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It was sold new in 1978 by a Chevrolet dealership in Nagoya, Japan. This "export" Camaro is actually nothing more than a California car with a KPH only speedometer. I bought it in 1992 while stationed at Yokota AB in Tokyo, Japan. Follow the link to see what it used to look like (sorry...link's down).
In 1996, I garaged the car initially to pull the engine, refresh it, and re-install. It ended up with a PAW built engine pulled from an Econo-class dragster. As work progressed, I ended up having the trans rebuilt, replacing the hood (1979 Z-28), right side door (1980 Berlinetta), both front fenders and nose (1981 Z-28), radiator support (1979 Z-28), and the body/suspension bushings. Very shortly after it was finally completed, in March 1999, the car was sanded, painted and within three weeks, shipped to South Korea where it was subjected to 16 months of Korean roads and drivers .
Unfortunately while in Koera, my partying caused me to neglect my "new" car and I soon smoked the transmission from lack of maintenance and flattened a lobe on the solid cam from lack of attention (damage to the cam I didn't realize until much later). Having a bright orange Camaro in Korea is like having an exotic car anywhere else.
However, all good things come to an end and with orders to Germany, I limped the car, bad trans and all, to the port and shipped her off. The boat ride took 4 months, from Korea, through the Suez Canal, to Bremerhaven, Germany. A short 3 months of getting her to Germany, what was left of the cam finally gave it up on the Autobahn one day.
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