As a seasoned attendee of the SEMA Show for the past 10 years, I have seen dozens of different custom car builders put their own spin on the first-generation Chevrolet Camaro. The 67-69 F-body has been chopped up, remixed, and reinterpreted as a resto-mod, g-machine, pro touring car, and everything else. It would seem that there is nothing left to do with the F-body platform, or is there?
This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro “Strode” from Ringbrothers debuted at the Keystone booth at the 2022 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, along with three other Ringbrothers builds at the show. Like all Ringbrothers builds, the car has a one-word name, which is “Strode” for this car.
The name is a reference to the 1978 slasher movie “Halloween” which stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. A butcher knife emblem with the word “Strode” on it appears throughout the car and is one of many custom touches throughout this build.
The car is much more than a simple restomod, where your local garage drops a crate engine into an old body. This car is a complete reimagination of what a Camaro could be. A staggering 6,500 man hours went into building this one-off car that retains only two parts from the original car – two pieces of side glass.
Though it looks like a Camaro, the car’s body is made of 100% carbon fiber. The Ringbrothers have done full carbon fiber cars before, such as their 2015 build of a 1965 Ford Mustang “Espionage.” The Strode Camaro is the latest high-end build from the brothers to use the extremely strong and light weight material.
Furthermore, the car’s proportions have been stretched and pulled – the body is five inches wider in the rear and three inches wider up front. The rocker panels were lowered, the center of the roof has been recessed, and the hood is longer and reshaped. The front and rear bumpers, diffusers, valences, and spoiler are also made from carbon fiber. The car is painted with BASF Glasurit Ghost White paint, except for the hood, roof, and A-pillars which are black. It’s an insane build from tip to tail, and that’s just the body of the car!
Under the hood is a Wegner Motorsports LS3 V8 engine with a Whipple supercharger that produces a healthy 1,010 horsepower. The engine is painted orange and really pops in the all-white engine bay, where all of the wires and hoses have been concealed. a Holley Dominator EFI system delivers fuel to the thirsty beast of a motor.
Power is routed through a Bowler Tremec T-56 six speed manual gearbox and into a 9-inch rear end from John’s Industries. A carbon fiber driveshaft from QA1 is another modern touch on this muscle car.
A custom Ringbrothers exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44 mufflers ensures the proper sound when the accelerator pedal is mashed.
The car’s handling has been vastly improved with a hydroformed subframe from Detroit Speed Engineering. A Fast Track front suspension and independent rear suspension from Roadster Shop bring modern handling and driveability to the Camaro, while QA1 Mod series coilovers absorb the bumps.
The car rides on Ringbrothers’ signature five-spoke G-CODE wheels, which they developed with HRE Wheels. They measure 19×11 in the front and 20×12.5 in the rear and are wrapped in a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S high-performance tires.
Bringing everything to a stop is a Baer Brakes 6-piston disc brake system, with an E-Stopp emergency brake.
The car has a full custom interior and dashboard by Steve Pearson at Upholstery Unlimited in Clinton, IA. The custom dashboard, center console, bucket seats, and door panels are all done in saddle tan with custom stitching. The rear seat has been deleted, reducing the car’s overall weight.
Driver comforts include Dakota Digital gauges, a Vintage Air Gen IV HVAC system, and a Kenwood stereo with JL Audio sound system.
The car is full of custom touches including many billet machined and 3D printed parts. A careful eye will observe the knife-shaped recess in the front fenders, the trick custom taillights, the trunk-mounted fuel door, custom center-exit exhaust, and many other changes from the original Camaro.
While I thought I had seen it all when it comes to early Camaros, the Ringbrothers from Wisconsin have shown that there is still plenty of imagination left in the world with their customized 1969 Chevrolet Camaro.
