‘67 Camaro 396
Written by Keith Fudge

In 1967, Chevrolet devised a plan to combat the growing popularity of the Ford Mustang. This effort in research and development resulted in the Camaro and as they say, “the rest is history.” In this segment of Hemming’s My Classic Car, Dennis and the crew travel to Macomb, Illinois, to visit with Mike Henninger as he shows us his pristine Royal Plum 1967 Camaro RS/SS 396 Covertible.

In their inaugural production year, Chevrolet’s First-Generation Camaro represented ten percent of all Chevys produced in 1967. Consequently, there are still quite a few Camaros around; however, few are as nice, or are as rare as Mike Henninger’s. Dennis and the crew were stunned when we came upon this classic roadster!

As Mike took Dennis around the car, we learned some interesting info on this convertible. This car is one of less than fifty made and probably only one of four or five equipped in this manner and well equipped it is! The exterior is painted in Royal Plum, which was a unique factory color option for the year. The white interior also is equipped with the Deluxe interior package, a 6,000 rpm tach, and a Muncie shifter. This car was also factory optioned with disc brakes, which was the first year that they were offered in a production vehicle! But wait; there’s more…yep, there is what makes this bad boy roll eat up the streets: a 396/375 horse, solid lifter engine equipped from the factory with a Chrome Package, Aluminum Intake, 780 Holley carb, 11:1 pistons, and a four-bolt main. Everything up front then is supplied to an M-21 four-speed and the unique option of a 2.73:1 rear end. 2.73:1!!!! Talk about some “high-end” cruising! We then had to find out for ourselves!

Finally, it was time to hit the backroads of Macomb and take to the streets. The ride was invigorating and with the rumble of the 396 in our hearts and with the wind in our hair, it was easy to turn back the clock for three decades and realize just how special these cars were, and still are. At one point in the interview, Mike told Dennis that he had owned the car for thirteen years. I would say that it is a pretty safe bet that he will have it at least another thirteen years as well. Thanks Mike. It was a great ride!