaro to the press. 

Both pictures came from here (http://pilotcarregistry.com/rare-vintage-photos.html)

A color version of the Chevrolet newspaper ad: worthpoint.com

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November/December 1966, Detroit, Michigan continued

You may have noticed in the above photos that there were no trucks or vans in the Chevrolet display.  That is because a different part of Cobo Hall was reserved for these vehicles.  In the Chevrolet truck and van display visitors could see a specially built Chevrolet “Dream” truck called the Golden Cameo.  Part of the display was a specially built trailer that was hooked up to the Golden Cameo which carried a special Camaro RS/SS “Dream” car called the Californian.  All three wore matching yellow paint.  I believe that this was the first public appearance of the Californian and the Golden Cameo with trailer “Dream” vehicles from Chevrolet.  According to page 45 of Camaro! From Challenger to Champion: The Complete History written by Gary L. Witzenburg, the Californian was “pearl yellow” and it had “special paint stripes and exhausts exiting from behind the front wheels.”  He also mentions that it was “mounted on a matching trailer pulled by a matching Chevrolet pickup customized with Camaro styling cues.” 

As you can see from the above pictures of the Chevrolet automobile display, trucks and vans were displayed in a different section of Cobo Hall.  When I first found the color photo of the Golden Cameo and Californian there was no information provided as to its location or date.  After doing more research and looking at other pictures that were known to have been taken at Cobo Hall, I was able to come to the conclusion that this picture was in fact taken at Cobo Hall.  The same ceiling lighting pattern can be seen in a picture of a 1971 Ford Ranchero taken at the November/December 1970 Detroit Auto Show.  Further proof came from an image of an AAU track meet held at the venue in 1971.  Once the location was secured I needed to find the date and event.  The appearance of trucks from other manufactures in the background of the picture proves that the color picture was taken at an Auto Show and not just a Chevrolet sales convention.  Furthermore, since there is a model year 1967 El Camino in the Chevrolet display next to the Golden Cameo and Californian the event has to be the November/December 1966 Detroit Auto Show.
 
1st picture: Color picture of Golden Cameo/California from: http://pilotcarregistry.com/rare-vintage-photos.html
 
2nd picture: 1971 Ford Ranchero taken at the November/December 1970 Detroit Auto Show: (http://www.joestevensphotos.com/Detroit-NorthAmerican-AutoShow/i-M39Wtx7/A) via www.smugmug.com

3rd picture: AAU track meet held at Cobo Hall in 1971: www.ebay

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Nearly 9 months after their appearance at the Detroit Auto Show, an article on the “Dream” truck/car duo in the September 1967 edition of Hot Rod Magazine mentioned that the Golden Cameo was equipped with an “SS’ed egg-crate grill, deep-pile interior where you sink into super luxurious black vinyl buckets and a padded, simulated leather top.  Then there’s the race car—a Camaro 350.  But you don’t have to do a darned thing to this one.  It’s got slicks and mags and a 4-speed.  And a trailer, too.  Not just an ordinary trailer mind you, one that you can drive the car right up on with no sweat and then tow to the meet at speed because it follows properly and the electric brakes are good enough to stop the Chaparral at the end of the Mousanne (sic) Straight.  The Camaro could probably fall off the trailer and win its class at the Nationals with low 12’s at 110 or so.  Well, ok, 112.  And knowing the way they do things at Estes-land, the Cameo will run 90 on command in case the Camaro driver gets bored sitting in the pits and telling all the guys that his outfit just isn’t for sale…..” 

The article did not mention the appearance of the stacked hood louvers on the Golden Cameo that previewed the hood used on 1968-1969 Camaro SS’s.  Nor did it mention the clear Plexiglas bubble hood, the different size tires front and back, the wrap around nose stripe, the pinstripe below the doors and around the wheel wells, the engine size “350” painted on the front fenders between the stripes, the lack of a front bumper and the possibility of a custom roll cage in the cockpit. 

