1967 Camaro RS/SS 396
Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Camaro reached showrooms in late September 1966 as a 1967 model. It was Chevrolet's answer to the Mustang, developed under the code name "Panther." Asked what a Camaro was, Chevrolet managers called it "a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs," and the line became the car's unofficial motto.
Buyers could choose a Sport Coupe or a convertible, six-cylinder or V8, and dress the car with the Rally Sport appearance package (hidden headlights), the SS performance package (350 or 396 V8), or both. Chevrolet built 220,906 in the first year.
1967 Camaro SS Photo: GPS 56, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; plates blurred
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The Z/28 slipped out almost unnoticed, with only 602 built. Today it is the most sought-after 1967 Camaro.
Did you know
In early 1965, with the Camaro's shape nearly settled, a quarter-scale clay model spent 78 hours in a wind tunnel in Dallas, Texas. Its 76 runs measured lift, drag and side force at yaw angles from 60 degrees right to 18 degrees left, and the results sent the stylists back to reshape the leading edges of the front fenders and reduce the rake of the front valance.
Car and Driver's March 1967 test of a pre-production Z-28 recorded 0-60 mph in 6.7 seconds and a 14.9-second quarter-mile at 97 mph, about 1.2 seconds quicker than the SS 350 the magazine had tested that fall. The writers called it Chevrolet's answer to the Shelby GT 350 at nearly $1,000 less and the 302 the most responsive American V-8 they had tested; the loaded test car stickered at $4,051.
Chevrolet's first survey of Camaro buyers, reported by Motor Trend in May 1967, found a median age of 31 and a median income of $10,400, higher than every Chevrolet buyer group except Caprice and Corvette owners. About one buyer in four was buying a first new car, and nearly half had never owned a Chevrolet before.
The 295-hp, 350-cubic-inch V8 behind the SS 350 was a Camaro exclusive in 1967 and did not reach other Chevrolet lines until 1968. Chevrolet made it by stretching the 327's stroke from 3.25 to 3.48 inches while keeping the 4.00-inch bore.
To tame the shake and 'jitter' of an open body, the 1967 convertible carried four oil-filled dynamic dampers hidden in the engine and luggage compartments: sealed steel barrels holding weights suspended between coil springs. Its rocker panels were heavier-gauge steel, while the coupe's were galvanized.
Camaros assembled in Bienne, Switzerland were the only ones ever fitted with the 283-cubic-inch V8, because Swiss tax was based on engine displacement. About 216 were built for 1967 and 188 for 1968.
Chevrolet's dictionary is real. Car Life's October 1966 introduction of the car opened with a reproduced dictionary page reading 'camaro, s.m. P: Comrade, pal,' and its neighboring entries match Heath's Standard French and English Dictionary, the American edition of Harrap's Standard, where P marks popular speech. The 1903 Heath's has no such entry. Car and Driver's testers said none of their French friends had heard the word.
Mauri Rose, winner of the 1941, 1947 and 1948 Indianapolis 500s, drove the Camaro that paced the 1967 race. Rain stopped that 500 after 18 laps on May 30, and it finished the next day.
Red 1967 Camaro RS coupe with hidden-headlamp grille, RS badge and hood louvres, front three-quarter view, on grass at an outdoor car show Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro SS 350 coupe with exposed headlamps, black bumblebee nose stripe and SS badges, front three-quarter view while driving through a car show lot Photo: MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro SS coupe with SS rear emblem, rear spoiler and bumper guards, side and rear three-quarter view while driving through a car show lot Photo: MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseCream 1967 Camaro SS convertible with black top, black bumblebee nose stripe and SS hood louvres, front three-quarter view, in a motor museum Photo: Hugh Llewelyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseLight blue 1967 Camaro coupe with exposed headlamps, front three-quarter view, on grass at an outdoor cruise-in with a pixelated background Photo: Elise240SX, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Original photographLicenseGold 1967 Camaro RS coupe with hidden-headlamp grille, black nose band, RS fender script and red-line tyres, front three-quarter view, on dry grass at an outdoor car show Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
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Production
The table lists three production figures for 1967. It opens with Total production, 220,906, followed by Sport Coupe (195,765) and Convertible (25,141).
1967 production by model or body Selected model/body counts from the production table. Totals, engine splits and overlapping packages are not added to these bars. The table preserves a different total in another GM source.
