Stories about cars sure are interesting, especially within the Super Chevy subculture. It makes you wonder-in 20 years, will the Gen X- and Y-ers be scouring the earth for that long-lost front-drive Impala SS, recreating the rusted heap into what the car originally was back in, say, 2006? Can anyone imagine coming across some forgotten '04 Cobalt mired in a barn somewhere out in the country and thinking, "Hey, that was my first car ... I think I'll try to put it back together for the sake of nostalgia"?
With the new Camaro just over the horizon, such a scenario is probably possible, albeit with a much longer list of OEM parts than today's muscle restorers deal with. The fact is that today it is vastly easier to take an old beat-up Chevy and try to make it what it once was.
That's exactly what Jim Duncan of Sanderson, Florida, did.
When he was 16, Jim rocked a '68 Camaro- back in the day when the Camaro was the car to have, especially as a 16-year-old. Unfortunately, and this is another common theme within the extended Bow Tie family, Jim and his wife sold the car shortly after they married-the Duncans decided they wanted a "more reliable f--orm of transportation." We just hope that didn't mean minivan.
Fast-forward 23 long years of marriage and the Duncans decided they would purchase another '68, but this one would include some modern-day appointments, making it a "dependable" automobile. While on vacation, Jim's wife, Cathy, found the perfect example, a '68 that was in "extremely poor condition," according to the Duncans. The couple paid $5,000 for the car, transported it back to Florida through a multitude of back roads, and 11 hours later the car took up residence in a barn on the Duncan's property.
As with most Bow Tie builds, this one didn't get off the ground immediately. Let's face it-taking on any project, whether it be building a Pinewood Derby car or a '68 Camaro, takes a good amount of prior planning and setting time aside to complete the job. Cathy came to the rescue once again in that regard, though- she bought Jim a numbers-matching '67 RS/SS Camaro so that the duo could "enjoy driving a Camaro" immediately. The '67 would have to suffice over the next three years as the '68 project came together.
The heart and soul of the '68 that the Duncan family created is a 568ci assembled by none other than legendary Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins. The engine features a ported Weiand Team G intake manifold, a 1,250-cfm Holley carb, and World Products Merlin heads with massive 345cc intake ports. The exhaust system includes Hooker Super Comp headers mated to a custom exhaust with Summit mufflers. Add the sum of all those go-fast parts and Jim figures the car should be good to go into the 9s in the quarter-mile. That thesis has yet to be tested, though. For proven numbers, the 568 makes 858hp on motor, and has plenty of room to move upwards of that number with a NOS fogger system that can bring an extra 150-500hp to the table.
A Turbo Action Powerglide transmission helps the power meet the ground, along with a Turbo Action 3,500-stall torque converter. A rewelded and balanced '68 driveshaft makes its way back to a Chris Alston Chassisworks Fab9 rearend with a 4.10 gear and a Detroit Locker Posi. The suspension components are almost entirely sourced from Chassisworks. Up front, the Camaro has Chassisworks tubular A-arms, improved spindles, springs, and VariShock adjustable shock absorbers.
In the rear, Jim installed a Chassisworks four-link setup as well as the same VariShock units found in the front suspension arrangement. The car also has Chassisworks custom subframe connectors to keep chassis flex to a minimum on spirited driving excursions. The Camaro rides on Center Line wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber.