'68 Camaro z/28 (clone) - project RATBRTH

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Alright, well here it is. First picture is the only one I have of my uncle's car. It's literally a picture of a picture. All the following are of my '68 Z clone I purchased last spring/summer and as it sits now. Nothing too fancy, nothing too exciting. Can't wait to start ripping, tearing and all that good stuff. Was originally a 68 RS coupe and now it has a very mild 350, with an Edelbrock high RPM package (cam and some other junk, I'm not even really too sure), a way too big carb and a 2 speed powerglide. I'm fairly certain the rear has some 2.73's or something ridiculous like that so it isn't winning any drag races. But, a start is a start.

RATBRTH is the vanity plate, and it's short for Rat Breath. Odd name? It was my uncle's term of endearment for myself, and my two cousins growing up. Many fond memories of exploring and most certainly breaking things in his body shop.

909899099190990

[lzdick]

'Rat Breath' makes me laugh. I have a nephew who is affectionately called 'Dog Breath'...by yours truly.

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'Rat Breath' makes me laugh. I have a nephew who is affectionately called 'Dog Breath'...by yours truly.

This is too funny.. never underestimate how much you mean to your nephew. :) I'd give anything to hear those words again.

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A quick, general list of things that will make up the finished product.

- Twin turbo LS smallblock
- T-56 Magnum (there is still a small chance I may be a wimp and go with an automatic as I don't know what it will be like to shift gears in that kinda power)
- DSE suspension front and rear (again, undecided on which setup, so I will pull on all you gurus for some advice)
- a non certified cage (more for nostalgia as the original car had a real certified cage)
- a satin black paint job, a la moi (my uncle never got the chance to paint his Sunoco colored car to black, so I will)
- a big brake kit (unsure of what brand, although I am set on having them done in Sunoco yellow as tribute to the original)
- BOZE Tach wheels, 18" front, 19" rear, all black (because stance is sexy)
- a full Marshall gauge setup (I like to try to be unique, which in the world of Pro Touring is quite hard, and I think they're an extremely well built product)

and of course a million other odds and ends that I am sure I will contemplate and change again and again until it's all just right.

Hope a few of you will follow and comment on it all as I plug away at the build! Again, very excited to be part of such a well established automotive community.

[BMR Sales]

Your Uncle's Car looks like a Penske Trans-am car

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Your Uncle's Car looks like a Penske Trans-am car

At the risk of sounding like a fool, as I claim to be quite the gearhead... what would classify it as such? I'm asking because that car was termed as a race car in it's finished state. This picture was taken the same summer it had it's cage installed, the front end was actually 'deleted' and two small fog lamps were installed in the lower valance to make it 'street legal'. It spent hours and hours on an oval race track and I remember it literally lapping the competition. The 302 was swapped for a custom 350 built at Zeke's High Performance in Montreal, Canada. The car revved past 7k and as I remember it, was an open header setup. Any info anybody can provide on that car, even theories or whatnot, would be greatly appreciated!

[LS7 Z/28]

At the risk of sounding like a fool, as I claim to be quite the gearhead... what would classify it as such? I'm asking because that car was termed as a race car in it's finished state. This picture was taken the same summer it had it's cage installed, the front end was actually 'deleted' and two small fog lamps were installed in the lower valance to make it 'street legal'. It spent hours and hours on an oval race track and I remember it literally lapping the competition. The 302 was swapped for a custom 350 built at Zeke's High Performance in Montreal, Canada. The car revved past 7k and as I remember it, was an open header setup. Any info anybody can provide on that car, even theories or whatnot, would be greatly appreciated!

Just Google "Penske Camaro" and you will see the likeness of your uncles car to the Penske Sunoco theme that they ran on multiple different Camaros. I think if you're going to do a tribute to your uncles car you should go all the way. Blue body with Yellow Boze Wheels. I like the black paint black wheel look as much as you do but I think you should make a modern refined version of the car in the photo. It's up to you man, just my opinion. Good luck.

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Just Google "Penske Camaro" and you will see the likeness of your uncles car to the Penske Sunoco theme that they ran on multiple different Camaros. I think if you're going to do a tribute to your uncles car you should go all the way. Blue body with Yellow Boze Wheels. I like the black paint black wheel look as much as you do but I think you should make a modern refined version of the car in the photo. It's up to you man, just my opinion. Good luck.

.. and I did just that! I've spent the last few days on and off reading and watching videos. Funny that all these years I never really came across that kind of info. I am absolutely in love with the sound of those cars and they seemed far beyond their years at the time. Really cool info and I can now see what he did to replicate those cars. Funny that I've purchased a clone only to find out his was one too. :)

I agree with you 100%. My original plan was to replicate his car with a NEW Camaro, actually. Then I decided I saw far too many of them on the road and I lost interest simply due to the volume of them I see. Nothing quite like original F-body lines IMHO. The only reason, aside from black being my favorite on most cars, is that the last time I ever spoke with him he had decided to paint the car black and change the look. So I've tossed and turned over which decision will bring me the most satisfaction. Bring that car back to life my own way, or finish what he couldn't. Sure would be neat to have PT version of a Trans Am car though.

Maybe I should meet it all halfway and do a black car with yellow wheels, lol! Thank you a lot for your thoughts Casey.