1st picture: Color Close up of just truck and Camaro (Hot Rod Magazine, September 1967) (courtesy of CRG member Jon Mello)

2nd picture: Color Close up of just Camaro (Hot Rod Magazine, September 1967) (courtesy of CRG member Jon Mello)

3rd picture: Black & White of just truck (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=658119

4th picture: Black & White of truck and Camaro (Chevy Truckin’ Magazine, April 1993) (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=176718)

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December 1966/January 1967, Indianapolis, Indiana

The next public Auto Show where I found information on Camaro participation was the Indianapolis Auto Show.  This event took place Friday, December 30, 1966 to Saturday, January 7, 1967 at the Manufacturer’s Building on the Indiana State Fair Grounds.  It was sponsored by the Indianapolis Automobile Trade Association.  At the time it was billed as the second longest running auto show in the country.  Now they advertise that its America's longest-running auto show!  The first official Indianapolis Auto Show took place in March 1913.

The Friday, December 30, 1966 edition of The Indianapolis Star had several articles concerning the Camaros at the Indianapolis Auto Show.

All three pictures are courtesy of The Supercar Registry member “PeteLeathersac” at www.yenko.net 

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December 1966/January 1967, Indianapolis, Indiana continued

One more courtesy of The Supercar Registry member “PeteLeathersac” at www.yenko.net

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December 1966/January 1967, Indianapolis, Indiana continued

A Camaro with an interesting Mod Top made a very rare appearance at the Indianapolis Auto Show.  The copywriters seemed to be a bit confused when they wrote the caption for the picture that appeared on page 8 of the Thursday, January 5, 1967 edition of The Indianapolis Star.  That caption stated, “Can You Top That?  -  The surrey with the fringe on top couldn’t hold a candle to this convertible with the foliage on top.  Vinyl upholstery in an Aztec print is used for the top of this Chevrolet Camero (sic).  There also is an acanthus leaf design, floral design, and houndstooth (sic) check in such colors as spice, gold, charcoal, and melon.  The car with the new “mod” look is being shown for the second time in this country at the Indianapolis Auto Show which will continue at the Manufacturer’s building through Saturday.”  It’s interesting to note that they did not realize that the Mod Top was a vinyl roof, not a convertible top.

An article on page 10 of the Wednesday, January 11, 1967 edition of Indiana newspaper entitled, The Daily Journal of Franklin, states, “we’ve heard of ‘Mod’ clothing, ‘Mod’ restaurants and that ‘Mod’ look (shaggy hair, et al), but hang on to your hat Dad, ‘cause now there’s a ‘Mod’ model in the automobile line and Kelly’s Chevrolet in Greenwood can prove it.  The Kelly concern is currently displaying four ‘Mod’ look Camaros that feature some of the fanciest and most colorful tops that we’ve seen in quite a spell.  The ‘Mod’ top Camaros feature all sorts of wild, colorful design patterns that we’re told are quite the rage on the west coast.  From what we hear there are only five such ‘Mod’ top Camaros on display east of the Rocky Mountains and the Greenwood concern has four of ‘em.  What will they think of next?”  I wonder if one of these cars was the one at the Indianapolis Auto Show or was it another car (out of the 5 east of the Rockies) that was at the show.  Franklin is 20 miles south of Indianapolis so it definitely could have supplied the Mod Top Camaro to the Auto Show.

Both pictures are courtesy of The Supercar Registry member “PeteLeathersac” at www.yenko.net

1st picture: Mod Camaro Ad:  The Indianapolis Star Sunday, January 1, 1967 page 42
 
2nd picture: Article Thursday, January 5, 1967

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December 1966/January 1967, Indianapolis, Indiana continued

Picture courtesy of The Supercar Registry member “PeteLeathersac” at www.yenko.net

picture: Article Wednesday, January 11, 1967

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January 1967, Rochester, New York

The next public Auto Show where I found information on Camaro involvement was the Golden Anniversary, 50th Rochester Auto Show.  This event took place Thursday, January 5th to Sunday, January 8th, 1967 at War Memorial Auditorium in Rochester, New York.  An advertisement for the Auto Show on page 15 of the Saturday, January 7, 1967 edition of The Democrat and Chronicle, a Rochester, New York newspaper, boasts, “FREE!  Nothing to do or buy….You can win a 1967 GOLDEN CAMARO.  Loaded with extras.”  About a week and a half later a little blurb on page 43 of the Wednesday, January 18, 1967 edition of The Democrat and Chronicle proclaimed that “WILLIAM ASAY IS WINNER OF THE 1967 CAMARO AT THE auto show.”

