This is my 1968 Camaro which I purchased in 1973 while attending school in Phoenix.  It was driven on the street for three years.  But by 1976 it was so fast that I was collecting  tickets every time I was on the street.  The city cops in my hometown of Hutchinson, KS. knew the car on sight and I'm told they would notify the other patrol officers by radio when they saw me out.  Sort of like John Milner in American Graffiti.  By 1976 I allowed the tags to expire and drove the car exclusively at the local drag strips.  I continued drag racing off and on for the next ten years or so but I eventually just got bored with going straight.  I always thought the 1st Gen Camaros looked better than they handled.  So in 2010 I got turned on to the Pro-Touring scene which emphasizes taking a 45 year old muscle car and making it run, handle and brake like a modern Corvette.  The Pro-Touring concept was exactly the look, feel and function I always felt the car should have had.   

When these photos were taken in the late 70's the Camaro was setup for drag racing.  These pictures were taken not too long after having the car repainted.  After I became bored with drag racing I decided I wanted to put the car back on the street but not as a stock Camaro.  But to be honest at this point I was not sure what direction I wanted to go with mods.  As I got into planning the street project I decided on a complete suspension upgrade.  So a simple conversion project suddenly turned into a major rebuild. I will probably create a restoration project page once it gets rolling.

As of April 2012 I have the Camaro back on the street with a full blown Pro-Touring suspension, but don't tell my hometown cops.

As I mentioned previously, I was introduced to the Pro-Touring build style a few years ago and this is the Camaro today after a complete suspension upgrade.  The car is now equipped with a Detroit Speed subframe, subframe connectors and mini-tubs.  Chris Alston Chassisworks 4 link rear suspension, Moser 9" full floating hub rear end, coilover shocks front and rear.  It all rides on Forgeline wheels 18x10 275's front and 18x12 335's rear.  The brakes are Corvette C6 Z06 calipers with 14" front rotors and 13" rear rotors actuated by a 7/8" bore Wilwood master cylinder.  Ironically the engine and transmission are the same small block and T-10 that were in the car when the above pictures were taken.  Naturally both have been rebuilt to run on the street.  Well actually the T-10 has not worked out as well as I had hoped, the gearing is just not optimal for hiway cruising.  The car really needed an over drive transmission so I installed a new T56 Magnum 6 speed and changed the rear end gear ratio to 3.89:1.  The car will now cruise on the hiway effortlessly and by the way this is the same paint today that was pictured above in the late 70's.. 

2014 update:  I broke a piston in the old 327 and had to make a decision on what engine to build.  I have had a 350 4bolt main short block that came out of my dad's 69 GMC pickup setting in my basement for 35 years.  So I decided to scrap the 327 and punch out the 350 block drop in a stroker kit, bolt on a nice pair of Racing Head Service aluminum heads and a modern Edelbrock retrofit roller cam/lifters.  I had my good friend Mike Ratzloff owner of Mike's Auto Service in Hutchinson, KS. put it all together.  Along with a complete MSD ignition upgrade and a new Victor Jr intake manifold with a MSD Atomic EFI and I ended up with a very potent 385 stroker that is making about 550hp.  I think my dad would get a kick out of knowing his old engine is tearing up the streets nearly 50 years after he purchased the truck.