A 1972 Chevy Camaro SS396, owned since new by a teen buyer, makes its public debut at MCACN 2024.
In 1972, Bill Finley was just 17 when he walked into a Chevrolet dealership and ordered a brand-new Camaro SS396. What he couldn’t have known then was that the muscle car he chose would become one of the rarest of its kind—and that more than half a century later, it would finally take the spotlight at one of the country’s most prestigious collector car events.
Now 70, Finley and his Mulsanne Blue Camaro made their first-ever public appearance at the 2024 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN), marking the debut of a one-owner survivor that has only clocked 71,000 miles in 53 years.
“I always knew it was special,” Finley said in a video interview with automotive YouTuber Lou Costabile. “But I never expected it would be this rare.”
Only 970 Camaro SS396s were built in 1972, as a United Auto Workers strike cut production short. The 402-cubic-inch V8 engine under Finley’s hood—still labeled “396” for marketing—produces 300 horsepower and remains mated to its factory Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 automatic transmission.
The car retains much of its original equipment, including rally wheels, soft-ray tinted glass, air conditioning, and a Positraction rear end. Though Finley passed on the tachometer option, the total cost of his upgrades added over $1,500 to the base price of $2,879—a sizable investment at the time.
Restored in 2019 with a focus on authenticity, Finley oversaw every detail, sourcing correct-date parts to match the car’s original specs.
After decades of private enjoyment, his long-preserved Camaro finally drew applause on the show floor, a fitting tribute to one man’s lifelong bond with a true American classic.
