General Information

1. What does the CRG mean by "normative practice?"
2. Why do I keep hearing about an "F-body?"
3. Why is there a difference between the car model year and the calendar year?
4. When were the first-generation models built?
5. Where were first-generation Camaros built?
6. How many first-generation Camaros were built? Are there monthly totals?
7. What models were available?
8. How many Camaros were built with xx, yy, and zz options (or colors, etc)?
9. What are the best sources of information and data on my car?
10. How can I find out about the past history of my car?
11. What were some of the changes occurring mid-year?
12. What are some curious Camaro trivia?
13. What were some of the rare options available on the Camaro?
14. Which Camaros are worth the most?

 
Q: What does the CRG mean by "normative practice?"

A: The first-generation Camaro was produced at two US factories and at least four foreign sites, in large numbers, for more than three years. Mid-year changes were deliberately made for marketing, production, and safety purposes. Each factory had specific unique assembly practices, many of which are undocumented. The CRG strives to document the released and accepted factory procedures for each major vehicle configuration, and additionally, attempts to document as many of the major variations as can be easily noted.

However, in order to keep assembly lines rolling, some exceptions to "normal" procedure could be and were made by GM. In these cases, GM had a internal process to determine what components or process could be substituted (normally based on fit and function). There were also assembly errors made, including mismarked tags and stamps. Buyers searching for original vehicles should realize that such unusual features can be real, though the CRG does not encounter them frequently.

Therefore the CRG focuses on what we call "normative practices," which are the factory configurations per released procedure for the model year. To the extent that we can, the CRG will also document normative practices as a function of assembly plant and mid-year time frame, though these will never be complete, and in many cases must be observed indirectly by collection of a statistically significant population of vehicle data.

The point is that when inspecting first-generation Camaros an occasional "non-normal" feature will pop up. The reason for documenting typical practice is that the more unusual the feature, and the larger the number of exceptions to practice on a single car, the more the originality of that vehicle should be questioned. While it is difficult to say "never" or "always" about a first-generation Camaro, too many liberties from normative practice should sound a warning bell to any interested in an original vehicle.

Q: Why do I keep hearing about an "F-body?"

A: Each major car line at GM is given a letter name that includes all of the division-crossing models. The letter assigned to Camaro during development was "F." This letter also includes the Pontiac Firebird, which is built on the same basic chassis as the Camaro.

Q: Why is there a difference between the car model year and the calendar year?

A: The automotive industry typically uses a model year that is offset from the calendar year. Sales dates for a car model typically start in September of the prior year and end the following August. Production start/stop dates are generally a month before the sales start/stop dates. For instance, the 1967 Camaro was built from August of 1966 through July of 1967. If a 1967 Camaro has a cowl tag date of 12A (indicating that the build month and week were December/first-week), then the car was built in December of 1966 (not December of 1967). A production gap of a couple of weeks between the end of one model year and the start of the next was common, and used to changeover the plant for the next model year.

There are exceptions to this and the end of model year for the 1969 Camaro is one. The build for the 1969 Camaro was extended from July 1969 to November 1969, because the 1970 Camaro was not ready for release (see next Q & A).

  Model Year   Started     Ended
             Month/Year  Month/Year  
  ---------- ----------  ----------
    1967      Aug 1966    Jul 1967
    1968      Aug 1967    Jul 1968
    1969      Aug 1968    Nov 1969

Q: When were the first-generation models built?

A: First generation Camaros were built from the 1967 model year (starting with August 1966 production for the September 1966 model launch) through the 1969 model year. Note that the 1969 model year was an unusual one for Camaro, since it extended through November 1969, several months beyond the conventional end of model year.

