Big bucks for right-hook ’67 Camaro

It’s no secret that Australian muscle cars have been attracting large – and ever-increasing – prices in recent years.

At the recent Shannons Summer Classic Auction in Melbourne, for instance, a Monaro HX GTS 5.0-litre four-door sold for $51,000 – almost twice the sum Shannons estimated pre-auction.

Now, though, the upward trend in the local market looks as though it’s crossing over to include American muscle.

Chev Camaros in good condition have always attracted decent gures. But at the Shannons Sydney Autumn Classic Auction in March, a ’67 model Camaro 350 manual changed hands for a particularly decent gure: a cool $84,000.

As it happens, this white RS model appeared in our last issue (#107) in our Muscle Mail section. Owner Nick Skalkos wrote to AMC in response to our right-hand-drive Camaro cover story from the previous issue, speculating that his car might have been one of the Victorian dealer-delivered Camaros referred to in the story.

In the past, the fact that Camaros like Nick’s have been converted to right-hand drive means they’re seen as less desirable in the land where the market for these cars is biggest – North America. After all, why go to the trouble of importing a second-hand Camaro, Pontiac or Mustang with the steering wheel on the wrong side when there are left-hand-drive examples in abundance closer to home? (Or at home, for that matter).

We wonder, though, about the effect the Camaro nameplate’s reintroduction via HSV might be having on the desirability of old Camaros. Might it be that as HSV’s right-hook Camaros begin to become a more familiar presence on Australian roads, there will be an increased awareness of, and fondness for, the earlier models?

Especially as HSV rolls out the rst 2019 2SS models with manual transmission, along with the exciting ZL1 performance version.

Time will tell: in the meantime we’ll be keeping a keen eye on the market for classic American muscle in right-hand drive.