BY NICK LICATA Photography by Wes Allison

Since the eighth grade when my Pop’s business partner rolled up to their tire store in a dark blue with white stripes ’69 Z/28 Camaro, the thought of owning a car just like that became my dream–more like an obsession,” Doug Renner vividly remembers. “That car was the catalyst to how this whole thing started with my ’69 SS.

Like many of us who grew up in the ’70s, playing with toy and model cars were the gateway to one day having the real thing. “As a kid, I loved playing Hot Wheels with all the neighborhood kids and my two brothers,” Doug recalls. “We’d play with those cars all day long.”

Not quite 16 years old, Doug had many sleepless nights thinking about the day he’d be able to drive the car to school. That day finally came and it was a memorable one as he’ll never forget the looks he got pulling into the school parking lot. Part of the deal he made with his dad was to keep the car stock, or at least leave as purchased. “Clearly that promise has been slightly violated,” Doug says with a smirk. “But my dad is OK with it.”

The modifications started out small and innocent—innocent to Doug, at least. He replaced a leaky thermostat at about six months in, then he and his high school buds installed a cam and an Edelbrock Torquer manifold with an adaptor to run a Quadrajet carburetor along with a Pete Jackson geardrive. Not long after, a Hurst Lightning Rods shifter made its way in the car. “A few months later I was running mid 13s at 106 mph at the strip. That setup got me major ‘street cred’ in my small NorCal town as I was beating alleged 10-second muscle cars by two to three car lengths.” It wasn’t long after that at least six other local cars were running geardrives, some with Lightning Rods.

Having owned the SS since 1983, the car has gone through numerous changes and upgrades. Some worked and some didn’t. There were also plenty of stop-and-start build situations over the years. In its current state the car is licensed and street legal but the reality is that it’s dedicated for the strip. That’s all due to the radical supercharged 434ci Katec Bowtie Raceshop small-block built by Craig Reeds High Performance in Fullerton, California, that belts out 1,320 hp to the tires. Fun on the street? Yes, but not for long, and absolutely not in any sort of traffic.

Doug confirms the car’s current engine combination lacks streetability, so he’s setting aside funds for a blown-and-injected Tom Nelson “Imposter” big-block. It sounds like a monster, which it is, but that engine has the capability to be street driven–something Doug has wanted for a long time.

That ’69 SS with a stock 350 and headers is a distant memory, but Doug has had some great times with the car over the years racing and hanging out at NorCal cruise nights with his buddies. Today he’s still having a good time wrenching and showing what he calls his “favorite” Camaro is all about, and he’s looking forward to getting that new mill between the ’rails so he can spend more time behind the wheel. “This car will still be a beast and I have no plans to retire it from drag racing, it will just be a little more street friendly so I can also take it on local cruises without stressing out.”

Doug mentioned this being his favorite ’69 Camaro, so does that mean he has another? Yep, he’s got a Pro Touring ’69 Camaro in the works that’s just about ready to hit the streets, so we’re going to assume that one is his second favorite, but we’re sure he spends an equal amount of time with both.