nifticus found something a bit out of the ordinary here: a 1970 Camaro base coupe diligently restored to its original appearance. No Rally wheels or mags, no big exhaust pipes, no Z-28 clone badges and stripes, no nothing, other than how it looked the day it rolled off the lines.
And for all we know, this may very well be a six; its Canadian provenance makes that even substantially more likely.
One skinny little exhaust exhaust pipe, and four skinny whitewall tires. And those rather cheesy original full wheel covers. Living proof that not all 1970 Camaros were Z/28s (only 7% were). Even the big gap between the trunk lid and body is a testament to the original mediocre assembly quality. At least the long door isn’t sagging.
At first glance I though maybe this upholstery was somehow perfectly preserved original. No so; it’s quite apparent that these are seat covers, in a vinyl pattern that replicates the original very closely, but because it’s a cover and not actual upholstery, it looks overly flat, lacking the modest contouring of the originals. It looks more suitable for a Chevy van than a Camaro, but there it is.
The original buyer sprung for at least a couple of options, including the console to surround the shifter for the THM automatic. And a radio, which appears to be AM-only.
The rear seems to be sitting a wee bit higher than original, which is probably due to some new springs that aren’t quite to spec, as I very much doubt a subtle rake was part of the program.
So here we stand, looking at one of the better shapes to come out of Detroit in quite a while. It’s been described as paying homage to the many Ferrari’s Bill Mitchell strategically sprinkled around the design Center, to motivate his cribbers stylists. Help yourself to which one you think most directly influenced it.
Although Ferrari influence is apparent, my vote is the 1967 Alfa Romeo Montreal Prototype, shown three years earlier. It was designed by Marcello Gandini at the height of his powers, right about the same time he did the Miura. Both were profoundly influential, to say the least. I’m only surprised that the Camaro didn’t sport stripes on its flanks to emulate the vents in the Montreal’s C pillar; that left it to Plymouth to do so on the 1971 Road Runner.
Obviously the Camaro’s front end is where the Ferrari influence is all-too obvious. No matter who was cribbed; it is a very fine design, one that Pininfarina praised (even if it was cribbing a Bertone design?) and I paid lavish homage to here:
Curbside Classic: 1970 Camaro – GM’s Greatest Hit #1 – Even Pininfarina Praised It
Even CC’s self-avowed Chevy/Camaro skeptic Jim Cavanaugh found some good things to say about it:
Curbside Classic: 1970 Chevrolet Camaro RS – A Fresh Look
How refreshing to see, however, I much, much prefer the 67-69 body style.
Comparing this ’70 to the drop dead gorgeous Montreal (concept)? Now that should be a sin…
I’ll go ’67-68. Consider the ’69 the most hideous of the bunch, except possibly for the latest two generations, which were directly cribbed from the ’69. After all these years, I’m still trying to figure out why the ’69 is revered over the first two years.
Like, they’re copying the Tri-Fives.
I’ve always thought the ’67-’68s were much better than the ’69s and whenever I’ve said it to anyone the response was always the realization that I was right, but this is the first time I’ve heard anyone realize that who hadn’t first heard it from me.
The profile shot really shows the fine design. A winner unencumbered with extraneous spoilers and graphics.
“The original buyer sprung for at least a couple of options, including the console to surround the shifter for the THM automatic.”
Wait, so was there a way to get a base Camaro with the basket-handle shifter but also no console surround? Or did that inherently limit a buyer to the column-shift automatic?
Not sure based on the brochure, which clearly states (twice) that the console is optional.
Any of these I’ve seen without the console had the shifter on the steering column. I could be wrong, but a Google search does not show a console-less floor shifter for the automatic transmission.
No, if you didn’t spring for the optional console, you got the column-shift. Good ol’ cheap GM.
The big question is when they finally did away with this and made the floor shifter/console standard. I remember that by the beginning of the second generation, no dealer was ordering a car without the combination, as column-shift pony cars by 1970 were definitely uncool.
I’ve seen a 1970 Barracuda with a column shifter, but no other pony car after ’68. Apparently the motivation was to pressure buyers to order as many highly lucrative options as was realistic, such as the center console with the floor shifter.
