Anthony Serpa considers his “Hugger Orange” 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS396 L35 325 Horsepower Convertible part of his family—after all, it’s been with his family long enough to have delivered newborn baby Anthony home from the hospital, in December of 1970.

“Sometimes I just like to look at the car,” says Anthony. “It’s hard for most people to understand that this car really is like family to me. I get offers to buy it all the time, and most people dismiss my refusals and mutter something disparaging.  But, they don’t get it. They never will. This car is family.”

The Camaro

The story of the purchase was that Dad used to drive past the Chevrolet dealer on the way to work, and one day this car came in and was put up on the display rack.  He drove past it for a while and just brought it home one day; it became a daily driver and all of my earliest car memories are of it…

Even back then, it turned heads.  Mum used to drive me to kindergarten in it, which was on the other side of the city.  And, I remember stopping halfway at the park downtown to enjoy a picnic most days – it wasn’t until years later that she related that the reason for our stops was because it used to overheat. 

I remember it being loud, and actually, I remember being stranded with Dad in it not far from home in front of the old Howard Johnson’s once – I remember the orange roof on the building, the same color as the car.  And, in fact, I always thought cars had their engines painted the same color as the outside of the car; it’s only by coincidence that “Chevy engine orange” was similar to “Hugger Orange,” which was a Camaro-only color (that you either loved or hated).   Those first Camaros were nicknamed “The Hugger” due to their handling traits which were impressive by the standards of the time, anyway… Today, a drive through the Southern Californian mountains keeps you on your toes, believe me! 

Life happened and certain circumstances caused it to come into disrepair, as cars do. It was taken to a body shop to be restored in the late 70’s; the winters were hard on it.  The replacement car was a grey something or other, and I recall not being pleased at all that I couldn’t roll down the back seat windows.  “The Camaro,” as we called it, returned in 1982, restored and sparkling.  The car was enjoyed for that whole summer; Dad and I drove it a lot – that one-speaker radio constantly blasting what would eventually become “Classic Rock.” In fact, every time I hear“The Breakup Song” by Greg Kihn, it makes me pause, as I am reminded of that summer:  the Summer of ‘82. 

My Dad was very seriously hurt, nearly killed in fact, in an accident in his pickup truck early that next winter because of black ice. “The Camaro” was parked outside at the end of the driveway.  There it sat quietly, but seriously deteriorating for 15 years, waiting for it’s time again.  When I got older I would eventually start it every once in a while and was very diligent about clearing the snow off of it during my teen years and turning away everyone that would ask if it was for sale.  Mum made sure that it was kept for me to one day enjoy as Dad had.

It was always going to be mine.  In fact, when people came to the door to ask if “that old car in the driveway” was for sale, Mum would invariably reply with: “It’s my son’s.”  And, when they would ask to speak to him, she’d crack a slight smile and send out this preteen kid – me.   That always ended the conversation.  We would get notes left on it, letters in the mail addressed “Dear Occupants…”

Then the  day came, in 1995, when I began a total restoration – it took two or so years and much more than anyone could have possibly guessed to return it its former self; once I began the restoration, it always seemed that something else needed attention.  Finally, it turned into a total every-nut-bolt-and-inch restoration— Don’t they always?  It was completed only with the help of good friend Glenn Grubb and much support from Nelson Couto and Paul Dionne and my oldest friend, Troy Lawrence, who used to live next door and who knew the car as long as anyone.

In 1997, I took my Dad for the first ride, and “The Camaro” was alive again.

“I guess you could say I was born into [the collector car hobby],” says Anthony Serpa. “I really don’t know where or when I picked up the hobby. It’s like it was always there – I didn’t realize until much later that everyone didn’t grow up with a cool car in the family, let alone a rare and popular muscle car.”

“That car was the spark that lit my car fever fire I guess you could say,” says Anthony. “From there, it just grows; from restoring your own at an early age, the research, the tracking down parts, the meeting of people along the way by following information and parts leads…”

Today, one of the ways that Anthony fans the flame, that was lit so long ago, is by staying involved the car show scene— from hitting up local SoCal weekly cruise nights, big weekend shows and swap meets to visiting about a half dozen big car shows, each year. Some of his favorites include the Orange County Cruise, Cruise for the Cure, Goodguys events and the Pomona Swap Meet.

Anthony is also involved with an online Web forum called www.camaros.net, where he shares photos of his cars and talks to fellow Camaro enthusiasts about the hobby.

“It’s a place for those of us with Camaroitis to meet up and share experiences,” he explains.

And, Anthony says that there are many reasons he stays plugged into the hobby: “One day it’s cruising PCH with the top down, another it’s meeting a new friend, and another it’s just being alone in the garage working on something or nothing on the car.”

In addition to “The Camaro,” Anthony also owns a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS396 L34 350 Horsepower Coupe that he purchased from the original owner, in 2007; the coupe had only 455 miles on the odometer.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin

To our readers: We want your SPECIAL story! To be interviewed for our Weekly Reader, click here to e-mail us today.