GM's own 1967–77 production table counts 220,917, 11 more
Sport Coupe
195,765
53,523 six-cylinder, 142,242 V8
Convertible
25,141
5,285 six-cylinder, 19,856 V8
Copper-red 1967 Camaro coupe with exposed headlamps, front view from slightly above, in an empty parking lot Photo: GPS 56, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseBlue 1967 Camaro SS coupe with white bumblebee nose stripe, hood louvres and SS grille badge, front three-quarter view in a parking-lot car show Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseBlue-grey 1967 Camaro SS 350 coupe with twin silver hood stripes and SS grille and fender badges, front three-quarter view in a large outdoor car show lot Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseLight blue 1967 Camaro coupe with exposed headlamps, whitewall tyres and wheel covers, front three-quarter view on grass at an outdoor show Photo: GTHO, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro convertible with black top up, rear three-quarter view, on brick paving at an outdoor car meet Photo: Bill McChesney, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseBlack 1967 Camaro SS 350 RS convertible with top up, hidden-headlamp grille and twin white hood stripes, side and front three-quarter view, in a formal park at a classic car gala Photo: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
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Engines
The 1967 table lists nine engines, from the 230 cu in inline-6 to the 396 cu in V8. The highest power rating shown is 375 hp (gross), for the 396 cu in V8.
1967 engine ratings Published horsepower for the engine choices shown. Separately recorded ratings keep their qualifiers. Missing or unrecognized ratings are omitted, rather than plotted as zero. See the engine tables for transmission and equipment restrictions.
2 pace cars, about 43 festival-committee cars and 10 track cars
White 1967 Camaro SS 350 RS coupe with hidden-headlamp grille, black bumblebee nose stripe, hood louvres and red-line tyres, front three-quarter view, in a car-park car show Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro SS coupe with SS rear emblem, rear three-quarter and side view at an outdoor car show Photo: MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseBlue 1967 Camaro SS 350 convertible with white bumblebee nose stripe, SS 350 grille badge and white top folded, front three-quarter view on grass at a car show Photo: Calreyn88, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseBlue 1967 Camaro SS coupe with white nose band stripe, front three-quarter and side view at an outdoor car show Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseBlack 1967 Camaro SS 350 convertible with black top up, twin white hood stripes, SS 350 grille and SS fender badges, front three-quarter view at an outdoor classic car gala Photo: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseLight blue 1967 Camaro SS coupe with twin white hood stripes, SS grille and fender badges, front three-quarter and side view in a parking lot Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
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Exterior colors
This table has 15 exterior colors for 1967, each with its paint code. They include Tuxedo Black, Ermine White and Nantucket Blue.
Code
Color
A
Tuxedo Black
C
Ermine White
D
Nantucket Blue
E
Deepwater Blue
F
Marina Blue
G
Granada Gold
H
Mountain Green
K
Emerald Turquoise
L
Tahoe Turquoise
M
Royal Plum
N
Madeira Maroon
R
Bolero Red
S
Sierra Fawn
T
Capri Cream
Y
Butternut Yellow
Black 1967 Camaro SS convertible with black top and white deck stripes, side and rear three-quarter view at an outdoor classic-car show Photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro convertible with black top up, rear three-quarter view on brick paving at a street car show Photo: Bill McChesney, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro RS coupe with black vinyl roof, hidden-headlamp grille and RS fender badge, front three-quarter view, at an outdoor classic car gathering Photo: Llann Wé², CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro RS coupe with rs badge, front three-quarter view on leaf-covered gravel at an outdoor Italian-car gathering Photo: Llann Wé², CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro coupe, rear view at an outdoor car show Photo: MerlinS.69, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; faces blurred
Original photographLicenseDark green 1967 Camaro SS coupe with twin white hood stripes and SS grille badge, front three-quarter view on grass at an outdoor car show Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
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Interior trim
This table has 18 interior trims for 1967, each with its trim code.
The September 1966 Chevrolet chart, printed Body p. 3 (GM kit PDF p. 16), independently lists seventeen retained 1967 trim codes, separating standard buckets, deluxe buckets and Sport Coupe-only standard/deluxe benches. Standard and deluxe trim choices do not form an unrestricted paint/interior cross-product. Code 706 and its late Yellow/Black context remain attributed to existing Camaro Research Group identification research, separately from the earlier factory chart. CRG also supplies the retained Parchment/Black cabin-color context. No exact late-year introduction date, VIN breakpoint, matching-number authentication or neighboring-year code assignment is inferred.