Yes, not all “Pony Cars” were the high-performance models. Was answer to Mustang which had many lo-hp 6 cyl. builds. [Now, only hi-po models]
Just as some think all 1970’s Plymouth Dusters were “muscle cars” and are shocked to see slant 6 models, 😉
Perfection. Some of us like it simple.
Perhaps it was restored but converted to Nissan Leaf power.
But seriously, could it not just be an original survivor car? Perhaps someone’s Grandmothers that was garaged and very well maintained and now perhaps handed down to someone who recognizes the goodness of originality? If restored I would at the very least think the obvious stuff like panel gaps would have been addressed and the seats would be reupholstered rather than slipcovered.
Either way, it’s a great shape and a welcome sight. My bet is on the six.
I used the word “restored” very loosely. Zooming in on the original shots at the Cohort makes it pretty obvious that it has had a recent repaint. That’s not exactly a restoration in the usual sense, but it has essentially been restored to original condition rather than the more common unoriginal condition.
I’m a Ford guy always, but loved the look of that-vintage Camaro and Vega, I confess….nice to see one like this!
According to the Wiki, it could have come with a Powerglide. A 307 V8 and a Powerglide would be the worst of everything.
Quite right; my bad. PG was the only automatic available with the six; the 307 was available with either the PG or THM.
Actually, I think you had to go for the 350 to get the Turbo Hydra-matic. The 350/350 combo was considered the best all-around drivetrain GM produced, in Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Chevy iterations, and was the most typical A-body drivetrain.
The brochure shows the 307 available with either PG or THM.
A friend of mine had a 1970 307 Camaro with the THM. I famously shoved the shifter into park at about 40 MPH the first time I drove it, not knowing that you didn’t have to do anything to allow you to put it in park/reverse. My car, a ’74 Roadrunner, had the “Slap Stick”, and I thought all shifters were like that. Somehow, no damage was done, and the Camaro was passed on to younger siblings until it had just about fallen apart from rust. The THM lasted until the early 80’s, when it was rebuilt.
The first thing my friend did after buying it was to add the rear spoiler. IMHO, a second gen F-Body without one is just odd looking.
My wife’s best friend was given a new 70 1/2 Camaro by her grandmother upon graduation from Catonsville Comm. College right after these came out. Bone stock base model, in that lime green metallic that was so popular back then, black interior, with basket-weave vinyl seats, 307, THM (350?) R&H, A/C, no console. It knocked me out, and I’ve loved stock base models best ever since, I’d much rather see one of these at a show than all of the dumb Z and SS clones.
She got married 2 yrs later and her dim-bulb husband who thought he was a car (and everything else) expert made her trade it on a crap brown Capri that got better gas mileage but rusted and fell apart in very short order… D’oh!
Love the 67-73 Camaro’s. Beautiful cars. The ’74 started to deviate with the wraparound rear window and the safety bumpers. Got heavier, slower and uglier then.
The wraparound rear window arrived for the 1975 model year. Interesting to note then the Camaro sibling, the Firebird became less uglier when the Screaming chicken on the Trans-Am was gold on black and the movie “Smokey and the Bandit” might have helped to promote it.
Correct, Stéphane. I owned a ’74 Z-28 and somehow took pride in the fact the real window was not a wrap around.
Nice refurbishment, and as others have said quite refreshing.
A young lady in my high school had a similar one in the early 80’s. In the yearbook she put Greatest Regret: A Camaro with only one tailpipe.
I know the Vega was modeled after the Camaro, but looking at the grille now, this car looks an awful lot like a Vega.
This is a nice looking car, nicely styled, smooth and sleek. Period correct whitewall tires, but please lose the fuzzy dice. Interior is in nice, apparently preserved condition.
I see more use of the Club steering wheel lock in the against the floor position. I believe that saves scratching on the steering wheel. I hope it is as effective.
Makes you wonder what early Camaro buyers thought when an economy car appeared with their front end.
The angle of the A pillar has always seemed odd to me, but it’s actually similar to the ’71 B & C bodies’ pillar, but with less tumblehome. I guess they were trying to maximize apparent hood length in both cases.
