Body
To recap: new floors, quarters, tail pan, door skins, hood, trunklid, and fenders. Thunder Valley Custom in White, Georgia (population 729), prepped the body and applied the PPG base/clearcoat Mineral Grey and single-stage Z28 stripes ("because I like 'em," said Tommy).
Wheels/Brakes
You can never go wrong with the vintage five-spoke American style from which all such custom rims evolved, and nobody makes a nicer knock-off than Vintage Wheelworks. Here we have V-45s, sized 17x8 and 17x9.5, fitted with 245/45 and 275/40 nasty Nitto 555 Extremes. Those wheels hug Baer 13-inch brakes in front and 12-inch rotors in back. To maintain the system, Tommy installed a Hydratech HydroBoost and laughed all the way home.
Score Card
*First Place Custom Trailered '70-73; 995 points out of a possible 1,000; Worldwide Camaro Club Winter Nationals (Kissimmee, FL)
*Road Atlanta: 160 mph.
Chassis
Tommy wisely chose not to overpower his Camaro. He means to drive the car and to be both safe and a dare-devil if that's what needs to be. To that end he provided his car with a saintly measure of active avoidance-if he can't power away from danger, he might be able to handle his way out of it. Beginning with poly subframe bushings, he added Hotchkis drop springs and antisway bars all around. More polyurethane for the suspension attachment points and the offset upper control arm shafts. Edelbrock IAS shock absorbers complete the roundup. To prove the assembly, Tommy got a '70 Z28 quick-ratio steering box (21/2 turns lock-to-lock). As planned, the suspension won't rupture a kidney, but it will keep the shiny side up with minimal effort and return long-haul comfort.
Interior
American Autowire provided a specially modified Factory Fit harness to support Tommy's comfort and convenience jones. Besides what we mentioned in the main text, he also needed heated front seats, a Dakota Digital rearview mirror with a thermometer and a compass, and delayed-action wipers from a '77 Camaro. He added a correct '73 Z28 tachometer and a U14 gauge cluster. The auto shifter looks stock but has been modified for the 700R4 with Shiftworks components. HVAC is handled via Classic Auto Air. Aural gratification alternately strolls and stomps from an Alpine CDA-9856 head, a 450-watt amp, and Infinity Kappa component speakers. Sirius satellite and iPod are connected. For the sign-off, Tommy took his body hog to Sam Freeman in Dallas, Georgia, for the repro headliner and Comfort Weave upholstery. To be sure, the only thing that doesn't look stock is that LeCarra MK9 steering wheel.