Posted on 07/29/2018 5:22:22 AM PDT by vannrox
...snip...
Weaver was a teenager in March 1968 when his dad offered to “buy me something new.” They lived in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and first visited Grabiak Chevrolet “down the road,” where the 19-year-old spotted a black 427 Corvette coupe that he “was interested in getting.” Except, “My God, the insurance was over $1,000 a year,” which was “a fortune” in those days.
“So we went up to Yenko [Chevrolet] to see about getting a Camaro.” They entered a candy land of “at least 50 Z/28s, different colors, different gear ratios—4.10s, 4.56s, 4.88s.” Weaver recalled it like it was yesterday. “I had a 1965 Chevelle with a 327/four-speed, and it was a pretty hot car for the day.”
Yenko advertised 427 conversions in the local newspaper, but to Weaver’s dismay the salesman said they were not “prepping them yet,” referring to 1968 models. “They tried to sell me a Z/28. I had my mind set on a big-block, so Don came out and showed me to the back lot.”
There, parked under a tarp, was a “leftover” but brand-new 1967 Camaro SS396 that Yenko had not converted. “He said, ‘I’ll do the conversion for you and I’ll give you a good price.’”
...snip...
Those were the days!
yep..... in 1967 I bought a new baby blue VW wagon and drove from San Francisco back to DC
Sweet!
Thanks for posting - lots of memories of the muscle cars in that article. The track performance data is really interesting since it just had an automatic transmission and a 3.73 rear-end.
This isn’t news. It’s chat.
Daddy likes....
L
“yep..... in 1967 I bought a new baby blue VW wagon and drove from San Francisco back to DC”
That must have been a blast back in the day when the interstates were not completed and detours back onto the old highways were common.
My favorite memory of that time was the hundred or so smudge pots at night burning along the sides of the Interstate warning that the road ended and you had to exit.
Thinking about it now I realize someone had to refill and relight those pots every day out in the middle of nowhere.
For us car guys this is major news.A 427 Yenko., wow-wee!
“That must have been a blast back in the day when the interstates were not completed and detours back onto the old highways were common.”
Yup, roads trips were real adventures in those days. For many folks it was still the pre-air conditioning era. When the fam would make its annual summer trek to visit my moms family my sister and I would be rolled out of bed about 3:00am so to beat the heat. Didn’t help much though by noon we were baking our brains especially my sister and I along with the family dog slobbering all over us. Mom would pack a picnic lunch to eat along the way so to save a few bucks. Big event on these trips was spotting Burma Shave signs and looking for new ones. God Bless the interstates and automobile air conditioning!!!
I had a stock 1968 Camaro. It moved pretty good.
And the roadhouse type restaurants were interesting and cool too. You could tell which ones had the best food by the number of trucks in the parking lot.
“Those were the days!”
True, but my ‘daily’ with all the creature comforts runs circles around that old muscle car!
My mom had a 1968 Red Camaro 327 with two-speed slush box that was a rusted out hulk by the time I turned 16 and got to drive it in 1975.
It scored cool points in the high school parking lot, but it was the slowest thing on Gratiot Avenue. (I grew up in St. Clair Shores, MI.)
Self ping.
I love old cars...my uncle’s has a few old cars in he 6 bay oversized garage - 69 Roadrunner and a Torino Talladega are beautiful. He’s restoring a 57 Chevy BelAire wagon now...
Wow.
“Weaver was a teenager in March 1968 when his dad offered to “buy me something new.””
I was looking at a 68 Buick GS 400 convertible Skylark when my “uncle” came along and gave me something else, a jeep.
When I gave it back, I went out and got a Camaro RS 350. It came with disc brakes a first and the turbo 400 AT. The only problem with it was it was so front end heavy in spun on light throttle. I wish I had it as the blacked out front grill look is popular now.
If the guy hadn’t been a hoarder, this diamond in the rough would have already been turned into concrete reinforcing bar.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.