The extended 69 production and the delay of introduction of the '70 Camaro was not purposeful, nor was it related to labor problems; it was late because the quarter panel draw dies failed during final die tryout and had to be rebuilt from scratch. Fisher Body had lots of troubles drawing the 1970 quarter panels without wrinkles and splits. They attempted to correct the problems by modifying the draw dies during final tryout but the problems got worse instead of better. Fisher finally had to redesign/rebuild the draw dies, which delayed the launch by 4-5 months. Chevrolet decided to extend the 1969 model, which created a wild scramble, as this meant extending part supplier contracts for the '69 (suppliers had already committed their facilities to other business), finding alternate capacity for '69 parts, etc. The PR department attempted to spin the delay in a different direction for public consumption as GM never publicly admitted any internal problems or failures, especially within Fisher Body, its biggest manufacturing Division, with the biggest tooling budget. But the delay of the 1970 Camaro was a black eye for Fisher Body Die Engineering, as it was the first production launch delay that was ever laid at their feet.

 
Q: Where were first-generation Camaros built?

A: About 75% of 1967-69 Camaros were built at the Norwood, Ohio factory (near Cincinnati). Norwood built units for central and eastern US, as well as all exports. (Export units to Sweden, central Europe, and other destinations were rail-shipped to "Mortensen's Warehouse" (a contractor to Chevrolet) at the Port of Baltimore, who handled export preparations (wax and oil spray, etc.) and loaded them on ships.)

The other major US assembly facility (~25% of the Camaro total) for Camaro was the Van Nuys, California assembly plant near Los Angeles, the primary assembly plant for units intended for Western US delivery.

In addition to the US assembly plants, many hundreds (if not several thousands) of Camaros were assembled by at five overseas factories: the Yutivo factory in the Philippines (the subject of a CRG research article), GM Continental in Belgium, GM Suisse in Bienne, Switzerland, and two little-known assembly plants in Caracas, Venezuela and Lima, Peru. These non-US plants are the subject of the foreign assembly plant research article.

All of the non-U.S. factories assembled Camaros from "completely knocked down" (CKD) kits; as the name implies, kits from which bodies were fully assembled from individual separate sheet metal stampings. Parts and subassemblies for CKD export units were shipped to a central collection point (a "box plant" in Bloomfield, NJ), gathered together and consolidated into kits, then packed into containers for shipment overseas.

These plants and the export activities were managed by GMOO (GM Overseas Operations) and GMODC (GM Overseas Distribution Corporation). We would be interested in talking to anyone that has worked for either of these GM groups.

Q: How many first-generation Camaros were built? Are there monthly totals?

A: Official Chevrolet production records show a total of 220,906 Camaros built in 1967; 235,147 Camaros built in 1968; and 243,085 Camaros built in the last year of the first generation, 1969. Note that the 1969 model year was extended to November 1969, 4 months longer than normal, due to production delays with the redesigned 1970 Camaro.

The list below is Chevrolet's documentation of the end-of-month VIN for the GM assembly plants. * Due to several limitations the VINs in this list will not necessarily correlate exactly with either a specific calendar day or the build week on the cowl tag. The data for some months (especially May and June 68 at Norwood) deviate significantly from actual build dates, while other months correlate well.* We are unsure of the source of these deviations, but uncertainties include:

1. It isn't known what day of the month was used for logging the monthly production, or if the same system was used for all years.
2. It isn't certain where in the production process GM recorded this data.
3. Vehicles were NOT assembled in the exact order of VIN. For any given VIN selected as the nominal "last" for that month, it is likely that slightly lower or higher VINs might either still be in process, or might have already been assembled.
4. The build date on the cowl tag is when the body was started. It was attached 3-4 days before final assembly of the car was completed and build week dates did not always align exactly with calendar weeks.

Despite these limitations, the list remains a useful guide for approximate confirmation of date as to when a given VIN was built.

