(first posted 2/8/2013) As you might have guessed from my previous posts on the 1957 Packard and 1964 Studebaker Cruiser, the annual car show in Geneseo is one of the best of the year. Even cars that are rarely seen usually show up, including an ex-service station Corvair Rampside, a Sunbeam Alpine roadster with factory hardtop and this original-condition, one-family-owned 1970 Camaro.
As mentioned in the recent CCOTY post on the ‘70.5 Camaro, this was a surprising twist to Chevy’s pony car. Gone was the somewhat boxy 1967-69 styling, replaced with Bill Mitchell’s interpretation of classic Italian lines, and Ferrari in particular. I was not around at its debut, but I think it is safe to say no one was expecting such a sleek, sexy design. It was especially beautiful with the RS split bumper, as shown above.
But guess what happens to every darn surviving Camaro, Mustang, Barracuda and Challenger? You guessed it: Boomers with fat wallets have to take every one of them and paint them red, stuff a big honking engine in them, and then add all the items that were probably limited to less than 10% of production when new: rally wheels, spoilers, stripes, Hurst shifter, power windows, sport mirrors, AM/FM/8-track, traction bars (or are those passé these days?) and the like.
You know the drill: Make it match the car they wanted when they were twelve and the cars were new. For some, even that isn’t enough, and entire drivelines from new cars, rubber-band tires on 18″ or 20″ wheels, ugly fiberglass dashes replacing the factory instrument panel, and everything else under the sun is added. Why? Because they can be!
That’s all fine and good (or not), but I appreciate an original car much more. Individual Mustangs and Camaros, when new, were quite different from car to car; you were unlikely to see two that were exactly the same. For example, my dad’s first car was a straight-six 1965 Mustang convertible, Poppy Red with white stripes, white interior and top. It was sharp, it was sporty–and it was slow. It had been his dad’s secretary’s car, and my grandfather rightfully assumed that he couldn’t get into too much trouble with it. As Dad told me, it was all show and no go, but that’s largely how it came off the line new (Dad added the white rocker panel stripes). If that car still exists, would you care to guess the likelihood of the six still being in residence?
Thus it goes with the majority of pony cars today, and so I initially passed over this Camaro, assuming incorrectly that it was a mid-life crisis upgraded hot rod. How wrong I was. On my way back, I actually looked at it and noticed the baby moon hubcaps: “Oh, that’s cool.” Then I saw they were factory hubcaps, and–whoa!–it had a straight-six engine! Inside was an all-business black interior with the standard vinyl buckets, no console and a column-mounted two-speed Powerglide.
Who would order such a car? Well, as I learned, the original owner was a lady who just wanted a sporty car, but one with no frills–and indeed, this car is frill-free, with its standard 155-hp six, Strato-Bucket seats, carpeting and Astro Ventilation.
The meager options on this car include a tinted windshield, AM radio and whitewall tires: no console, no A/C, no power windows and no sport mirrors. In other words, none of the stuff that sets Camaro guys’ hearts beating faster! No boy-racer horse hockey–and for that reason, I love this car.
Even in basic form, like this one, the ‘70.5 Camaro’s lines are still lovely. Those slim chrome bumpers, the grille standing proud of the headlight bezels, that quartet of round taillamps–all lovely. In a recent post, frequent CC Commenter Syke mentioned that the true value of a car can be seen by looking at the stripped-out, bare bones base model and not at a bright yellow, bestriped, bespoilered version with Rally wheels.
If it still looks good without any optional plumage to enhance its basic form, it’s a worthy vehicle. When you apply that standard to the 1970.5 Camaro and its corporate sibling, the equally sharp Pontiac Firebird, it still shines.
The man displaying this car was the original owner’s nephew, and he was old enough to remember when she brought it home. It was purchased at Cambridge Motors, in Cambridge, IL, a small town about a half-hour from the Quad Cities. This car is an amazing time capsule, with original paint and engine, and only 59K miles. I did not begrudge him for asking $10,000–after all, where else will you find a car like this one? The price also ought to dissuade idiots from ripping the car apart, painting it bright yellow, shoehorning in a 502 big block and adding stripes and pretentious aftermarket wheels. If you’re going to mod a car, please do it to a basket case, not an unrestored original like this one!
