OEM PARTS
As mentioned elsewhere in this book, an important requirement set forth on day one of building Big Red was that it was to retain as much of the stock Camaro as possible. Dan and RJ wanted people to look at the car and think it was slightly modified; a real wolf in sheep’s clothing. Dan originally went as far as painting the beautiful aluminum block and heads Chevrolet Orange to make it appear as though they may be stock cast-iron pieces. That philosophy is still alive and kicking. Unlike other insanely fast cars that somewhat resemble a ’69 Camaro, Big Red still can make the claim that its high-speed records have allowed it to hold the title of the Fastest ’69 Camaro on Earth. Unlike those caricatures of ’69 Camaros, Big Red started life rolling off the Chevrolet assembly line, and still has steel fenders and a bunch of OEM parts that can be ordered directly out of any Camaro parts catalog.
All of the original Camaro emblems were retired to RJ’s collection. Re-chroming the old emblems is cost prohibitive, compared to replacing them with new reproduction pieces from OER. Big Red always has had factory sill plates. After all these years, the “Body by Fisher” in the sill plates still applies. Big Red still has its steel
Fisher-designed body panels, so it proudly wears the badges. Tim and Mark refer to the Classic Industries catalog to show which piece of trim needs to be replaced. They also used the catalog as a reference when installing some of the new pieces. Many ’69 Camaro owners remove the quarter-panel side louvers. Like many other pieces of trim designed by GM over the years, the louvers aren’t functional. But on Big Red, they are functional for Dan and RJ…they function as hints that Big Red is still very much a Camaro.
After the fire, every seal and piece of trim had to be replaced, so Mark ordered all new weatherstrips, rubber bumpers, and trim pieces from his friend, Steve Pardini of Steve’s Camaros in San Bruno, California.