 *see limitations of this data as noted in text above 

               LOS            LOS              NOR
            Passenger        Camaro           Camaro
  Month    End   Month    End    Month     End    Month
           VIN   Total    VIN    Total     VIN    Total 
  ------  -------------  --------------   --------------
 1967 Model
  Sep-66  104227  4227   7L104208  4208   7N111323  11323  
  Oct-66  112746  8519   7L112733  8525   7N124052  12729
  Nov-66  122258  9512   7L122251  9518   7N140230  16178 
  Dec-66  130166  7908   7L130165  7914   7N160043  19813
  Jan-67  137621  7455   7L137621  7456   7N174339  14296
  Feb-67  144299  6678   7L144322  6701   7N179242   4903
  Mar-67  150486  6187   7L150507  6185   7N197221  17979
  Apr-67  156998  6512   7L155897  5390   7N209658  12437 
  May-67  166016  9018   7L158904  3007   7N224672  15014 
  Jun-67  175123  9107   7L163266  4362   7N241701  17029 
  Jul-67  178607  3484   7L165008  1742   7N254698  12997 
  
 1968 Model                
  Sep-67  109488  9488   8L304745  4745   8N319989  19989 
  Oct-67  119058  9570   8L309652  4907   8N337720  17731 
  Nov-67  125265  6207   8L315860  6208   8N352898  15178 
  Dec-67  131371  6106   8L321968  6108   8N368090  15192 
  Jan-68  137496  6125   8L328091  6123   8N381420  13330 
  Feb-68  140888  3392   8L331484  3393   8N392427  11007 
  Mar-68  145579  4691   8L335251  3767   8N407303  14876 
  Apr-68  152211  6632   8L338564  3313   8N425530  18227 
  May-68  159256  7045   8L342085  3521   8N465482  39952 
  Jun-68  165727  6471   8L345432  3347   8N482588  17106 
  Jul-68  170718  4991   8L349164  3732   8N484735   2147  
  
 1969 Model              
  Sep-68    4825  4825   9L502310  2310   9N512133  12133
  Oct-68   13440  8615   9L506631  4321   9N530337  18204 
  Nov-68   21359  7919   9L510583  3952   9N551862  21525 
  Dec-68   27840  6481   9L513816  3233   9N569987  18125 
  Jan-69   32566  4726   9L520247  6431   9N589720  19733 
  Feb-69   37310  4744   9L525388  5141   9N607164  17444 
  Mar-69   45956  8646   9L528108  2720   9N623587  16423
  Apr-69   54708  8752   9L530155  2047   9N637106  13519 
  May-69   54708     0   9L530155     0   9N650323  13217 
  Jun-69   58446  3738   9L531026   871   9N664008  13685 
  Jul-69   59028   582   9L531163   137   9N669119   5111 
  Aug-69       0     0          0     0   9N678253   9134 
  Sep-69       0     0          0     0   9N692607  14354 
  Oct-69       0     0          0     0   9N707932  15325 
  Nov-69       0     0          0     0   9N711922   3990 

 
Q: What models were available?

A: First-generation Camaros came in two basic models, hardtop and convertible. All cars had two doors with 2+2 style seating. Although GM claimed five adults would fit using 2+3 seating, and starting with the 1968 models three sets of rear lap seat belts were standard, in practice a 2+2 seating arrangement was much more realistic.

Q: How many Camaros were built with xx, yy, and zz options (or colors, etc.)?

A: CRG has published a downloadable RPO spreadsheet in PDF format that documents the official Chevrolet tallies for each first-generation Camaro Regular Production Option (including the base, non-optional, configurations), based on and courtesy of Len Williamson's "Tailfins & Bowties" compendium of official Chevrolet production records. Similar data, but containing certain errors and omissions, have been previously published in several Camaro books of the '90s. While these other lists may be sufficiently accurate enough for many uses, Len Williamson's work is definitive and taken directly from his exhaustive primary research at Chevrolet archives in the late 1980s.

Chevrolet did not retain any statistical records on option combinations. Which means it is impossible to know with certainty the exact production number in situations of multi-option combinations.

However, using the Chevrolet single-option production data, simple statistics allow the estimation of production quantities of many option combinations. CRG will leave the math for you to do. The higher the number of combined options in the calculation (and the rarer the options), the less reliable the result.

In a related question, there is no factory data on the popularity of exterior or interior colors, either singly or in combination. However, CRG has analyzed its database of Camaros and has published the color percentages for the vehicles in its database. Please note the associated disclaimers.