Both pictures are courtesy of The Supercar Registry member “PeteLeathersac” at www.yenko.net

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January 1967, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

The next public Auto Show that I located information on participating Camaros was the 8th Annual Dallas/Fort Worth Auto Show.  This event took place Sunday, January 8th to Tuesday, January 10th, 1967 at the Will Rogers Exhibits Building in Fort Worth, Texas.  An interesting piece of documentation for this Auto Show is a script from the WBAP-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas that relates a news story on the Dallas/Fort Worth Auto Show.  While the first page gives an overview and talks about a street version of the Ford GT40, an Oldsmobile and a GTO, the new Camaro is mentioned on the second page of the script.  It states, “this is Chevrolet’s answer to the Ford Mustang and Mercury Cougar; the Camaro.  This cutaway model is for people who are only half-convinced to buy one.”  This attempt at a humorous line must have been given by the news anchor while footage of the Camaro Cutaway display was shown because the script also mentions in block letters, “CAMARO ROTATES.”  Click on the links to see larger and clearer versions of the script:

1st Picture – 1st page of News script: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc985361/m1/1/?q=camaro

2nd Picture: 2nd page of news script: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc985361/m1/3/?q=camaro

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Camaro Cutaway Car Display Information

According to the Camaro Pilot Prototype Car Registry web site, Pilot Car # N100017 was turned into a Camaro Cutaway car for use in Chevrolet displays.  “’The Cut-Away Car’”, as it has been named, “was delivered on June 2, 1966 from Fisher Body as coach #DD24D.  Like all F-Body Pilot Prototypes at Norwood, it started its hand built assembly in consecutive VIN number order as the seventeenth build of the engineering study.  One of eleven on Fleet and Special Order # 5-11 made by Sales Mechanical Exhibit, it carried model # 12637.  This yellow on black coupe was the twelfth coupe ever built.  With a 350 cubic inch power plant and a standard 4-speed transmission, its extensive presence in the General Motors Jim Handy Video, photo shoots at the Detroit Auto Show and lengthy use in photographic display of sales literature make it the most highly documented Pilot Prototype Camaro that was undoubtedly destroyed.  It was required to be received by J. MacQuaid at Chevrolet Flint Manufacturing… (as soon as possible), for a cut-away viewing display.  Like all of the eleven builds for the mechanical exhibit it was built “Omit Undercoat” for ease and desirability of publicity photos.  NCRS certificates show #17 being returned to corporate, Zone 0, where it is thought to have been destroyed after lengthy use in displays.  Extensive and exhaustive history searches have gleaned no documented ownership history.  Current whereabouts and existence is unknown as of 3-1-2015.”

1st picture: http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100017.html

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Camaro Cutaway Car Display theory

While on the subject of the Camaro Cutaway car display I would like to mention that I have come to the conclusion after all of this research that Pilot Car # N100017 could not have been the only Camaro Cutaway car built.  Since articles posted previously in this thread say that the “Camaro ‘half car’ is a centerpiece of Chevrolet’s automobile road shows” and “Chevrolet is sending out two Cinenspheres” it can be concluded that there had to be more than one Camaro Cutaway car constructed, or shall I say, deconstructed.  Two would have been needed for the two Cinespheres alone, not to mention all of the numerous Auto Shows going on in multiple cities across the United States.
 
Not only was a Camaro Cutaway car display a major feature of the Auto Shows and the Cinespheres but one or more were featured for short periods of time at Chevrolet dealerships across the country.  For instance, an advertisement for Clark-Maple Chevrolet in the Saturday, May 6, 1967 edition of the Chicago Tribune boasts of an appearance of the “Cutaway Model Camaro SS 350 Rally Sport.”  It tells the reader to “see parts in motion, V8 295 hp engine, special suspension, front disc brakes, 4-speed transmission.”
 
Information presented on the Camaro Pilot Prototype Car website demonstrates that there were TEN additional Camaros built to the exact same specification as the known Camaro Cutaway car # N100017.  All eleven of these Pilot Cars were Sport Coupes with the following equipment: “Paint # 900YY Butternut Yellow - Show Paint Required/Trim # 765AA Black/L48AC - V/8 350 cu. in. Engine/ M20AD - 4 Speed Transmission/A67AA -Folding Rear Seat/A82AA - Head Rest/A85AA - Shoulder Harness/C08AA - Vinyl Roof/ D55LA Console/J50AC - Power Brakes/G80CA – Positraction/N33BA - Tilt Steering Wheel/N34FB - Wood Grain Wheel/N40DA - Power Steering/Standard - 7:35 - 14 - 4 R/Line Tires (U.S. Royal Rubber)/U57AD -Tape Deck/U69AB – Radio/Front Antenna/A39AA - Deluxe Seat Belts/ Z22AB - Rally Sport/Omit Undercoat.”
 
