The body of the car was in very bad condition at it was originally a drag car. As the body was fiberglass, rust was no issue. The chassis was the only part that had to be sandblasted by Pro Strip Media & Powder Coating in Mesa, Arizona. The body work took about 4 months to finish.
I had been trying to buy this car for the past 5 years. I had never seen it but Ralph at Motown Auto Parts had been to the owner’s house to do some minor work on it and had told me it had a Chevy 383 in it but that was all he knew.
This unyielding passion for American Steel started way back in the early 70’s when Mark’s dad, Peter, imported a ’67 Camaro from the states, creating in Mark a bowtie (Chevy) man for life. It is no wonder that those same values and preferences have been instilled in his own son decades later. Having watched countless Youtube builds and Hotrod TV programs over the years, and after attending numerous Cars in the Park shows, Mark and Connor decided they would take on a project that would feed their yearning for building a masterpiece of their own.
The Type 2 T1s built between 1967 –1979 are still cool in their own right though. They are more accessible and they still fetch reasonable prices too. For the owners of these buses, it’s rarely about the money, more about the culture, lifestyle and everything else that goes hand in hand with owning one of the classics. It’s usually more of a love and often hate affair that could last a lifetime. When you own one of these, you’re normally in it for the long haul.
He called Andre and asked if he wanted to sell, but Andre was not interested. A few days later he spoke to Andre again and a deal was struck. To further sweeten the deal, Andre gracefully threw in two front fenders and a bonnet. Marius had his spares-car at last. He promptly drove down to Johannesburg, collected his find and trailered it back to Kimberley. The following day, he was sitting inside the 39, sipping coffee and made the decision not to use it for parts, but to repair and rebuild it.
Various old car bodies were up for sale. He phoned the advertiser and found two body’s where for sale a four door sedan and a two door sedan, Jacques (Jannie Son) jumped in the car and raced to go see the bodies that was on the property of Pieter Bier – also an avid Hot Rodder. Unfortunately, Jannie was to late for the two door as it sold that morning. Not to be dishearten Jannie loading the four door on the trailer. The rust bucket was collected, and the project got off the ground.
Over the next two years the Camaro lay in the capable hands of Royce Munnery who assembled the car and transformed it into the masterpiece that it is today. Up front we have a Chev 350 small-block V8, which has been beefed up with the addition of an Edelbrock Performer RPM package. The kit consists of aluminium heads, performance carburettor, intake and cams, resulting in an impressive 435bhp. Which is enough to leave most modern sports car owners red in the face. The engine also looks the part with the help of a Billet Specialties pulley set.
Scott’s initial plan for the car was to give it a new lick of paint and, in his words, “tickle the engine up a bit”. However, the project started to grow and grow from this point onwards. He wanted a strong, reliable ride to run around in and this car ticked all those boxes as it was in great shape. He has owned a few El Caminos and this was by far the best condition-wise. Barely any rust and a factory 350 that was very drivable.
When enthusiasts think of a Hot Rod, the first one that generally comes to mind is the classic chopped ’32 Ford. Although not always the case, the most recognisable 32’s tend to be chopped and modified. Those G.I.s returning from their war stints all over the world preferred racing and rodding them because they were lightweight and parts were easily removed when compared to the ’40 full-fendered and bulbous cars of the day.
The car was given to Clark & Kent in Sydney Road, Durban and they carried out the wide kit conversion. The orginal fenders had to be significantly cut and trimmed and welded before the new kit could be fitted. They mentioned that it was a lot of work and had to be done with care as the kit came with no installation instructions. Stainless steel button head screws were Kal-Gard coated black and used to fasten the new bodywork to the car.
