The only thing worse than having your project stall due to lack of funds is having it screech to a halt because your shop just stopped working on it. Such was the situation for Tom Mazzorana's Camaro. He's had the '67 since 1977, which was his senior year of high school. Back then it was a Z/28 clone with a solid-lifter 302 and Muncie transmission. Between then and 2007 the Camaro has gone though quite a few looks and spent more than a few years just parked while Tom went about living life. Over the last few years the Camaro has been steadily morphing into the Pro Touring car Tom has always wanted. The first shop got the car painted in Mercedes Silver, but shortly afterwards closed their doors. The next shop took over but stalled out when it came to final assembly. That's when he hauled it down to the gearheads at Best of Show Coach Works (BOS) in Escondido, California. BOS has been getting the Mast Motorsports 605hp, 416ci LS3 plumbed in and ready to rock with its Tremec TKO-600 transmission. The brakes are Baer four-wheel discs with 13-inch rotors and the suspension is all Global West. After seeing our install on Bad Penny, the Camaro Performers magazine '68 project car, he also added an Auto Rad radiator and aluminum core support system. He hopes to have the Camaro on the road in time for the next car event season.

When James Shipka first built his LS7-powered ’67 Camaro he had plans to cruise it and hit the occasional track event, but then the bug bit. Now the ride sees the track way more than the street. In fact, it’s competed in the famed One Lap of America marathon of races for the last three years. All this track time has made James a better driver as well, to the point where he felt the car needed to push the envelope a wee bit further.

This sweet 1970 Chevrolet Camaro is being massaged and tweaked over at Greening Auto Company in Nashville, Tennessee, for Huntsville, Alabama, resident Scott Gouin. According to Jesse Greening, the second-gen was pretty ragged when it arrived, but since then it’s been blasted bare and treated to a ton of custom bodywork. The hood was given a subtle rise for blower clearance, the bumpers were tucked, and a gas filler was added to the sail panel. For suspension, the Camaro has about every handling widget in Detroit Speed's catalog, including their hydroformed subframe and rear QUADRALink. Massive Baer 6P brakes will ride inside Bonspeed wheels wrapped in Toyo R888 rubber. Powering the F-body will be an 810-horse, supercharged LS7 from Mast Motorsports. To save weight, Anvil Auto carbon-fiber inner fenders were added, and a Vintage Air kit with a Front Runner drive system will help keep the passengers comfortable in the sweltering Southern heat. For more pictures of this killer project visit greeningautocompany.com.

Modern Muscle

ReDux

Bob Peters

Autobahn Blast

Generally we keep the text of our Readers’ Rides section on the short side so we can showcase at least four Camaros. For the May 2012 issue we made an exception so we could share this very special story of a true Camaro and performance enthusiast. The story of Matt Krueger and his long battle with cancer at such a young age is a true reminder as to just how fragile and unfair life can sometimes be. — Nick Licata - Editor

Much like how a bowl of leafy greens is just a carrier for decadent blue cheese dressing, a car is just a place to house a delicious engine. After all, even a Camaro with the most badass suspension ever devised is nothing but yard art without a stellar mill under the hood to put it in motion.

Big Plans

Pro Cool

Double Take

There are two ways to build a super reliable Camaro that can withstand hard abuse. The first way is to just start driving the hell out of it and replace the weak links as they snap, fail, and let go. While this method works, typically, it can leave you stranded and paying out stacks of cash to tow companies. The other way is to learn from others and replace the known weaker parts before they become a problem.

Many of us can remember that certain car we spied in our youth and were just dying to own. For the most part, it was just a dream or desire left unfulfilled, but for Erik Hansen the dream became a reality. As Erik told us, “When I was in high school, I saw this car sitting in a driveway every day for a year as I drove to and from work. It wasn’t until June of 1984 when I saw a ’68 RS/SS advertised in the local classifieds and realized it was the same one! The previous owner lost his vision in an industrial accident and was very reluctant to sell, but I was able to come up with the $1,850.00 he was asking.” The Camaro needed work, so Erik scraped up the cash for some new tires and brakes. Over time he added hot rod parts for “just a bit more speed.” Erik mused, “Needless to say, the 396 and four-speed were way too fast for a teenage kid, but somehow we both survived with only a few minor bumps and bruises.”

Let’s face it, it’s the little things in life that sometimes have the biggest impact. Even the most sedate-looking ride can get a ton more attitude from the addition of a scoop here or a spoiler there. Changing up the look of a car doesn’t have to be drastic to help it stand out in a crowd. There was nothing necessarily wrong with the look of our ’01 Z28 project car, which we affectionately refer to as Black Betty, but there really wasn’t anything noteworthy about how it looked either. In fact, the whole point of the Z28 package was performance, and as such, the aesthetics of the Camaro doesn’t vary much from how its V-6 cousin looks.

Mike and Jim Ring, owners of Ringbrothers, will never be accused of building the "same old, same old" when it comes to crafting badass classic muscle. Their cars have landed in the top five contenders for the Goodguys Street Machine of the Year (SMOTY) more than a few times, and they’ve taken the top prize twice. Not bad for a couple of guys who started out doing more collision repair than custom work. This time the focus of their creative juices is on this ’71 Camaro owned by Robert and Charlene Venne. The couple has given the brothers free reign to transform the second-gen into rolling automotive art. Nearly every metal panel on the car, inside and out, is getting the full-custom treatment. The front fascia has been completely transformed and will come off the car in one piece, the bumpers tucked, and trick pass-through rock guards were hand-fabricated. Under the hood resides a Mast Motorsports 650hp LS7 backed up by a Tremec TKO-600 five speed. To handle any curves the Venne's might encounter, the front suspension was treated to a complete Detroit Speed Inc. hydroformed subframe while the rear got a custom four bar with a Watt’s link. Baer brakes will handle the stopping duties, and the Camaro will roll on Forgeline wheels wrapped in BFG rubber.

