Words: Tommy Parry
After several back-breaking Pro Street cars, Rick realized it was time to have a car that he could drive every day. Realizing that the built ‘69 Camaros were unreasonably expensive, he decided to look for a roller that someone else got a start on and couldn’t finish. Eventually, he ran across a shell that was mostly solid except for minor window rust and some floor pitting. With a set of DSE rear tubs and a complete lack of paint, he had a strong platform upon which to build.
After trimming some of the rusted sections and reworking the subframe connectors, he installed the Speedtech front suspension, which he later powder coated. Next, he fitted a set of AMD fenders and a cowl hood, which look the part but were a nightmare to install.
Once media blasting the car, Rick started updating the interior with some choice goodies. A Clayton Machine clutch, brake and drive by wire pedal, as well as a McLeod hydraulic clutch, would sharpen his foot-controlled inputs, and the footwork department was further improved by a set of fender-filling Rushforth Rated X wheels with titanium centers and polished hoops. Inside the wheels, he housed a set of 14” and 13” Wilwood big brakes, front and rear respectively.
Frustrated with the affordable rear end offerings he came across, he decided to splurge on a 9” from QP – Quick Performance – instead. He outfitted this piece with 31-spline axles and a 3.89 3rd member for street-friendly economy and acceleration.
While enjoying some much-needed down time Rick’s mind, dedicated as it is, inevitably turned back to his build — specifically, the paint scheme. He decided on a very zesty red and a hockey stripe to match the titanium centers of the Rushforth wheels. However, he still had lots of tweaking to get the panels perfect — something his friend Carlos, owner of NoEnd Customs, helped out with. Just before he rolled the Camaro into the paint booth, he welded both the front and rear floor pans and installed the Anvil carbon fiber bumper and carbon fiber spoiler.
A build of this magnitude wouldn’t be complete without a snarling powertrain, and of course Rick didn’t disappoint here. During the brief stint in paint jail, he picked up an LS3 427 fitted to a T56, which would provide the torque, response and drivability for a stellar road-oriented package.
This exquisite build is far from over, but the choice collection of parts, the stunning wheel fitment, perfect panel gaps and use of exotic materials put it in a category of its own. To follow Rick’s jealousy-inducing build, you can check his thread here.