I can see the appeal of a car like this. This car, with its six-cylinder engine, Powerglide and hub caps, is equipped like a plain-Jane Nova (and just as reliable), but in a swoopy Bill Mitchell-designed showboat body. Kind of like the attractive lady librarian with the sensible shoes, plain dress and tortoise shell glasses. Even all those things can’t hide her beauty, and so it is with this Camaro.
For an original car, this Camaro is in really nice shape. Sure, there are a couple of minor bumps and bruises here and there, but that doesn’t detract from what a well-kept car it is. And all the cool details of these Camaros are still evident, like that veed grille, fastback roofline and smooth flanks.
It even still had the original trunk mat, which the owner’s nephew told me was very hard to find NOS these days. Could there be another ‘70.5 Camaro in existence that is still equipped like this one? Perhaps so, but my guess is that most surviving Camaros originally equipped with the six are now Z-28 “tribute” copycat cars (although I know of at least one six-powered ’69 survivor in Eugene).
It’s kind of like all the original Slant Six or 318 V8 powered Barracudas and Gran Coupes that are now, of course, “tribute” Hemi ‘cudas. I’d like to take a “tribute” Hemi ‘cuda, paint it mint green with a white vinyl top and give it whitewalls, the “salt shaker” wheel covers and a 318 V8! Heh heh heh…
And why not? That’s probably how it started life!
There may come a time when no one remembers that not all pony cars and mid-size sporty cars were muscle cars–not by a long shot. I know we’re already halfway there; on a recent TV show, someone mentioned a Ford Maverick as a muscle car. Sadly, they were serious.
In thirty years, will kids on TV shows be saying, “Yeah, the ’07 Impala LT and ’05 Taurus SE–those were real muscle cars!” I fear that may be the case. Shudder…shudder…
Sorry, I kind of blacked out there for a moment. In any case, Camaros with the six were rare even when new. Out of 117,604 1970.5 Camaros produced, only 12,566 had the Turbo-Thrift Six. How many can be left? Not many, that’s for sure. I really hope the next owner of this car, whoever he or she may be, will keep it as it is. For heaven’s sake, there are plenty of V8 Camaros to be found in Hemmings and other online car sites, if that’s what floats your boat.
from 1978 to 1986, i owned a 1970 z28 (real z, not a clone etc.), original LT1 was replaced with basic 350, 12 bolt rear with 488 gears (yeah, i know, but quick around town) auto on the column, no console,(convenient on date night) custom interior with black and white houndstooth seats. original owner was 43 yrs old when he purchased it new in 1970, maybe that explains auto on colunm.
my question would be to any one who might have data is how rare/unusaul was this car ?
thanks for any info.
Even back in the 70’s Camaros with these basic, baby moon hubcaps were rarely seen. These hubcaps would much more likely be seen on a Nova. Most baseline Camaros came equipped with the full wheelcover till 73 or so. From the mid-70s on, the full wheelcovers were rarely seen; instead nearly all base Camaros had the ZJ7 Rally Wheels, which always looked good. Same story with the standard, single outside mirror, very common on base Camaros 70-72, after that nearly all of em came with dual sport mirrors. As an aside the full wheel covers and the hubcaps were still available on a Camaro until at least 83! My neighbor back in the day had a plain, no frills Gen3 83 Camaro sport coupe. 4 Cyl, 4 speed, black outside mirrors and dog dish hubcaps!
A six, a Powerglide (suddenly, it’s 1955!), and a 2.73 axle? That car will be diesel-Rabbit slow. Yuck. Needs at least a TH350.
I’ve always detested Camaros due to the fact that everyone I knew that owned one way back in the day thought their’s was hot sh*t when they were all (really!) just Bondo’d up POS beaters, but I’ll definitely make an exception for this one. Hell, I’d be proud as punch to own it, and I would not change one solitary thing! A car like this one needs to be enjoyed as it is, not turned into some bellybutton lookalike Z28 wannabe.
It won’t be much fun to drive. Whether or not the PG/6 drivetrain is most historically representative of 1970 Camaros, driving it today would be like watching a 13″ black and white TV today. The only reason anyone bought a PG in 1970 was purchase price; the THM350 already was in service.
Even just working with the basic 1970 Camaro option list, this car is almost perfectly specified to minimize your driving pleasure.
Great to look at, and you’ll make other people smile when they see it.
It’s cool it’s such a clean original car, but I can’t get excited about what it must be like to drive. If it were mine, I’d hop up that six, swap in a better trans (ideally a 4 or 5 speed), tighten up the suspension with some basic things like good shocks, and then enjoy driving it. It’d be my kind of fun project and something I’d actually enjoy owning.