Senior Project

While some people are happy going out and buying a new Camaro with all the modern bells and whistles, others want to transform old iron in to 21st century modern marvels. Such is the case with this 1969 Chevy Camaro being built by the master fabricators over at Greening Auto Company for customer Dale Stuban. As Jesse Greening told us, “We wanted to restyle the ’69 as though it was being produced by Chevrolet in 2011, with all of today’s available components.” They did, however, decide to forgo the typical LS engine and, in a nod to the past, power it with the biggest-inch engine currently available in GM’s inventory: a 572ci big-block. Also, since real hot rods have three pedals, that mill will be backed by a Tremec five-speed transmission.

In the last issue we gave our 2010 Camaro SS project car a makeover with some Anvil carbon-fiber parts and a splash of PPG paint over at Best Of Show Coach Works in Escondido, California. The new graphics really set our Camaro apart from the rest of the ’10s out there, but the stock Bow Tie-emblazoned grille just wasn’t making us all warm and fuzzy. We figure others, even some at GM, weren’t digging the stock grille either since Chevrolet offers a tasty alternative: their Heritage grille. With cleaner, and to us, more aggressive lines, it’s the way the Camaro should have looked when it rolled off the assembly line.

Strokers, blowers, nitrous, and the like are super cool if you have the cash. But there are also plenty of less expensive upgrades you can do to your LS-powered Camaro that are easy on the wallet and give a good bump in power. Two of the most common ones are ported throttle bodies and underdrive pulley systems.

A major turning point during any custom build or restoration project entails making the decision to tear the car down to its most basic and organic form: that of a stripped-out shell. It’s a big step and not one for those easily intimidated, but to get down to the very core of the rebuild, there’s nothing quite like it. With Project Orange Krate having been torn down to its absolute essentials throughout the build-up, it made sense to take it the extra mile and bring it down to its bare bones. To accomplish this, Peter Newell of Competition Specialties in Walpole, Massachusetts, was prepared to walk us down that final path. As with any major project undertaking, it’s a solid idea to document everything being dismantled. This can be accomplished easily by bagging and tagging all removed hardware while also using an inexpensive digital camera to visually document the process. That said, Newell started the final teardown by removing both front and rear Detroit Speed Inc. suspension components, front subframe, Baer brakes, and Ford 9-inch axle assembly. With all the major components out of the way, he focused on the firewall and cowl area by removing everything including the wiper motor assembly, brake power booster, fresh air plenum actuator, and door assembly, and every nut, bolt, and grommet left. From there the windshield and doors were removed leaving him the balance of the interior to concentrate on. Nothing leaves a lasting impression like pulling a dash and seeing all of the wiring and ventilation components that remain. Methodically moving forward, Newell carefully removed the heater and heater core, steering column, and wiring, leaving just the interior and a dingy old shell.

Some projects grow and morph over time, while others spiral out of control faster than Charley Sheen high on, well … Charley Sheen. Our 2010 Camaro SS project car falls solidly into the latter category, albeit with a bit less tiger’s blood or warlock high jinks. When we first started the project, we were just going to tighten up the handling, add a touch more power to the LS3, and slap on a few trinkets to dress the SS up a bit. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Our SS now puts over 660 hp to the tires and has a ton of suspension work done. Given the wretched excess in these areas, it was decided we should dive into the appearance aspect as well. Now, we did retain some sanity, so repainting the whole car or doing crazy sheetmetal mods were ideas left off the table. But we figured adding a few bolt-on parts could really give the Camaro a makeover. Up front, we decided to go with a Seibon carbon-fiber hood Anvil Auto. The hood wasn’t a wild departure from stock, but with a couple of heat extractors and a more aggressive cowl, it really caught our attention. For the rear of the car we picked up a carbon-fiber trunk lid and spoiler also from Anvil. The trunk lid is an exact duplicate of the GM piece, but the spoiler is far more aggressive.

Choosing which engine to build for your project Camaro is serious business. After all, the engine is an expensive part of your build and it’s not something you want to waste money on by not getting it right the first time. In deciding which way to go, the first order of business is getting a firm grip on how you plan on driving the car. If it’s just going to be a cruiser, then something in close-to-stock form is the way to go. If drag racing is your thing, then building a mill that spins high should be the target. However, if you’re like us, then you might have your sights set on whipping around an autocross or road course. In this realm, horsepower numbers need to be set aside and the focus put on the real star of the show: torque. And not just any torque, but low- and mid-range twist. Gobs of luscious torque in the lower half of the rpm range is what gets your car moving and helps you accelerate out of a corner.

We’ve all had cars that we regretted selling. Such is the case with Gerald Gregory. Back in the 70s he owned a super cool big-block ’69 Pace Car but later made the decision to sell it. Over time he realized how much he missed the car so when he recently came across the car again, and saw it was for sale, he snatched it back. Call it a second chance at his muscle car dreams.

It was Peter Parker that said, With great power comes great responsibility. And while he was waxing poetic about the superhero gig, he just as well might have been talking about hot rodding. The fact is that this hobby isn’t just about building big-power engines, it’s also making sure that the rest of the car can handle the extra ponies. When GM built our ’10 SS Camaro, now officially named Project CP/28, it was their responsibility to ensure that the drivetrain could support the stock power output of the LS3. Once we boosted the power up to 660 rear-wheel horsepower, that responsibility fell on us. Since dropping in the 416 stroker, we’ve upgraded the axles and felt that our single-disc Centerforce clutch was still up to the challenge of launching a 4,000-pound car spitting out 609 lb-ft of torque.