A bit of a backstory is needed to explain the genesis of this 1969 Camaro you see splashed before you. Turns out Tim is a dirt tack race car owner and wanted something that would give him the performance that he’s accustomed to but at the same time would be stylish and perform, whether it be on a drive across town, cruising down the highway, or carving corners at an autocross event. After speaking with Steve, they came to the conclusion it was time to commence producing plenty of “rumble from within” and make sure that this 1969 Camaro rode and handled like a modern-day supercar. The end result is what you see displayed before you; nevertheless rest assured plenty of others think very highly of this first-gen as it took home a 2020 Detroit Autorama Great 8 award along with a Top Five finalist for the Goodguys 2020 PPG Street Machine of the Year honor and Most Beautiful Award, as well as a Classic Instruments Pros Pick from the NSRA.

To produce all of that rumble from within this ride was going to need an intoxicating V-8 and a chassis to “hold it.” Making sure all of that horsepower got to the ground and the drive was everything it should be, the motorvation came by way of Don Hardy Racing (DHR). DHR stroked an LS3 to a forceful 418 cubes crowned with aluminum heads then capped with Clayton Machine Works by Lokar valve covers, sporting 10.8:1 compression, a custom-grind DHR cam, and the use of ARP hardware to keep all those big-ticket components tightly packaged. Lastly, all the reciprocating elements were painstakingly balanced by DHR.

Providing the air/fuel mixture is a Holley Terminator EFI system, a Lokar throttle cable, a Holley fuel pump, Earl’s Performance Plumbing hardware, and an SCC fabricated dirt track–styled air cleaner with a K&N element. Following up is an MSD ignition, coil, and plug wires to fire the fuel delivered from the Tanks gas tank; an ATI harmonic balancer is also engaged. The spent gases exit via Detroit Speed & Engineering (DSE) stainless steel headers through 3-inch stainless tubing flowing rearward to and through a pair of MagnaFlow mufflers all buttoned up with Vibrant Performance exhaust clamps. The entire exhaust system is polished from the header plates to the tailpipe tips by the skillfully run buffers at Advanced Plating. Portions of the exhaust are wrapped with Design Engineering extreme temp material to prevent the body from damage caused by high heat. More engine accessories include the smoothed aluminum Edelbrock water pump, a 16-inch SPAL electric fan, a 175-amp Vintage Air alternator, a Powermaster starter, and a DHR engine oil cooler. What does all this get you? How about 621 rear-wheel horsepower fastened up to a TREMEC TKO 600 five-speed with a McLeod clutch inducing the power rearward to the prepped Strange 12-bolt Posi rearend supplied with 4.10 gears and axles. AMSOIL received the nod for the appropriate fluids, such as the engine, transmission, power steering, brake, and rearend.

The chassis comes by way of DSE with their hydroformed subframe including ’rails, stamped crossmembers, tubular upper and lower control arms, DSE/JRi adjustable coilover shocks with “Detroit Tuned” valving, Torrington bearings, and antiroll bar. The steering is another DSE component via a power rack-and-pinion operated through a Flaming River steering shaft and U-joints. Also supplied are DSE forged spindles that gather up the Baer drilled-and-slotted 14-inch rotors along with six-piston calipers all pressed into service through a Baer master cylinder. In back, the DSE QUADRALink is set up to work with DSE mini-tubs. As part of the QUADRALink there are Swivel-Links, along with high durometer rubber bushings, which allows for adjustable pinion angle and/or the wheelbase without unbolting the link from the car. Longer upper control arms are supplied along with a longer Panhard bar and DSE/JRi coilover shocks are engaged, as in front. You will also find in the rear additional Baer 14-inch drilled-and-slotted rotors again with six-piston calipers.

Suspending this ultimate performance chassis is a set of Forgeline GA3C-SL 19×10 and 20×12 wheels with Michelin Pilot 275/35ZR19 and 335/30ZR20 high-performance radial rubber. The GA3C wheel is a custom made-to-order three-piece wheel that’s produced from forged 6061-T6 aluminum centers with heat-treated rim-shells fitted with center lock application.

The 1969 Camaro was a one-year only design that featured new sheetmetal with the exception of the hood and trunklid. Delays at Fisher Body on the quarter-panel dies forced the 1970 Camaro to be late with its introduction so the 1969 was carried on through November. For “our” 1969 Camaro there are many, some obvious and some subtle, changes to the once-stock sheetmetal. Let’s start by looking at the windshield and backlight that are now flush mounted leading to tucked driprails. The rear bumper was flipped to match the contour of the front bumper and both were shaved and tucked to fit snugly to the body. The engine compartment and firewall were also reshaped while Steve fabricated the one-off aluminum grille that blends with the headlights. The carbon-fiber hood comes from Anvil Auto with extractor scoops embedded and is triggered by a pair of Billet Specialties hinges. Anvil Auto also received the nod for the carbon-fiber header and cowl panels, front and rear spoilers, and all were modified at the hands of the SCC crew. The front spoiler has the Marquez Design parking lamps moved outboard allowing for a fresh air scoop to rest in the middle, the space once occupied by a license plate. It rests just below the SCC custom aluminum grille and it and the bumpers are brushed nickel plated by Advanced Plating. The rear spoiler is frenched into the decklid while there are custom carbon-fiber side skirts (Childers came up with the idea while Steve and Ted Davis Enterprises made it happen) give the car an even lower ride appearance. If you look closely you will also note that the Marquez Design taillights mounted directly beneath the rear spoiler are also flush mounted on the body and this handiwork fittingly handled by Childers. In fact, all of the bodywork was handled at SCC by Childers—and that was no small feat. Steve loaded his spray gun and applied the Axalta primer then followed by with a tri-stage custom mix Candy Red Pearl. Additional color comes by way of charcoal and black panels with red and silver pinstripes.

Inside the first thing you may notice is the SCC custom-fabricated dashboard, including a leather dash cap and Dakota Digital 1969 Camaro gauges with custom logo and colors. There’s also a Vintage Air SureFit A/C with Restomod air registers built into the dash while all of the electrics is handled by an American Autowire Highway 22 Plus universal wiring system; again the work was handled at SCC. Watson’s StreetWorks was handed the go ahead for the switches while Kicker was looked to for the stereo arrangement. There’s also a Flaming River tilt steering column that’s topped with a Billet Specialties D-shaped collection 14-inch black anodized Formula series wheel. The pedal ensemble comes by way of Clayton Machine Works by Lokar and operates the throttle, brake, and clutch tasks. Both the front and back seating are 1969 Camaro reworked by Gabe Lopez of Gabe’s Custom Interiors. He stitched the seating in black leather with tan piping and gray suede inserts, while more black leather was used for the headliner, and the black carpeting is a German square weave. The seats are accessorized with Impact 2-inch-wide black two-point seatbelts and Steele Rubber Products was given the go for all of the rubber seals.

Well, there you have it. When it comes to the 1969 Camaro, one of the iconic hot rods of all time, this Bowtie belonging to Tim and Angie Wheeler was “built to perfection.”