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Jason's 67 Camaro |
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My name is Jason, and
I'm addicted to cars. Ever since I was
a little kid I've loved Muscle Cars. My Dad has been my biggest
influence, he's had more muscle cars than I can count. Camaros,
Chargers, Shelby Mustangs, Bel Airs, etc. He also had a 50's Style
Diner that would have car shows once a month. Definately a cool
enviroment to grow up around. When it came time for me to buy my
1st Muscle Car at 18 years of age, I had it narrowed down to a 1st
Gen Camaro. My Mom had a 69 RS that she would take me to school in
when I was 10. I loved that car, Black w/ Red Hockey Stick Stripes
down the side and a 350 under the Cowl Hood. But my choice wasn't a
"Plain Jane", it had to be something special like a SS or RS
atleast. So when I found my 67 RS/SS 350 I knew it was the one.
After calling around many local adds, I called a guy who had a 69
RS for sale. When I called the car had been sold, be I could tell
in his voice he had more than one. He said," Well that one's sold,"
then paused for a while. So I asked if he had something else he'd sell.
And he ended up having a 68 RS Vert & the 67 RS/SS that he bought
to fix up but put all his attention to the 68. And coincidentally
the guy lived like 10 houses down on my block! What are the chances
of that? So after looking it over, little bit of negotaiting, I was
an owner of a matching #'s 67 RS/SS 350! Options are SS & RS
package, Standard Interior, Muncie 4 Speed, 3:31 Non-Posi 12 Bolt
Rear End, California Car with original Black Plates, all the smog
equipment still on the car, factory equipped console w/ gauges, &
tinted glass. And so begins the journey....
First thing was breaking her down and getting it ready for a
new paint job. The original color was Granada Gold, but the car had
been painted red once before. I wanted to go with a Midnite Blue
and a White Bumble Bee stripe over the nose. But my Dad felt it
should stay red, so after some convincing I had it sprayed in
Porsche Guards Red and Black Bumble Bee. I'm glad I did, cause it
looks killer! After it was released from it's paint prison, it was
a trip to Steve's Camaros in San Bruno, CA for all the little odds
& ends to replace the old or missing interior/exterior parts. I was
able to get it to a respectable state of looks & drivibilty, but I
wanted more out of it. Being a rare model, I wanted to leave the
stock 350/295hp motor in it for now. But everything else had to be
upgraded, trans, suspension, brakes, etc. I wanted a stock look
with Pro-Touring through out, but something that wouldn't hurt the
value of the car.
Being 18, working full time selling cars at a Toyota Dealer,
living at home, and saving every spare dime I could is what helped
me stack up a nice collection of parts over the years. A arched
wire coming from the headlight harness caused the harness to catch
fire. That put her down for sometime, but did gve me some incentive
to get her back in top form. When it came to choosing the parts, I
pulled out all the stops. A knock off or budget part wouldn't do,
it had to be the best. I went to Summit racing, Pace Performance
Parts, Year One, Classic Industries, & various other online vendors
for most of my parts. Doing as much assembly as I could on my own,
some things I had to have a shop do just do to my lack of tools &
experiance. Last thing I wanted was something I did that would
cause catastrophe, so better safe than sorry. Some shops that
worked on it were Keystone Auto Service, Race St. & Rally, &
Reinneger's Wheel & Tire. A good shop is hard to find, trust me. I
went to America's Tire Co for the wheels, my brother used to work there
so the take care of me.
The interior got gutted, striped, and sealed in rust preventive
primer. One of the desciding factors in me buying this car was not
only it being a rare model, but it was straight as an arrow with
only minimal rust in the expected areas. So I got lucky there. Then
the interior got coated in Lizard Skin's Sound Control Formula, a
combo of DynaMat Extreme, FatMat Rattle Trap, & Second Skin's
Damplifier & Overkill Foam for sound deadening. New Headliner &
custom ordered carpet are about to go in. Along with some recovered
front buckets from a 97 Camaro, and back seat to match the 4th Gen
pattern. Covan's Classic Gauge Pod w/ Autometer's Phanom gauges
makes for a nice look and accurate readings. I had the stock tach
rebuilt and still would hunt like a dog. I replaced the stock
column with a Ididit Tilt Column. All new bolts, trim, door panels,
kick panles, practically everything is new or refurbished.
I went to Digital City Corp in Santa Clara, CA for the stereo
work. They hooked it up with a custom Band Pass Sub Box housing a
12" Square Kicker Solobaric. I chose the hack the dash to make room
for the Kenwood Excelon deck. For interior speakers I went with
Kicker's 3 Way 6.25" in the doors, & 2 way 6" in the rear side
panels. Cause of the sub box design speakers in the rear deck lid
wouldn't fit. Pushing these speakers is a Kicker 650x4 Amp, and the
sub has a Kicker 750x1 Amp bridged to the 650 amp. The sound is
banging, and the clarity is awesome! Hense the need for all the
sound deadening, with out it the car would rattle to pieces.
The engine block & heads are stock, rebui;t and bored .30 over,
with every possible boolt on. Engine upgrades are: K&N Ait Filter,
Holley 4160 600cfm Carb, Edelbrock Polished Performer Intake
Manifold, JetHot Coated Hooker Competition Headers, Aluminized
exhaust w/ Flowmaster 2 Chamber Mufflers, Be Cool Coolong System w/
Polished Radiator & Electric Fan, Edelbrock Polished Aluminum Short
Water Pump, Coolflex Radiator & Heater Hoses, MSD 6A Ignition Box,
MSD Blaster 2 Coil, MSD Ready-2-Run Distributor, MSD 8.5mm Plug
Wires, Quick Ratio Power Steering w/ Tuff Stuff Performance Chrome
Power Steering Pump, March Performance Serpentine Pulleys &
Brackets. Trans is stock with the addition of a Centerforce Stage
II Clutch, and a Hurst Competition Shifter! Suspension upgrades are
Hotchkis TVS System, Speedtech Upper & Lower Tubular A Arms, Baer
Brakes Track & Sport Systems, Bilstein Shocks. Intro Twisted Vista
Wheels, and Yokohama AVS Sport Tires for that new school look &
performace. This baby handles like it's on rails!
The future holds a lot for my Camaro & I. A stroker crate motor,
Tremec TKO 5 Speed Trans, rebuilt 12 Bolt w/ Posi 3:73's, 1" lower
drop front & rear, and some upgraded lighting. I enojy cruising the
local scene, the occasional car show or group run. I also have a
modded 2002 Corvette Z06 for more of an everday cruiser & street
pounder. I will forever love cars, and will continue to be deep the
the car scene. If there's anything I can do to help someone else
with there project I'd be more than happy. Thanks for checking out
my story & ride!
Jason
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