1969 Camaro has a Killer LS3
Not all restomods are created equal.
One man's journey for his Camaro
When this 1969 Bumblee yellow Camaro is owned by a nice gentleman by the name of Steve Priddle. Like many classic muscle cars when Steve first came upon the vehicle it had been modified but nothing that would do it justice. The last owner had installed a later-model 435 horsepower Edelbrock 350 crate engine. However, after driving the car home from the Goodguys show in Pleasanton, California he had the realization that the car was not what he thought it was.
Undeterred, he sat down and started in on doing research checking out other cars and various Camaros online to find the right ratio of OEM parts to upgrades. "Finish comes into play. Not too much shiny, not too much machined, hopefully, a nice blend," he remarked. "I did not want show car bling to it-just business front to rear."
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Having the good mind to turn things over
Steve had the Camaro on his list of things but after a couple of years letting the car languish he did the right thing and turned it over to a shop. But you see it's not Steve's fault as he was busy running an insurance agency with his wife Sharon. Sharon was all on board when Steve told her of his plan to turn the car over to have things put together professionally. The shop that received the Camaro was none other than Gearhead Garage in Sacramento, CA.
Enter Jason Walroth of Gearhead. "It definitely had potential. It was pretty straight but needed to be upgraded. It was entry level with too-small headers and brakes, and the rear sway bar was not hooked up right." Jason recommended several mods to ensure that the Camaro would not only steer but also stop as it should. After that was taking care he along with the shop could see what Steve wanted and needed for the classic Camaro.
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Happy wife... happy life
The thing was that with all of the research that Jason had done painted a full picture of exactly what Steve wanted for his classic Camaro. Sharon requested a better custom interior for the Camaro because well you know, things like comfort seem to get lost in the mix of a muscle car build.
Gearhead turned the car over to Shawn Katt to add some flair to the interior which he did so by fitting a Momo wheel, leather upholstery, a custom shifter boot with Lokar billet trim plate for the TREMEC SST Perfect Fit shifter, and AutoMeter Pro-Comp Ultra-Lite gauges. Jason took care of the wiring for the stereo and updated the HVAC with a Gen IV unit from Vinatge Air.
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The process continues
For the exterior of the car, a charcoal stripe was laid over the Daytona Yellow body which was inspired by a Boyd Coddington Mustang that Steve watched go across the auction block in Scottsdale. Full Talent Restoration reworked the sheet metal, aligning the front panels along with cutting and welding to achieve the proper gapping.
Steve realized that to get a real muscle car look for the Camaro, he'd have to mini-tub the rear end with a Detroit Speed unit in order to get the 20x12 rims to fit. That led Gearhead to install a Chassisworks g-Link suspension and narrowed rear end by 6 inches to get the desired look. To go along with those components, a Viking front, and VariShock rear coilovers to go along with Wilwood four-piston calipers and 12-inch rotors.
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Finally, the car gets some power!
A week after Steve got the Camaro back he called Jason up and told him the car was great but it was missing one thing. "We need to go ahead with the LS engine." Once the engine was removed from the car Steve also had Gearhead add anew front clip with a Speedtech Performance Pro Touring subframe. That new subframe accepts an LS engine which was a big positive going into the next phase. With that being said, in went a 525 horsepower LS3 with a TREMEC TKO 600 five-speed transmission.
Gearhead installed a Granatelli intake manifold with a customized coil covers provided by Top Street Performance. The engine was transformed from an industrial-looking run of the mil powerplant to a show-stopping beast. Jason sums up this car wonderfully by saying, "It's a modern classic."
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