Evaluation: Believed to be one of three Nickey Camaros built with the aluminum-head Tri-Power L89 engine. Featured in numerous magazines and books. Restored a while ago to like new without overdoing it. A holy grail car for Camaro fans.
Bottom Line: The era of dealer-converted big-block “supercars” from the likes of Yenko, Baldwin-Motion and Nickey Chevrolet (typically written with a backwards “k”) was brief, only lasting from about 1967 to the end of 1970. But it produced some of the fastest, most lusted after muscle and pony cars out there. The opportunity to buy a Camaro converted by Nickey Chevrolet of Chicago only comes up every few years, and this one’s options make it even more special.
Restored in the ’90s, it was then sold by Mecum in 2000 for $67,000 and was a no-sale at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale the following year. Mecum sold again for $446,250 at its St Charles sale in October 2008, which was an odd time in the market since muscle car prices were in the middle of plummeting but top-spec cars were still bringing big money. The result here in Indy could have been a bit higher, but anybody on the lookout for a rare first gen Camaro there this year had so many choices, including a gaggle of 1967 Z/28s and three Yenko Camaros, so there was only so much attention and money to go around.
