Rob Marshall needs no excuse to jump into his fully restored Camaro for a spin around his farm, as Jon Cass found out…
Words and photography: Jon Cass
You’d normally expect a farmer to drive around in a Land Rover or 4×4 of some description but, given the choice, Rob Marshall prefers to be behind the wheel of his stunning 1970 Camaro instead. We first met Rob during the lengthy dry spell last spring and while most of the UK population couldn’t get enough of the endless sunshine, not quite everyone shared the same view. As Rob is a farmer, taking care of his crops is a top priority, so as you’d expect, that lack of rain certainly caused him a few issues. At least this gave us chance to distract him for a short while and to take a closer look at his incredible and very bright Citrus Green Camaro!
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“I’ve always had a love for big, powerful cars,” Rob tells us. “When I was young, they were very cheap to buy back in the 70s and 80s and I always wanted an American V8.” This desire may well have started back in the late 70s when Rob paid a visit to his local cinema to watch the original Gone in Sixty Seconds movie: “I loved the film that much I stayed in my seat to watch it again,” he laughs. “From that day I knew I’d somehow become involved in the American car scene in one way or another.”
Unfortunately, working on a farm didn’t pay the highest wage, which meant Rob had some serious saving to do if he was to achieve his number one ambition. “Luckily, overtime was available at the farm where I worked, which helped,” Rob continues. “Soon, I bought myself a Jaguar 3.4 as it was the easiest big car to find at the time.” That first Jag soon made way for a Daimler Double Six, which managed about 8mpg the way Rob drove it, but that car wasn’t to stick around for long either. “Fuel was cheap back then, but I was still spending most of my wages on it,” Rob laughs. “I ended up replacing the Daimler with my first American car, a ’78 Mustang.”
While the ’78 model has never been regarded as the most desirable of Mustangs, Rob was over the moon to have finally bagged himself an American V8. “It was a 5.0 and the car didn’t require much work to be driven every day,” Rob says. “I just had fun with it until I spotted an ad for an early 70s Pontiac Firebird Formula 400, with a Ram air bonnet, painted bright yellow.” Without hesitation, Rob drove to Leeds and successfully begged the salesman to agree on a part-exchange for his Mustang. “The Firebird boasted a big block 6.6-litre engine that apparently had just received a full rebuild,” he remembers. “There were no receipts to prove that, but I didn’t care as I knew I would buy the car anyway.”
Compared with the Mustang, the Firebird’s difference in power was certainly noticeable and Rob quickly found that whatever speed he was travelling, he could still spin the back wheels if he desired. “Many times, I could see the rear end trying to overtake the front which created a few hairy moments,” he adds. In typical Seventies Pontiac fashion, the bodywork gradually began to deteriorate and the Firebird ended up languishing in a barn on Rob’s farm for three years. “Eventually, I found someone willing to carry out the necessary welding, bodywork repairs and a full respray,” he remembers. “I drove that car for another year before part-exchanging it for a later-generation Trans Am.”
In contrast, the bodywork of the Eighties Trans Am was spotless and no work would be required here, but Rob found the performance disappointing compared with his previous Formula 400. “I instantly regretted selling my first Seventies Firebird and promised myself I’d always buy another one day,” he recalls. Rob’s early experience with the American scene took place when even the more desirable muscle cars were changing hands for just a few thousand pounds, but fast forward three decades and he’d noticed values had risen sharply. “Thankfully, I now found myself in a position to purchase a classic in excellent condition, that I could just jump in and enjoy,” Rob smiles.
Finding the dream car
Initially, Rob considered a Mustang as there were plenty available and he looked at a few ’Cudas too, but these were soon dismissed in favour of a style he was already familiar with. “I’ve always liked the chrome bumper ’70-’73 Camaros, as their styling isn’t too dissimilar to that of the Firebird Formula 400 I previously owned,” Rob explains. “While searching various websites, I stumbled across a garage named Retro Classics (www.retroclassiccar.com / Tel. 07939 511 180) in Swainby, North Yorkshire, who had a showroom full of exotic American cars.” Among their fine collection was a 1970 Camaro in Citrus Green and, just as before, Rob was intent in purchasing this car without delay.
This time around there’d be no rust to worry about either, as the ’70 had been treated to an intensive seven-year nut and bolt restoration by previous keeper Ian Cowan, along with his father, Roger. Although built in 1970, the Camaro was first registered in the UK as long ago as 1972 and somehow it had managed to endure all those British winters since. “It was a well-travelled car on these shores too,” Rob points out. “I’m told it spent time in Kent, South Wales, South Yorkshire, Dorset, London and Leicestershire before ending up in the North East.” By that stage the Camaro remained roadworthy, but only by the skin of its teeth. “I suspect if Ian and his dad hadn’t taken a shine to the car, it would have been either broken up for spares or scrapped, it was that rotten… they certainly had their work cut out.”
Once taken back to bare metal, Ian and Roger discovered the body shell required new frame rails, a trunk floor, rear panel, lower rear valance, trunk lid, rear inner wheel wells, full rear quarters, door skins, roof panel, front and side cowl panels, front wheel wells, front wings, upper and lower front valance, rear deck panel, rear scuttle panel, hood, radiator core support and a fresh urethane nose, effectively renewing the entire car! Thankfully, all the required parts including most of the necessary exterior trim, lights, bumpers and bullet mirrors were still available to be purchased from the States to OEM quality. “The shell had been repainted red at some point in its life,” Rob tells us. “Ian and Roger were surprised to discover the original paint code was GM 43, an attractive shade of Citrus Green.” Having come this far, it was decided to respray the shell in the car’s original colour which, combined with those wheels and stripes, suits the Seventies styling perfectly.
As you’ll have probably guessed, much of the interior had to be renewed too, with carpets, door cards, seat belts, upholstery, dash top and a Grant steering wheel all added to Ian and Roger’s ever-growing tally. As for the all-important running gear, Ian and Roger chose to turn things up a notch by installing a 350cu in V8, complete with March pulleys, an aluminium radiator along with a Performer cam, cylinder heads, rocker covers, carb, intake manifold and fuel pump all by Edelbrock. “Ian also fitted Hooker headers and a TCI torque converter,” Rob points out, “the brakes and suspension have been upgraded with Hotchkis springs, Bilstein shockers and disc brakes all round, so the car drives really well.”
Much of the resto’ had been carried out in an unheated barn so it’s not surprising to hear Ian and Roger almost felt like throwing in the towel on more than one occasion, especially when a core plug at the rear of the block sprung a leak, which meant undoing a lot of hard work already completed. “Since purchasing the car, I’ve added ceramic headers and a full stainless-steel exhaust, along with having a full tune-up carried out by John Sleath Race Cars (www.john-sleath.com / Tel. 07976 751742).”
Rob says: “I try to attend as many car shows as possible, but being a farmer I’m often busy through most of the dry months.” Incidentally, Rob does still rely on his trusty Land Rovers along with a few tractors for the typical farmwork itself, but if there’s an excuse to jump in the Camaro, he doesn’t need any persuasion. We’re told Rob’s daughter, Jess, has just passed her driving test and also happens to be a huge fan of the Camaro, so in time, she may be able to stand in for her dad at the occasional show. For now, Rob seems quite content being behind the wheel of a piece of Seventies GM muscle once again and we reckon this one will be staying around on the farm for the long term!
