Full Story Of The First Camaro Ever Built N100001

built-in secret Fisher body began work on the first Camaro on May 17 1966 the coach was delivered to Chevrolet by fiser Body on May 21st where the final assembly then began on the first fcar under the Norwood pilot production car program n1001 is the very first build of the handbuilt 49 car pilot assembly test program designated for the General Motors Norwood assembly plant this first of the first was produced and configured with a 230 cub in engine three-speed transmission white wall tires push button radio front antenna and Deluxe seat belts interestingly it was also equipped with a 110 volt static Lighting Display to be used at General Motors sales conventions built for the product launch with show paint required it was lightly equipped to accommodate the opening days of the pilot build and also to appeal to the masses in pricing and safety features when it was finished it was stored hidden until its inaugural uses as an assembly test mule and Chevrolet product line unveiling display car it was during its time in secret storage that Pete Estus held a dramatic 10: a.m. 14 City Network news conference and officially released the name Camaro to the world up until that moment all pilot cars had been built without even even knowing a name the Camaro was received by the automotive press to much enthusiasm and was estimated to account for 12% of Chevrolet production in 1967 the number one Camaro was used as an assembly test mu before being required by GM employee D Reeves at 6030 Cass Avenue in Detroit on August 1 1966 this was prior to the unveiling of the Camaro later that same month at the Sheran Cadillac Hotel it was at this convention that RTS first saw the sports coupe and used his influence inside the Camaro division to request and receive this first build from the product unveiling full production of the Chevrolet Camaro line began on August 7 1966 at the Norwood plant it was the engineering knowledge and revisions from the information gleaned during the pilot program that made this a smooth transition Jim Sim Pilot Car coordinator was was in charge of making these engineering revisions based upon the feedback he was receiving from the multitude of vendors involved as well as the pilot program employees in ' 65 is when the word came that uh we were going to be the ones to do the Camaro so they needed somebody to be the coordinator between the plant and the engineers the central office so they decided I would be the one to do that and that's when I was transferred to uh the assembly research up in up in Flint Michigan with a sales convention complete in Detroit for the release of the 1967 Camaro to the Chevrolet dealers of the world affectionately known as men of action the first Camaro was shipped to the tech center in Warren Michigan for a photo shoot that would include press release photos in still photography as well as color promotional videos to be used by General Motors it can be recognized in multiple photographic forms gracing the images with its signature 1967 vanity plates curiously the car appears with and without the single small block letter emblem used on the deck lids and headers on the front fenders with no holes drilled for this build it is thought that these badges were applied with a small amount of double-sided tape for the purposes of photos and then removed after the photo shoot shortly after this shoot press release photos were circulated across the country to newspapers around September 8 1966 for the new Camaro rollout at local dealerships for the end of the month of September after its appearances at sales conventions in Detroit and Kansas City in the last half of 1966 the first Camaro was shipped back to Flint Michigan for removal of the specialized static display lighting by GM for reuse and the car was then shipped to RTR A's High Performance Chevrolet in Yukon Oklahoma in December of 1966 RT airs recognizing the sales potential of having the first build in his inventory took delivery in December of 66 he had become a prominent driving force in the midwest selling and specializing in the high performance models of the day after relocating his family from Kentucky to Yukon Oklahoma in 1957 transitioning from nylon design manufacturer and distribution for the air craft industry he quickly went into Partnership of his brother's pre-existing car dealership Yukon Pontiac and began his Ascent to the top given his background in nylon in late 1959 he convinced upper management at Pontiac to listen to his expertise in seat belt manufacturer his ideas were ultimately implemented years later and a lifelong friend in semon bunkey nudson was formed nudson with pet Estus by his side for years became close friends with rt airs it was these relationships that drove airs to travel extensively and stay in constant touch with a quickly changing landscape it was because of his relationship with the Inner Circle that RT bought the local Chevrolet dealership in 1962 he was aware of the management changes underway and the refocus of the product lines away from Pontiac to Chevrolet it was no coincidence that airs immediately closed the Pontiac dealership and turned his Focus to Chevrolet exclusively RTS Jr recalls the evening that his father bought the Chevrolet dealership in impromptu fashion at the Yukon Roundup Club in the summer of 1962 saying dad was listening to Mr Barrett vent about the trials and