Happy 25th Anniversary, My 50-year-old Baby!

This 2nd week of September 2021 marks 50 years since my 1971 Chevrolet Camaro RS has been assembled at the General Motors (GM) plant in Norwood, Ohio, USA.  I bought the Camaro as a project car in 1996, restored it and displayed it in the Trans Sport Show in 1998, stored it from 2003 to 2008, revived it in 2009 and had it undergo a slow but detailed restoration in 2014, which remains unfinished to this day. If we do the math, I got the Camaro when it was 25 years old, and now that it’s 50 years old, it has been with me half of its entire existence.

I feel blessed to know that I was able to hold on to this second-generation GM F-Body despite several financial challenges that I had to face as the head of my family and as the head of my company. At the time I bought it in 1996, my buddies in the American muscle car hobby would rather have a first-generation (1967-1969) model and they made fun of 1970-1973 Camaros as “ipis” (cockroach) because of the shape of their Euro-inspired roofline. Regardless, I fell in love it and my supportive then-girlfriend (now wife) Shawie even made it the lead car during a muscle car parade she organized to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Hard Rock Cafe in Makati.

What a Difference 25 Years Make

What was unloved in 1996 is now a much-loved collectible classic car. After the prices of the first-gen Camaros spiraled upwards and 1967-1969 models became ultimately unaffordable to most enthusiasts except for the well-heeled (or well-connected), American car enthusiasts flocked to the 1970-1973 models, which eventually became few and far between. Over the years, the prices of collectible American cars skyrocketed until pristine examples commanded six-figure price tags.

Thus, the measly P60,000 I shelled-out in 1996 to buy my Camaro, and all the money I spent over the years to maintain it, repair it, and have it restored is now promising to reap me a large and handsome dividend. And I’ve been getting crazy offers for my car, which is a highly-desirable split-bumper Rally Sport (RS) model, although I haven’t entertained any thought of parting with it, especially now that we’re on our Silver Anniversary.

Early Provenance     

My car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) tag shows that it was manufactured during the 2nd week of September 1971 and was originally painted Sunflower Yellow (1971 Paint Code 52) with a Black Vinyl Roof (1971 Roof Code B) and Black Custom Z87 Cloth Interior (1971 Trim Code 785). It was fitted with a 307-cubic inch displacement (5.0-liter) small block Chevy V8 (1971 Engine Suffix CCC) mated to a Turbo Hydramatic THM-350 3-speed automatic transmission.

In July 1972, my Camaro was imported into the Philippines for a priest who hails from a wealthy family. The priest sold it a few years later (probably because of the 1973 Gas Crisis and their vow of poverty) and the Camaro eventually made its way into Sonny Timbol’s car exchange. In October 1989, its ownership went to Pruelo “Boy” Jalosjos, who had the paint changed to red, and the 307cid V8 engine modified and bored out to 327cid (5.3-liter) for more power. In 1993, the car was sold to Jennifer Narvaez, who bought it for her husband Leonard “Lucky” Narvaez. After several months, Narvaez sold the Camaro to Juanito Cato, whose son parked it on one of their vacant lots in Project 8, Quezon City where a new apartment and school building were being constructed. The construction boxed the Camaro inside the vacant lot where it stayed until I chanced upon it in 1996.

Like Money in the Bank

After I paid P60,000 for the car, I hired some burly construction workers to physically carry it out of the debris-filled vacant lot to a nearby driveway and be hauled away by a waiting tow truck. I had it towed to the restoration shop of a friend, the late Chito Santos, where I started cleaning it and removing cement droppings from its roof, hood and trunk lid. After I finished cleaning the Camaro, a fellow member of our Everyday Holiday American Muscle Car Club, Dr. Vedasto “VD” Lim, dropped by the shop, and upon seeing my new acquisition, offered me P70,000 as it sits, which I respectfully declined. After I spent another P30,000 to make the car roadworthy, I drove to our regular Saturday night club meet in Greenhills, where it was spotted by another well-heeled enthusiast, who asked a common friend, Vic Yenko, to offer P150,000 for my running-and-driving Camaro.

In 1998, the company I was working in sponsored the Camaro’s restoration and I turned it into a Z-28 tribute, having it painted Hugger Orange with Black Sports Stripes. After it was used as the company’s display vehicle during the 1998 Trans Sport Show, I drove it daily and got a serious offer of P500,000 while having it waxed at a carwash. Even after I stored it at my parent’s garage and it wasn’t running for some time, I would regularly get offers and some of them were very tempting indeed. It was really like having money in the bank with an interest rate that no bank can match.

Getting Back on the Road

In 2009, I took my Camaro out of storage, revived it, and drove it until around 2012. For two years, the car sat forlorn outside our old office along Examiner Street in Quezon City while I juggled my duties as father, husband, son, Editor-in-Chief, entrepreneur, motoring journalist, and business owner. In 2014, Johnson Tan, the proprietor of JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works, offered to sponsor the restoration of my Camaro while V8 maestro Ben Lim was working on the new 383cid (6.2-liter) SBC V8, 700-R4 4-speed automatic transmission, and Positraction limited slip 3.73:1 rear differential.

Unfortunately, our fledging magazine publication business kept me away from focusing on the restoration of my beloved Camaro, which was slowly being attacked by rust. Eventually, our publication business dwindled and we shifted to online in 2018. Then, as everybody knows, the COVID-19 pandemic affected businesses around the world from March 2020 until today. Yet despite all these economic setbacks, I have resolved to continue the restoration of my Camaro with the hope that Shawie and I would be able to enjoy a drive in it with our kids, Vette (now 21) and Chevy (turning 16 in October) after the pandemic.

So, Happy 50th Birthday and Happy 25th Anniversary, my Camaro! God willing, we’ll be able to raise new funds and continue your restoration. We hope to smoke your rear tires and tear down the roads of Metro Manila with your new, updated powerful drivetrain. And, with your sweet, rambunctious V8 burble, we’ll be setting off car alarms in enclosed parking structures pretty soon. I’m just so glad I’m still your steward after all these years!