Let’s not forget the original Corvette. For the first two years it had a 235 and Powerglide. Couldn’t even get a stick, let alone a four-speed.
I’ve changed my mind about restomods. The coolest car in my neighborhood right now is a ’41 Studie Champion. Tan two-door sedan, beautifully restored, but obviously has a modern V8 and automatic instead of the prewar six and stick. It’s not pristine, but if the V8 keeps it on the road where people can see and appreciate it, then the mod is a good thing.
Great article! And there’s some good words and things said by people in here, and I’m glad that others can appreciate original cars. Around here, too, the 6 cylinder survivors are rare. I can recall one or two 65-66 Mustangs that are at the shows with their original 6, as well as a ’68 Firebird with the OHC Sprint 6, but other than that, there’s none that I can remember off the top of my head. Part of it, as some have mentioned, is peer pressure…..people that have never owned or drove that particular car will always say that it should have the biggest engine possible; in essence, it’s kind of like a cock swinging contest, or bragging rights. The outright hardcore “bigger is better” guys are thankfully not that frequent (the same guys will say “it HAS to have a stick!!”), but I have met a few unfortunate idiots that will automatically write cars off, unless it meets the a whole bunch of specific things on a criteria list. Elitists, I guess. I’ve always just been a fan of cars–no matter how fast, no matter what brand, etc. If it’s cool, it’s cool.
The interesting thing that I’ve found at car shows, is that cars that are beautiful and awesome, sometimes don’t stand out when they’re among a couple of hundred (or a few hundred) specialty cars. I’ve found that I’m looking for more unique builds, and as the years go on, more original cars, like the guy that brings his Ford Prefect that proudly displays the 0-60 in, like, 45 seconds or something, or the guy that wedged a Ford Thunderbird Supercoupe 3.8 supercharged engine in his 50’s Austin and ran in the 12’s at the drag strip. My jaw dropped when I saw this in the engine bay!!!
Also, the more that I think about it, the more that I think that the Corvair’s visual influence had carried on in the 1970 Camaro, with the four round taillights, and the pointed front (though not leaning quite as forward as the later Corvairs). The more Euro/ Italian influenced design of the ’70 seemed to have a longer look, which almost seems like it could have been what could have been a ’70 Monza Spyder, if GM were not pulling the plug on the Corvair. The late 60’s Corvair bodystyle is one of the outright most sexiest to my eyes (any car, any era), and the ’70 Camaro seems to add just enough chest beating machismo to that late 60’s Corvair aesthetic, that it’s almost like the Corvair got a new lease on life with a new design, and a more conventionally mounted front engine/ RWD layout that may have made it finally be the rival to the Mustang, much like the Barracuda finally became through the years.
I like it with the six but not the powerglide, I’m not a fan of automatics and especially two speed efforts, a three or four on the floor behind the six would be fine though.
My reason for purchasing a base ’79 Firebird was affordability. I only cleared $140 per week working two part times jobs while going to school half a day my senior year. Firebirds were the rage in 1979 and I really wanted one, bad! The local dealership had tons of Trans Am’s and Esprit Firebirds, but lowest price was $8000. These has V8’s. I told the saleman that was too much on my income. The salesman says, “Let’s go inside and we can order you one.” Base price in March 1979 was $4995. He started with the base engine, 3.8 V6 Buick. Base transmission, 3 speed manual. Great! We have a Firebird and it hasn’t cost me anything over base. My girlfriend was with me said, “If you want to date me much longer, you’ll get A/C!” “How much is A/C?” I ask the salesman. $540 he said. Dang! Thats over 10% of the base price! (My 71 Comet had no A/C, power steering or brakes.) Ok, check the A/C box. Power steering was standard but with A/C I had to purchase power brakes, required with A/C. I checked rear spoiler, Rally II body color wheels, white letter tires, AM/8-track tape player, rear stereo speakers, light group. All this came to around $6500. I put down my deposit and waited patiently. I order Nocturne Blue and oyster interior as my color choices. The car came in the day before high school graduation. Just over 1600 Firebirds in 1979 out of the 211,000 built had the 3 speed manual. My girlfriend and I eventually married and when our first child was born, I sold it for a more practical vehicle.