Q: What are the best sources of information and data on my car?

A: The GM Heritage Center has downloadable information packages that includes detailed and mostly accurate specification of that year Camaro and the options. This, unfortunately, does not include option or configuration information on your exact unit (see the Car History FAQ), but it is free and a great reference.

If you are restoring a Camaro, this package will not tell you everything you will need and want to know. There are a number of web sources (many shown on our CRG Links page) that can provide a great deal of further assistance.

Critical printed references that the CRG recommends that you investigate include the following:

• Alan L. Colvin's Chevrolet By The Numbers, The Essential Chevrolet Parts Reference, 1965-69, Robert Bentley, Inc., 1994. ISBN 0-876-0956-9
  This is the "bible" of major vehicle components. Separate chapters are included for each of: engine, crankshaft, head, rod, piston, carburetor, intake manifold, exhaust manifold, water pump, distributor, camshaft, alternator, transmission, rear axle/differential, wheels, and Rochester fuel injection. The major limitation of this work is that it only covers V-8 engined models, though certain components are also applicable to vehicles with L-6 engines.
• Chevrolet Camaro Assembly Instruction Manual (for your year of interest)
  The Assembly Instruction Manual covers Chevrolet-installed parts, including drawings and part numbers (but not Fisher Body installed parts). Available as a reprint from the major Camaro parts suppliers.
• Parts Manuals
  There are several different types, and the best of these type is a Camaro-only manual. These are extremely difficult to find and are valuable for restoration research. The CRG uses several, including the 1967-69 Camaro Master Parts Catalogue MPC 691A, published Nov 68 by General Motors of Canada Limited and the Chevrolet P&A 34 Parts Catalog. Later parts manuals, such as a commonly available pre-1975 manual printed in 1983, are of limited usefulness to a restoration project, as many first-generation parts will not be listed or have been superseded by parts that have only a general similarity to the originals.
• The Definitive 1967-1968 Camaro Z/28 Fact Book, Jerry MacNeish, Motorbooks International, 1996. ISBN 0-9626399-1-5
  This book focuses on the title topic but is valuable as a general reference.
• The Definitive 1969 Camaro Z/28-SS396 Fact Book, Jerry MacNeish, Self-published, 1993. ISBN 0-9626399-1-5
  This book focuses on the title topic but is valuable as a general reference.
• The 1967-68 Camaro Reference Book, John R. Hooper, 1994.
  Self-published, this is available from major Camaro parts suppliers.
• The 1969 Camaro Reference Book, John R. Hooper, 1991.
  J&D Publications, Westminster MD. Available from major Camaro parts suppliers.
• The Conclusive Camaro Recognition Guide, Vol. 1, 1967-1969, John R. Hooper, 1998.
  Self-published, this is available from major Camaro parts suppliers.

There are a number of other worthwhile publications for specific needs. For example, the original Chevrolet Chassis Service and Overhaul Manuals are available in reprint from the major reproduction suppliers. And, if you do not currently have a Camaro and are considering a purchase, the CRG suggests consideration of either or both of two light-duty books by Michael Antonick that give a good general overview of each year up to and including the modern era - however they are not definitive for research as they contain some errors (generally minor) and numerous omissions for the sake of brevity:

• The Genuine Camaro White Book, 1967-1997, by Michael Antonick, 4th edition, November 1996, distributed by Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-933534-40-X
  A handy pocket size, it contains a general overview followed by 4 to 6 pages of fine-print detail on each model year.
• The Illustrated Camaro Buyer's Guide, by Michael Antonick, Motorbooks International, 3rd edition, 1994. ISBN ISBN 0-87938-895-1
  Less detail than the above, in a larger format, but more descriptive text and photos.

 
Q: How can I find out about the past history of my car?

A: If your vehicle was originally sold in Canada, you can request a vehicle report from GM Canada Vintage Vehicle Services (VVS). Direct contact information for VVS is below. For a nominal fee ($118.65CDN as of March 2012), you will receive basic information from the original computerized records such as the options ordered, date of shipment, and the Canadian dealer. They are also able to provide info on Canadian-built 1993-2002 Camaros, as well as other Canadian-built GM models, e.g. GTO's, 442's and Chevelles, regardless of where they were originally sold.

