Blown Big Block 1969 Camaro Z28 – Rowdy Restomod
January 13th, 2025We are headed out west to meet Nelson Claborn and take a ride in his bodacious 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Having owned this vintage muscle car since he was 14-years old (he’s 48 now), Nelson had plenty of time to get this build right. From beater to bruiser, this Camaro clicks all the gears.
Totally built in Nelson’s garage, this Camaro is powered by a bored (.030 over) big block Chevy 7.4-liter V8. That opens the big motor up to 489 cubic inches. In the bottom, we have a Callie’s crankshaft and a set of Callie’s rods. Up top, we have a set of Brodix cylinder heads. She’s making 9.5:1 compression with a GM 871 roots style blower. Hedman Hustler exhaust headers (2.25-inch) feed into open exhaust with turnouts under the belly. It’s hitting a violent lick at idle with a thunderous tremor on accel. The car is tuned to make 800hp at the crankshaft.
The automatic transmission is GM TH400, and the rear end is a Ford 9-inch with 3.73:1 final drive gears.
Nelson has CPT control arms (with Viking coilovers) in the front with Caltrac suspension and shocks in the rear. The brakes are manual. Custom rims (15 x 4 front and 15 x 10 rear) mimic that factory look. Factory style center caps and trim rings add to the nostalgic appearance.
Are you ready for the test drive?