Shawn Rhyne’s 1970 Camaro RS Z28

Описание: The saying goes, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” For ex-Sprint Car racer Shawn Rhyne of Marion, Arkansas, it took a little bit of time and trading to make the other man’s “junk” 1970 Camaro RS into a treasure, but he finally got there. The story is proof that persistence pays off.

Shawn was deep into Sprint Car racing—like over-his-head deep. He was pretty successful punching above his weight, racing on a shoestring budget around the South. However, it all changed in 2011. After spending his winnings refreshing the chassis in the offseason, he was taken out by another competitor in the first race, stuffing the car under a guardrail. With a family on the way and no money left in the bank after fixing the car, he made the tough decision to hang up his racing gloves.

Shawn grew up helping his dad, Mike, build hot rods and hoped to quench his thirst for speed on the street instead of dirt. Having trouble selling the Sprint Car, he traded it for a clean Harley-Davidson motorcycle, figuring it would be easier to sell. Shawn listed it for sale or trade on RacingJunk.com and was immediately contacted by Bryan Bruce of Georgia, who offered to trade his 1970 Camaro.
Shawn returned to Arkansas with an adequate foundation to make his treasure. A mechanic for the utility company, he is no stranger to wrenching on vehicles, so he built a healthy 355 and dropped it between the framerails. As Shawn was breaking in the cam, a Sprint Car buddy stopped by and made another too-good-to-pass-up trade offer.

His buddy needed a small-block engine for his Sprint Car quickly, so he offered a straight trade for a brand-new 468ci big-block with dual four-barrels. Not one to pass up a great opportunity, Shawn accepted before he ever got to turn a tire in anger on the Camaro. As soon as the headers cooled, the small-block left its temporary home.

Shawn picked up the 468, fitted it in the engine bay, and drove it that way for quite a few years. But, as the saying goes, they are never done. It was time to get to work on building the Camaro into his Pro Touring vision, so he decided to blow it apart to do a full resto.

The big-block Chevy was just too finicky, ornery, and drank so much gas that employees at the station knew him by name. Shawn liked the power but wanted something more reliable, economical, and fun to drive. What he needed was modern power, so he sold the 468 to fund an LS he found for sale. He employed the experts at BB&T Racing in Southaven, Mississippi, to build it into a 408ci stroker engine with stout internals.

A 4.0-inch-stroke Callies crankshaft with 6.125-inch H-beam rods topped with Probe pistons puts compression at 10.5:1. A Comp Cams cam and valvetrain work in unison with Texas Speed & Performance (TSP) CNC-ported 317 aluminum heads fitted with Chevrolet Performance valve covers. Meanwhile, an MSD ignition box and wires provide the spark to light the fire. Air inhalation is through a Spectre Performance cold-air kit into a TSP 102mm intake. Spent gases exhale through a pair of 1 ⅞-inch primary Hedman Hedders headers to 3-inch X-pipe exhaust with Dynotech Oval race mufflers custom built by Chad Otts.

Shawn doesn’t have to worry about cooling with an aluminum radiator and electric fan from Four Seasons. He also decided to keep the stock serpentine system, water pump, and alternator to keep things simple. Once fully assembled, BB&T tuned the engine on the dyno to a relatively healthy 600 hp and 630 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm.

Because he wanted to have fun driving it, he got rid of the automatic transmission and hung a third pedal so he could row gears himself. A SPEC Stage 3 clutch and aluminum flywheel bolted to the LS engine transfer power to a TREMEC T56 six-speed manual to a custom driveshaft.

With the help of his twin brother, Shane, and his son, Peyton, the three worked on handling performance while the engine was being built. They installed a set of Detroit Speed subframe connectors to keep the unibody from twisting. Hotchkis Performance leaf springs with Ridetech RQ Series shocks provide the dampening for the stock Big-10 rearend, which received an 8.5 Positraction unit, 4.10 ratio gears, and 31-spline axles. Shawn dropped in a Tanks Inc. galvanized steel 20-gallon fuel tank powdercoated silver.

The front suspension matches the rear with Ridetech shocks and Hotchkis coil springs, while a Flaming River upgraded steering box provides a better response to driver inputs. Stopping power is compliments of a Wilwood master cylinder with 11-inch Wilwood rotors and two-piston calipers at all four corners. The big 20×9.5 rear and 20×8.5 front wheels are U.S. Mags 117 Ramblers wrapped in Nanking tires (275/35ZR20 rear, 245/35ZR20 front).