James Johnson, of Lima, came across this 1968 Camaro while working construction in Indiana.
Jim Krumel | For The Lima News
LIMA – If James Johnson had any doubts about whether he made the right decision in purchasing a 1968 Camaro, they didn’t last long.
Johnson, now 64, bought the car when he was 24 years old and working construction. It had some rough spots on it, but he wasn’t to be deterred.
“I came across the car at a gas station in Plymouth, Indiana. I asked about it and the owner said it wasn’t for sale. Then about three months later, he showed up where I was working and asked if I still was interested in buying it.”
Johnson fell in love with the car the first time that he drove it with the top down. “Oh, my lord, that was something,” Johnson said.
The car needed some work when Johnson purchased it, but it was all manageable. Among the things it needed was some body work and a new paint job. The interior also had seen better days.
“I did some of the work myself, but hired out most of it,” Johnson said.
When it came time to re-paint the Camaro, Johnson chose a darker shade of green. He also included a bumble-bee stripe as an accent band on the front.
“I think it wears the darker green color better,” Johnson said.
Then there was the interior.
He learned that only about 3,000 of the 235,000 Camaros built in 1968 had an ivory gold interior.
“Some work was needed there, but I was careful to keep the same color scheme.”
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