Just as the first Mustang was based on Ford's compact Falcon, so the first 1967 Camaro was based on Chevy's compact Nova. However, it was based on the upcoming redesigned '68 Nova and therefore more robust than a comparable '67 Nova. The basic engineering of the Camaro was a unibody structure from the windshield and firewall back, with a separate steel rail sub frame for everything up front. Double A-arms made up the independent front suspension while the solid rear axle was suspended by semi-elliptical leaf springs. As was typical of standard-equipped vehicles at the time, braking was by four drums, the steering was slow and manual, and Chevy's rugged 230-cubic-inch straight six poked out an optimistically rated 140 horsepower while twisting a three-speed manual transmission.