Daughter spends two years restoring the 1968 Chevy Camaro her mom bought brand new and turns it into her daily driver
Published on Nov 14, 2026 at 10:56 AM (UTC-5)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Nov 14, 2026 at 10:56 AM (UTC-5)
Edited by
Mason Jones
This woman spent two years restoring her mom’s 1968 Chevy Camaro muscle car, and she decided to turn it into her daily driver.
In a remarkable tale, Anne Marie recounted the time she fought through an apocalyptic Canadian winter storm to try to rescue the Camaro.
But this was no ordinary Camaro. It was the Camaro her mom had bought brand new, with the family driving it until the 1980s.
After it came off the road in 1983, the car was abandoned and forgotten about. But Anne Marie was one person who didn’t forget.
The history of the 1968 Chevy Camaro
Anne Marie was discussing the muscle car on YouTube via Between the Wheels by Subdivision Auto. Her mother had bought the car new from a dealership in Ottawa.
She spent much of her early life alongside that iconic Chevrolet muscle car.
It brought her home from hospital, for example.
Anne Marie also remembered times standing on the passenger seat and leaning out of the rear window.
Sadly, when she was 14 years old, the car’s subframe rusted out.
That forced her mother to park the car, and it was left for 15 years, abandoned to the harsh Canadian winters.
Quite a few would-be buyers came to Anne Marie’s house during that time to try to convince her parents to sell the car.
“I remember many times running to the front door, and somebody was trying to hand my dad money, and I’d scream and cry, ‘No, Dad, no!’ So I think I caught him about four times trying to sell the car,” she said.
The two-year restoration process
It was in 1998 that Anne Marie decided to stage the ultimate rescue.
Anne Marie, working in freezing conditions, hooked the car up to her small pickup truck via a landscaping trailer.
She slowly winched it out of its icy home and then to a specialized body shop in Toronto.
What followed next was a gruelling two-year restoration, as she worked hard to get the car back on the road.
Some days, she’d work 16 hours straight to work on the muscle car.
She’d even sleep inside the Camaro, just to maximize her time with it.
Anne Marie upgraded the engine to a 1971 350ci engine, replacing the 327ci 210-hp engine it originally had.
She also upgraded the front disc brakes, as well as the air conditioning.
Turning a 1968 Chevy into a daily driver
Now, all those years later, the car has become Anne Marie’s daily driver.
She taught her daughters to drive in the muscle car, and it still looks just as pristine as it did after she restored it.
In the YouTube video, Anne Marie recounted her late father’s favorite motto.
“Drive it! It’s not a museum piece,” she said, and she is right.
The car has proved incredibly reliable over the time she’s been driving it, and it remains a core part of her family.
It deserves to be based solely on the rescue to get it out of its icy resting place.
Chevy Camaro timeline
1966: First generation debuts as a direct response to the Ford Mustang
1970: Second iteration launches with a completely redesigned and wider body
1982: Third generation introduces fuel injection alongside a new hatchback style
1993: Fourth series arrives featuring sleek aerodynamics and plastic body panels
2002: Production halts due to declining sales in the sports coupe market
2010: Fifth generation revives the iconic nameplate with retro-inspired styling
2016: Sixth version transitions to a lighter and more nimble chassis platform
2024: Final model year concludes production as the automaker pivots to new platforms
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a heritage steam railway.
