The Drive Continues... - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

RedRaven · 03-05-2013, 08:03 PM

Today I said goodbye to an old friend.

My father passed away in July of 1997. From late ’97 or early ’98 until June of 2012 I had been driving what used to be his car. It was a 1983 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta, 5.0L (305) V8, not V6. My two daughters got some of their driving experience in it. My youngest planted the front bumper firmly underneath the rear bumper of an F-150 one day. I never got around to completely repairing the damage. I drove it “Road Warrior” style for about 7 years. I put a nice stereo in it. It had T-tops. When my wife and I needed to unwind we’d take it out for an evening drive with the tops off and crank up the stereo.

Prior to my father, my sister had the car. She bought it when it was only a couple of years old.

I replaced the transmission once and the engine twice. The second engine went in with a cam and small chamber heads (high compression & higher performance). Dad had put headers on and my brother had welded up full dual exhaust before Dad passed. To me this car was a 15 year conversation with my dad after his passing. It had over 300,000 miles on it.

In June, 2012 the transmission started going out. First I lost 4th gear, then 1st & 2nd started binding. I decided I wasn’t going to put any more money into her. Time to find something else. I started looking for a 4th Generation Camaro with a V8. Not much luck for a reasonable price. My wife told me to “Just get what you’ve been drooling over for the last 3 years”. That’s when I bought the 2012 Camaro 2SS. But that’s another story.

Today the Berlinetta rolled out of our driveway under the new ownership of a young man who promises to fix her up and drive her every day, and keep us updated on his progress. He recognized right away that she was loved, and had a long family history. He promised to keep up the tradition. I can think of no better person to hand her over to. Thank you Sir.

The Drive Continues…

06_warrior · 03-05-2013, 08:06 PM

Cool story! Lots of memories for sure. Looks like a Delorean with the front missing the bumper.

2xSSRS · 03-05-2013, 08:06 PM

I totally understand...

asalomon · 03-05-2013, 08:18 PM

Chevy runs deep! I can see you guys are into the red cars! Nice story, great tradition

RedRaven · 03-05-2013, 08:49 PM

My dad was a Master Technician who taught Automotive a the local Community College for 25 years. Worked as mechanic, service writer, service mgr at most of the GM dealers in town at some point. Drove GM exculsively except when he had a demo from Datsun in the early '70s. I cut my teeth helping him with tuneups on weekends & got to drive some great cars when I turned 16. He'd drop take me to town to drive the cars home while he got parts. By the time I was 20 I could do a head-mill, rings & bearings on my Datsun pickup in a weekend.

03-05-2013, 08:03 PM	#1
RedRaven Drives: 2012 2SS M6 CRT Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Alachua, Fl Posts: 251	The Drive Continues... Today I said goodbye to an old friend. My father passed away in July of 1997. From late ’97 or early ’98 until June of 2012 I had been driving what used to be his car. It was a 1983 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta, 5.0L (305) V8, not V6. My two daughters got some of their driving experience in it. My youngest planted the front bumper firmly underneath the rear bumper of an F-150 one day. I never got around to completely repairing the damage. I drove it “Road Warrior” style for about 7 years. I put a nice stereo in it. It had T-tops. When my wife and I needed to unwind we’d take it out for an evening drive with the tops off and crank up the stereo. Prior to my father, my sister had the car. She bought it when it was only a couple of years old. I replaced the transmission once and the engine twice. The second engine went in with a cam and small chamber heads (high compression & higher performance). Dad had put headers on and my brother had welded up full dual exhaust before Dad passed. To me this car was a 15 year conversation with my dad after his passing. It had over 300,000 miles on it. In June, 2012 the transmission started going out. First I lost 4th gear, then 1st & 2nd started binding. I decided I wasn’t going to put any more money into her. Time to find something else. I started looking for a 4th Generation Camaro with a V8. Not much luck for a reasonable price. My wife told me to “Just get what you’ve been drooling over for the last 3 years”. That’s when I bought the 2012 Camaro 2SS. But that’s another story. Today the Berlinetta rolled out of our driveway under the new ownership of a young man who promises to fix her up and drive her every day, and keep us updated on his progress. He recognized right away that she was loved, and had a long family history. He promised to keep up the tradition. I can think of no better person to hand her over to. Thank you Sir. The Drive Continues… Attached Images __________________ 2012 2SS M6 CRT SOLD! - - 1983 Berlinetta, 305HO, Comp 235 cam, shorties First real car: 1968 Malibu, '67 283, Canary yellow

03-05-2013, 08:06 PM	#3
2xSSRS Drives: 2017 SS Black on Black A8 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Ohio Posts: 974	I totally understand... __________________

03-05-2013, 08:49 PM	#5
RedRaven Drives: 2012 2SS M6 CRT Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Alachua, Fl Posts: 251	My dad was a Master Technician who taught Automotive a the local Community College for 25 years. Worked as mechanic, service writer, service mgr at most of the GM dealers in town at some point. Drove GM exculsively except when he had a demo from Datsun in the early '70s. I cut my teeth helping him with tuneups on weekends & got to drive some great cars when I turned 16. He'd drop take me to town to drive the cars home while he got parts. By the time I was 20 I could do a head-mill, rings & bearings on my Datsun pickup in a weekend. __________________ 2012 2SS M6 CRT SOLD! - - 1983 Berlinetta, 305HO, Comp 235 cam, shorties First real car: 1968 Malibu, '67 283, Canary yellow

03-05-2013, 08:06 PM	#2
06_warrior Drives: 2012 1SS LS3 M6 black on black :) Join Date: May 2012 Location: SD Posts: 1,342	Cool story! Lots of memories for sure. Looks like a Delorean with the front missing the bumper.

03-05-2013, 08:18 PM	#4
asalomon Drives: GMC Sierra Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Toronto Posts: 83	Chevy runs deep! I can see you guys are into the red cars! Nice story, great tradition