In addition, all eleven cars were “Fleet & Special Order 5 – 11” and their stated manufactured purpose was for something called “Sales - Mechanical Exhibit.”  Their destination was “Chevrolet Flint Manufacturing.”  It seems logical to me given the fact that more than one Camaro Cutaway car had to be built in order for Chevrolet to use them at multiple Auto Shows, the two Cinespheres and at the dealership showings that several, if not all eleven cars, were turned into Camaro Cutaway display cars.  Can anyone confirm this?

Click on the following links to see the information on the additional ten Pilot Cars built identically to the known Camaro Cutaway Car (N100017):

N100019: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100019.html)
N100021: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100021.html)
N100022: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100022.html)
N100023: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100023.html)
N100024: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100024.html)
N100026: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100026.html)
N100032: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100032.html)
N100040: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100040.html)
N100044: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100044.html)
N100045: (http://pilotcarregistry.com/n100045.html)

Could these additional ten identical Pilot Cars have been turned into Camaro Cutaway Displays once their stated uses as Ride & Drive Cars, Magazine Test Photo Cars and TV Commercial Cars were over and done??  Is that one of the reasons why they were all built exactly the same?  Can this also explain why “extensive and exhaustive history searches have gleaned no documented ownership history and current whereabouts and existence is unknown.”  If they were all turned into Camaro Cutaway Displays they could not possibly have been sold as usable cars, so they were probably crushed.  It seems logical to me given the fact that more than one Camaro Cutaway car had to be built in order for Chevrolet to use them at multiple Auto Shows, the two Cinesphere Chevy Shows and at the dealership showings that several, if not all eleven cars, were turned into Camaro Cutaway display cars.  Can anyone confirm this?  If anyone has additional information, please share.

Both pictures of the construction of a Camaro Cutaway car came from here: http://pilotcarregistry.com/rare-vintage-photos.html

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January 1967, Los Angeles, California

A really interesting Camaro made an appearance at the High Performance and Custom Trade Show held from Tuesday, January 10th to Thursday, January 12th, 1967 in Los Angeles, California.  I believe it was not open to the public.  This was the first time this trade show was ever held.  In the past fifty years its popularity has grown by leaps and bounds.  It is currently known as Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA).  According to page 107 of the Sunday, January 8, 1967 edition of The Los Angeles Times, “the 1967 High Performance and Custom Trade Show will be held at Dodger Stadium Tuesday through Thursday.  The industrial show, which includes more than 130 exhibits, is open to dealers.”  One of those exhibits was put on by the newly minted business partners of Bill Thomas Race Cars of Anaheim and Nickey Chevrolet of Chicago.  A small blurb on page 60 of the Monday, November 28, 1966 edition of The Los Angeles Times publicizes, “Bill Thomas/Racecars of Anaheim and Nickey Chevrolet of Chicago have announced a merger-working agreement.  The association, according to Thomas, will result in expanded automobile racing activities, particularly for the new Chevrolet Camaro.  A series of performance kits have been developed for the Camaro.”  You can see some of the parts included in these “performance kits” hanging on the wall of the Nickey/Bill Thomas display booth.  Included in their exhibit is one of their creations, a 1967 Camaro SS with a transplanted 427.  This is probably the same car used in the original Nickey/Bill Thomas SS 427 magazine articles back in 1966/1967.  That car was originally a red SS 350.  See pictures and original magazine articles here: http://www.nickeyperformance.com/about-nickey/nickey-media/   
 
1st picture: Blurb from Monday, November 28, 1966 edition of The Los Angeles Times (courtesy of The Supercar Registry member “PeteLeathersac” at www.yenko.net)

2nd picture: Nickey/Thomas Booth & SS 427: https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2014/03/dawn-of-an-era

