1969 Harrell Performance Super Camaro Shines at 2022 SEMA Show

By Brett Foote - November 8, 2022

Just one of 10 built, this 1969 Harrell Performance Super Camaro is powered by an all-aluminum 427 V8.

Typically, when we think of SEMA, we think of endless parts, accessories, and crazy, over-the-top builds, most of which are of the modern variety. However, there’s also plenty of cool vintage steel to check out at SEMA as well, and we aren’t just talking about restomods that are little more than modern vehicles wrapped with old sheetmetal. Case in point – this 1969 Harrell Performance Super Camaro, which is a pretty amazing piece of GM history.

Back in this era, Dick Harrell – the purveyor of Harrell Performance – was a drag strip legend, not to mention a die-hard Bow Tie fan. After winning the AHRA “Driver of the Year” award back in 1969, he went on to be named “Driver of the Decade” the following year thanks to his success behind the wheel of his funny car. As his reputation grew, Harrell soon found himself fielding a phone call from Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago, where he helped complete 427 Camaro conversions, along with doing the same sort of work for Yenko.

In 1968, Harrell moved to Kansas City to set up his own dealer network, which soon expanded to multiple locations in California. Officially classified as a “small manufacturing company,” Harrell Performance was able to do things that OEMs couldn’t, such as remove certain parts like the air system and install high-performance components as well. The most notable of which was the all-aluminum ZL1 powerplant, which is what powers this 1969 Harrell Performance Super Camaro.

Originally powered by GM’s 396 V8, this Rally Green Camaro has since been treated to even more modifications, as its Harrell-installed 427 has been punched out to 512 cubic-inches. It’s mated to the original Muncie transmission and rear end, as those bits were more than up to the task of taming its ample amounts of power. But at the same time, it’s also an incredibly rare piece, as just 10 of these special machines were built in total, and this is believed to be the only one finished in this particular color.

Sadly, Dick Harrell passed away in 1971 when he crashed his funny car during a race, prematurely ending his incredibly promising career as both a drag racer and a car builder. However, his legend lives on in the special cars he pieced together, and this is certainly one of the nicer examples left.