Code
Trim
Note
706
Yellow/Black custom (alternate, late in the model year; most lower interior parts black)
Retained CRG late-year identification reference; this code is absent from the September 1966 factory chart. That early chart is not used to reject the later entry or establish its exact introduction date.
707
Yellow custom buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
709
Gold standard buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
711
Gold custom buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
712
Gold custom bench
Printed in a Sport Coupe bench-seat row of the September 1966 factory chart; the bench option is not assigned to the convertible.
716
Bright blue custom bench
Printed in a Sport Coupe bench-seat row of the September 1966 factory chart; the bench option is not assigned to the convertible.
717
Blue standard buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
732
Bright blue custom buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
739
Blue standard bench
Printed in a Sport Coupe bench-seat row of the September 1966 factory chart; the bench option is not assigned to the convertible.
741
Red standard buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
742
Red custom buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
756
Black standard bench
Printed in a Sport Coupe bench-seat row of the September 1966 factory chart; the bench option is not assigned to the convertible.
760
Black standard buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
765
Black custom buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
767
Black custom bench
Printed in a Sport Coupe bench-seat row of the September 1966 factory chart; the bench option is not assigned to the convertible.
779
Turquoise custom buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
796
Gold standard bench
Printed in a Sport Coupe bench-seat row of the September 1966 factory chart; the bench option is not assigned to the convertible.
797
Parchment custom buckets
Printed in the bucket-seat rows of the September 1966 factory chart for the 1967 model year; standard versus deluxe trim and paint compatibility remain distinct.
Black interior of a red 1967 Camaro with woodgrain steering wheel, two round gauge pods, bucket seats and Camaro door panel badge, driver-side interior view at an outdoor car show Photo: Llann Wé², CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Specifications
This table gives six specifications for 1967, among them wheelbase (108.0 in) and overall length (184.7 in).
Body length and axle spacing The selected model year on one scale. Wheelbase measures axle spacing; overall length includes the body beyond them. Variant-specific lengths keep their model labels.
Cream 1967 Camaro SS coupe with black vinyl roof and red-line tyres, hood raised, rear three-quarter view on grass at a lakeside car display Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseBlue 1967 Camaro SS 350 coupe with white nose band and RS hidden-headlamp grille, side and front view at an outdoor car show Photo: sv1ambo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseOrange 1967 Camaro coupe with grey hood stripes, hidden-headlamp grille and SS 350 grille and fender badges, front three-quarter view, at a street car cruise Photo: Xnatedawgx, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseBlue 1967 Camaro SS 427 coupe with Nickey badges, rear spoiler and hood raised, rear three-quarter view in a parking lot cruise Photo: Xnatedawgx, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseOrange 1967 Camaro SS coupe with silver decklid stripes and SS rear emblem, rear three-quarter view in a parking-lot cruise Photo: Xnatedawgx, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseLight blue 1967 Camaro SS RS coupe with hidden-headlamp grille, white bumblebee nose stripe, SS badges and hood louvres, side and front three-quarter view, on grass at an outdoor car show beside hot rods Photo: Sicnag, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicensePurple 1967 Camaro SS coupe with black vinyl roof and black nose band, hood open showing chrome-dressed engine, front three-quarter view at a street car show Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
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Identification
What to check on a 1967 Camaro: VIN, cowl tag, engine pad, year cues and RS.
