You can easily get an old car and call it a classic but spotting a rare American muscle and making it yours, that's definitely a story worth telling: When Yehia Rashdan fell in love with the Camaro SS at first sight. “My friend, who is also a classic car collector, owned this Camaro and was about to finish restoring it,” said Rashdan. Getting a rare classic car and starting a restoration project in Egypt is very demanding, as collectors face difficulties trying to find the original car parts and the right hands to work on it. “Most of the parts that we order online takes months to enter the country,” said Rashdan. If it takes a couple of months to restore a classic car in Europe or the US, in Egypt it takes a year or even years depending on the condition of the car. Rashdan always dreamed of owning a classic Camaro SS, the ultimate weapon for classic playboys in the 60s and 70s. It was destiny when Rashdan's friend fell in love with another classic car and decided to sell the unfinished Camaro. It was up for grabs, and without thinking twice, Rashdan bought the car. The Camaro was first introduced by Chevrolet back in 1966 with a 230-cubic inch straight-6 cylinder engine coded L26 with 3.8L producing 140 hp, with an optional stroked version, the RPO L22, which provided 10 more horsepower to the engine. The V8 was also available in 327-cubic inch 5.4L producing 210 hp. The V8 also got a factory performance boost to increase the compression ratio with a larger carburettor to increase the horsepower up to 275 at 4,800rpm. In 1967 the muscles got even bigger with the Camaro SS. That year Rashdan's 350SS was born. The 350SS with 350-cubic inch 5.7L V8 L48 delivers 295 hp, thanks to its massive Quadrajet carburettor. “Having this car is a blessing, and having it in Egypt makes me the luckiest on Earth,” said Rashdan. Classic Camaros are everywhere in the US but if you want to bring one to Egypt, it's impossible. The rules in the country gives anyone the right to bring in old cars but you have to be the first owner of the car, meaning you should have been alive back in the 60s or 70s waiting for your car to get old enough to be a classic, as well as get it into Egypt today. Sounds like overkill. Which is why Rashdan considers himself so lucky. His car is a rarity in Egypt.
