Let’s stick to a CC tradition of sorts for today: the sharing of Camaros with sixes still present in their engine bays. And this one, a drop-top, with the very neat-looking RS package. Nice to see that this restored one, shared by Hyperpack at the CC Cohort, didn’t get hot rodded to absurd degrees. Or even upper-medium ones. Instead, this one likely preserves the car’s original setup. In all, a sweet looking pony car, ready for open air fun, and powered by an engine that shows personal preferences. As an earlier Joseph Dennis post told, Have It Your Way. The fun of cars from the sixties; a Swiss-knife possibility of drivetrain and trim choices, that have us talking about them to this day.
Here’s that 250 up close, (a bored out version of the Camaro’s base 230 six), which offered 155HP back in ’67. If you wonder, for that year 27% of Camaros came with sixes, just a tad about a quarter of the whole run. It’s all covered in far greater detail in HERE.
Regrettably, no image of the interior. I’ve no idea if this has a manual, for some fun, or if it’s a cruising-mode two-speed Powerglide. (Update: Chevy folks already spoke in the comments. It’s got a Powerglide).
Nice to see a restored one sticking to a non-V8 redo. A reminder of the ways these could be had, and that pony cars were fun, often highly trimmed, nice alternative purchases for lots of regular folks. Buyers who wanted a stylish, fun thing to be seen in, that could serve as daily transport. Of course, we’ve had a few posts –and old images– pointing that out, on more than one occasion.
Related CC reading:
CC 1969 Camaro Six Daily Driver Paul N.
CC 1970 Camaro Six Tom Klockau
CC 1968 Camaro Six Convertible Joseph Dennis
Ebay Find: 1967 Camaro Six Gerardo Solis
Bedside Classic (Fiction): 1968 Camaro Six PN
So Just How Many Camaro Sixes Were Built (1967-1976)? PN
CC Update: The Last Unmolested Camaro Six In The World Is Still In Daily Use PN
My 1968 Camaro Coupe with the 250 HP In Line 6 with the Hurst 3 Speed Floor Shift Transmission handled beautifully due to the excellent engine displacement to chassis and body weight. In my opinion, Camaros that I drove with the heavy larger engines in front and weak undersized single leaf rear spring suspensions handled poorly compared to the I6 Hurst Drive Train.
That 250 cu inch would have been 155 hp
A 6 cylinder car that’s been changed to a V8 is not and cannot be “restored” because the word means “AS NEW” and nothing else .
I too like the idea of a light weight fun car with the i6 engine .
-Nate
Sound of that motor was so distinctive. Looking up to see a “Camaro RS” would be a head scratcher.
RS has always been the great looking Camaro.
I’m sure an all aluminum LS/LT 500HP V8 with an aluminum 6 speed manual transmission would be lighter than a cast iron I6 and cast iron Powerglide!
However you would have to upgrade the rest of the car to handle 500HP which would add weight to the car.
The Powerglide by then was aluminum-cased and the standard duty version was fairly light. That generation of six, in spite of having seven main bearings, was also the latest in thinwall iron castings. This was not the Stovebolt six and iron Powerglide of the 1950’s.
Yeah, I think an LS1 is a bit heavier than the Turbo-Thrift six (not by much, maybe 20–25 lb with automatic). Substituting an LS1 and modern Hydra-Matic would probably not involve any dramatic increase in weight, especially in view of the added performance, but it would not be lighter either.
Nikita, then it would no longer be a 67 Camaro, would it?
Very nice. Despite what you see today at shows and on the road, the vast majority of these cars had 6s or mild 2 barrel V-8s under the hood. I see a transmission dipstick back there so this one is likely a powerglide, also the majority choice.
An acquaintance had a ’68 with the 250 and a saginaw 4 speed,not sure if that was original or replaced a 3 speed, and we all encouraged him to “drop a 350 in it!”. Fortunately he didn’t listen. It was a very nicely balanced car and quite pleasant to drive.
It’s nice to see one like this that somehow escaped being hot rodded or turned into a “tribute” (read: fake) car.
When I turned 21 Dad gave me money for a new car. I looked through the want ads in the Seattle Times (there was, of course, no Internet in 1972). I wanted a specific car: a Gen 2 Barracuda convertible with a 6 and a 4 speed floor shift. I can’t exactly recall WHY I wanted that configuration, but rest assured it was impossible to find.
The chevy I6, the Pontiac Tempest I6 and the Chrysler slanted I6 are all great engines that were and are underappreciated. And I remember riding in an early Mustang fastback with a six and manual transmission that could really scoot, while the owner was happy with manual steering due to less weight. Now put a split manifold with dual exhaust all the way back on any of them and you have a great and unique sound.
Unless you have a Mustang with the 170 or 200 that has the cast-into-the cylinder-head intake manifold. An aftermarket split intake is possible, but it takes a lot of work to mill off that cast manifold from the cylinder head.
It has an automatic. You can see the dipstick at the back of the engine bay.
Could never imagine a 6 in a Camaro. My lord! But then you could get a Mustang with a 6 too. I remember casting a “really!” glance at the drivers. Don’t think I was ever noticed.
But, then Gary above made a good point. Handling with the extra weight up front. I don’t remember caring about handling, in my experience the Camaro was a straight-ahead machine except maybe at Trans Am.
There’s a fellow that attends our local cruise ins with a mint restored orange 70 or so Challenger with a factory slant six
Neighbor’s, brand new, “70” Camaro had a “250” cid “6”. She ordered it and waited out the list as was common when that “revolutionary”, new style debuted. “p/s”, “auto”, “p/b”, “radio”, “door edge, guards”, were the options.
Believe the glass was tinted too.
Know she was still driving it, “circa 80”.Car was looking pretty weathered by then. Ole “6” was still buzzing.
I graduated in June 69 from Hyde park NY high school, my Aunt and Uncle came from Brockton Mass to visit in their just purchased bright yellow with a black vinyl top 69 Camaro with the 250 6 cylinder. Of course I sneered A bit at that being my neighbor down the street had a 68 SS396 he bought the previous year, now that was a real camaro..
Were there any easy to moderate upgrades to the 250-6 available? Like say 10:1 pistons and an upgraded intake with a 4 barrel or a pair of 2’s? Maybe not enough to challenge the 327’s, but turn it from slow to fun? 4 liters isn’t really a small engine by world standards, especially in those days.
10:1 or more pistons from a 283 Smallblock would help. So would the multi-point fuel injection system offered on Brazilian sixes. Aftermarket split exhaust manifolds and headers may still be available.
Nevertheless, tweaking an engine that still uses wedge-shaped combustion chambers, whose cylinder head wasn’t crossflow cast, will have its limits
I owned, around 1986, a 1974 Camaro with a 6-line and a 3 speed manual.
Slowest Camaro ever, but would be probably extreme rare now….
The 1969 Camaro is my favorite. I was a passenger in a new 1967 Camaro that crashed and two people died. I now have a 2011 Camaro and love it.