Blake and Brent Grandil are the picture-perfect average father and son team who share a common love for American iron. When father and son teamed up to build this '67 Camaro, the results were far above average.
For the last several years, Blake and Brent would regularly attend the famous Pomona swap meet. It wasn't unusual for them to load up a trailer filled with an assortment of parts, and make the trek from Phoenix, Arizona, to Southern California, to hock their wares. Brent has even shared some exaggerated memories of having to spend his nights in Pomona, sleeping among the auto parts to keep them from walking off in the night. Perhaps it was all those weekends that Brent's father kept him around automotive shows that gave him his unique vision and love for Camaros.
Brent's father, Blake, is no stranger to building cars and experiencing his own automotive visions. Throughout his life he has built up and had many a musclecar, hot rod, and even has a soft spot in his heart for all-original Chevelles. As is typical in any father and son relationship, the younger son will often view his father's taste as being conservative. And that's just how Brent viewed his father's past builds. They were all beautiful, but they "had all been pretty conservative." It was on one of their many trips to Pomona that Brent shared his Camaro vision with his father, which, according to Brent, included a "'67 Camaro, with big 20-inch wheels, shaved door handles, a bright orange color, a suede interior, and a killer A/V System...can you picture that?" Skeptical at first, Blake went along with his son, and they soon found their '67 project. And there it sat, rusting in peace. As Brent puts it, the Camaro "looked like it had been sitting outside for years. The doors didn't open correctly; the interior seats were not much to sit on; it was in a faded primer paint; and all the rubber was cracked and peeling off." Still, to any do-it-yourselfer, this is just more of a challenge than a problem. Brent realized right away that the only way to stop or slow this Camaro down was to throw out a boat anchor. Driving it home was not an option. A trailer was quickly rented, and the Camaro was soon on its way to a new home in the Phoenix valley.
As we mentioned, Blake did not initially share in his son's unique vision of the Camaro. That quickly changed, however, and soon both father and son were deep into the project. A scant 1 1/2 years later, the Camaro you see in these pages rolled out into the sunlight and down the city streets.
As for the build, here are some factual goodies to feast upon. The Camaro sports a GM Performance ZZ4 350 crate motor, and has been dressed and polished up to take on a more refined look. Behind all the billet and chrome on the engine sits a TH350 from TCI Performance with a Hughes 2,000 stall and a Posi 10-bolt rearend with 3:42 gears built by John Bauler. Classic Performance spindles, Heidt's tubular control arms, and QA-1 coilover shocks bring the front down by a total of 4 inches. A hefty set of Billet Specialties 18- and 20-inch Hi-Boy model wheels sit under this Camaro, and gripping the earth is done with Falken tires; 245/40ZR-18s in the front and 245/35ZR-20s in the back. Arizona Automotive did the body and paintwork, and the color is House Of Color Sunset Pearl. Inside the car, the seats came from a Chrysler 300M, and are draped in the finest leather and suede that ever came off a cow. Adorning the inside is the coolest A/V system that money can buy, and it's all custom-installed and molded into the car. We could fill another two pages listing all the custom-adapted and handmade parts, but we don't have the space. Suffice it to say, the Grandil father and son team have raised the bar up a few notches.
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