The Alumin8r has an interesting history and has been a part of Lateral-g.net from the beginning of the website. It started as a perfectly restored ZL1 clone, but went on to become a benchmark for all g-Machines to strive for, and ultimately went across the block at Barrett-Jackson.

Jody Bernard was looking for a 69 Camaro to work his magic on and Charley Lillard owned it at the time. He offered it to Jody and the rest, as the say, is history. The first thing Jody did was to convert the Yenko block to FAST EFI, add a 2004R in place of the TH400, and add Baer brakes and 17" Torque Thrust wheels with Eagle F1's. With this combination, it laid down 485 rwhp and almost 600 rwtq.

Soon after, the "more power" bug once hit Jody. With his experienced background with centrifugal superchargers, he bought one for the Yenko 468. The motor came out and Jody added all the usual blower-specific goodies inside the engine. This setup made 720 rwhp at only 5500 rpm, shutting off the Dynapack chassis dyno for exceeding it's torque range. At that point, Jody knew it was making too much power to live with the old ZL-1 block, and since it had considerable value, it was sold to make room for a new aluminum Arias block.

With the Arias, the sky was the limit. It had a 4.5" bore and 4.25" stroke to create a monster 540 cubic inch motor. While the engine was out, Jody picked up a Wayne Due C4 based front subframe. Once it was all back together, the ProCharged Arias 540 swallowed the lockup convertor in the 2004R. It was obvious that it needed a stout transmission, so Jody installed a Tremec TKO with a twin disc oval-track clutch. The car put down 804 rwhp with only 11 psi of boost.

At this point, he was at a crossroads - either go all out with the chassis and interior, or move on to the next build project. He decided to sell it to Stuart Adams. Stuart sent the car to Detroit Speed and Engineering for a major massage. Jody built a beast, and Stuart set out to give it some manners.

DSE mini-tubbed the car and fitted up a set of 18" Fikse FM5 wheels. They also added their fabricated metal instrument carrier with AutoMeter gauges. The engine compartment was fitted with a handmade close-out panel that can now be ordered directly from DSE.

The Alumin8r debuted at SEMA 2005 in the Optima Batteries booth. It was, without a doubt, the best representation of a GM Muscle Car at the Show that year.

Stuart didn't have the car very long when he was approached by an enthusiast that wanted the car and wasn't going to take no for an answer.  A deal was struck and the car went down the road to the new owner. While the new owner loved the car, he put it up for sale at the Barrett-Jackson auction with no reserve. It brought a final bid of $148,000.

The Alumin8r story of how it moved from owner to owner is just as interesting as the build. It is a benchmark car in the g-Machine world and will continue to do so, no matter who owns it.