The Car
Al Oppenheiser and his team headed by Mike Copeland at GM Performance Division received the car straight from Reggie's collection. To understand the scope of this project, this was the first time a first-gen Camaro had been brought back to GM for rebuilding and improvements. With a seven-week timespan to put everything together, their work was already cut out for them. When they saw the car for the first time, Copeland and crew knew they had some serious work ahead of them.
Even though the car had recently been in the paint booth, Mike Copeland realized the entire Camaro would have to be stripped down and repainted if it was going to represent the best of General Motors. Copeland's crew literally began peeling the paint off in sheets from the body. Once that was done, the doors, hood, decklid, and front clip were removed and refitted to the car, resulting in fender and door gaps of a universal 3 mm and a flawless fit. During this time, the bumpers of the car were moved in tighter to the body, and the front and rear sidemarker lights were filled in. To make sure the Camaro would still be safe for street driving, Mike mounted LED lights on the backsides of the front and rear bumpers. The installed LEDs (amber in front and red in rear) reflect against the body panels, so the car still has sidemarker lights.
The rear spoiler was modified to blend in with the decklid and quarter-panels, along with the rear lower valance being modified with 3 1/2-inch openings for the exhaust tips. Up front, the factory RS hide-away headlight doors were converted to electronic control for 100 percent reliability, and the Bow Tie emblem from a 2006 Impala was fitted to the front grill. Special LSX emblems were machined from solid brass, chrome plated and hand painted for mounting to the Camaro's front fenders, rear valance between the taillights, and a special emblem for mounting to the top of the air cleaner lid.
After that, the car was prepped for spraying of its new hue, Concept Camaro Red. This is the same shade as the first concept '09 Camaro coupe, made especially by Planet Color for GM. On top of the new color, special checkerboard graphics were applied to the rear spoiler and hood cowl with a silhouette of Reggie with his famous signature finishing it off.
After painting and remounting was finished, Copeland and his team hauled the refinished Camaro out to the GM Milford proving grounds for a shakedown run to make sure the engine and drivetrain were performing properly. Over the history of GM, Milford has seen some impressive iron tested on its course, from the first prototype '55 Chevys to some of the infamous one-off cars of Zora Arkus-Duntov. This Camaro followed steadily in those footsteps.
On the twist and turns of the proving grounds, the rebuilt '69 performed flawlessly-effortlessly running up to 140 mph and sprinting the quarter-mile in the 10.80-second range. In Reggie's own words: "With the suspension and brake upgrades, this vintage Camaro handles and stops like a new Corvette."
The Unveiling
The 2006 SEMA show was the scene of the unveiling of the new Reggie Jackson Camaro. On hand to sign autographs were Reggie and The Professor. To say the car was a home run at the show would be an understatement. People were crowding around to get a look at the machine and its new engine. With the new prototype Camaro nearby, attendees at the show got a look at the old, the new, and the melding of the two.
What does the future hold in store for this particular Camaro? Unlike other custom Camaros, this car will see the street, and probably several sets of tires. GMPP plans to tour the car around the country to various shows and events, including Hot Rod Power Tour 2007, where the car will be driven the entire route.
If you want more info and pics on how GM built the Reggie Jackson Camaro, fear not. An exclusive series following the build from day one will be in upcoming issues of Super Chevy and on the Super Chevy website. Read on in this issue for a full rundown on the new GM Performance Parts LSX engine block.