Classic ’69 Camaro Packs a Modern, Supercharged Punch at SEMA 2019
ARC Audio had this stunning restomod at their SEMA booth, with a fresh crate engine and a killer stereo stuffed into it.
The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro is, simply put, one of the most iconic American cars ever produced. Go to any small-town cruise night in America, and you’re bound to see at least one, no matter where you go. They’re that ubiquitous.
With that ubiquity comes a tendency for car lovers like us to get desensitized. After a while, they can just sort of blend into the background. That’s certainly not the case with this ’69 Camaro we spotted at SEMA.
We’ve been live at SEMA all week, and this ’69 Camaro on display at the ARC Audio booth stopped us dead in our tracks. The ’69 Camaro may be somewhat of a bellybutton car, but this one stands out from the crowd.
First things first, we’re big fans of the paint job. Deep electric blue paint, with red and silver stripes and accents reminds us of one of our favorite Corvette paint schemes, the C5 Z06 Commemorative Edition. It looks great on a C5, but, dare we say it, it looks even better here.
It’s a great choice, especially for a car that will be displayed indoors, under fluorescent lights. The color really pops, and has almost a hint of purple that’s visible on the creases of the ’69 Camaro’s body.
The restomod theme continues throughout the rest of the car, and while the big chrome five spoke, big brakes, and modern bucket seats don’t break any new ground, the do manage to tie the whole package together nicely.
ARC Audio is, of course, very proud of the custom stereo system installed in this Camaro. However, in true LS1 Tech fashion, we’re far more impressed with what’s under the hood.
There, you’ll find a fresh, new powerplant — a supercharged, 6.2 liter LT4 engine. Equipped with a 1.7-liter Eaton R1740 TVS supercharger pushing 9 lbs of boost, the LT4 is good for an impressive 640 horsepower and 630 lb/ft of torque. Who needs a stereo when you’ve got that kind of music under the hood?
A nice feature is that, instead of just dropping the engine in as-is, the engine was detailed and all relevant parts were painted Chevy orange. It’s a period-correct touch that we appreciate on a modern engine like this.
Now, we know we said that we don’t need any music — but if ARC Audio can install a stereo that’s loud enough to be heard over the whine of that Eaton blower, we’d be impressed.
Photos for LS1 Tech by Derin Richardson
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