hodium, atomic table element #45, is a silvery-white metal found with Platinum and is more expensive than gold. It is now well represented in this 1968 Camaro widebody, designed by Steve Keefer and Ben Hermance for owner Ryan Gates. Rhodium is the latest offering from Keefer’s East Bay Muscle Cars’ (EBMC) 6,000-square-foot shop in the fertile farming community of Brentwood, California. EBMC specializes in muscle cars and pro-touring machines exclusively. The rides that emerge from this forward-thinking team are perfectly balanced, feature razor-sharp lines, perfect gaps, plenty of power, and racy interiors.
In May of 2007, not many people had heard of Keefer’s EBMC. That changed 30 days later when Keefer cruised his fresh 1970 Ford Mustang Mach I through the gates of the Goodguys Summer Get-Together at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds in Northern California. It was EBMC’s debut build. The deep maroon pony, perfectly “stanced” on a set of brushed Budnik wheels, raised plenty of eyebrows. It was a harbinger of pro-touring cars to come from the creative minds at EBMC.
Ryan’s Camaro, more than any other, showcases EBMC’s propensity for fabrication and modern design. To allow for a deeper dish on the wheels and a more aggressive look, the body was widened some 5 inches from stem to stern. All areas of the car were modified and reworked by the craftsmen in EBMC’s fabrication department.
Mods are extensive, as you might imagine. The cowl is scratch-built, forming a precision confluence of the widened A-pillars and fenders all perfectly reshaped and gapped. Looking for an aggressive face, a seven-piece billet aluminum grille insert was CAD designed in-house and cut by Alumicraft Street Rod Grilles. Included in the assembly are linear actuators on machined Delrin tracks. The LED headlight surrounds were 3-D printed. Below the grille, a bottom valance is 3-D printed offering dramatic forward flairs housing more LED illumination. The forward-most lip of the peaked hood above the radiator has an aggressive front rake, establishing a wind-friendly upward-flowing slope leading into the custom-fabricated air inlets.
Back in the business end of the car, the lengthened wicker bill sits above the rear tail panel designed in-house and made entirely from billet aluminum, including the taillight bezels. The CNC’d rear diffuser houses a set of wide-mouthed Lokar exhaust tips.
Being a Northern California—based project, Keefer chose one of the region’s stars, Compani Color of Hayward, to handle the paint and body chores. What emerged was a silky-smooth muscle car adorned in BASF Glasurit Porsche silver to mimic the hue of, you guessed it, Rhodium.
Tucked inside the custom-painted, body-matched 19×10.5 and 20×12 Forgeline Motorsports GT3C wheels are 15-inch Wilwood rotors as well as six-piston front binders and four-piston rears. Traction is courtesy of 305/30R19 and 335/30R20 Pirelli P Zeros. All of the underpinnings are designed for maximum g-Force, stay-flat cornering, as well as added stability during high-speed straightaway blasts.
After a joint brainstorm between Ryan and Keefer, the decision was made to go with red, race-inspired guts. DJ Designs was tabbed for the task—and they nailed it. Everything is precision and formfitted to Ryan for maximum control, especially the RECARO seats with Corbeau race belts. That’s useful when considering the power Rhodium possesses. The Sparc Industries billet aluminum steering wheel offers a perfect grip for anxious hands. Banging through the gears is smooth thanks to grippy Lokar pedals and a polished shifter arm topped by a shiny black Speed Dawg knob. A full Dakota Digital HDX LED custom gauge panel lights the way at night.
We were smitten by Rhodium when we saw it on Keefer’s Instagram feed @eastbaymusclecars. After its 2019 SEMA debut in the Odyssey Batteries booth, where it took home the prestigious Chevy Design Award for “Innovative Use of Technology”, the car then went to the Grand National Roadster Show and then the Sacramento Autorama. At both venues it captured first in class as well as the sweepstakes award.
Taking pictures of Rhodium was a parallel. Good cars are easy to shoot. From any angle.