Lateral-g.net :: Steve Chryssos's Pro-Touring 68 Camaro

The original Streetfighter by Steve Chryssos Lateral-g.net February 2006 Feature Car

The Story
I don�t care much for looking backwards. But I make one exception: My favorite car. A 1968 Camaro that�s been with me for most of my life. I guess it was 1978 that I saw the movie Corvette Summer. I know�it�s a cheesy movie, but bear with me. I was awestruck as a wrecked vette passed overhead on its way to the crusher. Luke Skywalker, of all people, was rushing to save it from its sorry ending. Wow! Fast forward to the ending, and Mark Hamill�s character finally realized the absurdity of car obsession. He learned his lesson and walked away from the car that he chased so passionately.

But I never learned that lesson. I am hopelessly car obsessed. And from the moment that I walked out of that theatre, I bugged my dad to help me get a car of my own to rebuild. In 1980, I was 13 years old and my dad finally relented. All the ad said was: �1968 Camaro: $800.� That�s it. What we found was a tired car with 14 dents, seven rust holes and no options. The straight six was barely visible under almost 20 years of neglect. Sure it was driven by a little old lady. But rather than trips to church on Sundays, she used the car to deliver art in Manhattan. So the car was abused. But it was mine.

Me and this car have some serious history together. I�ve had this car through Jr. high. (red pictures) high school (primered pictures), college (yellow pictures) and up to the present (gold pictures). My wife and I dated in this car and it�s moved with us from one home to the next. Other toys have come and gone, but my Camaro remains. Like I said: car obsessed.

All the talk about Barrett-Jackson and valuation makes me laugh. My car is priceless and worthless at the same time. This car is not for sale. So I�ll never realize financial gain. And even the most ludicrous offer is not enough money. (...and I�ve turned down a couple.) Over the years, the car has been stolen (and recovered obviously), wrecked, raced, and rebuilt a few times. It�s been featured in numerous catalogs, ads and a few magazines. I�ll continue to drive the car hard and rebuild it every few years. In fact, it�s overdue for a makeover. We�ll do Power Tour and a few other events this year, and then tear it apart in the winter of 06.

The current build follows a major wreck that occurred in the summer of 1999. Four wheel disc brakes were of little benefit when a Nissan Pathfinder decided to make an illegal U-Turn across a major 4 lane highway. The Camaro impacted the left rear corner of the errant SUV. My wife broke her L5 vertebra and nearly suffocated when her throat swelled up after hitting the dash. But she let me drag the thing home. The yellow era was over and the next generation started with the removal of crushed sheetmetal and broken glass. Check out the steering wheel picture. I tore the rim off the spokes.

Adding to the obsession, this car has even spawned a business. During the rebuild, I decided to run an electronic automatic transmission in hopes that someday, an aftermarket company would adapt �manumatic� technology to the world of hot rods. Little did I know that myself, my wife and my good friend Frank Cerasuola would be the ones to release that technology. While aftermarket computers with manumatic capability have been available for almost eight years, no one ever thought to make a shifter that takes advantage of the shifting technology. Well, Frank and I proved it out on my Camaro and Twist Machine, LLC was born. One year later there are dozens of �Shrifter�� equipped hot rods in existence.

Ultimately, I feel my Camaro represents the American dream. I grew up with this car and dated my wife in this car. I applied my experience with hot rods to start a career in the hot rod industry. And the car helped us build a company of our own. I guess I�m supposed to learn how to let go. After all, it�s just an inanimate object, right? Nah! I�ll just build a bigger garage.