Supercharged 1969 Chevy Camaro Is a Blast From HOT ROD’s Past

More than a few many years back, whilst straining to take up the Detroit area’s mammoth Woodward Dream Cruise, we spied one thing acquainted: a blown 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 with a major ’70s rake and multicolor graphics that were as time period-proper as a satin baseball jacket with a fondue stain on the sleeve. There was a time, of training course, when a 6-71 GMC blower poking by means of the hood of a very first-gen Camaro was as typical as present-day LS swaps, but this one stood out for extra than its common road-equipment stance. Which is simply because we would noticed it right before.

We noticed it in November, 1979, to be actual. That was the concern of Sizzling ROD for which it graced the include. It appeared identical, four a long time afterwards, to the vision that Tim Marshall and Yer Ol’ Dad, Grey Baskerville, shot at the Car or truck Craft Street Device Nationals that 12 months. When we say it appeared identical, we mean identical, proper down to the similar Dyers Road Charger supercharger, widened rear Cragars, psychedelic stripes, and handmade slapper bars. The Camaro’s operator was equivalent, far too: Les Sutak, from Kingsville, Ontario. That was all around 2019, and we produced programs to follow up with him and his time-capsule street device.

A handful of months afterwards, the pandemic strike, and the border to Canada closed. Les life a few miles south of Windsor, Ontario, so crossing around with our cameras was basically extremely hard. That improved in mid-2022, and when the border opened, we hustled throughout the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit to catch up with Les and his supercharged time device. The car or truck is a accurate X11-code Z/28 that he purchased in 1973 immediately after lusting after it for months. In reality, Les was previously driving yet another 327-run ’69 Camaro, but this just one stood out in his town.

“The dude who owned it had Cherry Bomb mufflers on it, and the vehicle previously experienced the stance with the raked rear conclusion and traction bars,” states Sutak. “Each and every working day, it would generate previous my house, and it sounded amazing. I experienced to have it.” After monitoring down the owner, he labored out a trade for his 327 Camaro furthermore one more few-hundred bucks. His desire ride, having said that, was anything of a nightmare. “It was in all probability the worst automotive offer I at any time built,” suggests Les. “The motor was toast—spun bearings and a cracked head, for starters. I had to tow it home.”

That led to a series of seasonal engine swaps more than the subsequent couple of many years, together with a 327 with a Paxton supercharger, but always with the car’s initial Muncie four-pace and 4.10 gears. It was a daily driver for a few of decades, before shifting into secondary-auto mode, pushed to the neighborhood A&W cafe, and other cruise spots and more substantial shows.

“Together with some other men in our automobile club, we drove it to the NSRA Street Equipment Nationals, in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1975,” remembers Les. “With no overdrive and 4.10 gears, I didn’t imagine we might at any time get there.”

It was close to 1978 that Les received severe about constructing up the vehicle. It wanted new sheetmetal and paint, even with staying less than 10 yrs previous. The first endeavor at a respray was junk, he states, which includes the multicolor stripes he envisioned. “The male didn’t use authentic candy paint,” he says. “It was, like, just thinned-out standard paint that finished up hunting certainly dreadful.” An acquaintance from a sister club in Detroit then proposed a youthful guy from the Motor City who was however in large college researching art but was now recognised to be fairly helpful with a spray gun.

“It turned his summer season project, and I imagine he utilized the income to obtain a digicam,” claims Les. “He did a genuinely wonderful career.” In point, it is really the paint task, which includes the graphics, that the vehicle nevertheless wears now. Indeed, some of the lacquer has cracked and light more than the decades, notably in the stripes, but the complete has held up remarkably well.

When it arrived time to redo the motor, the Paxton-blown 327 was jettisoned in favor of freshly crafted, .030-around 302 with a stable-lifter cam and the Road Charger. “Gary Dyer had the package with the blower, and I consider the small-compression Venolia pistons, much too” remembers Les. “I was not totally confident about having it shipped to Canada, so soon after ordering the kit on the cell phone, I drove with a buddy to Chicago to decide it up.” The blower situation was unpolished at the time, but the engine ran well right after Les got some help rejetting the twin Holley carbs topping it. He drove back again afterwards for a blower drive improve, and experienced the scenario polished. With the shiny blower back again atop the smaller block, it was off to the 1979 Car or truck Craft Street Device Nationals in Indy.

