# Expert Eldon Info Needed...



## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Hey Guys, I need a Specific Eldon Question answered....to help settle an argument (who ME argue?  )
Anyway, can a Real Expert on Eldon, tell me, what was the EXACT Year (concrete info) the Eldon 1/32 Camaro was released ? Thank you...


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## wnovess99onebay (Aug 9, 2010)

there are variations of the Camaro. I just sold a yellow one with an interior and vent window that makes it more like a 67....The hard one to find is in a chrome red or blue...there is a mustang to match it.


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

None of that answers my Question. I WANT to know, what year was the first Eldon Camaro released. A guy says that the Camaro shown above came out in 1966. I said no, but he INSISTS that Eldon had 1:1 prototype info and released that body in '66.


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

BTW- I owned an Eldon set in 1969 with that same Blue Camaro Body in the set, with 5 others bodies as well...
Pic below is me 1969...


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## a110alpine (Oct 30, 2012)

i have pretty much have all the eldon catalogs but it won't give a definitive answer because the rush to release new cars not always corresponded to the printed media.. . by 68 i was out of slot cars but i had a camaro . 65 66 sounds about right.. it was released shortly after the mustang 350. i got the mustang for my birthday and the camaro for xmas.. i have that same set that i bought on ebay. that set was offered for several years.. i do remember that the camaro was listed in the catalog at the same time as 2 stock cars that were still being offered from the long discontinued 63 daytona set.. i was just looking at that a few weeks ago.. and that was way before 69


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Remember, model year cars were and still are released to the public in the latter part of the previous year. Anything is possible. GM was scrambling to compete with the mustang so it could have announced and produced the Camaro for 2-3+ months of '66 to get it out there. If that's the case, and the prototype Camaro was close, Eldon would have had a "heads up" and started tooling even earlier in '66 and had the slot car on the market for the Xmas '66 season. I'm only guessing on this, so take it with a grain of salt. All I can do is speculate.


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

I'm not an expert, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express:roll eyes:
The Eldon question also drifts into their HO line with the release date of the Dodge Charger and Chevy Camaro. Seems Eldon may have had some early peeks in 66-67 of the 68 Dodge too. So did Aurora which may explain the 6 tail light rear end. As for the 1/32 Camaro, before the licensing concept screwed everything up, car manufacturers looked at models, toys and slots as free advertising. Get that young man hooked on brands early and maybe they will buy our cars when they are 16. With that in mind, the big 3 and AMC worked hand in hand with the hobby and toy world. I would think it's more than possible that Eldon got a peek at GM's Camaro design in 66. Since we have 2 versions, one with a vent window (67) and one without (68) it would back the idea. The vent post would be an easy modification of the tooling. I can verify the 68 version was in the 1968 Eldon catalog (printed in the Fall of 67), so Eldon was quick to update their tooling. I think I have earlier catalogs, but I will have to dig for them.

-Paul


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Just for ha has I did a search on yahoo for 66 Camaro. I won't link the forum, but I will post a few interesting quotes from it. Here goes...

"I recently purchased a Camaro. On the title is says a 66 Camaro. From what the chevrolet dealer in the area said, that it is one of the first 67's ever built. Since it was built in early 66 it was titled as a 66. I can't find out much from the main Chevrolet office either. When I did call there they did say that it was a 67 but there was no way to find out any more. Althought she did say that it was possible. A friend of mine said he did hear of a 66 1/2. I did not get my new registration card but the guy I bought it from said it is registered as a 66 1/2. If anyone ever heard of such a thing I would appreciate some info."

Replies...

"I had a 67 camaro that had 1966 on the title on it too. That is because it listed it as first year sold. It was an early build car so it was sold in 1966."

"I also have a '66 Camaro, 08E build date (first week of production). However, even though it was built in '66, it is still a '67 model year car. The Rustang owners like to call their early build '65's a '64 1/2, but it is still a '65 model year car. There are a lot of quirky things about Ford owners I guess."

" The last week of production for the 1969 Camaro was the first week of November 1969. Even though a 1969 model was at the 1970 press review and shown in ads they were all titled as 1969s.

"They like to do this for some reason. There was no 1983 Corvette but you could buy an '84 in April 1983. I recall they released the '89 Beretta in December 1987."

There's very few pix of Camaros that I would consider true prototypes from that era. There are a few cool ones though..




























I did read elsewhere that there were a few bodies released for GT type racing earlier than the regular production cars, but I didn't confirm anything. I do think that wagon is cool (even if it's just a model), and the combo 70 nose on the straight down the middle body style line like the 67-68 model is pure wicked.


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## guinnesspeanut (Sep 25, 2009)

*Ask Mr Eldon..*

For almost as many years as there have been cars, there have been car shows, where manufacturers show off prototypes of the upcoming new year.. Added to this is the 'handshake era', where sooo many CEOs and owners would agree 'on the cuff' to share some data.. I honestly believe the Eldon 'Ferrari type' car is one perfect example of Mr Eldon getting a sneak peak at some prototype drawings and trying to produce that specific car before anyone else could catch up.. So many of the bodies from before 1980 were based on prototypes, that's why there are so many imperfections. It wasn't that the craftsman making the cars were unskilled, just the opposite. Pull out a set of digital calipers and measure anywhere along the body, and you'll find less than .01 variance wherever it's supposed to be symmetrical. Look for the differences between the real '67 Camaro and the Eldon, then try to find historical photos of the '65 and '66 car shows.. I'd be willing to bet a paycheck the variances between the Eldon and Chevy are on the advanced prototype car... or, if there isn't one to be found, then it must've been drawings or sketches, probably shared at a party.. The only real answer you'll get is by tracking down an actual employee, many of whom took samples home for their own families...


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

I have a Yahoo Group just for Eldon slot cars:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Eldon_Slot_Cars

Join and ask. There are some very knowledgeable members there.

Marty
Marysville, OH
Marty & Doc in the morning
WQTT 1270
http://qt1270.com/


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

Something that might help in the search for the early prototypes, the Camaro was slated to be called the Panther. But that didn't fit in with the "C" naming Chevy was stuck on at the time: Chevelle, Caprice, Corvair, Chevy II...

-Paul


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