Ermine White w/Blue interior, 396/325hp, 4-spd. manual transmission.

When the Camaro was introduced to the buying public in ’66 as a ’67 model, it became an instant hit and officially igniting the Pony Car wars! Pontiac would soon follow with the Firebird, Plymouth with the Barracuda, Dodge with the Challenger in the ’70’s and so on.

Befitting it’s soon to be legendary status, the new Camaro was chosen to be the “Official Pace Car” of the ’67 Indy 500! The Pace Car Editions were Ermine White w/Bright Blue interior, RS/SS Convertibles. There were 4 actual Pace Cars built for the race and approximately 100 replicas that were on hand to be used by dignitaries and celebrities before and during the race. After the race, these cars were sent to dealers across the country to be sold as used cars. Some of the cars were 350ci small blocks and some were 396ci big blocks, with either automatic or 4-spd. manual transmissions. The rarest of the P.C.’s were of course the big blocks. And even rarer were the 4-spd. big blocks! Which leads us to our featured car . . .

In April of 1967 Merle Brand was stationed in San Antonio, TX. in training to be an Air Force pilot. While there, he noticed a Pace Car being delivered to Benson Chevrolet, a local dealership in the area. Merle went in and spoke with a salesman who told him the Camaro was there to be displayed in an upcoming Chevy Indy Car promotion. Well Merle had to have the car!  And after agreeing to pay an additional fee, he purchased the car!  He took some photos of the car in the dealer showroom to share with his fellow cadets back at the base. He didn’t know it at the time, but it turned out this was the only ’67 Pace Car ever delivered with new with mag-style wheel covers. It looks straight out of the Hot Wheels catalog!  And this also happens to be one of the few Pace Cars equipped with the 396 big block, mated to a 4-spd. manual transmission!

Merle owned and loved this Camaro until he could no longer drive it. It was then sold, and a complete body-off restoration was completed in 2014.