I acquired the car in a deal for the first vehicle I ever owned. I had a 1970 El Camino SS clone for 18 years. Lots of memories from that truck but this car is me all the way. I never was much a Camaro guy. But the day I seen it, it had me. 396 RS/SS, Bolero red with factory disc brake (four piston calipers). Deluxe interior, factory AM/FM radio, THM400, 12 bolt posi. And best of all NO RUST.

The picture titled "What I started with" was taken by a previous owner in 1986. It had been restored in the late 70's it was garage kept. Come to find out, the man that restored the car was the brother of the person who I had tubb out my El Camino.

After it was restored, it was sold to another brother and then to one of my best friends. We became friends when I was told about the car and I went for a visit.

When I got the car, it had several mechanical problems and the body was covered with dents and dings. The paint job wasn't terrible but not what I wanted. I had the fever to restore something and to me, finding this car was like buying a winning lottery ticket. A convertible is the only thing better.

The picture titled "Finished" is actually false advertisement as I couldn't keep myself from changing things on the car. But it was one of the first pictures after it was put back together. Total restore took me two years. I worked on it almost every single day during that two year period.

I completely disassembled this car. Most of that was done at my home in the garage. My father built a body rotisserie for me out of an old flywheel and a starter drive with a short ½ drive extension welded to it. It had a locking pin with several locking locations.

I stripped, sanded, blasted the entire body, Then my dad did the etching and epoxy primer for me. PPG paint was used. Color chosen by me. I took the color sample book outside in the sun. Ended up being Toreador Red. A 1996 Ford color. I assure you this red doesn't look this good on any Ford I have ever seen. It is awesome in the sun light. Three coats of the base color. Three coats of the translucent (see thru) red. And three coats of clear.

The 454 fender emblem you see is custom made. There were never any made that say 454 from the factory. I acquired them from yet another friend I met at a car show. He wanted a set and found someone who could mod a 396 emblem. But they wanted to do at least 10 sets. So he had 9 extra

The frame was completely stripped down and blasted. The frame, control arms, cross member, sub frame connectors and traction bars were all powder coated. New spring and sway bar kit from Vette Brake Products was installed. (Later changed) Along with polyurethane bushings.

While the 396 was cool. I wanted something updated. I wanted to make the car better than it was new. So I looked at crate engines. And choose the 454. Why not the 502? The 454 was less expensive and only 25 HP and 50 ft lbs less. So it was more in my budget. <

Engine and engine accessories

If you notice the strange carb on the intake is actually a Barry Grant VFI fuel injection unit. I call it POS (piece of sh*%) or WOM (waste of money). So later, the Holley Commander 950 took over. The ceramic coated exhaust manifolds were sold so a pair of Hedman Elite shorties could take their place. Shorties were used mostly to keep the O2 sensor close to the engine. I rebuilt the 4L60E and I use a GM Performance Parts control unit to operate the trans. The TCI controller is the same.

Under carriage highlights the custom 3 inch stainless exhaust with Borla mufflers. Global West control arms. Hotchkis suspension. I haven't been able to get the rear Hotchkis sway bar on because of exhaust issues. Currently using Vette Brake Products sway bar. 12 bolt Diff 3.42 ratio and my 4L60E

Interior was restored back to factory deluxe option. All new springs, foam and covers were installed. Holes were cut in the dash for the factory AC vent housings. I didn't like the looks of the miniscule Vintage Air vents. Transmission controller is located directly beneath the gauges in the console. Holley computer now occupies glove box.

The picture "updating car" was taken while I made major improvements to the car. The car was the cover car for Paddock Muscle Car Parts in 2002 with the 15 inch chrome Torque Thrust IIs shown here. I thought they looked too small. The 454HO engine was too mellow for me. I decided to follow a Jeff Smith article in Chevy High Performance magazine titled "Frankenratt" and add MPFI.

Is it done? I doubt it. I'm looking into some custom leather seat upgrades. But it has to be factory looking. No ¼ mile times yet. But the improvement of a recent wide band O2 sensor upgrade has me chomping at the bit for some drag radials.

Here are some specifics of the car:
- 67 RS/SS
- GMPP 454HO
- Vintage Air AC
- Griffin radiator and Flex Lite elect fan
- Holley Commander 950 MPI
- Crane Cam and valve train
- Manley Valves and head work by Indy Cylinder Head
- MSD computer controlled billet distributor
- 4L60E transmission w/ GMPP controller
- 2800 Stall converter w/lock up clutch by Precision of New Hampton
- Custom drive shaft by Joint & Clutch in Indianapolis
- 12 Bolt differential built with Yukon gears from Randy's Ring & Pinion.
- Axles from Mossier Engineering.
- 14:1 ratio power steering box from Flaming River.
- Global West control arms
- Hotchkis spring and sway bar package.
- Baer Brakes, 13 inch front rotors - 12 inch rear.
- 17inch American Racing Torque Thrust IIs with Bridgestone Potenza tires from Big O Tire in Mooresville, IN
- Awesome paint by Tony Spears, Indianapolis, IN.
- Interior by Kent's Upholstery, Beech Grove, IN.
- Leather wrap on my steering wheel by Don's Upholstery. Indianapolis, IN.
-- Special thanks to Randy Lewis for making my kick ass stainless air filter base. Without this, my fuel injection would require a cowl hood.
-- Special Thanks to David Rippy @ Hot Rod Alternatives in Jamestown, IN for my stainless exhaust.