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A slight detour here from the usual theme of this website, but stay with me, I haven’t taken a complete leave of my senses.....yet. It was my good buddy Bruce Thompson who told me about this movie, Aloha Bobby And Rose. It’s a road movie, touted at the time as something of a modern day (it was released in 1975) Bonnie And Clyde. I certainly wouldn’t go that far, and probably wouldn’t watch the movie for its story line. That being said, it was one of the highest grossing American films in 1975, despite being made on a budget of just $60,000. So obviously, there are plenty who loved the film more than I. But the real star, is the Camaro used throughout. This is why I’ve watched it as many times as I have.

Paul Le Mat (John Milner in American Graffiti) gets the lead in this flick. Hes the one who, in the movie, drives the Camaro. Being a car guy, I don’t think the Camaro gets enough air-time, but I would say that! There are a few scenes early in the movie where its put through its paces down Van Nuys Blvd, but I would have loved to have seen more.

From the first time I saw it, I became fascinated by that Camaro. Unlike Le Mats other famous ride, his “piss yellow deuce coupe” in AG, there seems to be very little information available about the Camaro. The vague info I’ve been able to gather, is that the car is a ’67 Camaro updated with ’68 doors and nose. It runs Ansen wheels, and quad-Webers on a 302ci small block. If that’s the case, its possibly a genuine Z28. The motor was said to have been built by Traco.

What I’ve read about the Camaro is that it was originally built up by/for James Garner, to run in the Trans-Am series and/or A-Sedan racing. Is this true? It does have a full rollcage, which Le Mat was quoted as saying was a pain climbing over getting in and out of the car. Garner was running his American International Racing (AIR) team at this time. They raced Lola T70 MkIII coupes and Corvettes. The ‘Vettes, I believe, they built themselves, so you’d think if they were going to race a Camaro, they’d also build that themselves, rather than farming the work out. While there are plenty of photos and info on the AIR Corvettes and Lolas, and some of the other cars the team raced, there is no mention of a Camaro.

The flares the car wore in the movie wouldn’t have been allowed in the Trans-Am, at least not when this car was new. The side pipes would likely have been a later addition also. So, whats the story with this car? Was it really built by AIR? Was it built specifically for Aloha Bobby And Rose? Or was it a street racer that was found and purchased for the movie?

My understanding is that Paul Le Mat now owns the Camaro.