I stumbled across the following ad on a nearby Craigslist just the other day, and have been ruminating over it ever since, because I just love that it’s pretty much exactly as it came from the dealership and I’m 99% sure that once a new buyer gets his hands on it the originality will be gone forever. But unfortunately it’s pretty aggressively priced. At 1/2 the price I’d be VERY tempted.
https://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/d/firebird/6619419269.html
…Man. I just can’t stop seeing these as weird looking, lemon-sucking, perpetually front teeth brushing things. The Firebird did look better, due to a prettier face and wheel wells that are (subtly) rounder/more flared… I get that they were going for something different than the 70 Mustang, Challenger etc. But the Challenger/Mustang look great to me, and the early Camaro in particular just looks so odd. (I actually like the post-’74 look better.)
What do you think of the 1972 Ford Gran Torino? I believe the late automobile writer Tom McCahill once said they looked like “Landlocked tunas sucking air”.
This should continue to be kept as a time capsule – with subtle improvements for modern interstate and efficiency considerations. A 700R4 Hydramatic swap (if possible) for modern gear ratios and additional pep while remaining entirely stealth and a hotter cam and free breathing exhaust are pretty much all that’s needed to make this a daily. I don’t even like automatic transmissions and I’d still want this one to remain an auto. The rest of it? Perfection.
At the $10K asking price, and if as nice and solid as the photos suggest, I hate to say that there’s a good chance this won’t remain a “survivor” very long. Solid and virgin examples of the early 2nd generation Camaros are getting harder to find.
When I was in high school (2001-2003) one of only two cars older than my 71 Beetle was a ‘66 Mustang owned by a girl I knew. The guys all have her flack for it being a 6 cylinder automatic (of course none of them had anything even remotely that cool) I thought it was kinda cool as a six and just the fact that a girl was driving a ‘66 Stang.
Now I’m thinking about unrequited high school love……..
Forgotten the ladies name now; she drove her dad’s “65 Riv” in “HS”. Was in the late “70’s”.
We’re class of “79”.
That car was awesome!
Silver out/blue in.
I actually own a 70 with 250 six and powerglide, no console, no a/c no power windows, no sport mirror, AM radio, same as this one only in forest green with white vinyl top. Got it for my 15th bday back in mid 90s, learned how to drive in it. Was a 1 owner when I got it. Came from Pierce Chevrolet in Pawtucket RI, had 63k on it, came with all the registrations back to 1970, warranty info with the metal tag on the flap, owners manual, consumer information book. Has 77k now.
I love the Baseness of it, and I love inline sixes. The only way this could be improved would be a dark green color and maybe another gear, for 3 total.
I think the clean lines of the Base actually looks best here, although every F body I personally owned was bespoilered, bestriped, begroundeffected, bealloyed and beV8ed LOL
Ive finally seen a Mustang 6 someone imported one and left it alone, A 6 cylinder Camaro nope, not yet, The Aussie 2 door hardtops also came in 6 cylinder flavour but now really rare all of them seem to have a V8 implant often of a size not on the options list.
Neighbor got this car in dark green. Cam home in “April/ May, 1970” . (best of memory)
Know she still had it around “1980”. Was looking “ruff” about then..
Remember a big dashboard crack. (( sun did it in))
At least it should be easy to work on. Huge amount of empty space in the engine bay!!
70.5 Camaro w/split front bumper one of GM’s best designs.
Make mine a Z-28, please.
At least no one puts fender skirts or A pillar spotlights on these.
As much as I Love rowing gears of a well tuned SBC, I hope the owner of this car insisted it remain stock. I wonder if there is some legally binding way to accomplish this ?
Were I in the market for another vehicle I’d be all over this one .
I’d never up date the engine ~ the 250CID i6 was no slacker and in a light car like this it’d be a zippy driver and get good fuel economy too .
You’re right, the i6 powered Camaro’s were never very popular, I’ve only ever seen a few so equipped for sale .
-Nate
A peeve of mine is that 1960s and early 70s so call muscle cars all came with white-letter black-walls. During this time period I lived in Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg & Pope AFB. Many tens of thousands of young GI’s buying autos, and the golden age of muscle cars. Starting age age 16, I worked at a drive-in movie theater and sometimes saw hundreds of new muscle cars a night. Many had whitewall tires.
At age 19, 1970, Dad bought me a new 1970 Nova, SS, RS, 396, right off the lot with whitewall tires. That is the way it came from the factory, whitewall tires. When you look at those period autos for sale now, you might think they all came with black-wall white letter tires. Sorry, did not happen.