G.M. of Canada Vintage Vehicle Services
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, ON  L1H 8P7    Canada
  888-467-6853 (toll-free and only from within Canada)
  905-440-7697 office      905-440-7644 fax
  905.440.7636 George Zapora, george.zapora@cc.gm.ca
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm Eastern Time

Unfortunately this service isn't available for 67-76 Camaros built and sold in the US, since the US operation of GM did not retain the records.

Little satisfaction for the first-gen Camaro owner, but for 1977 and later Chevrolets (fleet and exported vehicles excluded), Pontiacs since 1987, Buicks since 1982, Cadillacs since 1980, Oldsmobiles since 1977, and GMC since 1976, GM is able to provide original vehicle invoices. Contact General Motors Media Archive for more information.

The best recourse for owners of most Camaros is to become detective with whatever evidence is at hand. Any paper documentation (records, titles, receipts, Protect-o-plate, etc.) can be extremely valuable in this search. Your detective job has been made more difficult with the enacting of a US Federal privacy statute making it very difficult to conduct private title searches. But there are some options.

Run a title history in the last known state it was located in. You will have to fill out the correct form and it may take a while, but some states still provide a fair amount of data. Try Zabasearch or similar search engines to located prior owners.

You can check to make sure the vehicle wasn't stolen via NICB's free VINCheck service.

The NICB insurance database was federalized and is now available at National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. Due to the privacy act, all names and addresses were removed from the title history. There's a list of approved vendors on the NMVTIS page offering reports from the NMVTIS database - the content will be the same but the reports will vary in appearance and readability.

Q: What were some of the changes occurring mid-year?

A: 1967 mid-year changes included:

• Addition of a factory traction bar (radius rod) to most models with 12-bolt rear axle (circa December 1966).
  View CRG Research Report on 1967 radius rods.
• Addition of the L35 and L78 396 engines (circa January and March 1967, respectively).
• Replacement of SS-350 grille emblems with SS emblems.
• Addition of the Z28 (circa December 1966).
• SS nose stripe turned into RPO available to all models (except Z28).
• Frame tie-down holes added to front subframe.

1968 mid-year changes included:

• Change in Z-28 fender emblem from "302" to "Z/28."
• Elimination of Astro-Ventilation logo from door windows.
• Addition of shoulder harness effective 1 Jan 68.
• Mid-year color changes effective 1 Jan 68.
• Striping option additions/changes.
• Change in ashtray color in the presence of Z23, Z87, or D55 from black to woodgrain.

1969 mid-year changes included:

• The base 327/2BC engine replaced with 307/2BC engine effective 1 Jan 69.
• LM1 350/4BC engine replaced with L65 350/2BC engine effective 1 Jan 69.
• COPOs 9560/9651 released.
• Libbey-Owens-Ford begins marking glass with "DOT-15."
• D80 spoiler added to Z28 package.
• Striping option additions/changes.
• Chrome exhaust tips added to dual exhausts.
• Z11 and Z10 Pace Car replicas introduced.
• Fisher Body resets body number sequence in August 1969.

Q: What are some curious Camaro trivia?

A: The rear antenna option, U73, was not available from the factory with either of the AM/FM radios (U69/U79) or the D80 spoiler. However, the rear antenna was often installed by the dealer, even with these other options.

The Corvette only shared a limited number of colors with Camaro, and then only for a limited time. Starting in January 1968, LeMans Blue, Corvette Bronze, and British Green, all of which were Corvette colors, were introduced to Camaro. LeMans Blue continued on into the 1969 model year as a shared color between the two models. The other two colors were dropped from Camaro at the end of the 1968 model and no new shared colors were added.

