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Have you always loved the blacked-out tail panel look that appears on the Berger Camaros?

This 1973 Camaro RS Z/28 clone (a real RS, not a Z/28)had been sold to two good friends in Australia, but they both found other projects in OZ to take on instead. So, after 5 years of sitting around and collecting parts, I decided to do something with it. I named it Project Boomerang because it just kept coming back!

I’ve owned this Camaro for the past eleven years– I purchased it at the Spring Daytona swap meet in March of 2002. I had decided I wanted a project car to work on, as I had always wanted a ‘69 Camaro for that exact purpose. My plan was to work on the project as funds became available. I thought that it would take as little as 5 years, (depending on the condition of the car, of course). As I walked around the Daytona Swap Meet that day it looked like I wasn’t going to find my project car. All the Camaros found were already restored and were commanding at least $35-$40 thousand dollars.

Ever since my first car, a 1975 Camaro, I’ve always had a Camaro in my life. That is, until my four children came along and the Camaro was traded in for a Suburban! Fast forward 20 years and with the kids in college, I decided it was time once again to renew my love for Camaros. I started searching for a ‘69 retro-rod. I looked for about six months, but everything I found was well above my price range.

One day while traveling down the Interstate I saw a 2000 SS Camaro that really caught my eye. I modified my search to include a Gen 4 SS. I found the perfect car just 20 miles from my home, and I just had to have it.

It did not take long for Bill Panouses to get hooked. The local East Milone, IL paper, a ’68 Camaro, and a test ride were all it took.

Feeling his heart pump wildly as the owner slammed through the gears on the test ride confirmed to Bill that there would be a time when he owned a ’68 Camaro. “It was the ride of my life!” exclaimed Bill.

Quadrajet: Air flow at 90o air-valve opening

1-3/32-in. venturi (primary)                                                        750

1-7/32-in. venturi (primary)                                                        800

 

Dualjet

1-3/32-in. venturi                                                                        227

1-7/32-in. venturi                                                                        287

 

Varajet (staged 2-barrel)

28mm primary                                                                            375

30mm primary                                                                            397

 

While many folks are content with slapping on a new set of front discs, very few people take the time to do it right and upgrade the rear as well. There’s a host of reasons to pitch out those old shoes and slap on a set of rotors, the obvious one being vastly superior braking advantages. Control is another one. Most older cars are nose heavy to say the least. Travelling 60 mph in a 4000 lb. vehicle and dropping the anchor on a car that’s front-only disc brake equipped can bring about some scary end swapping. A quality set of rear discs can keep the rear end at bay and greatly reduce stopping distances. Add not having the hassle of replacing worn shoes, and the conversion route is starting to look pretty worthwhile.

Whether you call it a Tri-Power, a six pack, or triple two-barrels, multiple carburetion is considered a high performance package. Even if they do run poorly, the “eye candy” appeal under the hood is unmistakable. Like most multiple carburetion, the Rochester 2G carburetors in this application do not work very well. In an effort to keep tuning simple for service technicians, only the center carburetor was made with an idle circuit. A person only needs to adjust the two idle mixture screws, just like any other two or four-barrel single carburetor.

I purchased this ’71 Camaro SS from Jim Rathmann Chevrolet in Melbourne, FL. At the time, I was working at the local Publix grocery store and living at home and I needed reliable transportation. I ordered the car in March with almost every option available, and then talked my mother into co-signing for the GMAC loan. I wanted an SS because the Z/28 didn’t come with air conditioning, and after all, I lived in Florida. I also realized that big blocks wouldn’t be around much longer. I decided against the RS package, because the car was going to be parked in a grocery store parking lot, and I saw how people parked head-on there. Besides, I liked the full bumper look.