“Early arrivals obtained a probability to travel in teams about the Indy speedway, which we did with the Camaro,” claims Les. “I guess it was then that any person from Very hot ROD seen the auto. There were some photographs taken of it on the monitor, and we were being requested to fulfill early the future early morning for the pics that finished up in the journal and on the cover.”

Les remembers the auto was photographed from each individual conceivable angle, but there was no mention that  it would conclude up on the deal with later on that year, where it was component of a collage of modified muscle mass cars that incorporated 3 other blown road machines—a second-generation Firebird, an Olds 442 convertible, and a ‘Cuda. The Olds, by the way, is nevertheless around, and was restored to stock specs a couple many years ago.

The motor vehicle also shared the go over of Sizzling ROD‘s unique publication, Chevrolet #3. It was showcased together with Scott Sullivan’s groundbreaking supercharged Chevy II street equipment and a mid-12 months Corvette wearing fats Centerlines and six taillights, de rigueur for the era.

Immediately after the second of magazine go over-car stardom light, Les continued to cruise the power-fed F-human body, frequenting numerous activities in Canada and the States. Even though the car’s appear remained unchanged, he produced a number of mechanical upgrades, making an attempt to enrich its drivability. What did not modify was the car’s ’70s-stylish stance, created with re-arched rear leaf springs instead than the additional widespread longer spring shackles. The Camaro presently experienced the rake when Les purchased it, but he worked to get the wheel and tire combination just appropriate. That included acquiring a pair of 8-inch-broad Cragar S/S wheels widened to 9.5 inches and wrapped with N50-15 rubber, a look the automobile proceeds to dress in.

The car or truck hasn’t pushed a lot since the ’80s, but as Les begun to drive the automobile more, he realized that a several much more variations have been wanted. The engine experienced develop into worn-out, so he rebuilt it with a 383 rotating assembly, a hydraulic roller cam, and a established of AFR heads. Externally, though, he kept all its classic pace elements, including the exact Dyers supercharger. In the process, he also swapped the transmission for a Tremec TKO 600 five-pace. Its fifth equipment ratio is .82:1, which provides the engine’s cruising rpm down to about 2,000 rpm at 60 mph. “The motor vehicle drives really nicely, and it’s pretty streetable now,” claims Les. “This new combination really woke it up, and with the 2.87 initially equipment in the Tremec, the automobile actually can take off.”

The refreshed motor and new transmission are the only significant concessions designed to a time-capsule road device that blessedly stays a Kodachrome snapshot of its period. Seemingly within just minutes of its address physical appearance, just about every single 1969 Camaro in North The usa was tubbed—and all those that were not all got mini-tubbed 30 many years afterwards when the professional-touring motion took maintain. This Camaro missed both of those developments, despite the fact that Les admits he was tempted around the yrs to make more up to date updates. Fortunately, he resisted, remaining content material to cruise this time period-ideal representation of the colourful and innovative road-equipment period. As for these satin jackets and fondue get-togethers … effectively, let us just say some trends are improved left in the previous.

To kick off the YouTube online video collection, hosts Kevin Tetz and John McGann immerse them selves in the activity of swapping a Gen 3 Hemi into a 1972 Dodge Challenger. And this is not just any aged Hemi—we’re dropping a 707-horsepower Hellcat into the automobile and placing a person of Tremec’s brand name-new TKX five-velocity transmissions at the rear of it. The Challenger is also acquiring a brand new coilover suspension and a brake upgrade. The objective is to make it run and travel like a new Hellcat-driven Challenger, but with the classy very good appears to be of the original E-System. Following you’d accomplished with episode 1, observe EPISODE 2 and EPISODE 3, then signal up to the MotorTrend YouTube channel for extra fantastic automotive articles!