tribulations of running the store Mr Barrett drink in hand voiced that if he could sell the store and retire he would my dad removed his checkbook from his pocket and wrote a $5,000 escro check on the spot the family's relationship with top brass continued for years with rt airs Junior sharing correspondence additionally with bunkey nudson with delivery of the first Camaro in December of 1966 Mr SS used it as a sales tool and it remained on the showroom floor for 2 years and 5 months recalling the presence of the glory years RT airs Jr said dad always had the cool stuff I drove a 435 horsepower Corvette as a demo to high school scared the hell out of me it was during this time during the muscle car craze that Mr SS and his family gained so much ACC claim locally they were active in philanthropic Endeavors and never met a stranger the dealership was located on historic Route 66 Camaro number one was sold to the first owner Linda Johnston of Oklahoma City 2 and 1/2 years later on on April 5th 1969 paying full sticker of $2,550 at delivery with no leans it is clear that she knew the Allure of the car it is thought that there was a family connection between her and her father and The Heirs family because the two families are buried within 200 ft of one another in the same obscure Cemetery outside of Yukon Oklahoma Miss Johnston enjoyed the car until December 5th 1975 when the car was sold to a dealer in Frederick Oklahoma Linda never married was never blessed with children lived her entire life with her parents in the same home and is buried with both of her parents at Resurrection Cemetery JS auto supply of Frederick Oklahoma took just under 3 months to sell the car again for full sticker the purchase price to the second owner being the same amount that was paid for the car new it is clear again that both parties knew the significance of the VIN number 7 years later when delivery was taken the used car dealership was owned by Jerry Strickland and Mr Hatfield until it dissolved years later the second owner Alvis Harper purchased the Car locally on February 28th 1976 for his son Sam understanding the uniqueness of the car they enjoyed the car together until the untimely death of Sam on August 31 1982 Elvis distraught over the loss of his young son sold the Camaro within weeks of his son's death with the loss of his only son in his early 30s the sight of the car was more than he could bear Alvis passed on January 13 1998 he was survived by his wife Sue and daughter Kathy the two still reside in Frederick Oklahoma and own the Tanglewood Motel Together Al tipy of Oklahoma City then purchased the car from The Grieving Mr Harper in early February of 1982 Al an avid race car afficianado began disassembly of the car immediately understanding the novelty of campaigning the first Camaro he completed the disassembly carefully and saved the parts removed in his garage Al inscribed his name in the original frame when the race trim was added and complete the car was seen locally and is recognized in pictures at drag strips in NH at Amarillo Green Valley and Oklahoma City the car was driven and owned by multiple participants and it is thought that the historical significance of the initial build was lost to the owners in the late 1980s when it was put into long-term storage Jin Sims of Norman Oklahoma purchased the car and its unknown Providence and significance on February 21 2009 with the intention to race the car with his two sons locally interestingly the car was purchased again for approxim o imately the same initial sale price of the car approximately $2,500 he discovered the possible significance of the build when the VIN number was requested by his local Home Insurance Agency a frenzied research and study began that proved more than the owner could navigate prior to the original pilot documentation discovered during the research and writing of the book Echoes of Norwood by Phil Boris Jin worn down by the economic collapse of 20 8 2009 decided to offer the car for sale and use the proceeds to change careers the current owners of the first Camaro saw the car advertised and dropped everything to personally view the car that day understanding and recognizing the historic nature of the find the car was purchased on October 26 2010 with very little reassurance to Historic documentation the car was authenticated by these owners because of the existence of unrec ized patterns of assembly lack of Fisher body stampings and the existence of the unmolested vinag and trim tag relying completely on their own local research they embarked on a four-year-long historical study and restoration process it was during an exhaustive search history that spanned multiple states that an unlikely acquaintance was made in Kent Van Hook at the Oklahoma Tax Commission responding to a personal plea for original documentation that spanned almost 50 years Kent researched the archives of Oklahoma titles for the historic build it was at that time that the local Providence of the car was found to have existed within the state of Oklahoma its entire life outside of its original build test and display with the presence of the historical evidence the new owners began the arduous process of locating and interviewing all the prior owners and historic nature of its past leaving no Stones unturned and doing everything in person all history of the car was documented with General Motors shipping receipts research provided