There is no denying that our experiences while growing up help shape our personality and passions. No matter what generation you grew up in, those formative years are looked back upon fondly as one grows older, and for Michael Lloyd of Jacksonville, Florida one of his great memories was riding to High School with a friend in a 1967 Camaro. So years later when he was looking to build a cool street car, naturally his focused turned to classic Camaros, and he found himself the proud owner of a 1968 model.

Brian Green was a fellow High School classmate of Michael’s, and though the two had lost contact in the years following graduation, in 2006 they were reunited by Michael’s 1968 Camaro. Brian had opened a shop building cars, and there was no other place that Michael wanted to see his dream become a reality than at Greens Rod Shop.

The car was rough when Michael brought it to Brian, so they replaced all of the sheet metal except the roof. As the project proceeded Michael decided that instead of going for the 80’s look to recreate the car he remembered in High School, he would update the Camaro according to modern tastes.

Underneath the car now resides a Chris Alston Chassis Works front sub frame, tubular A-Arms, coil over shocks, and black powder coated Wilwood disc brakes. Out back you’ll find a Detroit Speed & Engineering Quadra Link rear suspension, sub frame connectors, coil over shocks, and a 9-inch Ford posi rear end with 3.89:1 gears.

Under the hood is an immaculate engine compartment, which is home to a 383 Chevy with aluminum heads, Demon carburetor, MSD distributor, and Zoops billet pulleys. The spent gasses exit through a set of Doug’s headers into a 2-1/2 inch HPC coated exhaust system, which was custom built by Greens Rod Shop, and utilizes a set of Flowmaster mufflers for an aggressive sound. The engine put out 470 horsepower at the flywheel on the dyno, which makes its way rearward through a 700R4 overdrive automatic with a 2,500 stall converter.

After replacing the hood, fenders, quarters, trunk and floors, the body was given the smooth look by filling the marker lights, and including no emblems. Standox paint in the classic Hugger Orange hue gives a mean look, and was combined with black stripes and a set of Billet Specialties Fastlane rims, accented nicely with the Hugger Orange paint. Ensuring that the Camaro would look cool while having good footing, you’ll find 17x7 inch rims up front wrapped in 225/45/17 Michelin tires, while out back the Detroit Speed & Engineering mini tubs house 18x9.5 inch rims wrapped in 315/35/18 rubber.

After the rest of the car took shape at Greens Rod Shop, when it came to the interior they called on the expertise of Howard Krusey at Complete Auto Upholstery in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The Camaro’s cabin now houses a set of Procar front seats and the original back seat, all covered in black leather with orange suede accents. A custom console by Greens Rod Shop is home to the power window switches, and flows into the reworked dash, which now houses Auto Meter gauges. A chrome Ididt tilt column is topped with a Billet Specialties steering wheel, and along with other billet items completes the tastefully done accommodations.

One thing you’ll notice while looking all around this Camaro is the attention to detail that went into everything. It was conceived with a cohesive theme, and carefully crafted. As a result it has also gathered plenty of attention at the car shows it has been to, and received an Editors Top 10 and Best Camaro award at Super Chevy in Gainesville, along with the Tampa Event Director’s Pick at the NSRA Southeast Nationals in Tampa this year.

Back in the 80’s Michael Lloyd found out how cool classic Camaros were, but I doubt he could have imagined back then just how nice of one he would wind up owning many years later. It all started with some rides to High School, and ended with a sweet looking ride he could call his own. CN