Tagged with 'florida'

Tom Panaseny grew up on Long Island, NY helping his Dad work on the family cars. In 1969, his neighbor drove home in a new 1969 Camaro Indy Pace Car - white with orange stripes and orange interior. Tom thought it was the coolest car he’d ever seen. It made a lasting impression, and started his love of Camaros.

Money was tight in the early ’70s, so Tom’s first cruiser ended up being a tired old ’64 Mustang, beat up from many years enduring NY winters. It did not take long though, before Tom joined his Chevelle and ’Cuda driving friends and built a total performance 1923 T-bucket with blown 350, and “all of the good stuff.” Talk about one extreme to another!

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.

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.