Anyone lucky enough to get a ’67 Camaro for their 16th birthday probably ended up creating lots of great memories with it. That’s exactly the case with Shawn Gutterson, who on a cold Colorado winter morning in 1983 found a stock blue Camaro with wire hubcaps parked on the driveway as a gift from his parents. Over the next three years, the car would take Shawn to every high school football and basketball game, and be ready for many waterskiing trips during summer vacation.
While the 327 V-8, equipped with a two-barrel carburetor and Powerglide automatic transmission weren’t at the top of the muscle car performance list, Shawn enjoyed the power and did what most high school kids do: upgrade the exhaust and stereo system. But soon the responsibilities of becoming an adult and the time to have fun were put on hold as Shawn moved on with his life. This is typically the point where many would have to sell their first car, but that was never an option for Shawn. Instead, he decided to cover it and store it in his parent’s barn, knowing that someday it would be there waiting for him to take it out for another ride.
Unfortunately, the car sat for 22 years before he could truly enjoy it again. By this time, the car wasn’t as pristine and agile as he remembered it. Undeterred, however, Shawn appreciated his second chance with the car and now had the financial means to build it the way he really wanted. This is when he took the car over to Rob Green, a popular muscle car and race car builder in Orange, California, who took Shawn’s vision and rebuilt the Camaro from the ground up.
Green spent the time making sure that the various engine accessories were polished, and that the block was also painted to match the body color. Needless to say, if you’re going to go through that process, the entire undercarriage should be just as clean. Green made sure of that by also painting and polishing all of the components under the car to be just as nice as the exterior. This included matching the new Chris Alston’s Chassisworks front subframe, which came with tubular control arms, rack-and-pinion steering, and coilover shocks to also match the body color. Even the rearend was chromed.
Even though it took 22 years for the Camaro to get to this point, it definitely got a second chance at making an impression with Shawn, and any other Chevy enthusiast who takes the time to take a closer look at his ride and realize it isn’t just some restored ’67 with aftermarket wheels. It isn’t until they look under the hood and chassis that they get blown away by the detail and precision that sets this car apart from the rest.