The car came with ALL of the original paperwork�bill of sale from the dealer, window sticker, maintenance receipts, even the Chevrolet brochure. The car was titled from the original owner!!!

I had spent a couple years planning how I wanted this car built. The engine, the drivetrain, the look. I was intrigued by the newly popular trend of Pro Touring. It couples the classic look of the muscle car with today�s engine, drivetrain and braking technology. Now I had the canvas sitting in my garage. I took the car for a few short cruises, pulled it back into the garage, and started carefully tearing it apart. My daughter Lauren and her girlfriend even help me pull the engine/trans out of the car. All of the front sheet metal was removed, the remainder of the drivetrain and rear suspension, along with the interior of the car. The subframe was stripped of all of it�s steering and suspension componants, and hauled off to Jay at Pro-Tek Powdercoating in Joliet, IL. He coated the subframe, inner front fenders, spindles, bumper brackets. After getting the parts back from Jay, the fun began.

I began adding all of the new Spicer steering componants, AGR 12:1 ratio steering box, Global West upper and lower control arms and new Hotchkis front coils. Then with the shell of the car up on jackstands (no rotisserie) I spent the next month and a half on the garage floor stripping the undercarriage of the car which was covered in undercoating. After finding the entire underside, rear wheels wells and all the rest of the sheetmetal rustfree, I was glad to spend that time removing that wonderful undercoating!! The underside was sprayed with ZeroRust red oxide for the stock look of a 1973 Norwood, OH built Camaro.

Part of my vision of the car in its finished state, was what a 1973 Camaro might look like if you were able to add today�s technology as options in 1973. Thus hints of stock build touches such as the undercarriage color. The next task was finding a restoration shop that was capable of great paint and bodywork without the car ending up in �paint-jail� for a year or more. After many ridiculous blind estimates and bad feelings of who I�d be dealing with for the work, I found Don DeFrancesco of NOS Restoration in Schaumburg, IL. He came to the house looked at the car and we had a long talk about what I wanted done with the car. Before too long he was back at the house with a chassis dolly and a flatbed tow truck. We slid the dolly under the car, loaded it on the truck and away the car went for some minor massaging and a fresh covering of 2001 Dodge Viper yellow by Sikkens in a basecoat/clearcoat syle. That was in early March of 2008.

I have to give endless thanks to my wife Cindy. She really had no idea what was in store being married to a car guy. I, on the other hand had quite a delicate balance to maintain, being a newlywed and having a car to finish building.

Before leaving the restoration shop, we installed the Pro-Tek (Joliet, IL) powdercoated subframe with Pro-touring F-body.com solid aluminum subframe bushings, ZZ4 engine, the Classic Motorsports prepared Tremec TKO 600 5-speed & cross member, The fresh Moser 12 bolt differential (Detroit Tru Trac 3:73 posi with Hoosier ring and pinion-33 spline Moser axles, C clips were eliminated with big Ford bearings and a 1350 yoke), and the Hotchkis TVS system rear leaf springs. I had previously modified (with help from friend John Wright) the spring pockets, using a method pioneered by F Body suspension legend Herb Adams (ala the Herb Adams Mod). It helps the rear of the car squat somewhat and help eliminate rear suspension binding and aids traction in the process.

I started in the engine compartment, changing out the ZZ4�s stock aluminum intake, in favor of an Edelbrock RPM Air-Gap intake, the Holley Street Avenger carb, the Holley fuel pump, and all of the fuel system plumbing consisting of Inline Tube stainless tank to pump stainless fuel line. Summit -8AN brainded stainless transistion from the stainless hardline to the fuel pump and from the pump to the carb. An MSD Pro Billet Digital E-Curve distributor and Blaster 2 coil send the spark.

Installed the underhood wiring & electrical consisting of the M&H engine harness, and forward lamp harness, Spal Extreme puller electric fan (3000cfm), ProTork mini starter, remote starter solenoid. All of the main wiring harnesses routed out of sight for a nice clean underhood look.

On went the Black Mountain Precision cogged pulley system, the Summit 100 amp alternator was mounted on a March Performance billet aluminum bracket. Summit chrome power steering pump sits on a Summit/Zoop�s Correct-align billet aluminum pump bracket. Installed a billet aluminum breather and PCV valve in the Scooter�s Performance centerbolt design Carbon Fiber valve covers. Chrome radiator cover, and Undercover Innovaions black anodized closeout cover, Twist Machine 2nd Gen billet aluminum fender struts, and Fesler billet aluminum hood adjusters. Topped off by a K&N 14� air cleaner element, capped by a Proform 14� Carbon Fiber air cleaner cover.

