It is not often that a guy can marry a woman while keeping a relationship with his first love right in the same house. It is even rarer for his wife to insist he do so. Such is the case for Anthony R., wife Valerie, and his first love, a ‘68 Camaro. He was first smitten in 1984, when he was in high school. He had intended to buy a ‘65 Mustang from a dealer, but it needed work and the dealer offered to loan him the Camaro while it was being fixed. When he saw it, Anthony said forget the Mustang, he wanted the Camaro. It was painted black with a white striping (where it got its “skunk” nickname and “SKUNKEM” license plates) and a dyed-black interior. It had few options, but did have power steering and brakes. Performance-wise, it was nothing great, with an in-line six and Powerglide two-speed auto trans. But Anthony didn’t care. He was in love. Fortune smiled on him when a friend who was a mechanic had a lady come in with a ‘67 Camaro with a 327 CID V-8 who complained it had too much power. So Anthony had his six swapped for her eight, changing the front springs to handle the extra weight. He later put in a beefier Turbo 350 three-speed auto trans. He has also replaced much of the dyed upholstery with new, black pieces, put on a cowl-induction hood and replaced the wheels with chrome Cragars. When he proposed to Valerie in 1993, he planned to sell the Camaro to buy a nice engagement ring. But Valerie knew that in time he would regret the sale and convinced him to keep it. He is glad he listened. For a time, he parked it, but got it back on the road about seven years ago. Having had bouts with cancer and finding that he has multiple sclerosis have curtailed his driving of late. He has written a book about his struggles, titled *Just Tell Me When You’re Going to Stick Me* and will be signing copies at Grass Valley’s Booktown Books this Saturday from 1 pm ‘til 3pm (an easy stop if you’re at the Grass Valley car show already). More info on that is available at www.facebook.com/JustTellMeWhen. But Anthony still loves his car and joined the Roamin Angels last year. Although Valerie has refused to drive the Camaro as of this writing, he hopes to change that. He wants to cruise with the Angels with both his loves.

This first-generation Camaro body style is by far the most popular with collectors. It was the inspiration for the design of the current fifth-generation Camaro. 1968 had a few changes from 1967, like no windwings and added side marker lights.

With sporty bucket seats and console shift, the Camaro was Chevy’s answer to the Mustang. Fuzzy dice were not a factory option and are an aftermarket accessory.

Anthony is glad he changed from the original 250 CID six to this 327 CID V-8 ( an option in 1968), but found mileage dropped. He has dressed up the engine with chrome and polished aluminum.

© 2010 Ron Cherry