Slow started this ambitious project fifteen years ago, when he was just a teenager salivating over his neighbor’s ‘67 Camaro sitting pretty in the driveway. As ambitious teenagers often do, he pestered and pleaded to get a ride in that jewel, and with some time and no lack of determination, he eventually befriended his neighbor and was given a ride in his pride and joy. Every time the old BBC turned over, it pulled at Slow’s heartstrings. Click Here to Begin
The attachment to the Camaro never died, and despite consistent requests, Slow wasn’t able to convince the owner to part with his baby. That is, until a divorce came along. Fifteen years after his first introduction to the car, Slow recieved a text from the Camaro’s owner with a set of cryptic numbers and nothing else. When inquired, the owner responded with a reluctant “that’s what I want for the Camaro. Come and get it before I change my mind.” Slow’s dream had come true, but with one major caveat: the car was in pieces. The part-out process was not as the owner had wanted it to go, and amidst the mess of a divorce, he let it go for a good deal. So the transaction was made, and the former childhood icon now laid in a million bits scattered across Slow’s garage floor. He might’ve had second thoughts about his purchase at that point.
However, along with the Camaro came a stock block BBC, a TH400, DOT tires, and plenty of potential to keep him going through the arduous build process. Which he would need; the interior was totally stripped, looking a bit like Dresden. Only a tachometer and some matte Autometer style-gauges popped up from the rubble below.
Fortunately, the primered body was in good shape, and only needed a mid of modification to the doors to be in pristine condition. Slow added some Harwood enlarged wheel openings and a fiberglass cowl from Glasstek measuring 6” before deferring to Adkins Racecars for the major chassis tweaks.
Slow knew his strengths and his weaknesses, and wisely stepped back to let the shop pull the suspicious-looking rear crossmember and bind up a four-link setup to accommodate the new suspension pieces and mounts.
After his painter had established a paint date two weeks in the future, Slow waited eagerly with the miserable Ohio winter cramping his style. To make a cold winter even colder, his painter suffered a heart attack on Christmas Eve. Certainly not an auspicious start for a remarkable build, but the painter was in decent health and after a speedy recovery, applied a couple coats of Chrysler Deep Cherry Crystal Coat.
Next came the trim, and the cowl hood.
The aesthetics mainly in order, Slow turned to getting the drivetrain settled. He sent the motor off to a local builder to make a few tweaks. Nothing too special—just a .060-over 454 with some decent heads and a small cam. Specifically, he opted for a .060 JE Pistons, 11:1 compression, JEG’s 320cc aluminum heads, a Comp Cams hydraulic camshaft with .640 lift, Edelbrock Victor JR intake, and a Holley 750cfm carburetor.
With the fuel system in working shape, Slow turned the cherry red Camaro over for the first time, and experienced it moving under its own power for the first time in years. Now, to effectively put the power down and give the car a little retro-cool, he threw on a set of Drag Lites.
To keep everything in check, a set of Wilwood brakes were packed underneath the Billet Specialities Comp 5 wheels. With a new Ford 9” on the way, as well as a set of Strange Engineering Coilovers at all four corners, this gorgeous gem is going to be as quick as it is pretty, if not more so.
