Anyone know of a "Waikiki Special" 68 rag Camaro?

[hubleyman]

Me again with another odd question....
While cruising through this site I saw a user name of Hawaiin Camaro (or something like that) which reminded me of something I haven't thought about or heard of in ages......
Didn't they make a few 1968 Camaro convertibles known as Waikiki Specials? I remember seeing something like that with woodgrain side decals, a surfboard mounted on top, square headlights, tube grill???????
Just curious if they ever existed (or still do), you guys seem to find all kinds of "unique' cars...... Charlie

[Mr70]

Here is some past text:
"Chevrolet has shown a wide array of Camaro concepts to the public over the past thirty or so years, including some beauties when the model was in its infancy. The first was the Waikiki Camaro, a convertible for the surfer crowd. Its sides were adorned with fake wood paneling, its tubular grille had rectangular headlamps, and it rode on spoke wheels. Naturally, if had a rack for your surfboard. As the decade was coming to a close, Chevy attached the Caribe name to a Camaro. Like many dream cars of the era, this one had a targa top. But instead of a backseat, the Caribe's roof swept back into a pickup truck bed, a la the El Camino. Another favorite was the Kammback, a sporty wagon based on the second-generation Camaro, which hearkened back to the Corvette Nomad wagon from the '54 Motorama".

Marty Schorr has a rearend view pic of the "Cherokee" on page 47 in "Chevrolet-The Performance Years".

[JChlupsa]

http://www.yenko.net/photos/data/500/P6013646.JPG
http://www.yenko.net/photos/data/500/P6013653.JPG

[WILMASBOYL78]

Aren't those vent windows a 67 only item??

wilma

[njsteve]

...and isn't that New York in the background?

[427TJ]

[ QUOTE ]
...and isn't that New York in the background?

[/ QUOTE ]

Or Winsdsor, Ontario? They're probably on the Detroit side looking across the river. Looks like it was about 40 degrees outside! You'd think GM Photographic would have waited for a sunny day.

[PeteLeathersac]

I was thinking about this car earlier in the week too....what ever happened to it? . The windshield looks lower than stock....kind've speedster'ish? . I never liked the look of the nose much as any pre '75' era stuff without round headlamps always seemed to look too 'homemade-custom'....goes along w/ that bad tube grille feeling? . Does the car exist or was it scrapped....you should have it Jeff? . There must be other pics, I'm pretty sure this isn't the shot I recall? . Also on Chevy customs....what year was the 'Caribe' or whatever the 4 Door ragtop Impala was called....a '65? .

~ Pete

[SSJunkie68-69]

Thats a pretty cool pic. Thanks for posting that.

Gets you wondering if there are any still around and if so what are they worth. Any idea?

[indycamaro]

Here is a Chevy design studio drawing for the car.

http://www.camaropacecars.com/Z7d/IMG_1048%20a.JPG

[67L78conv]

If I remember correctly the Caribe was a 66 4 door Impala based concept car. The top when dropped retracted fully under a hard cover. Don't know if it survived or not.

[Seattle Sam]

Jeff, cool pic!!
Wilma, It was a '67 "theme" car.
Pete, that looks like a standard height convertible windshield to me, they were a couple inches shorter than the coupe windshield.
-Sam

[mssl72]

Here's a pic of the Caribe. As stated, based on a 1966 4 door impala turned into a convertible. It has '66 Caprice tail lights, 396 and Caribe script on the rear quarter. I believe that this car is finished in the 1965 color of Evening Orchid. This is the only picture I ever seen of it. A good friend who has worked for GM for many years told me it's not around anymore, most likely crushed. I hope not. Sometimes those cars had a way of ending up in somebodies garage. I think it would be cool to build one.

http://tinypic.com/11kh6cg.jpg

[PeteLeathersac]

Hey great Mark....that's it! . Different than the pic I remember though....it was from an above angle I think but w/ girls too, probably the same photoshoot? .
What about the other 65-66 rag show car....the one w/ the 67-68 style wheel openings & hideaways....what was it called? .

~ Pete

[mssl72]

Hide-a-ways you say, hmmm. I'm not familiar with that one. I'll have to ask my GM buddy to see if he knows anything.

[PeteLeathersac]

Yep hideaways....don't know if they opened or not but had kind've '67 looking corner lamp delete pieces and a grille bar spear from each side maybe? . I think this one was a '65 ragtop....a two door this time and for sure wheel openings and a few more styling ideas of the future 67-68 cars. . I've searched a bit online but can't find anything? . GM probably sent it to Warhoop's boneyard for disposal....wonder if ol' man Warhoop saved any more of them like he squirelled away that '55 Biscayne? .

~ Pete

[mssl72]

I think this is it. It's in the Super Sports book by Terry Boyce.

http://tinypic.com/11m5if9.jpg

Here's another angle of the Caribe from the same book.

http://tinypic.com/11m5iqd.jpg

[PeteLeathersac]

The Concours...that's the one! . Really cool but some other wheels may go better? .
Besides Vettes it seems that little of this era concepts are around....I don't think GM or Bortz has any and there's supposedly nothing left at Warhoops? . They were probably all crushed there though....the Waikiki, Caribe, Concours and the others? .
There's a few other Chevy specials from this era....any more pics Mark....these are great! .

~ Pete

[Canucklehead]

I wonder how they reinforced the door post for those back doors on the caribe?. As you know thats why the doors were reversed on the 4 dr lincoln converts. Being a one off concept car they probally wer'nt to concerned about that at the time

[mssl72]

Reinforcement not needed, the girls can hold them! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

You're right, they probably weren't too concerned.

[Paul_S]

Reinforced... well, it's just a 4-door hardtop with no roof. They probably just combined the two (4-door hardtop and convert). It sure wouldn't like it year around in the rust-belt.

[Kurt S]

Waikiki background - That's Detroit. The Ren Center is right above the guy's head and I *think* that's Stroh's old HQ on the right. A Detroit native should know better than me, I don't go downtown Detroit much....

I've looked at many 4 door hardtops in junkyards. No reinforcement needed, the door posts seem to hold up fine. That area is completely stock on that show car.

[ANDY M]

Kurt, that pic was taken from the south end of Belle Isle.
Or the west end, depending on your point of view.
No way that you could see both the Ren Cen and Strohs from downtown Winsor. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif
GO TIGERS!! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/headbang.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/headbang.gif

[L-79 Nova]

Ren-Cen wasn't built until about 1975 I think.

[ANDY M]

Good point! The clue is the Penobscot building in the middle of the picture. Unmistakable profile for anybody from Detroit to identify.
The Ren Cen should be to the left, but it wasn't built yet.

[Kurt S]

Oops. At least I recognized something of the skyline.

Here's an 72 pic.
http://info.detnews.com/dn/history/rencen/images/1.jpg

[Belair62]

Looks like the Edmund Fitzgerald sailing past !!!

[D BERGER]

The Wakiki Camaro was done by a division of Chevrolet they called "Chevrolet Show and Display". the head of the department in the late 60's was a fellow named Bob Thomas. His department also did the car and engine cutaway displays for the auto shows etc. It was a little unusual because most of the concept or "Dream" cars as we called them back in the day were done by the styling dept. I saw the car on display in the GM building on West Grand Blvd. back in 1968.