hen it comes to building a classic hot rod you can pay a shop to do it all and have it done fairly quickly, or as in Mike Friend’s case with the build of his 1968 Camaro, you can take the ol’ “start ’n’ stop” route, which, unfortunately, adds a few more years to the build. It’s not ideal, and it wasn’t Mike’s initial plan, but that’s how it went down.
“I bought the car off an eBay auction about nine years ago from a guy in Detroit who claimed he was the second owner who purchased it from a guy in Bakersfield who claimed to be the original owner,” Mike states. “The shell was in good shape with little-to-no rust, although it needed a tail panel, doorskin, hood, and fender. Oh, and the engine, seats, and console were stolen when the shop doing the restoration got broken into.
One night while heading home from a dinner date with his wife, a badass Pro Touring 1968 Camaro passed him going down the road. Mike explains it like this: “Once that car drove by, I literally cut off two lanes of traffic to chase the guy down and ask him to pull over. The car looked awesome and sounded mean. The dude must have thought I was nuts, but he pulled over and I told him about my car and how I wanted to build my car just like his. After that night, we’ve since become good friends and that guy, Ray Thompson, has been a huge help with my project most of the way.
With Thompson’s experience and knowledge a huge help, Uncle Elf and Mike were rejuvenated–they got all fired up and got going on some fabwork and began installing a Detroit Speed coilover kit up front and their QUADRALink suspension system out back. They were making progress but things were still moving a bit slow until Mike learned of an old guy up the road from him who specialized in building first-gen Camaros. His name was Larry “The Boss” Hale, and he was building first-gens two at a time. “Larry is a total Camaro guru who knows every nut, bolt, and clip on a Camaro.” Mike says. “He helped me with all the restoration parts and hard-to-find bits for the car, but being another old-school guy he didn’t quite grasp onto the modern direction I wanted to take the Camaro, which once more contributed to the car’s progress getting held up.”
“With the paint and engine taken care of, I went to John Miller, owner of Hide Originals in New London, Ohio, for a custom interior,” Mike states. “I threw him some ideas of what I was looking for and he absolutely nailed it. It’s the perfect blend of performance and comfort and is actually one of my favorite parts of the car front to back. It’s got a Vintage Air A/C system and I installed a kick-ass sound system. There’s not much more I could ask for.”
Vehicle: 1968 Chevy Camaro
Type: Dart SHP block
By: Shafiroff Racing
Displacement: 427 ci
Compression Ratio: 10.25:1
Cylinder Heads: AFR
Rotating Assembly: SSRE/Scat 4340 4.000-inch stroke steel crankshaft, Scat 4340 6.000-inch H-beam steel rods, Mahle Forged aluminum pistons, Plasma moly ring set
Valvetrain: High-performance hydraulic roller lifters, 2.080-/1.600-inch stainless steel valves, hydraulic roller springs with steel retainers, Comp Cams Ultra Pro Magnum roller rockers
Camshaft: SSRE/Comp cams custom grind hydraulic roller (specs proprietary)
Induction: Edelbrock RPM Air Gap aluminum intake, Quick Fuel 830-cfm carburetor
Assembly: Shafiroff Racing
Exhaust: Stainless Works 1 ⅞-inch headers, custom stainless 2½-inch exhaust, Flowmaster stainless steel mufflers
Cooling: Be Cool aluminum radiator
Accessory Drive System: Vintage Air Front Runner
Ancillaries: K&N air cleaner, MSD ignition, Ringbrothers hood hinges, Ron Francis Wiring, Dynamat insulation
Output 584 hp at 6,000 rpm, 576 lb-ft at 4,700 rpm
Transmission: TREMEC TKO 600 five-speed manual
Clutch: McLeod twin-disc, McLeod flywheel
Driveshaft: Driveshaft Shop
Rear Axle: Moser 12-bolt, truetrac limited-slip differential, Motive 3.90 gears, Moser 33-spline axles
Front Suspension: Detroit Speed coilover tubular A-arms, Detroit Speed shocks, Detroit Speed sway bar, Detroit Speed subframe connectors
Rear Suspension: Detroit Speed QUADRALink with Panhard bar, Detroit Speed shocks, Detroit Speed sway bar
Brakes: Wilwood 12-inch rotors with four-piston calipers front, Wilwood 12-inch rotors with four-piston calipers rear; Wilwood master cylinder and proportioning valve
Steering: Flaming River
Wheels: Billet Specialties Street Smart Launch; 17×8 front, 17×11 rear
Tires: Toyo Proxes R888; 235/40R17 front, 315/35R17 rear
Upholstery: California Black carpet, black/gray leather
Installer: Hide Originals LLC (New London, OH)
Seats: Recaro X
Harness: G-Force five-point
Pedals: SRP Racing
Steering: Flaming River column and steering wheel
Shifter: Clayton Machine Works
Dash: Factory
Instrumentation: Auto Meter
Sound System: Pioneer head unit, Rockford Fosgate Amp, Infinity speakers, Infinity sub
Stereo Installation: Owner
HVAC: Vintage Air
Bodywork and Paint: Uncle Ed Friend (Elf)
Paint: Matrix Premium Gray Metallic/Black
Body Modifications: Detroit Speed mini-tubs
Bumpers: Original powdercoated
Outside Mirrors: Factory Second-gen Camaro
Headlights: LED
Taillights: Digi-tails
“I hustled side work and saved like crazy to be able to own a Camaro like this. I totally love this car and how it jumped from one hillbilly garage to another–one for paint, one for fabwork and brakes, and still another for final assembly,” Mike reveals. “Hell, I don’t even have a lift, so it shows how things can come together with the help of friends and family.