Story behind the car

This is a story about a boy, his dad, and a car.  In the early '80s my dad acquired this worn out beaten up tired old 1969 Camaro from my oldest brother.  I was a 13-year-old boy that thought of nothing more than V8 engines, shiny paint, and wide tires.  Lacking direction in my efforts, my Dad came up with a plan to put me on the straight and narrow.  He promised me he would devote his time and money to rebuilding the Camaro if I would keep my grades up and stay out of trouble.  WOW!  A 13-year-old kid on the verge of owning his first car...and a hot rod at that!

We worked nights and weekends until our hands hurt.  All the while, we grew closer.  He was teaching me to be the man I am today.  As I turned 14 we went full throttle into making this car come back to life.  For the next two years it consumed me, yet I kept on the A-B honor roll, and stayed out of trouble.  When I turned 16, I took my driver license test in the 69.  It became a major part of my life through high school as my ride to prom, and landing a permanent spot in the yearbook by being voted the best car of my senior class.

We didn't use it much after that except for shows and special nights out like PROM.  In 1989 we decided to trade it on what was then a nearly new Corvette (1985), as I was in college and needed something more reliable and better on gas with an opportunity to begin building my own credit history.  I kept the 1985 Corvette through 1996 when I sold it to a good friend.

Through a strange twist of events more wild than fiction the 69 Camaro came back into my life.  In the summer of 2003 my friend sold the 1985 Corvette back to me as he was saving money to get married.  The engine was blown and parts were scatted in boxes and crates.  After a few months I had it running and driving once again.  My wife and I really enjoyed cruising around in it again, especially since I proposed to her outside of TCBY in that very car!

On October 25, 2003 my world turned upside down.  I lost my dad to a massive heart attack.  It was the most incredible pain and sense of loss I have ever faced.  My wife was pregnant with our first child, but my heart was full of grief and sadness.  It was then I recalled how often my dad would talk of the old Camaro and how once in a while he thought he saw it driving around Jacksonville.  I knew I had to find it and get it back.

After an exhaustive search I located the VIN, and through pulling a few strings I was able to match the VIN up with a current owner.  Turned out the car was about 200 miles away in Seffner, Florida on the third owner since we traded it to Lloyd's Corvettes of Jacksonville.  I contacted the owner with a simple letter and pictures of the car from when I was a kid.  He responded to my letter and in short period of time we made arrangements to go see it.  That weekend still rests fresh in my mind.  I didn't know what I would feel or think when I saw it again.  I wondered if my dad would be excited about what I was doing.

The day finally came to see the car.  It was all in primer and had blue paint in some of the jams and under the hood.  Little by little the new owner was washing away all signs of my history with the car.  There was however no doubt it was my old ride.  The engine was just the same, and a sticker I had put under the shifter from a 1:24 model kit was still there!  The mica metallic red paint was still showing on the spoiler, grill, and on the edge of the quarter panels.  My heart filled with excitement.  I begged the current owner to sell it back to me, but he just wasn't interested.  He had the car since 1997 and had launched a long-term restoration that had been ongoing for nearly four years.

Time went on after the visit and I began to convince myself I would never see the car again.  One night I thought I would throw one last shot out there.  I emailed a picture of the 1985 Corvette and suggested we make some kind of trade.  This is the VERY 1985 Corvette that I had originally traded the Camaro for in 1989.  It wasn't long and we had a deal.  We traded titles, boxes of parts, and I wrote a check for an undisclosed amount.  IT WAS FINALLY MINE AGAIN!

We brought the car home in February 2004 were it sat as I drew up my plans.  My son Garrett was born March 15, 2004 and my life turned upside-down again (or in this case, it turned back to right side up).  Becoming a dad myself has been the most wonderful event of my life.  It has brought a sense of balance back from the loss and given me hope for the future to share with my son the things my dad so carefully and patiently sewed into the fabric of my being.  I knew immediately I had to dedicate this Camaro to my son and make a promise it would be his some day as well.  Soon after his birth we launched the resurrection project.

