About the Camaro Research Group

The Camaro Research Group

The Camaro Research Group (CRG) was started on 10 Sep 1997 by three Camaro enthusiasts with similar interests that met via the internet. (The germ of the concept for the group really started with a fourth member, and though he never became an actual active CRG participant, we include him as a co-founding member for this reason.) Research projects were defined and work began. Within six months, a more formal set of goals and approach was mutually agreed upon and documented, and with time a number of like-minded members were added. Our early FAQ site was first opened on a borrowed server (thanks jC!) near the time of our first anniversary, and our official CRG camaros.org domain name and web site debuted half-way through our second year.

A debt of gratitude is owed to Rich Fields, the CRG coordinator for over 10 years, for guiding the CRG through those early years and his work on establishing the initial website content. The CRG also owes a debt of gratitude to, and our works stand on the shoulders of, those Camaro enthusiasts whose previous and ongoing documentation efforts we now attempt to extend with our research projects. We encourage you to investigate these resources that can provide you with specific additional help.

The first-generation Camaro is a complex topic to research - which is why we are intrigued by it. There have been few other models in the course of automotive history that have been produced in such numbers, with such an incredible, even unbelievable, variety of options, and with so proportionally little remaining factory documentation available on many of the details. Anyone that might mistakenly believe that everything is known about the first-gen Camaro simply hasn’t looked into it very deeply!

The CRG long-term goal is to be able to describe the production configuration of every major first-generation Camaro model and option, including mid-year changes. To this end we have amassed an extensive CRG resource library that includes all the major pieces of original GM documentation and virtually every secondary reference that has ever been written about the first-generation Camaro. We continue to acquire additional documentation as we find it (donations are welcome, by the way!).

Most of the research projects we start are very difficult and this means that they usually take a long time to complete (of course if they were simple they would already have been completed and documented by someone else). We have started many more projects than we have completed; our incomplete research "works-in-progress" are numerous - but hopefully each will eventually come to a conclusion and see the light of day on this web site. While we frankly don’t ever expect to finish our long-term goal - we enjoy the challenge. It is our interest in the research itself - the journey, and not the destination - that causes us to persist in this thing.

Best Wishes and Happy Restoring!

The Camaro Research Group

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New CRG Memberships 

CRG is a restricted organization. This is not to exclude anyone - in fact all of our released documentation is open to public view on this web site - it is to allow us some sanity in the control of our process. We are each very time-limited, CRG membership is very time-intensive, and each new member requires several months to get "spun-up" on our goals, process, and on the growing number of previously discussed and archived topics that have become work-in-process. We can ill-afford to spend our time "training" someone only to lose them due to lack of available time or an incompatibility of interest. So we are careful how frequently we add members and who we select for trials. Membership is also not trivial in the amount of resources required - each member must already possess or else acquire some minimum computing and research resources that are not inexpensive.

Nevertheless, after this brief attempt to discourage those of only casual interest, if any think they still might be interested in joining the CRG, send us a "resume" of your relevant experience (Camaro restoration, GM or GM division/supplier employment, software development, technical writing, graphical arts, database development, general automotive knowledge, etc.) and we’ll give your qualifications and interest fair consideration.  

Current CRG Members

Without listing too many boring details, or getting overly personal, here are some basic background data on and credentials for the current CRG members. Requirements for CRG membership include: deep interest in the subject, internet capability, ability to communicate and get along with others, and the time to contribute by researching, writing, and/or reviewing. While not a requirement for membership, our members, coincidentally, have nearly always been technically trained, educated, and/or employed. Being Camaro owners ourselves, we have a personal interest in traceable, accurate information. As a group, our personal cars run the gamut of first-generation Camaro models and years. For many of the members, the Camaro(s) listed below is far from their first Camaro.

While CRG membership changes with time, the CRG currently is composed of (in chronological order of membership) the following:

Name	Rich Fields	Martin Foltz	Greg Davies	Wayne Guinn	Kurt Sonen	Jon Mello
	CRG co-founder, Coordinator Emeritus, and core member	CRG co-founder and associate member	CRG co-founder and associate member	CRG co-founder and liasion member to CUS web site	CRG Coordinator, Webmaster, database maintainer, and core member	CRG core member
Current 1st Gen Camaro	1968 L30/M20 RallySport coupe	1968 L35/M20 SS396	1968 L35/M20 SS396 convertible	no current Camaros	1969 RS/Z28 1969 SS396	1967 Z28 (two)
Occupation	Engineer at a US aerospace organization	Engineer at a US electronics organization	VP Operations for a Canadian financial center	Writer, Chevrolet historian, and WW Quality Systems Analyst, JNJ	Former automotive engineer	Engineer at a US aerospace organization
Name	Bill Glowacki	Mark Canning	Doug DePew	Alan Colvin	Jerry MacNeish	John Hinckley
	CRG core member	CRG associate member	CRG liaison member for Site Server	CRG liaison member to CBTN	CRG core member	CRG core member - deceased
Current 1st Gen Camaro	(none - prior owner of several)	69 Pace car	(none - prior owner of several)	(none - prior owner of several)	1967 Z28 1968 Z28 (two) "OLD RELIABLE" NHRA 1968 Z28 race car	1969 Z28
Occupation	Industrial engineer, former professional restorer	Electrical engineer	Computer consultant and sponsor of the CRG website.	Consultant, automotive author of CBTN, & former Corvette Fever Magazine editor	Automotive author, professional restorer, certified appraiser for first-generation Camaros	Retired automotive assembly plant manager and former automotive engineer
Name	Troy Criscillis	Daniel Coffman	Ed Bertrand	Warren Leunig	Steve Wright	Bryon Miller
	CRG associate member	CRG core member	CRG core member	CRG liaison member to FCRG	CRG associate member	CRG core member
Current 1st Gen Camaro	1968 SS396	1967 RS/SS 350	1968 RS/SS L89 Convertible	(1967 Impala SS396)	1968 RS/SS396	1968 SS396
Occupation	Car restoration	Electronics engineer	Network engineer for a major medical company	Teacher	Scientist	Meteorologist

 

Other Resources

Camaro Untold-Secrets

Camaro Untold-Secrets is the classic book by Wayne Guinn which has several articles on the first-generation Camaro. The website of the same name does not exist anymore though some of the artcles are on Wayne’s other site, Guinns Engineering.

Chevy Nova Research Project

The Chevrolet Nova Research Project is modeled after the CRG in scope and purpose, and is devoted to information on the 1968-1972 Chevrolet Nova.

Full-Size Chevrolet Research Group

The Full-Size Chevrolet Research Group is also modeled after the CRG in scope and purpose, and is devoted to information on the 1965-1972 Chevrolet Full-Size models (i.e. Impalas, Biscaynes, Caprices, etc).

 

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