Engine and Drivetrain
The first thing you notice about the Camaro is the rumble from the exhaust; it comes courtesy of a nasty big-block Chevy. Gil Davis built the 565ci engine, and he added a 4.25-inch Callies crankshaft, Oliver billet rods, and custom Diamond pistons, and topped it off with a set of Brodix Head Hunter heads and intake manifold. The rest of the details include a custom roller camshaft from J&E Performance, FAST XFI fuel injection that is tuned by Frank Soldridge and a monster ProCharger F3 supercharger that’s driven by a geardrive system by The Supercharger Store. All told it produces over 1,800 rear-wheel horsepower on the in-house chassis dyno at PSI Motorsports at 30 psi of boost.
Chassis
Producing over 1,800 rear-wheel horsepower demands a serious platform to handle the speed and performance, so Vincent Fiore had the car fitted with a SFI-certified 25.5 ’cage, ladder bar rear suspension, Strange adjustable rear coilover shocks, and a Global West front suspension. The car was upgraded over several years to keep up with the constantly evolving times it was capable of running. The chassis and engine are extreme for the average street enthusiast but that’s what it takes to stand on top of the field in True Street competition.
Rollers
It’s a street car so it’s only natural that the car wears DOT-legal meats. Up front are a set of Mickey Thompson S/R. Out back, the rears are Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials that come in at a massive 315/60R15, which works out to be 30 inches tall and 11.9 inches wide. The height helps traction on track and, when combined with the 3.50 rear gear, the engine hums at only 2,300 rpm on the highway at 60 mph. Not bad for a car equipped with a Powerglide and no overdrive gear.
Interior
The interior isn’t exactly a place that will accommodate comfort on a cross-country trip, but it is certainly worthy for local cruising. The ’69 Camaro’s cabin is tight thanks to the equipment required to be a 7-second True Street contender. It’s dominated by a Funny Car ’cage that makes up a major part of the SFI 25.5 chassis certification. The ProCharger F3R blows into 4-inch tubing that runs inside the cabin to a back seat–mounted air-to-water intercooler, which discharges into another path of 4-inch tubing that runs through the firewall and into the engine. The driver can keep tabs on the engine via a FAST XFI touch-screen dashboard and an assortment of Auto Meter gauges. The back seat is still in there, but is rendered useless due to the rollcage and intercooler. The driver and passenger sit securely in a pair of Kirkey aluminum seats.
Body
The body is nearly stock, save for the fiberglass cowl-induction hood from VFN and the custom sheetmetal rear wing to help top end traction at nearly 190 mph. A parachute hangs off the rear bumper too and is required by the NHRA for any vehicle exceeding 150 mph. If you’re wondering, it’s removed for street use and easily bolted back on for track action. The sideview mirror, chrome trim, driprails, and emblems are all either refurbished originals or have been replaced.
CHP