Item
What to look for
Note
VIN
123/437/67 7N/L 100001-up
Characters: 1 Chevrolet, 2 Camaro, 3 six-cylinder or 4 V8, body 37 coupe or 67 convertible, year, plant N Norwood or L Van Nuys, sequence
Cowl tag
Fisher Body plate on the firewall beside the brake booster
Build date, body style, trim and paint codes
Engine pad
Stamped ahead of the passenger-side cylinder head
Plant, assembly date and application suffix (see engine table)
Year cues
Vent windows in the front doors; no side-marker lamps
One-year features — both changed for 1968
Cowl tag
RPO option codes stamped on the tag; alphabetic paint codes
1967 only for the option codes
RS
Hidden headlights behind a unique grille
Appearance package, combinable with SS or Z/28
Light blue 1967 Camaro rear quarter and tail lamp with white deck stripe and rear spoiler, close detail view Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Original photographLicenseLight blue 1967 Camaro coupe, detail of front fender camaro script and 396 Turbo-Jet crossed-flags badge, with side view along the door, at an outdoor car show Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseLight blue 1967 Camaro, detail of hidden-headlamp RS grille with SS emblem and SS fender badge, front view, in a parking lot Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates blurred
Original photographLicenseCream 1967 Camaro with black nose band stripe, detail of hidden-headlamp RS grille, Chevrolet Camaro script and SS fender badge, at an outdoor display day Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Year one introduced the RS, SS and Z/28, names the Camaro kept coming back to for the rest of its run.
Cream 1967 Camaro SS coupe with black vinyl roof, black nose band and red-line tyres, hood up, side view on grass at a car display Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; faces blurred
Original photographLicenseRed 1967 Camaro coupe, side and front three-quarter view at an outdoor car show Photo: MerlinS.69, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
Original photographLicenseCopper-red 1967 Camaro coupe with exposed headlamps, side and front view at an outdoor car show Photo: GPS 56, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; licence plates and faces blurred
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The Car GM Almost Didn't Build
Bunkie Knudsen had earlier turned down an early sporty-car clay based on the Chevy II ("the one thing we don't need right now is another car"). The project came back only after the April 1964 Mustang showed how big the untapped market was. Ed Cole pushed it through and Pete Estes introduced it. The people behind the car has the full executive story and the June 28, 1966 naming press conference, with its 14-city phone hookup, the "SEPAW" joke and the French-dictionary origin of the name, where the entry is real but whether the word was ever current French slang is still doubted.
Trims & The Z/28's Quiet Debut
The RS (Z22) was pure appearance: hidden headlights behind a unique grille, revised taillights and extra brightwork, and it could be combined with the SS. The SS (Z27) was the performance package, built on the 295-hp 350 or the 396 big block.
The Z/28 was almost invisible in 1967. Chevrolet didn't even advertise it as "Z/28" (the name was an order code), and its 302 existed only to make the car legal for SCCA Trans-Am, which had a five-liter limit. The DZ engine suffix belongs to the 1969 Z/28, not this one. SCCA nominally required 1,000 homologation units; Chevrolet built 602 and SCCA accepted it anyway. The racing history picks up the story.
1967 Camaro convertible interior Photo: Joe Ross, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Pace Car
The first of the Camaro's nine Indy 500 pace-car appearances: white RS/SS convertibles with a blue "bumblebee" nose stripe. Race winner A.J. Foyt reportedly declined the pace car, officially because it had no air conditioning. The story came full circle in 2011, when Foyt himself drove a Camaro pace car. More in the racing history.
How the first Camaro was built
The first Camaro combined a unitized body with a separate partial front frame. Its deep-sectioned, double-channel side rails were joined by three cross members, and the front sheet metal bolted on, with inner fender skirts to protect it. The doors, hood and trunk lid were all double-panel, the doors still had vent windows, and a double-walled cowl plenum sent air and water through the rocker panels to rinse and dry them against rust. Up front were short and long control arms with coil springs. At the back, single-leaf springs carried a Hotchkiss-drive axle.
What is a Camaro? Photo: Jeremy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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The Rally Sport's hidden headlamps were electric in 1967. Two reversible motors, three relays and a set of limit switches opened the doors whenever the headlamps came on. The doors would close only with the ignition on, which is why a parked 1967 RS can sit with its headlamp doors open.
The Z-28 option sheet listed a 302 V8, dual exhausts with deep-tone mufflers, special suspension, a heavy-duty radiator, quick-ratio steering, 15 x 6 wheels on red-stripe 7.35 x 15 tires, a 3.73 axle and stripes on the hood and deck. A plenum air intake and tuned exhaust headers could be added, both shipped loose for the owner or dealer to install. Buyers also had to order the close-ratio four-speed, power brakes and front disc brakes.
Red 1967 Camaro SS 350 RS coupe with hidden-headlamp grille, black bumblebee nose stripe and SS badges, side and front three-quarter view, at an outdoor town car show Photo: MercurySable99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; faces blurred
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