Unusual options with short lives, or those that were documented for production but that never made it into production, include:

• 1968 Multi-color nose stripe. (None proven to have been produced.)
• 1968 JL8 four wheel disc brakes. (None produced, production started in 69.)
• 1967 3x2 carburetor setup. (None produced.)
• 1969 NK1 Cushioned-Rim steering wheel. (Two documented cars found.)
• The A91 vacuum power trunk release was documented for production in both 1967 and 1968 and was included in the factory assembly manuals each year. Despite having spare parts for it in the Camaro Parts Manual, this option was not installed in Camaros. The more popular electric version of the remote trunk release, RPO A90, available on other models, was an easy retrofit to the Camaro, and there are a number of first-generation Camaros with retrofitted electric trunk release mechanisms.

Q: What were some of the rare options available on the Camaro?

A: Camaros were available with a wide range of options, some of which were obscure, or simply not well documented, which cause them to be quite rare. Some examples:

• A67 Fold-Down Rear Seat - A common option on today's cars, but quite rare back then. Allows the back seat to fold down for more cargo carrying capacity. First-generation Camaros were notorious for unusually small trunks making this option useful for those that had to carry larger cargo than would fit in the trunk.
• V75 Liquid Tire "Chain" - An option on '69 Camaros that provided a dispenser with nozzles located in the rear tire wheel wells that would spray a special traction-enhancing liquid on the rear tires to help traction on snow and ice. Quite rare.
• JL8 4-Wheel Disc Brakes - Available on '69 high- performance Camaros. Installed mostly on Z-28 Camaros, but technically available on any model. 205 known to be produced. A similar Heavy-Duty Service Option disc-brake rear axle was available over-the-counter but differed from JL8 in the details.
• Factory Headers - Available on Z-28 Camaros as a dealer-installed item. Supplied in 1967-68 from the factory in the trunk of the car for installation by the dealer.
• U46 'Vigilite' Lamp Monitors - Special fiber-optic head and tail-lamp and directional signal monitors that allowed the driver to determine that all lights were working properly while sitting in the driver's seat.
• L89 Aluminum Head 396 - Available in '68 and '69. An addition to the L78 that replaced the iron heads with aluminum closed-chamber rectangular port heads. Very expensive new and very rare.
• U17 Tic-Toc-Tach: a dash-mounted tachometer that included a clock on the same dial face. While U17 was available all three years, the Tic-Toc-Tach version was only produced in 1968.
• AL4 Front Bench Seat - Optional front bench seat available in non-console cars (1967-68 only). Not available in convertible.
• N66 Super Sport Wheel - Optional Chevelle SS-style wheels available on 69 SS's. Cancelled Dec 68 with only 314 units sold.

Q: Which Camaros are worth the most?

A: As always, cars, no matter what the type, are only worth what the market will bear, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Here are some general and relative guidelines that may not always hold true:

Any first-generation Camaro in good, original condition, is worth well more today than it cost new. (Of course this is without consideration of cost of money and inflation.) Certain models and option combinations typically and historically command premium prices on the collector car market. There is little doubt that the 1969 COPO 9560 Camaro brings the highest price. Also at a premium are the 1969 COPO 9561 Camaros and the original 1967 Z-28 (of which fewer than 200 remain). Also worthy of the premium list are the Pace Cars, the 1968-69 Z-28 Camaros, and certain specially optioned SS cars such as with those with the L78 or L78/L89 engines. Dealer-modified Camaros like Yenko, Baldwin-Motion, Nickey, Dana, and others can also command high prices.

Any SS Camaro, especially when combined with the RS package, and/or with an original big-block motor, is also desired. Convertibles, combined with SS and/or RS packages are always worth a premium. Typically, 4-speed cars demand better sales prices than automatic cars, and cars with rare options and/or many options add value.

With a surge in popularity for '60's cars, even base-model convertible Camaros are becoming very popular.

The cars with the highest value in any category are usually in documented, original condition, with few or no modifications. Camaros which are irreversibly modified from original stock condition, such as engine/drivetrain swaps, interior changes, body modifications, etc., typically are not valued as highly as an original car, but beauty (and value) is in the eye of the beholder.

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