by the ncrs the original dealer was located although recently deceased his son was able to verify the early history of the Providence the first owner and her family were found to be deceased as was the second owner and his son speaking to survived family members and piecing of the original documents at every moment it was during this process that the original part removed for the race car build were recovered it was a chance encounter at the local auto parts store while doing research on the deceased Alvis Harper that led to the race car builder Al tipy Al suffering from Advanced Parkinson's agreed to sell the contents of his garage in its entirety only a trailer load of multiple bill takeoffs then was procured and the restoration Started Mr tipy passed away peacefully soon thereafter the race car builder bought B the car in February of 1982 and immediately started the disassembly of the car uh he he saved the parts and the the car went and was was campaigned and we have pictures of the of the car being campaigned straight line drag and uh it was campaign until the the late 80s and that's when it was put into storage and at that point that's where we feel like U uh the the the knowledge of the historical significance behind the car was lost um the the race car builder knew the historical significance which is why he saved the parts uh from the pilot program when they were removed and we were able to find him before he passed and we were able to to pick up all those parts while at Norwood the first Camaro was used as a Chassy side assembly test mule as one would expect with the first F car produced its first and original 230 cubic inch engine three-speed transmission one of the very last items installed in the car came right out of the standard assembly stock for that time with a motor build date of August 3rd 1966 the date on the original motor was quite a mystery as the pilot Data Book for this car indicated a preference ship date as August 1st in the case of Camaro VIN number one uh that car was scheduled to be up in Flint Michigan for a sales convention uh at a certain point and up in Detroit for sales activities at a certain point which would have fallen around the the 1st of August uh that was obviously delayed for a period of time because when we were able to access the uh build documents for the car the shipper documents for the car we're able to determine that the car had a ship date of August the 10th now this is not entirely unusual now a shipper document defines when the car is technically complete from a production standpoint in other words you can build on the car right up until the day before the shipper documents are issued the car is technically not complete but when the shipper document is released and the car is is scheduled for a shipper that means the car is technically production complete so this number one car was worked on and tested right up until a few days before it was released for shipment and as a result uh it got an engine that's very very close to its ship date that was one of the more intriguing parts of the of the research is is having all those pieces the puzzle come together you know the car had a due date up the sales Convention of the 1st of August but yet the ship date was actually the uh the 10th of August and the the engine was built and assembled right in between that short period of time which makes sense I mean if you're going to you're going to build a car you're going to grab an engine right off the assembly line and say okay this is the engine that's supposed to go in this okay let's put this engine in this car the restoration process began in late 2012 and finished in May of 2014 recognizing the Monumental gravity of the historic build no expense was spared with the goal being use of only original GM parts this was achieved with the exception of one reproduction seat cover and a carpet set great length and great expense was tasked to save the original sheet metal and parts to the initial pilot build recognition is given to Dave Hannah of Sterling Classics for his time and expertise in the restoration process within weeks of the completion of the restoration and with all ownership history procured the owners reached out to the BM Heritage Center for help uncovering any early Factory documentation with a personal touch of Christo datini an introduction to Phil Boris ensued Phil and Jim s were able to provide early Factory documentation of the build as well as information thought to be lost previously the car was invited to a local UAW retirees convention and everyone met personally for the first time ceremoniously the car was unveiled to GM Norwood employees yet again for the second time as the now restored build came full circle returning to greet the people who built it originally so many years [Music] ago

Channel: PilotCarRegistry

Views: 522,452

Keywords: First Generation Chevrolet Camaro (Automobile Generation), Best, Story, Ever, Chevrolet Camaro (Automobile Model), Auto Show (Event), Greatest, N100001, Pilot, Program, GM Heritage, Norwood, GM, General Motors, Chevy, Camaro, Chevrolet, HVA, Historical Vehicle Association, Vintage, First, Piolt Car, RS, SS, Sports Car, SEMA, Barrett Jackson, #1, Racecar, Heritage, Muscle Car, Z28, ZL1, velocity channel, velocity, speed, speed netwok, gold, golden car, first car

Id: 4cGzwpLRHm8

Length: 18min 0sec (1080 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 23 2014