Nobody cared all that much really.
Oh this is so refreshing! Kudos to the owner!
I wonder if the slightly raised appearance at the rear is actually the normal sagging front springs that seem to affect almost all old GM cars.
Finding an original early Camaro with the plain stamped wheel covers (especially an early Camaro painted bright red) is a real accomplishment!
I truly believe the 67 Barracuda was a stronger influence in this design than it gets credit for, namely the roofline but the rear quarter area in general has similarities. The proportions are all wrong of course, the Camaro doesn’t use quarter glass, but the shapes are all there.
I largely would say it’s 67 Barracuda in its details with 67 Mustang fastback for its proportions, Ferrari in the nose. I don’t see much Montreal
The basic shape and proportions of the Barracuda’s roof were not exactly new either new or original. Dick Teague did a similar concept at AMC back in 1963 (below)
My point is that this fastback was almost generic. The key elements that distinguish the Camaro’s body and fatsback is that it doesn’t have the “shoulder” that the Barracuda does; it has an essentially unbroken “fuselage” body, which the ’66 Toronado pioneered in the US.
And yes, the overall proportions are way too different. The Montreal’s overall shape, proportions and most of all its “fuselage” continuous C-pillar are much closer to the Camaro’s than the Barracuda’s.
But yes, they both have fastbacks…
The Camaro absolutely has shoulders, no they’re not as broad and continuous as the Barracudas, but its not an unbroken smooth like like seen on the Toronado and 68-69 A bodies. Only at the front of the B pillar is it smooth, but the shoulders sprout from there, its a hybrid of sorts.
The back window shape is what I’m really on about, that is not a generic back window and the montreal isn’t anything like that, the Teague concept wraps over the edges but the corners are rigid. The way it slightly wraps over on the sides AND is rounded on the bottom corners is unique to the Barracuda and 70-74 Camaro, I don’t think it is a coincidence
FWIW, I don’t think the Montreal is all that original either, and it too has subtle shoulders, like Pininfarina Bertone recycles their own work, take away the slats and it’s pure Miura
Some of my favorite Camaro’s are the 1970/71/71 for looks. I really appreciate the simple side of this one. Nice looking car.
Gosh, that’s a nice looking car. The only thing that would improve it would be the split-bumper front end.
The side view makes you understand what all the designers were getting at when they said they improved the “dash to axle” on the second generation Camaro and Firebird.
A secretary at my high school had a 70.5, 307/3spd manual on the floor. Other than being blue it looked just like this one, down to the whitewalls and full wheel covers. I was lucky because I was one of the few 16-year-olds in auto shop class who could drive a manual so the shop teacher assigned the maintenance of the car to me. It was pretty fast and fun to drive.
It was GM’s version of Mary Tyler Moore’s Mustang.
I personally like the 79 Z28, I’ve owned it since 1980. Just before I bought it from the Chevy dealership, they ditched the 170hp V8 for a dealer installed 350hp 350. Coupled with the close ratio 4sp and updated factory suspension this car I believe is the best of the second generation Camaro line up.The one I own has been stored now for 30 plus years and still is factory down to the rally wheels except for the dealer installed Hedman headers that they installed along with the 350hp 350
I find the comparison of the Montreal and the Ferrari interesting. As shown in this photo of the actual car, in the spring of 1975 I found a 1963 Ferrari 250 2+2 sitting on an Alfa Romeo dealer’s back lot, and it was clear it had not been on the road for a while. The owner of the dealership told me he took it in on partial trade for a new silver Montreal.
The Ferrari sat on the lot for a long time, because 90% of the German car buying public couldn’t afford the yearly road tax. Back then, the road tax was based on a formula that included the number of cylinders times the engine’s displacement. The tax on displacement was already weighted heavily against larger displacement cars. So that tax on 2.5 liters was already expensive, but combined with the 12 cylinder count, the yearly tax was huge.
