Words: Harrison Wade Photos: Isaac Western
Ah yes, the 1960s, a time when petrol was cents per litre, rock’n’roll was playing on the radio, and young’uns weren’t glued to their phones 24/7. This is a time when American and Australian carmakers were pumping out some absolute crackers; some of the greatest cars ever made to this day. There’s a reason this era is considered the golden age of muscle cars, with models like the Plymouth Superbird, Ford Mustang, and Dodge Challenger cementing their place in history. However, many of us either weren’t born or were far too young to own one back then, meaning they became nothing more than a dream. Fortunately, dreams can come true, just as they did for Willy and his beast of a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro.
As a 10-year-old in the early 1970s, he recalls a trip to Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania, where he witnessed the late great Bob Jane throw his bright orange ‘69 Chevrolet COPO Camaro ZL1 into the hairpin a bit too hard, spinning the car. You can imagine that this would’ve been done in dramatic fashion, with the noise from that all-aluminium 427ci big-block no doubt setting the wheels in motion for Willy’s lifelong infatuation with this car.
It wasn’t until 2020 that Willy was finally able to satisfy this childhood dream, after buying a ‘69 Camaro for himself. “As we car guys get older, we get to indulge ourselves with all the toys we couldn’t afford back then,” he tells us. Too true. As it sat, the car was pretty much bog standard, albeit a little rough around the edges, making it the perfect starting point for what he had in mind. That’s where Carl Nixon from Classic Camaro came into the picture, taking on most of the build with Willy’s explicit instruction not to go “too crazy” with it, as he didn’t want a show pony, but rather a real driver’s car.
With a goal in mind, the process of stripping the body bare could begin, with surplus parts being sold off to breathe life into other Camaros along the way (funnily enough, some of those bits ended up in the hands of Ken and David Hopper, who eventually used them to build a Bob Jane tribute car; talk about coming full circle). For some classic car restorations, finding the parts to fix things up is a real issue, but as many of you would know, it’s a lot easier for a Camaro. Willy discovered that you can buy pretty much anything your heart desires for these cars off the shelf; not only new reproductions of original parts, but about 10 varieties of everything on top of that. With the opportunity to go wild in this department, he got a little carried away, replacing pretty much every nut and bolt holding the thing together. He told us, “DC Trading/Classic Camaro imported the huge list of parts, and then we started building a new ‘69 Camaro. We basically replaced everything”.
When it came to the matter of how to power this Camaro, he’d recently had a lot of experience with a twin set of LSAs that powered the jet boat he was using at work (boring way to spend the week, huh). This inspired him to equip the Camaro with one of the same 6.2L supercharged V8s, as while helping to shoot on the water for the next Avatar movie, they’d been great workhorses.
Considering that this is the same engine you’ll find tucked in the bay of a VF Holden HSV GTS, we’re glad it found a home in the Camaro. While the internals and blower were left untouched, Willy added a Wegner Automotive LSA drive kit, GM Performance Parts ECU, and Vapour Works fuel system, while cooling is now handled by a C&R Racing radiator and intercooler. All in all, this has given the power and torque a nice bump over the standard motor’s impressive 430kW/740Nm output. A faithful T56 Magnum 6-speed manual transmission was then mated to the block, funnelling power to a Dana 60 rear end with 4.10 gearing.
In their stock form, classic muscle cars aren’t exactly well known for their handling characteristics; leaf springs, solid-axle rear ends, and fairly vague steering boxes don’t help their generally heavier mass shift directions too easily. Meanwhile, Willy says that one of the main goals for this car was to hit the track at some autocross-style events. So this meant the sloppy handling of the stock setup needed to be addressed. With lap times in mind, the decision was made to mount everything onto an Art Morrison chassis, which brings important things like suspension into the modern age. Featuring independent front suspension from a sixth-generation Corvette and an independent rear setup, it was set to drastically improve drivability. This was paired with Strange Engineering coilover suspension all around, and a 1⅛-inch AME sway bar in the rear; completely transforming the way this muscle car handles. After driving it for a while now, Willy says, “With the Art Morrison chassis, suspension, and IRS, it handles nothing like your usual ‘69 era car. It’ll pull 1 lateral G”. This 1969 Camaro isn’t far off being able to toe-to-toe with a modern Porsche 911, then.