We decided to paint the car back exactly as it was when I was a kid and keep the interior as stock as possible.  In keeping with the current trend of Pro-Touring, I had to make some changes to the power train and suspension.  We located a late model all aluminum fuel injected LS1 engine, overdrive auto transmission, late model Corvette brakes, Ford 9" rear axle, and a whole host of other go fast goodies.  Through countless hours of planning and building, we managed to shave the entire firewall hiding the brakes, wipers, a/c, cruise, and all other hoses and wires.  The racing stripes actually continue uninterrupted down the firewall into the engine bay.  Although these projects are never really finished, after a year of hard work doing virtually everything ourselves, the car is finally back on the road.  In fact we drove the car approximately 2,000 miles to Columbus, Ohio the second week of July with minimal troubles, ice-cold a/c, and 23 miles to the gallon.  I think my dad would really be proud of what we have done with the old pile of bolts.

They say if you love something, you should set it free.  If it comes back to you it was meant to be.  After fifteen years of separation it came back.  Every time I catch a glance, sweet memories come back and I remember my dad.  He was then and continues to be my hero, my mentor, my guide, and teacher.  I can only hope that someday my son will grow to appreciate this car and let it teach him as much about life as it has me. In the end, it is not about the car as much as it is about the journey along the way the relationships, the friends, and family.  You can visit my Website at www.mcspeed.com for more information, photos, and an email link.

Tech Specs

ENGINE:

2000 LS1
SLP Head/Cam Package
LS6 Intake
36# Injectors
SLP oil pump
Comp Cams push rods
Cold Air Intake
1 3/4" modified 2000 Z-28 non-emission Headers
Custom 2.5" x Pipe
Imco Stainless mufflers
32"x19" 4 core aluminum radiator
2002 Malibu twin cooling fan assembly
F body accesory drive

TRANS/DRIVE:

TCI 2,800 stall
Rebuilt truck 4L60E trans
96 Caprice Police Package modified drive shaft
3.5 Gears, for 9"
Mosier 31 spline axles
22 Gallon 1996 Caprice plastic composite fuel cell
255 Walbro in tank pump
Complete plastic/composite fuel lines
1997 Vette fuel rail
1998 F body PCM with custom programming

BRAKES:

Front-13" cross drilled C5
Rear-12" F body LS1
Custom 1988 manual S-10 hidden master cylinder

SUSPENSION:

Stock front coils (shaved)
Vette Brakes & Products fiberglass rear mono springs
Vette Brakes & Products 1" front sway bar
Vette Brakes & Products 7/8" rear sway bar
Edelbrock gas shocks
Steeroids Rack & Pinion
Subframe filled and shaved smooth

WHEELS:

2004 Corvette 17" front, 18" rear on Vette offset
Goodyear EMT
(Will be replaced with a hot set of Intro rims in the future)

EXTERIOR/PAINT/TRIM:
Stock Body
Passenger door lock cylinder shaved like late model GM vehicles
Trunk lock shaved with remote access and keyless control
1986 Renault Alliance mica metallic pearl red
1986 Cadillac black cherry racing strips
Metallic gold border on stripes
Firewall is totally shaved smooth
Racing stripes extend down the cowl to the engine
Truck Bedliner coating on entire belly and inside of roof, truck, floor, firewall.
Core and inner fender holes shaved smooth.
Trunk floor access panel grafted from 1996 Caprice for clearance and access to the fuel pump
Yellow top trunk mount battery

INTERIOR:

Mostly stock standard black interior package
Vintage A/C with Detroit Speed control head plate
Autometer Pro-Comp Ultra Lite gauges custom fit to stock dash
Ash tray "bumped" forward with gauge pod and power outlet
Dash color matched to the body
Bowtie Overdrives 4 speed auto shift panel
Power Window with auto drive down on hidden switch panel
Power locks
Keyless with fully integrated security system
Sony head unit, Kenwood surround, 10" MTX sub and 500 watt Alpine amp
Late model lighted GM rear view mirror
Totally hidden Cruise control operating on stock GM style column switch
1981 Vette tilt/tele column with 69 Vette steering wheel
Fuel Pressure gauge mounted where wiper switch goes.
Custom hidden wipers operating from a stock late model GM column switch
Child seat mounts welded into rear compartment for center and top mount child seating