Who built and sold the first 427 Camaros?

[1967Z28]

I have to admit I have not really followed the 427 cars to see if this has been figured out already. I ran across this article in Competition Press/Autoweek and as you can see from the date (Nov. 7, 1966) in the attached article it says that Dana "is the first on the scene to offer a (427) Super Camaro". I thought that date of Nov. 7 was pretty early. Anybody know of an earlier article or advertisement for a 427 Camaro?

-Jon

[Late BrakeU2]

I'm not aware of any other articles,but I was speaking to Dick G. last weekend about this very same question,and he did confirm it was the fall of 66 when they were working on that project.

[William]

The Nickey conversion featured in the January 67 Tach magazine was done on a very early production '67 SS350-has no fender flags or '350' emblems.

Exactly who did the first may never be known. Dana, Bill Thomas, Nickey [Harrell], Yenko, Motion all converted '67s.

[1967Z28]

Is it possible the 350 engine ID was removed and the paint touched up in that area? Here is page 1 of another article from late November '66. It talks about the Yenko/Dana connection and also mentions the newly formed connection between Nickey and Bill Thomas.

-Jon

[1967Z28]

Here is page 2 from the same article (11-29-66).

-Jon

[JChlupsa]

Neat stuff Jon, Anyone have an idea on what other dealers were linked with DANA outside of themselves and Yenko.

Comier Chevy down the street from DANA?? or what other West Coast dealers??

[427TJ]

Interesting--in the first clipping they mention use of the 385hp 427 for conversion. Isn't that the '67 Impala SS 427 unit? Also interesting to read Penske's comments on the new Camaro. I guess he soon warmed up to the idea of racing it!

I think it would be fascinating to know which dealer performed the very first big-block swap into a '67 Camaro. I think it's safe to say that the performance-minded dealers (and Motion) were all thinking the same thing when the Camaro debuted: 427! <font color="red"> </font>

[Stefano]

Very cool article! No doubt that all the Key players, which we admire today, had intentions, to put a big block into the Camaro, as soon as they could get their hands on one.

Based on info shared with me, Nickey was ready to perform Conversions even before the first Camaro ever hit the dealership's parking lot.

Dickie Harrell started his deal with Nickey, in January of 1966 and was instrumental in bringing the Nickey Camaro into fruition.

Nickey had a vault in the basement, of the dealership. It was a room made of cinder blocks, with a steal door and lock, where all the counter/crate engines and special parts were kept.

According to those who were there, back in the day, Nickey had a team of (5)Elite Master Technicians, along with complete engines and parts ready to go, before the first Camaro ever arrived.

This was not an after thought for Nickey. The Bill Thomas alliance was primarily established, to fullfill orders and demand, for Nickey Camaros, on the West Coast.

[1967Z28]

Thanks, Stefano. That is some neat information. I hadn't heard about that vault in the basement. It does seem to make sense that some of the high-profile dealers were thinking of swapping big blocks into Camaros right from the start but I don't recall ever hearing of one built prior to approximately December '66. Has anybody seen an earlier 427 (or 396) dealer-conversion prior to 12/66? Who currently has the earliest known 427 dealer-converted (or Motion, or Bill Thomas) Camaro?

-Jon

[Stefano]

Still don't know for certain. But based on the research and info we have, we know that the 427 Conversions were ready to roll prior to Dec '66. Nickey was advertising 3 "ready to drive away" 427 Conversions in at least one magazine dated November 1966.

The objective was to get 50 completed and sold as soon as possible. If you look at the initial advertised price of the conversion Camaros you will see that they were not holding out for big profits.

The factory did not hesitate to roll out the SS 350 Camaro, as it was more profitable than a std base Camaro and there was a pent up demand for GMs new "Pony" car.