I defy any self-respecting modern ‘planet-saving’ EV owner not to be moved by the rumble and throb of a classic, dinosaur-fueled American V8 muscle car. That recently happened to me when a mint, and completely unrestored metallic blue ’67 350 Chevy Camaro RS/SS growled up next to me at the Kingscliff Beach Hotel on a sunny spring day. Even better, an attractive young blonde lady emerged from the driver’s side of the right-hand converted classic, followed by a more mature gent, occupying the passenger seat.
Being the conscientious contributor to this mag that I am, I sprang in to action and ventured forth to uncover the story behind the Camaro’s sudden and startling intrusion into my life.
While Sophia and her father-in-law Peter were in a bit of a hurry at the time, they kindly let slip that the car had been in the one family since it was purchased by Sam Carthew in 1976 from the original owner, who himself had bought it brand-new in Sydney, all those years ago. Sam’s Camaro, as the family calls it, had only recently been entrusted to the third generation of Carthew ‘custodians’, namely Sophia and her car tragic partner Mark. They live between Byron Bay and Ballina on the NSW north coast.
