True Story: Ford Flathead V8 in a ’67 Camaro

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Nothing exemplifies the spirit of hot rodding better than a full-house Ford flathead V8 under the hood of a ’67 Camaro.

 

It’s said that Clarence Everett of Oregon was a wizard with the ’32-’53 Ford flathead V8 and a racing legend in the Pacific Northwest. He held records at Bonneville with his flathead-powered Ford roadster and ruled the streets with a souped-up ’50 Ford coupe. But in 1968, he was looking for a more up-to-date platform for his muscular flathead engines, and he chose, of all things, a Marina Blue 1967 Camaro SS—reportedly, an insurance salvage. He yanked out the  396 cubic-inch big-block V8 and dropped in one of his killer valve-in-block Fords.

Installing a flathead in a Camaro might seem like an outlandish idea, especially to Chevrolet partisans, but it made perfect sense to Everett. Besides, it’s true to a basic principle of hot rodding: Why not? Under the hood we can see a  pair of high-compression aluminum heads—standard practice on a modded flathead—and four Stromberg 97 carburetors with slicked-up SP-style airhorns. Everett raced his Ford-maro in the 6-cylinder/flathead gasser classes at local drag strips with some success, reportedly. However, the car’s  whereabouts today are unknown.

 

13 thoughts on “True Story: Ford Flathead V8 in a ’67 Camaro”

  1. Interesting story. Old engine in new car. Ford engine in Chevy. “Outdated” technology replacing modern. Age old question of “why?”, and answer “because he could”. So many interesting aspects. Add one more ironic twist: Yesterday I was at a scale model car swap meet, where a gentleman purchased a plastic model kit of a ’79 Pinto station wagon. His intention is to build a replica of his friend’s Pinto…which is powered by a Mercury flathead!
    I was shown photos of the actual vehicle. Very impressive. The very next day,
    this post on MCG…hear the “Twilight Zone” music?

  4. Back in the mid 60s I knew a guy with a ratty ’58 Corvette with Ford 352 in it…never could figure that out.

    • Flatty V8 in a Ford 8N tractor wasn’t an uncommon thing. There used to be quite a few of them. It was almost a bolt in deal.

  6. Such a nice change from all those damn Chevy OVHs replacing Flatties in old Fords. I ran flatheads from 1960 to 2018. Boy I miss the ones I left behind.

    • I had a ’67 Camaro that my mom bought new, and it was a perfect example of why they used to say to never buy a car its first year out. The most blaring problem with it was the four wheel drum brakes, which were good for one stop. Second attempt would yield nothing. Both hands on the steering wheel and pushing with all your might would feel like you were doing nothing at all. I tried everything. New shoes, new drums, added a vacuum booster, all with little or no improvement. What it needed was a disk brake conversion, which was unthought of at the time. Next problem was the rear suspension. Two in the back seat yielded about 2 inches of clearance between the rubber bumper and the axel, and it would bottom out constantly. Somehow this high performance 327 car ended up with an aluminum Powerglide transmission (stock), and while the engine mostly made up for the transmission’s inadequacies, it was still a quantum leap from first to second gear. The TH 400 had been out a couple of years by then, and I suppose that supply line issues were the problem, but there was still no excuse for this combination. Things are different today. In 2007 I bought a first-year-out Ford Fusion, and it has been one of the best engineered and trouble-free cars I’ve ever owned. 132,000 miles and aside from normal maintenance (which has been minimal) the only repair I’ve had on it was a new a/c blower motor at 67,000 miles.

    • Don’t say that!! Lol.
      I have a 69 Camaro SS that I ordered from the PX while in Vietnam and I have always said I would leave it to my son. My car sits more than I drive it now, too.

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