The exhaust system is a pair of Jet Hot Extreme Sterling (good to 1700*) coated Hooker SuperComp�s with 1 �� primaries to accommodate the ZZ4�s D-shaped exhaust ports and 3� collectors. They connect to a Pypes Performance 2.5� stainless exhaust system with x-pipe and Pypes Race Pro muffler�s. I hand polished the complete exhaust system on my grinder!!!

A fresh Spectra Premium sending unit and Spectra Premium gas tank covered in Hammerite Silver was installed. On to the Wilwood brakes. The car originally came with a manual disc/drum setup and was not going to have enough stopping power for new ZZ4 engine and drivetrain. The Wilwood Dynalite slotted and cross-drilled discs were installed and plumbed through Earl�s braided stainless flex lines, Inline Tube stainless hard line mated to a Wilwood tandem aluminum manual master cylinder. (purchased the Wilwood brake system from Frank and Lisa at GP Superstore (Prodigy Customs)).

The body received some Marquez design billet aluminum CID emblems on the front fenders. Front and rear bumpers, headlight bezels and tail light trim rings all black powdercoated.

The interior was purposely kept stock in appearance. Seats front and rear covered in new PUI stitched GM Comfortweave covers in black. New OER dash goes in as the original had the usual sunscorched warp and curl, a true sign of a 2nd Gen Camaro! New center console, rear package shelf, and Morris Classic Concepts 3 point retractable seat belts.

The stock instruments were retained. Unused switches and controls were covered with DragonPlate real cabon fiber laminate deletes, along with a carbon fiber radio and dome light delete in carbon fiber as well.

All of this took until early November 2008. After a thorough priming of the ZZ4 it was time to fire it up and get this car on the road. Some easily cured bugs we solved and this Camaro was back on the road after 26 months. I made an appointment for a front end alignment. On the way back from the alignment, I looked in the rearview mirror I saw smoke coming from in between the back seat and the package shelf, and the rear defroster vent!!!!! I quickly pulled over into the parking lot of a small warehouse complex and ran into the first office I saw and yelled �Do you have a fire extinguisher???� I man poked his head out of a doorway and pointed, I swung around saw the extinguisher and ran for the car. By the time I got back to the car, flames were coming off of the back seat a foot high!!! I blasted the extinguisher at the area of the flames, went to the trunk and blasted it from the backside of the fire and extinguished the disaster.

I looked at the car, dry chemical extinguisher residue covered the ENTIRE interior, the brand new restored headliner was melted, there was a huge hole in the back seat. I was devastated. The car was drivable, so I drove home into the garage and stripped the entire interior��again. This interior was going to be put back together better than ever. I took the headliner board back over to Riggs Brothers Tops & Interiors in Naperville, IL. I had found a really unique marine grade faux Carbon Fiber material to recover the headliner with. I ordered new replacement rear seat covers, but the rear seat back was a problem, as these were not being reproduced. I found a donor from a fellow member (thanks RICARDO) on NastyZ28.com ( THE best 2nd Generation Camaro information website on the entire internet.) I also added a new set of AutoMeter Carbon Fiber series gauges to the center console (oil pressure (a must) and vacuum gauge). Also a Tenzo Turismo 14� steering wheel, to which I added a Carbon Fiber touch to the horn button. One of the most unique touches to the interior additions was an NRG Innovations quick release steering wheel hub. Depress a button, and slide a safety collar forward, and OFF comes the wheel�.great theft deterrent.

SO the car was all back together AGAIN��finished, complete, done��for now.

This was indeed the single biggest accomplishment of my do it yourself life. There were plenty of bumps in the road of this long journey, but I had lots of help and plenty of assistance along the way. I don�t know how guys did this �back in the day�. The internet was absolutely invaluable. I have many people to thank from many places, I met some great new friends along the way from places like the afore mentioned NastyZ28.com, pro-touring.com, Lateral-g.net. Honorable mention must go to George Morris, and too many others to fit into this space. This is a great hobby, filled with great giving people�..a brotherhood bound by a hobby� CARS!!! I am very fortunate to have this car, but even more fortunate to have met new friends.

The biggest thanks go to my wife Cindy, for putting up with being married to a car guy.