I've always been an admirer of Camaros and Firebirds. My Uncle Bob bought his 67 Camaro brand new in September 1966. I bought my 71 Camaro SS396 in May 1971. My mother had to co-sign on the GMAC loan for me.  In 1978, I bought a new Trans Am, and in 1997, I bought a new Camaro SS. I still own all these cars. The T/A, with 190,000 miles is currently in the worst shape, but all are driveable. Here are some pictures of my cars. Click each thumbnail to see the full-size picture, then use your Web Browser's Back Button to return to this page.

Oops, this isn't a Camaro, but when I rode this M60A1 across Germany, most people got out of my way!

Here is my 71 Camaro when it was brand new:

This car was purchased at Jim Rathmann Chevrolet in Melbourne, FL. It came with the following options:

I guess you could say it was loaded. I was 18 years old when I ordered it, and I  just turned 19 when I picked it up at the dealer. I ordered the SS 396 for 3 reasons:

Some people might wonder why I didn't go for the Rally Sport (split bumper) option. When I bought the car, I worked as a bag boy at a local Publix Supermarket, and I knew that if I left the car in the parking lot all day, sooner or later someone would mash in that delicate front grill. Besides, I just liked the way the full bumper looked.

Here is my 71 Camaro in 1979, with my 78 Trans Am. This is just before I deployed to Europe with the US Army. The Trans Am went with me, the Camaro went in a garage. The Trans Am was a blast on the German Autobahns, but no sane person would drive it at a sustained speed over 120mph, even though there was plenty of top end left in the Pontiac 400 engine. Note the Hi-Rise coming out of the Camaro's hood. I got rid of that later, along with the Hooker headers. The headers lasted 22 years, but I got tired of the heat in the passenger compartment, the noise overriding my stereo, and having to worry about every bump in the road messing up my exhaust system. By 1978, the Camaro had rusted to pieces, and I didn't replace the vinyl roof when it was removed. Later, I added the Z28 stripes.

This picture was taken at the US Camaro Club Nationals in Kissimmee Florida in June 1995. The car was in the cruise parade through Old Town when someone from Chevy High Performance took the picture. I was pretty surprised to see my car in the October 1995 issue (page 116)!

Here is my car today:

It was last repainted in 1991 by Superior Auto Body in Pinellas Park, FL (owner is Ronny Vallario, a good friend from my past days with "A" Company, 3/11 Special Forces). Code 52 Sunflower Yellow is the original color, there's just a tint of green in the paint now. Here are some other things I've done to improve it. Otherwise, it's pretty much bone stock.

Here are some interesting pictures from a recent local cruise night. The owner of this Vega, Luis, is a big fan of second generation Camaros, but he has put a lot of effort into his car as well. It has a 350 with a cowl induction hood. Note the modified front bumper. The rear spoiler is a modified Camaro part. Kind of look like brothers...

If anyone is interested in a local Camaro club in east central Florida, the Space Coast Camaro Club has been trying to get off the ground for a couple of years now. I'll be glad to go back to work on it if there is any interest at all. We already have a logo, with four variations, one for each generation of Camaro.

This page would not be complete without a link to my favorite Camaro web sites. MadMike's Second Generation bulletin board is awesome, and the people who hang out there are way cool! Get there at http://www.nastyz28.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro

Stegmiller's Second Generation Camaro web site is also full of good info! http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/1980

Here are a couple of shots of my Trans Am when I was over in Europe. The first is outside "A" Company, 3/63 Armor barracks in Augsburg, Germany. Note the "CO" parking spot to the right. The second is when I went to Ireland to discover my roots. It was fun driving in Ireland, but difficult to keep to the left side of the road. The island in the background is Ireland's Eye, just outside of Dublin. In 1979, a German citizen offered me $15,000 for my Trans Am, amazing, since I only paid $7000 for it a year earlier. I turned it down, with no regrets!