Hey from Arkansas, USA

Hello All,
I found this site accidentally while searching for about the Aloha Bobby and Rose Camaro (I’m gathering parts for a tribute car). Looking at this place a bit deeper I realized that I had found a pretty cool place. I grew up in the 1960’s/70s following endurance, CAN AM and TRANS AM. I felt like I lost a friend when I heard of Bruce McLaren’s untimely death.
Living in the land of cheap horsepower it was easy to put together “hopped up” street cars. Power with an attempt at handling was what I typically tried to accomplish. Corvettes and Camaros were the cars I usually butchered (according to collectors). Fortunately my wife also believes performance cars are a starting point and are improved by modifications.
The green Camaro was supposed to be my starting point for my ABAR tribute project. My wife decided that she wanted a car with a 6-71 so out came the 383/five speed combo and in went a 406/turbo 400. I built the engine to be a street/strip lump and other than fuel consumption it’s exceeded my expectations.
The blue Camaro was my birthday present from my wife. It’ was an abandoned frame off resto project. I parked the original engine and put together a 406/TKO 600 combo for this one. I’ve been taking a bit of grief for my modifications to this one but the difference between driving a stocker and mildly modified car is like night and day. I relocated the upper control arm mounts (Guldstrand mod), put in an IROC p/s box, solid body mounts, frame connectors and a few other simple tricks. On 17 inch wheels with Kumhos it doesn’t feel like a vintage car anymore but I do like the look of the 15 inch wheels.

Thanks to all of you for this great place to enjoy my favorite kinds of cars.

Kerry in Arkansas

Hi there Kerry, wow, great intro! Welcome to The Roaring Season, its great to have you here. I love your Camaros, the green '68 in particular looks like a real '70s throw-back. I just love the way these cars were modified in the '70s. You obviously know how to have fun with them, great that your wife is on-board with it too! Why would you get grief over your mods to the '69? Is it a genuine Z28? Do you still plan to build a ABAR tribute car?

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Originally Posted by Steve Holmes

Hi there Kerry, wow, great intro! Welcome to The Roaring Season, its great to have you here. I love your Camaros, the green '68 in particular looks like a real '70s throw-back. I just love the way these cars were modified in the '70s. You obviously know how to have fun with them, great that your wife is on-board with it too! Why would you get grief over your mods to the '69? Is it a genuine Z28? Do you still plan to build a ABAR tribute car?

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As the Magic 8 Ball would say, “All signs point to yes”. It was built before the “X “codes were added to the cowl tag so it’s not self-certifying (there are at least two places selling cowl tags made to order so even X code cars can be iffy). The block looks legitimate but people have been faking this stuff for a long time. The car has the proper components/heritage marks ( Muncie speedo cable location, original four speed sheet metal, frame mounted proportioning valve, dual exhaust mounts, proper fuel line) for the details, that if missing would indicate a non-z car.
The ABAR car is still in the works but other projects compete with it. I know a lot of people feel fake snakes are like belly buttons but 2300 pounds and 600 hp it will be fun no matter when it was made.

Great that you have the wife on board with your hobby, it sure does make getting it done a heap easier. Nice choice of cars too, I feel privileged to have one first generation Camaro, it can only feel twice as good to have two!! Nice mods to, don't worry about people who knock em, while you are out driving your car they have there numbers matching stock car in the garage cause is worth to much to use......

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Originally Posted by Yeah yeah na

Great that you have the wife on board with your hobby, it sure does make getting it done a heap easier. Nice choice of cars too, I feel privileged to have one first generation Camaro, it can only feel twice as good to have two!! Nice mods to, don't worry about people who knock em, while you are out driving your car they have there numbers matching stock car in the garage cause is worth to much to use......

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Good to heart from an “International” Gen 1. Is it difficult to own a Camaro where it's an import? I’ve heard that between shipping and duties parts can cost three times more for off shore American cars than it does in the States. I admire the dedication it takes to own U.S. autos around the world. Must take a VERY supportive wife.

I agree completely about parking an investment car vs. driving a modified car. It’s hard to describe the enjoyment factor in these cars with even the simple mods I’ve made. Both of my Camaros were manual steering. The green one had about six turns lock to lock. Changing to the 1987 IROC Camaro fast ratio, high effort p/s boxes reduced them to about 2 ½ turns lock to lock. In terms of “feel” that’s the best thing I’ve done to the cars. The steering box may not increase cornering power but the twisties are now easily handled with one hand on the steering wheel.

Parts are no problem, for small parts I get em local, a couple of places supply parts at reasonable prices. larger bits I import myself. I had heard about the steering mod before, good to hear it works as people say it does, ill put it on my list for Santa!