Story by Wayne Presley
How many of you still own your high school ride? If you’re old enough to remember being told to demand your MTV, we’re going to bet that you do not. Meet someone who still does: Mills Robinson, who has owned his 1967 Camaro since 1982.
As a teen, Mills cut grass in order to buy his …
Nice!!! Love that era Camaro's shape and size. When I lived in Montara Ca a guy owned a blue with two white stripes 302 Camaro Z28 4 speed muncie, rally wheels, all original in decent shape and he kept it on the street in the crappy cold drippy salt fog air. People left notes on the car regularly. I wonder what ever happened to that thing....
Not sure that "Aero" package built of heavy lumber is worth it. The Trans Am guys from the 60s had the aero worked out for these cars. Also question the transmission choice. Sure it's a race trans, from a race truck but a 6 speed gives you a better all around car. I never use 6th at the track, but it's nice to be loafing along at 1500 rpm at 70 mph on the way to the track.
This story hits real close to home. I bought my 67 camaro in 1984 when I was 15. It was only a rolling shell and had a previous fire. Took me a year to get it back together and running. I drove it all through high school but when I went off to college (engineering school), I left it in storage at my dad's because it was not reliable enough to drive that far from home. 30 years later it needs a full restoration, but it is still in my possession. I'll get back to it one day when I have more time.
Love what this guy did, fantastic home brew job. But as with a lot of home brew, the thing looks really rough around the edges. When I was a young man working in one of the best road race shops in the country, you could eat off the floor of every car that left that shop. Everything was super clean, painted, easy to inspect and looked like it had been built by an artist. Those cars won regularly. There is a reason they were kept that way and I wish these mega-talented home brew guys would follow suit, they'd gain a lot. You can tell instantly a pro job from a home build, and that's kind of sad because keeping them looking sharp is not that much more work.
He's done some serious work to that car, and ballin' on a budget. One heck of a guy too, I got him soaked in my Camaro after going 4 off and hitting a puddle, and he actually got back in the car with me!
great car. nothing better that doing what you love in something you built.
All I can say is that I wish I had his talent and that he lived closer to me so I could see the car first hand and get his advice... Car looks clean and neat to me.. Our 300ZX race car isn't quite as nice but we're really proud of it... I live around the corner from Detroit Speed but didn't take my Gen II to them - I wanted to make my car the best I could with my talent and research... His results prove he's done a really good job...
In reply to maj75 :
I've driven a car with the trans mentioned in the article. The car it was in ate up four different transmissions, three of them were T56's. The four-speed was the last trans installed and lasted multiple events without failure. Shifting it was like shooting a rifle. I loved it. To each his own. I'm sure having a high cruising gear is damned nice while on the road.
Super nice job.
For those of us who prefer to do the jobs ourselves, rather than subcontracting, we value that satisfaction as much as the end product. I laugh at some of my prior projects that I come across, remembering how proud I was; surprisingly, some others still look pretty good. Time always seems to be a limiting factor.
Great concept and great execution. Congratulations!
Very nicely executed and a gorgeous body to boot. Not fancy, but I'd love to have something like this myself at some point.
Always nice to see old American iron at the track. Keep up the good work!
I still have my 1977 Toyota truck, bought new in 1977 and autocrossed since...uh...1977, I think. For sure by 1978. But since the Hotruck is built for FSP, it is not so impressive on a road course. Bags of fun, but not impressive. I tow to events behind my 1991 Toyota truck bought new in 1991, now with over 600,000 miles on the original engine, transmission, transfer case, and differentials. I keep meaning to put the limited slip I used in the Hotruck for a couple of years in the 4WD but have been too lazy and kind of hate to not be able to say original driveline! I fully appreciate the Camaro build on a budget! Would love to see the rear suspension from underneath if he used the full Corvette IRS but with rocker arm and pushrod shocks.
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