In the beginning...

On a cold stormy February day in 1967 a man was walking around a brand new '67 Camaro he had decided to purchase outside of his local Chevrolet dealership.  The salesmen were all standing around inside watching him through the glass walls of the building, but no one came out to visit with him.
Annoyed by this he traveled to the next closest dealership about 30 miles away.
An enthusiastic salesmen greeted him right away.  Only problem was they did not have a Camaro that he wanted.
So he decided to wait for his very own special ordered Camaro, and began the ordering process choosing a Nantucket Blue, white interior, 4 barrel 275 HP 327, single exhaust, 4 speed, console, 1967 Camaro.
Later, he made changes to the order adding dual exhaust, posi-traction, and changed the interior color to Black.
During March of 1967 his Camaro was assembled in the Van Nuys California plant.  He took delivery of the Camaro April 14, 1967.


February 1971 this man married my Mother still driving the '67 Camaro he had ordered.  I was 7 years old.
My biological Father had passed away due to injury's from a car accident he was a passenger in, and my Mother still had his '66 Olds 442.
I remember them trying to decide which car to keep after they bought a new '72 Buick station wagon, not needing 3 cars.
The Camaro got better fuel mileage than the 442, so they kept the Camaro.


Luckily for me when I was in my teens they still had the Camaro.
My Step-Father had a home milk delivery business at the time.
We made a deal that I would work for him during my summer breaks from school for a few years until I had earned enough money to buy the Camaro.
I was 15 when the car was officially paid for.


Part of the deal I made with my Step-Father was that I could not modify it to a point that it could not be restored back to it's original state.  Also, I could not install headers, fancy intake manifolds and carbs and no cutting holes in it.
By making this deal he had preserved what is now becoming a collector's dream.

The sleeper Super Sport L30/M20 Camaro I still own 33 years later.

The L30/M20 Camaros

The L30/M20 Camaros were built in 1967 and 1968.
They had the L30 275 HP/327, the M20 Saginaw 4 speed transmission, and most had the 12 bolt rear axle. In 1967 they had the factory traction bar mounting in place.  Some may have had the traction bar installed, this car did not.  In 1968 they had multileaf leaf springs to help traction.
Production figures listed in the quote below are for both years combined.
Here is a link to more information about these L30/M20 Camaros:  L30/M20 Information


Quote from this link:
How Many...?
How many L30/M20s were built? While Chevrolet recorded how many of each individual option was built (for details on option production quantities, see the link to the CRG option spreadsheet), there is no traceable record of how many option combinations like the L30/M20 were sold. However, a source has provided CRG some as-yet untraceable information, supposedly from a GM production survey, that indicates that a total of 12,155 L30/M20s were built.¹³

To supplement the above as-yet untraceable production number, we can make an educated guess of production numbers, based on V8 engine and transmission usage, from the single option production data that is repeated in the table below. While the estimate could be approached from several different ways, the calculation below is made in the following manner: 1) Determine the percentage of L30 engines relative to total V8s engine. 2) Determine the number of M20 transmissions used in V8s (total number of M20s minus an estimate for limited number of M20 transmissions used on L6 cars - 2.7% of M20s, based on a sampling of data available to CRG). 3) Multiply the percentage of L30s by the number of V8 M20s and the result is a rough estimate of the number of L30s mounted to M20 transmissions. This two-year estimate of 11,029 is close to the unconfirmed GM production number of 12,155 L30/M20s. Depending on which number is used, L30/M20s comprised only 2.4 to 2.7% of all Camaros built in these years.

Production quantities this low put the L30/M20 on a par, quantity-wise, with models like the 1967-69 SS with the L78 396ci-375HP engine (9464 built) or the 1968-69 SS with the L34 396ci-350HP engine (4597 built), and significantly more rare than other very desirable production models like the SS-350 or the 1968-69 Z28. Given the relative lack of respect that this poorly appreciated option combination has enjoyed, these forty years later it is likely that surviving original L30/M20s are counted in the hundreds rather than the thousands.


By comparison:
7,199 1968 Z-28's made
20,302 1969 Z-28's made

I am selling this 1967 L30/M20 Camaro I have owned for 33 years.
It is an awesome car.  It has never had headers or other aftermarket performance parts, and I have tried to keep every bolt on it correct.

