30 Years of the CRUSHER CAMARO, Behind the Scenes!

The Crusher Camaro has been a project car for 30 years in Hot Rod Magazine and on MotorTrend TV shows such as Roadkill, Roadkill Garage, Hot Rod Garage, and Hot Rod Unlimited. This 1967 Chevy Camaro has a background defying the car crushing law, and has changed from a ‘90s street machine, to a Pro Touring look (twice), to an early ‘80s version with a blown big-block, to a street/strip ride with an LS7, and much more.

This episode celebrates 30 years of the Crusher Camaro and delves into the behind-the-scenes stories of all eight-plus versions of the car.

Two corrections: the image of Rob Kinnan with a pair of seats is not from the Crusher build, as I stated. Those are his ’69 Camaro seats. The headrests are a giveaway I overlooked. ALSO, the reat tires from 1995 are Mickey Thompson Indy Profile, not Sportsman Pros as I said the first time.

Listed below are links to a limited 30th anniversary T-shirt and to a number of MotorTrend and Hot Rod full episodes with the Crusher. Also, the MotorTrend app has scans of every page of Hot Rod Magazine backissues so you can go read all the stories about the Crusher! You can see the TV episodes streaming on Max and Discovery+—D/F

GET YOUR 30th ANNIVERSARY CRUSHER SHIRT HERE (LIMITED TIME):

MOTORTREND EPISODES WITH THE CRUSHER
The Original Pre-Roadkill Road Trip:

Hot Rod Unlimited Epidode Drag Testing the Blown Big-Block:

Part 1 of 3 Live Feeds During the LS7 Swap:

Roadkill Episode After the Live Engine Swap:

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[brianeastateastindustries]

All of you guys now being on YouTube and sorta building your own little system between channels is the greatest thing to happen for fans.

[fivestander]

Man, I could sit and watch this guy talk about cars and automotive history for hours. Great storyteller, glad to see his YouTube channel coming alive!

[hotrodswoodshed]

I said this before... YOU and RK inspired a 55 yr old guy (me) to break a 10+ year burn out span of my life... to get back in the game of hotrods when i thought 25 yrs of it had passed me by. Thank you David frieburger

[frizzellracing]

The “grumpy look era” was the absolute best look on that car in my opinion. I think the car looks proper with the “70’s” look to it

[Korruptionen]

Freiburger, losing Rabbit recently made me re-evaluate who the great automotive story tellers of our time are. Have watched you with this car for so many years, especially the live swap, and just want to say thanks for all you have done for car communities.

[brianbartlett]

The crusher camaro is the reason I got into old car and hot rodding. I can still remember when I got that issue of hot rod.

[carpros]

This car is one of the reasons I have a 1967 Camaro with a big block! Rock on Dave!

[BEERDRINKING]

My dad subscribed to Hot Rod back then. I remember he absolutely loved the "Crusher Camaro" series.

[RobK-qfg]

I didn’t think that I cared about the history of the Crusher Camaro but the way David tells a story is amazing!!! Great storyteller!

[kevin]

Dude, I followed this in Jr high-school. Used to go to the library instead of study hall and read the magazines. So cool to relive the memories and even cooler to see the car run and drive on my tv!!

[jasonschmidt]

Knocked another video out of the park. My wife appreciates my hobby (obsession) but doesn’t delve too deeply. She was working in an adjoining room and ended up coming in to watch the majority of this video. Afterwards I asked her about it and she said that your passion and depth of detail reminded her of listening to me talk about the seemingly endless versions of our Mustang. Please keep em coming.

[imaginationplay]

Always loved this car even as a kid when reading hot rod magazine as teenager

[SolamenteVees]

I'm old enough I remember a lot of those old issues of Hot Rod. Thank you for the detailed history, David.

[hierarchymotorz]

This is awesome! I’m 42 years old and had all those magazines with the Crusher. I had a pic I cut out the magazine on my wall as a teen. It’s part of the reason I have a 68 Camaro now

[keithfilkins]

I've been following the Crusher Camaro since the beginning and I have to say that my favorite look was with the blown big block!
If I was to pick a new look I would go with pro-touring.
Thanks for what you do David! And I hope you guys continue to do Engine Masters, it's one of my favorites!

[Scottinqc]

seeing the early history of the Crusher Camaro brought back a LOT of memories, In 1994, I had just graduated high school, and was an avid reader of Hot Rod at the time. Between this, and the El Camaddilac (I had a 1977 Elky at the time) I had huge dreams of doing a lot of the same to my car. Sadly none of it ever materialized, but hey, an 18 year old kid can dream, cant they.... Seeing this car still out there, and still evolving gives nearly 50 year old me hope that some of those dreams can still come true

[americanautomobiletech]

The crusher needs a 70s Trans Am race series look. Thanks for all the content, Freiburger!

[slammedandcammed]

I’m a Mopar guy at heart but watching videos of the crusher with the blower and that square scoop when i was only like 12 years old will forever leave me with a soft spot for that look. So badass

[michaelsidhu]

Hey David, I think it's great that you're putting videos out on YouTube so that those of us outside the United States can enjoy viewing them. 😎

[mikebrown]

David, you have no idea how awesome it is to see ALL of you guys on YouTube.
I've always loved the Crusher Camaro, from owning the magazine when it first came out, to the first front cover shot. It is humbling for me to get to see the 30 year mark. Thank you so much for that! I definitely look forward to seeing more of the CRUSHER CAMARO!!! By far, the blown big block Crusher is still my favorite!!
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