With the aim of taking corners as quickly as possible, this necessitated the need for some serious rubber to remain stuck the right way up; so on went a set of some of the stickiest tyres in the game — Toyo R888Rs, measuring in at an enormous 295/30R18 up front, and 335/30R18 in the rear. These envelop a set of 18×10 and 18×12 Budnik Vapor wheels front and rear, respectively, each hiding a monstrous set of Baer brakes with 14-inch discs and six-pot brake callipers all around.
Things were kept simple when it came to the exterior, with the body left just as the original design team at General Motors had it in 1969. Glancing at this car on the street, only a reasonable enthusiast would be able to tell you what’s different — the modern LED headlights, central exit exhaust, rear bumper guard delete, and the removal of the lower chrome strip below each door mean that this build doesn’t shout louder than it needs to. As for the paintwork, Willy decided to stay true to his inspiration by having the car painted in PPG Chevrolet Hugger Orange by Jason Edmonds, very similar to the finish found on Bob Jane’s race cars.
Like the exterior, the interior is a true work of art, with almost every surface being covered in brown and tan leather courtesy of Darryl Taylor’s handywork at Absolute Upholstery, complemented by a mahogany Momo Heritage California Wood steering wheel, Bowler Performance Transmissions shifter, and a sharp-looking set of Speedhut gauges. With regards to all important creature comforts, you’ll find an Alpine Halo head unit in place of the factory AM radio, feeding sound through a set of Focal speakers, while occupants are kept cool by a Vintage Air air conditioning system.
We have to take our hats off to Willy, not only for building a kick-ass Camaro, but also for the fact that his main plans for the car now are to drive it — remember how we mentioned he had his sights set on stretching its legs at some tarmac autocross events? Yeah, this won’t just be a Sunday cruiser, that’s for sure. And who knows, maybe it’ll inspire future generations to build a Camaro of their own, just as Bob Jane did for Willy all those years ago.
OWNER Q&A
DRIVER: Willy
AGE: 64
OCCUPATION: Lifeguard
PREVIOUSLY OWNED CARS: SLR Torana, Shelby GT500 Mustang, BMW M3, ’75 Bronco, Mercedes Unimog, Ford Raptor, and a ’68 427ci Corvette that my wife mostly drives
DREAM CAR: Plymouth Superbird
WHY THE CAMARO: The usual poorly thought-out, impulsive project!
BUILD TIME: 5 years
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: 7 years
THANKS: DC Trading/Classic Camaro, Bowler Transmissions, Art Morrison Enterprises, Matt’s Classic Bowties, Vapour Works, Absolute Upholstery, Race FX
SPEC LIST
VEHICLE: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
ENGINE: Chevrolet LSA crate motor, stock supercharger, Vapour Works fuel system, custom exhaust system, C&R Racing cooling system and intercooler, GM Performance Parts ECU, Wegner Automotive LSA drive kit
DRIVETRAIN: Bowler Performance Transmissions T56 Magnum, McLeod twin plate clutch, Dana 60 4.1 differential
SUSPENSION: Art Morrison IFS (Corvette C6) and IRS, Strange Engineering coilovers, AME 1⅛-inch sway bar
BRAKES: Baer 14-inch brake discs and 6-pot callipers front and rear, Hydroboost brake booster
WHEELS/TYRES: Budnik Vapor, 18×10-inch front, 18×12-inch rear, Toyo R888R 295/30R18 front, 335/30R18 rear
EXTERIOR: PPG Hugger Orange paint
INTERIOR: Custom leather upholstery by Darryl Taylor at Absolute Upholstery, Momo Heritage California Wood steering wheel, Bowler Performance Transmissions shifter, Speedhut gauges, Vintage Air air conditioning system
AUDIO: Alpine Halo head unit, Focal speakers
PERFORMANCE: N/A
