Redemption
The Client
The owner of Redemption is Bryan Frank
of Scottsbluff Nebraska he is an avid
collector of muscle cars of all
genres. He is a good friend and all
around nice guy who enjoys building
cool cars. Check out his toys at
Thefrankcollection.com.
The Car
The �68 Camaro affectionately called
�Redemption� started out life as a
Rally Green Z28 complete with the 302
and 4 speed. It was rumored spend its
early life as a drag race hero in
Kentucky. As with most rare muscle
cars, the engine and transmission soon
became scrap metal. Fast forward to
2007 when Bryan purchased the car off
Ebay complete with another 302. The
seller informed him that it needed
minor paint work and a few small
details to be perfect. When the car
showed up in Scottsbluff, it was
obvious that a complete restoration
was in order to make things right.
Frustrated but unwilling to dump the
mess onto someone else, Bryan enlisted
me to bring it back to its glory days.
Redemption was born.
The Plan
We loaded up the car and hit the road
for home. Miles upon miles of country
roads gave me a chance to think
through some ideas. I remembered the
reason that Chevy had produced the Z28
was to compete in the Trans Am racing
series complete with the 302 to meet
the cubic inch displacement
requirement. The G-machine community
owes it roots to Trans Am racing with
greats like Mark Donahue, Jerry Titus
and Smokey Unick. Somewhere in Montana
the idea was birthed, what if a guy
walked into a Chevy dealership in �68
to buy a Z28 to race on the weekends
at SCCA events? What if that guy had
access to 2010 technology? That was
it! We would transform Redemption into
a �state of the art� road carving
beast while paying respect to our
Trans Am heroes. Two things were a
must, minilite style wheels and a cowl
air cleaner. My good friend Jason
Rushforth was hired to design a
concept and wheels.
Specs
Chassis & Suspension:
The foundation for the build was a
complete Speedtech subframe and rear
suspension. The high clearance a-arms
allowed it to run 275�s on a 18x9 rim
up front. QA-1 coil-overs suspend
everything. DSE mini-tubs allow room
for a 325 on a 19x11.5 rim. The brakes
are Baer Pro-Plus 6 piston on 14�
rotor on all four corners. Tires are
Generals and the wheels are Rushforth
Black Widows.
Engine and Drivetrain:
Redemption is propelled by a 2002 LS6
that was freshened up. The mostly
stock longblock was updated with a
Comp Cams bumpstick, Holley Victor Jr.
EFI intake and an Accufab throttlebody.
Oil control is managed by an ATS oil
pan and remote oil filter. Wegner
Racing Engines supplied the valve
covers. The transmission is a
pro-touring standard issue Tremec T-56
enhanced with Viper upgrades. Power is
transferred to a 9� rear with 3:89
gears.
Paint and Body:
Redemption was pulled apart and sent
out for media blasting which revealed
that major metal surgery would need to
take place. Almost every panel needed
replacement only the roof a door and
fender would be saved. Once the metal
work was completed painter Gertrudis
Rodas prepped the body and sprayed the
Volkswagen Salsa red paint.
Interior:
The Rushforth Design interior followed
two of Bryan�s requests. He loves
deluxe �67 Camaro interiors and wanted
big white stitching like in his wife�s
Escalade. Tony Miller, proprietor of
Stitches Custom Upholstery executed
the design flawlessly.
The Show:
As with any build, there joys that
make it all worthwhile; the first time
the engine comes to life, that first
test drive and of the first debut.
These events were packed into one week
culminating with a spot on the carpet
at SEMA. Several late night trashes
made it possible to make the trek
south to Vegas. We parked Redemption
out front of the Convention Center and
checked into our room. The next
morning Dynomax exhaust was calling,
it seemed a booth car from Illinois
had failed to make the show and they
needed the Camaro ASAP. We were headed
into Hot Rod Alley, a dream of mine
had come true!
Friends:
Redemption was made possible by a
collection of talented people. Thanks
go out to Bryan Frank, Jason Rushforth,
Brent Dunivin, Casey Gewikie, Rob
Sonneman, Dan Mathews, Steve Allen,
Jim Stutz, and Alyssa Holsterom