More about this Camaro

I have the original Protect-O-Plate (POP), Owners Manual, envelope, accessory pamphlet, new vehicle inspection, and state saftey inspection that came in the glove box with the car.
Also kept in the envelope is the original stretch cord that held the plastic on the driver seat when car was new.

Protect O Plate shown in bottom left in picture above.

Print of the Protect O Plate:

The 327 is the original 327 that the car came with, and the 12 bolt Posi rear axle is also the original.
Both of these have date codes that match the POP.
I rebuilt the 327 when I did the frame off restoration on this car in 1987.

Picture from around 1990 after restoration.

The 327 has all the original components that came with the car including cylinder heads, intake manifold, and crank shaft.  See "The 327" post below for more information.

The rear axle ratio was a 3.07 from the factory, and I changed the ratio to 3.73 when I rebuilt the axle, replacing the posi-traction plates also.  I have the original undamaged 3.07 gear set and shims, and will include these with the sale of the car.  See "The 12 bolt axle" post below for more information.


The Saginaw 4 speed is not the original unit that came with the car, and does not have a matching date code.
Some research I have done indicates that it is the correct transmission for an early build L30/M20.  It has the aftermarket Hurst shifter installed on it.
The original shifter would lock up due to being wore out, so it was replaced around 1976 with the Hurst before I got the car.  See "The Saginaw 4 speed" post below for more on the transmission.


Also, it has the factory gauge option installed, but the car came with a standard console without gauges originally.
See "Interior" post below form more information.


The steering wheel is from a deluxe interior, and is incorrect for the car.  I have the original steering wheel that came with the car and will include it with the sale of the car.  It has some cracks, but could be restored.
The park brake, clutch, brake, and gas pedals have the stainless trim on them.  This trim can be removed.  Originally, the car did not have this trim.
When the car was restored, both rear quarter panels were replaced.  All other sheet-metal on the car is original.  The paint is lacquer, and is starting to crack.

The original spare tire and wheel that came with the car is still in the trunk. The Nantucket blue paint is original, and the tire still has nubs on the tread!


The battery was replaced November 2011.

The 327

The 327 was rebuilt in 1988.  It has .030 oversized flat top pistons, and the 350 HP 327 spec cam.  The crankshaft was not ground, only polished and is still using standard size bearings.

The 327 has all the original components that came with the car including cylinder heads, intake manifold, and crank shaft.

The original Carter Quadra-Jet had the lead plugs leak, and it was replaced around 1980.

The POP lists the carburetor manufacturer as Carter, and the Q-Jet now on the car is a Rochester, but is from the same era so it looks correct.

From this Link the numbers on this carb are for a '67 for a Chevrolet with AIR and an automatic.

As far as I can remember, the alternator, starter, and distributor are all original.  I remember rebuilding them as they wore out rather than replacing them.  

The oil filter is the original steel canister type.  Never has been converted to the spin on type filter.

The Saginaw 4 speed

Casting number 3890564

Date code R7A09.. If only this code was R7C20 it would match the POP!

This is not the original transmission from the car.
Unfortunately, I blew it up during my stupid years in High School showing off while dragging Main.
I think that this transmission is out of an early build L30/M20 Camaro. It has the 1966 casting number on the side of the case, but has a '67 build date code.  The code is not the same code that is on the POP.
I have the original reverse light switch still working attached to the transmission.
This transmission was disassembled and inspected in November of 2011 after I rounded it up from a good friend.  It looked brand new inside, I couldn't believe how nice it was so I took a few pictures.
I cleaned up the case, and painted it with high temp cast iron paint.
I did some research, and found a '67 L30M20 convert that had the same casting number from the factory as this transmission.  Here is a link to that article:  Saginaw Casting Number
Look near the end of the posts.

The 12 bolt axle

The original 12 bolt rear axle and traction bar bracket and mounting are still in the car.

This car did not have a bar in place when received by my Dad.

 Factory traction bar bracket

 Factory traction bar body bracket mounting location

As mentioned, this car came with 3.07 gear ratio, but has 3.73 ratio currently.
I have the undamaged 3.07 gear set and shims that will be included with sale of the car.