Even before I met Tracy I have always loved yanks. My dad at one time had a Dodge Charger and a Mach 1 Mustang so from a young age I was taken with American cars. As for Tracy, she had a cousin who had a replica of the General Lee and used to go to a lot of American car shows and Custom shows.
When we started going out together we both thought about getting an American car. However it would be a few years until it became a practical idea. For our honeymoon we toured from Las Vegas to LA then drove the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco. The car we hired was a Sebring Convertible and it was a joy to drive. Out there was also saw a lot of modern Mustangs and Corvettes which made us want a yank car even more.
However at the time I was doing a long commute to and from work everyday and we couldn’t afford to have a second car. But in the beginning of 2003 we both got jobs that were within walking distance of home. No longer would we need a car for commuting, it would just be used for weekends. All of sudden an American Car was possible.
We started going to the American car nights at the Dick Turpin on the A127 where we met Brian who told us about the AACUK and his local meets as an area rep. So in June last year we drove or little Ford Ka up to Boreham to one of the meets.
At first we were intimidated by the site of the gorgeous cars that were there, and embarrassed to be seen in the Ka. However everyone was really friendly and we received a lot of good advice.
That night Brian, and his better half Marie, convinced us to go to some show called the AACUK Summer Nationals at Billing the following weekend. So we went and bought a tent and drove up there Saturday morning.
To say the number of American cars overwhelmed us was an understatement. Tracy had been to yank shows before but I hadn’t and I couldn’t believe the amount and variety of cars that were there. We met the Essex mob and also met some of the Kent lot including Jason, James and Beth.
When we mentioned that we were looking for our first yank, it was mentioned that James was looking to sell his Camaro V6. We had always thought that our car had to have a V8, but after James took us for a drive in it we wanted it.
A couple of weeks later the Ka was sold and we bought the Camaro. The first time I drove it I was scared stiff. The car seemed huge and being a manual I was trying to get my right hand to work the shift properly. The car is our car, though Tracy hasn't passed her driving test so I drive it and she just poses in it.
Living in Southend we are in the land of the max power boys and the car definitely stands out. It may not have the power of a V8, but it sounds great, looks great and can still hold it’s own against most cars. The car gets used for everything including shopping runs to Tesco’s, trips to the tip and was utterly reliable on a winter trip down to Southampton at the beginning of the year.
Just after we got the car we have had a couple of mishaps, including someone hitting the wing mirror and causing the door skin to bend out. After that happened we were wondering whether getting a yank as a daily driver was a bad idea, but now we love the car.
 The car itself is a 1991 Camaro RS 3.1 V6 Manual. It’s a basic spec, with only Air Con as a luxury but the first thing we had fitted was an alarm and central locking. We also fitted a new battery and a nice stereo unit. We love the way the bodywork is in great condition and the car has had a lot of work done on it by the 2 previous UK owners.
Just recently we have had some stainless tips fitted and the car now has a nice under car led system. I have also had to replace the gearbox mount which was a hassle after discovering that it was a different shape than normal and having to source a genuine part from GM. Soon the car is going to have the nosecone stripped and resprayed as all the paint has cracked, followed by the same to the rear bumper.
We now love the car and are enjoying doing bits to it. Soon to be bought will be a set of 17” alloys and then we will save up for its V8 conversion.
In the meantime we are going to enjoy the car and the company of all the new friends we have made through it.
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