The dealer and I both knew because I was a US Army soldier, I didn’t have to license the car using the German plates, as the Army had it’s own “Green” license plates that cost about $20/year. So after a scary, yet strangely satisfying, trip between Mannheim and Frankfurt [and return] on the nearly straight Autobahn, and negotiating it’s purchase in much sought-after cash $100 bills, I was the owner of a 12 year old Silver V12 Ferrari. Cost me a whopping $1,200.00 and no German sales or use taxes.
I like this purely for the fact that it doesn’t have a rear spoiler. Appearing much more fluid in my eyes without one. A great example of what Detroit could do when they listen to rather than impede the designers.
A much handsomer design without the big-ass spoiler on the back. A lovely round bum.
When I am King of the Universe, possession of fuzzy dice will be a capital offense. It’s a frickin’ cliche, and well past its best before date. Let it go already.
Wait. Not all 69 Camaros are z/28s? Next thing you’re going to tell me is not all Chevelles are SS!
Or that all 1969-1970 GTOs are Judges.
I havent seen a six cylinder Camaro yet, since they are all used imports here only the well specced cars are chosen, better resale value mostly I guess. That one really is tidy.
Were there two different front bumper options available on the 70 Camaro? I also see pics of them with split front bumpers.
The split was the Rally Sport option.
My first car was very similar to this car. It was “classic copper” (dark red metallic) with a “sandalwood” interior. The engine was a 307 V8 with a THM column shift (no console). All previous Chevy automatics that I had driven were Powerslide (Powerglide 2-speed). The factory air was approximately a $300 option – the sticker total price was about $3300. I no longer have the car but I do still have the “cheesy full wheel covers”.
Restored/preserved base models of any vehicle are always interesting to me, mainly as they are far less likely to survive than their better equipped brethren, despite often being produced in far larger numbers
That and poverty spec base models has largely become a thing of the past, at least in western countries (1980s hatchbacks with no niceties such as wheel trims, clocks, glovebox doors, seat headrests or even passenger door mirrors spring to mind)
The cute gal across the street from me received a bare bones, second generation Camaro as a high school graduation present from her doting parents.
In line six cylinder engine, powerglide automatic transmission on the column, no A/C. Judging by the way she had to muscle the controls I am guessing no power steering or power brakes.
Riding it it vividly reminded me of my Grandfather’s 1951 Chevy fastback, sounded the same and felt (from the passenger seat) about as quick….but not nearly as comfortable as Grandpa’s Chevy.
My folks had a ’72. My mom was rushed to the hospital back in ’75 when I was born in it and just the same the first car I ever rode in. By the time I was 10 my father and I was hoisting the 307 out and dropping a forged 355 in and putting a shift kit in the turbo 350… Followed by gears later. Long story short many memories ensued. It wasn’t radical but nothing touched it. Speak softly and carry a big stick, that was my dad’s mentality. It had a moderate burble save for the chatter of the Rhoads Lifters. He was a street hustler back in the early 70’s during the peak of the muscle car era. (after running into an old friend of his that had a 7 second alcohol Camaro “You’re dad had that quiet Red 72 Chevelle THAT WAS ONE BA-AAAD SONOFABITCH…was saying something)
I was so proud being dropped off first day of high school in that car. Later that year in ’89 they sold it for a red Toyota 4×4. Never saw it again and there hasn’t been one day since that I haven’t thought of that old mulsanne blue 72 Camaro. Would love to have one again but the prices on these cars are far out of my reach. Have a family of five now and can only hope to be able to connect with one of my sons in some way.. the way my father and I connected through that Camaro. I’ve got to agree with most here. That plain jane sport coupe is a delight to see. The Z’s and SS models get all the attention by the media. There’s others out there.
Our neighbor, a “69” HS grad, ordered a new “70” Camaro in 1969. As I recall, she drove it home in April of “1970”.
Was a “6”/automatic/PS, not sure about PB.Oh; do remember the windows were tinted, had an “AM radio”.
Was quite the “looker” on the street for a time.
No wheel covers , like this one. Had the little “moon” hubcaps and body color wheels.
Was dark green out, about the same color in.
It kinda started the “things” ((trim for instance)), falling off within the first year.
She did drive it till 1977/78 I believe. It was looking quite “weathered” by then.