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2026 Subaru Crosstrek ReviewIs this ’68 Camaro the Perfect Muscle Car?
In its day, this ’68 Chevy Camaro set records and scorched street races thanks to a swapped 427 V8. Now fully restored, it defines classic muscle cars.
The Camaro Eats Mustangs
When reporters asked, What’s a Camaro? Chevrolet executive Pete Estes quipped, “A Camaro is a small, vicious animal that eats mustangs.” In truth, the name was taken from a French-to-English dictionary, supposedly a slang term for friend. Neither friend nor vicious animal, the Camaro was actually Chevy’s belated answer to Ford’s mid-60s smash hit, the Mustang. Debuting in 1966 as a ’67 model year, the Camaro did what other competing pony cars could not, that is, gain a major following and put up respectable sales numbers against the sales juggernaut of the Ford Mustang.
Today, we’re highlighting one of the muscle car era’s major players, the Chevy Camaro in the form of an impeccably restored 1968 model year 396 Camaro SS. This particular car built up quite the reputation both on the drag strip and at the stoplight. So wild was this ride, it even once caught a policeman’s bullet for its trouble. Below we look back at what made the first-generation Camaro special, and what makes this 1968 example possibly the quintessential muscle car.
The Unicorn 427 Camaros of 1969
With Coke-bottle curves and those perfect long-hood-short-deck proportions, the Chevy Camaro might have been late to the party, but it was fashionably so. The Camaro was built on GM’s compact F-body platform and came in coupe or convertible. Engine options started with a pair of mediocre 230 and 250 straight-sixes and ran to potent V8s which ranged from 327 (replaced by a 307 in 1969), and for the SS models, a 350 or a range-topping 396 that made 375 horsepower. The racing-focused Z28 Camaro was given a smaller 302 V8 under its hood.
What the first-gen Camaro did not get, at least officially, was GM’s 427 V8 making a thunderous 425 horsepower. Given this glaring oversight, some dealers, including Don Yenko began ordering Camaros with 427s through GM’s COPO (Central Office Production Order) system. These factory-equipped 427 Camaros have gone on to be the stuff of motorhead legend, whispered of in hushed and reverent tones.
Even without a massive big-block on tap, the Camaro Z28 took SCCA Trans Am racing by storm in 1967 and ’68, spearheaded by the Penske team and driver Mark Donohue. Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins likewise took Camaros to the NHRA drag circuit and tore up both tires and the competition.
Making a Street Legend
As we scour the listings on Carforsale.com, we run across a lot of rare, unique, and indisputably impressive vehicles. Notable muscle cars, even the “rare” ones, are not hard to find. You get your “one-of-one aqua blue Corvettes built on the third Tuesday in March 1966” and your boondoggle restomod customs with tiger print upholstery, eight-ball shifter, and modern LS swap with original drum brakes. But then you stumble on the truly remarkable, a black ’68 Camaro with provenance and panache to spare so beautifully restored it looks better than the day it rolled off the assembly line. And under the hood, not the 396 it was born with, but a fully-fledged Motion Performance swapped 427.
The seller’s notes detail the car’s compelling CV. This Camaro SS was first purchased by Barry Maskery, a GM employee who’d worked the R7D for the Mark IV big-block. Despite the “in” you’d assume Barry would have, even he couldn’t get Chevy to give him a 427 from the factory. Rather than settle, Barry took his new Camaro to Motion Performance who swapped in a 427 V8.
The additional power was substantial. Enough for Barry to set a track drag record of a 10.45 second quarter mile in May of 1969. A second owner also liked to drop the hammer in street races, going so far as to elude police after besting a Hemi Cuda. While the Plymouth driver stopped, the Camaro kept on rolling, catching a bullet in the rear quarter panel on the way out. (It goes without saying kids, street racing and eluding police are real crimes, and you shouldn’t buy this car if you’re looking to relive someone else’s ill-advised and felonious glory days.)
Many years later, this ’68 Camaro was given a full-rotisserie restoration from stem to stern. Every detail has been attended to and it shows. The tuxedo black paint job is mirrored by the black leather interior. Wheels are staggered 15-inch Cragers clothed in Mickey Thompson tires. Rather than upgrade, this restoration kept things as close to factory as possible, with reproduction hoses and clamps, a proper Holley dual-feed carburetor, and GM aluminum intake. The exhaust has seen upgrades including new Flowmaster mufflers.
Taking it all in, the black-on-black with the flourish of the white racing stripe, the 427 V8, the aggressive stance, and gem-quality fit-and-finish makes this 1968 Chevy Camaro SS about as good an example of a muscle car as you’re likely to find.
Ive had 4 69s first on bought off show room
floor SS396 love it wish I still had it