3rd picture: Great Lakes Dragway test: Caption: Nickey Chevrolet Camaro - Great Lakes Dragway
“UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 14 (1966): Nickey Chevrolet Camaro track tested at the Great Lakes Dragway. Car Craft magazine's Dick Scritchfield traveled to Chicago to get the low-down on how Nickey Chevrolet was producing “the wildest Camaro ever by dropping Chevrolet’s biggest engine into the new GM featherweight.” His account of the big-block conversion ran as a story called “427 Camaro” in the Feb. ’67 issue. (Photo by /The Enthusiast Network/Getty Images)” (https://www.gettyimages.com/license/163092499)

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January 1967, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The next public Auto Show that I found information on Camaro inclusion was the 33rd Annual Pittsburgh Auto Show.  It was held Wednesday, January 11th through Sunday, January 15, 1967 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  It was sponsored by the Pittsburgh Auto Dealers Association.  A couple of local newspapers told their readers about a Camaro Cutaway car at the Chevrolet display.  The stock photo of a Camaro Cutaway car appeared on page 59 of the Tuesday, January 10, 1967 edition of The Pittsburgh Press.  Under the photo the caption proclaims “CAMARO ‘HALF CAR’ designed to tell the ‘inside story’ of Chevrolet’s new Camaro is one of several special exhibits at the Pittsburgh Auto Show.  It has been designed to reveal the workings of the inner mechanical components as the entire unit revolves on a turntable.”  A day later the same stock photo could be seen on page 30 of the Wednesday, January 11, 1967 edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The caption under this one read, “Revealing Cutaway—‘Inside’ story of Chevrolet’s Camaro, sleek contestant in the auto industry’s increasingly competitive family sportscar market will be apparent in this special ‘half car’ which will be at the auto show.  It’s cut away to show design, structural and mechanical features which can’t be seen by the buyer in the showroom.”  A Chevrolet ad appeared on page 38 of the same newspaper.  Its headline proclaimed, “We won’t be hard to find at the Auto Show…..Just look for the crowd”

1st picture: 4  Tuesday, January 10, 1967 (www.newspapers.com)

2nd picture: 5  Wednesday, January 11, 1967 (https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/88073640/)

3rd picture: 2a   Chevy Pittsburgh Ad (https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/88073869/)

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January 1967, Detroit, Michigan

Auto Shows featuring new model year cars were not the only automotive events where Chevrolet chose to use product placement.   A Camaro Cutaway car was displayed at the 15th Annual Michigan Hot Rod Autorama.  This was one of the most prestigious custom car and hot rod shows in the country.  It was held Friday, January 20th through Sunday, January 22nd, 1967 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan.  While not the focus of the original photographer, a Camaro Cutaway Car display can be seen in the background of photos taken at the event.  The title of the group of photos is misleading because it clearly contains pictures from 1967, not just 1965 and 1966.  The owner has disabled the downloading of his pictures, so click on the following links to see three black and white images containing the Camaro Cutaway display:
 
1st: http://www.joestevensphotos.com/1966-Detroit-Autorama-Photos/i-jSL5X92/A 
2nd: http://www.joestevensphotos.com/1966-Detroit-Autorama-Photos/i-jtNhF9q/A 
3rd picture: http://www.joestevensphotos.com/1966-Detroit-Autorama-Photos/i-xH4QDj2/A 
 
The Nickey Chevrolet of Chicago and Bill Thomas Racecars of Anaheim partnership had a booth at Autorama held at Cobo Hall providing interested parties information on their “performance kits.”  A Camaro SS 427 appeared next to the booth to show patrons how those “performance kits” could be put together.  It could be, but I’m not sure if it is the same car that appeared less than two weeks before at the High Performance and Custom Trade Show out in California.  How many of these cars did they have to use for display?  Could they possibly have one in California and one in Chicago??  I’m not an expert on Nickey/Thomas Camaros but I did notice that “NICKEY” badge does appear above “CAMARO” on the front fender.  Unfortunately you can’t see the nose of the car or if it has the vent windows unique to a 1967 model.  As a result, I’m not sure if this picture was taken at the 1967 or 1968 Detroit Autorama.  Does anyone know?  Also notice that the famous high performance man from Nickey Chevrolet, Don Swiatek, is in the information booth. 

Picture: Nickey/Bill Thomas Camaro SS 427 1a: http://www.chevyhardcore.com/news/the-greats-of-chevrolet-before-they-were-famous-don-swiatek/