"Boomer": My '67 Royal Plum RS/SS350 that found its way home

[RoyalPlumRS/SS]

Hello everyone,

My name is Dave, and I'm from Morgan Hill, California. I've finally reached the point where I'm beginning the restoration of a very special car that has been part of my life (twice) for over 40 years.

The car is a 1967 Camaro RS/SS 350 (L48), M20 4-speed, built 01C at the Van Nuys (LOS) plant. It's a California smog car that left the factory in Royal Plum with a black vinyl top and black deluxe interior.
I bought the car in 1982 when I was 19 years old and owned it for about ten years. Like many of us, I eventually sold it, but I never forgot it. Then, (completely by accident), I found the car again in 2009 and was fortunate enough to buy it back. It's been sitting ever since and is now ready for the complete restoration it deserves.

When I first bought the car, it had already been repainted white. During my ownership in the 1980s, I repainted it red, but now that I know its history and have decoded the trim tag, I'm excited to return it to its original Royal Plum. I think it's one of Chevrolet's most beautiful colors from 1967.

My goal is a Camaro Legends-quality, factory-correct restoration using original GM components whenever practical. I still have the original VIN-stamped engine block (V0116MT), the original heads, the original Muncie transmission with the VIN derivative, and the original rearend. Unfortunately, the original Protect-O-Plate disappeared while the car was out of my ownership.

I'm now on the hunt for correctly dated original components to bring the car back as accurately as possible.

I'm looking forward to learning from the tremendous knowledge on this forum, and I hope I can contribute along the way. I'm thinking about starting a thread in the restoration section, documenting the entire process.

If anyone has experience with early 1967 Van Nuys-built California L48 cars, or has advice on sourcing correctly dated original parts, as well as quality new replacement parts, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to sharing Boomer's restoration with all of you.

— Dave

[Z10Mike]

Great story and beautiful color combination on your car.  Looking forward to your future posts.

[169INDY]

Excellent Yes, Get ready for a long journey post up a thread
Boomer's restoration!

The community has lots of DIY, Vendor and suggestions and samples of completed work.

&

Yes the LA cars have some details that ARE different than the Normative practices specified in the AIM or done at Nar-Wood

[red69]

PM sent

[RoyalPlumRS/SS]

Thank you all for your reply. I am  relatively well-versed in the Corvette world with NCRS, but I don't have much vendor information and/or parts supply suggestions for Camaros yet. I would appreciate anything that you all could do to help. I guess specifically the top recommendations for used OEM date coded parts as well as quality new restoration parts/venders.

Over the next couple weeks I plan to put together a spreadsheet of all the items that I need. I've ordered a half a dozen highly recommended restoration books and manuals that will be arriving in the next few days. Time to get this party started!

[camaronut]

You'll need three things to make this restoration a success:

1) Decent parts (iow - GM used or NOS)
2) Plenty of money.
3) Understanding wife.

If you have these three items (maybe not in this order).........it's gonna be a beautiful car when done.

Good luck.

[169INDY]

#4) Lots of Space to perform above.

Sources:
Internet Vendors, Swap Meets, Auctions, Local Brick and Mortar Parts sellers, Word of mouth networking, Specialty Site that have seller-buyer forums,

[camaronut]

#4) Lots of Space to perform above.

Oh yeah......forgot about that.  Good point.

[RoyalPlumRS/SS]

Regarding #1-4 above (in posts 5&6), the only one I'm missing is #1.... a source for good used and/or NOS parts. That's where I'm hoping you all come in. Are there recommendations for this as well as good new reproduction Parts sources? (For items not avails used or NOS.)

[camaronut]

There's a guy here on the east coast that has an extensive stash of old GM parts.....mostly used.  His name is Mark and he's from Monroeville, NJ and he's always at Carlisle, PA events (spring / GM Nats / fall).  I know he's a great source of used GM parts....especially Camaros. From what I know, he has a full time job and does this as a side gig, so getting stuff from him can be trying. (sent you a PM)

[MO]

Alphabetically only, no preference intended. All are reputable sources.

Camaro Specialties
D&R
Heartbeat City

There are others, but I am personally most familiar with these.

Good luck with your search.

[David K]

Facebook marketplace and ebay are your best bets for NOS. Eventually you should make a connection but it all depends what you need. Since your goal is the Nationals, stick with the original parts on the car wheneverand wherever possible. NOS does not always replicate assembly line parts 100%. There might be a stamp missing, crimp not on a part,  updated design, etc. Before you buy a single part, you need to contact Steve Shauger at "Vintage Certification" and have your car inspected. His team can determine what is original and not original parts to your car. Original parts properly redone always score higher.

https://www.vintagecertification.com/