1968 Camaro
Big-Block Investment
Mark Hamburg of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, caught the Camaro bug early in life. His older brother sported a 402-inch tunnel-ram small-blocked '68 in high school, leaving Mark to ride shotgun.
Mark witnessed the shift in muscle car prices as the Barrett Jackson auction gained popularity, and TV shows about cars became more abundant. He spoke to his wife, stating that if they were to get a muscle car, it would need to be soon, since the prices are only going up. With the arrival of their daughter, Mark argued buying the car would be a good investment for the baby's college fund. His wife saw right through that, but supported him anyway.
He found his Camaro on an Internet classified listing site, and met with the seller quickly. The Camaro was sleeping in a warehouse with many other pony cars, none of which had the appeal of the '68 Camaro. The seller had bought the car from a kid who didn't know what he had at the famous Pomona swap meet. This was an original SS396 RS four-speed car with factory air conditioning, and the factory air is what sold him on the car.
The poor kid who lost his Camaro at the swap meet had a 401 small-block in place of the original. With no way to find the original engine because of the lack of documentation, Mark decided to build his own big-block. Starting with a four-bolt main 454, he had Velios Performance of Lawndale, California, build him a 498-inch upgrade.
Since the numbers couldn't match, and the factory air had to be removed to make room for the tall-deck big-block, he decided to build the car how he wanted. He called it a "reversible" Pro Touring build, where nothing was cut or modified in a way that it couldn't be brought back to stock. With such a valuable car, this was a nice consideration on his part.
By The Numbers
1968 CAMARO
Mark Hamburg, 45
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
| ENGINE |
| Type: | 498-inch big-block Chevy |
| Block: | 1990 Chevy 4-bolt 454 Mark IV |
| Oiling: | Melling high-volume pump
with Moroso 6-quart pan |
| Rotating assembly: | Eagle forged
chrome-moly crank, H-beam rods,
SRP forged 10.4:1 pistons,
Total Seal rings, and
Fluidamper harmonic balancer |
| Cylinder heads: | Pro Comp 320cc aluminum
with SI Stainless 2.25-inch intake
and 1.88-inch exhaust valves |
| Camshaft: | COMP Cams XR294HR
hydraulic roller .560/.540 lift,
244/248 degrees at .050-inch lift |
| Valvetrain: | 1.7:1 COMP chrome-moly
Magnum roller rockers,
Trick Flow 3/8-inch chrome-moly pushrods,
dual valvesprings and titanium retainers,
Pete Jackson quiet geardrive
with two-piece aluminum COMP Cams cover |
| Induction: | 850-cfm Mighty Demon carburetor,
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake,
K&N air filter |
| Ignition: | Mallory Comp S/S
electronic distributor |
| Cooling: | Fluidyne four-row aluminum radiator
with 16-inch Spal electric fan |
| Exhaust: | 2-inch Jet-coated Hooker
Competition headers,
2.5-inch dual exhaust with
Flowmaster 50-series mufflers |
| Fasteners: | ARP |
| DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission: | TKO750 by MMR in Ventura,
CA, Hays billet flywheel,
and Centerforce Dual Friction clutch |
| Driveshaft: | 3.5-inch aluminum
with 1350 U-joints |
| Rear axle: | factory 12-bolt limited slip
with 3.55 gears |
| CHASSIS |
| Front suspension: | QA1 coilover conversion,
aftermarket tubular upper
and lower control arms,
Fat Man Fabrication 2-inch taller
GForce spindles,
Hotchkis 1.125-inch sway bar,
DSE (Delphi) Jet Coated steering box
with rack-and-pinion valving,
and solid aluminum subframe bushings. |
| Rear suspension: | DSE 3-inch drop leaf springs,
Koni shocks,
and Competition Engineering
Slide-A-Link bars |
| Brakes: | Corvette C5 13-inch rotors in front,
Pontiac Trans Am 11.125-inch rear;
9-inch brake booster with a Stainless Steel
Brakes vacuum pump |
| INTERIOR |
| Dashboard: | factory deluxe with Tic-Toc-Tac,
console and gauge package |
| Column: | factory with 14-inch Lecarra Mark IV |
| BODY/PAINT |
| Body: | original steel |
| Paint: | factory Lemans Blue
(white vinyl top delete)
By Burkes Auto Body, Long Beach, CA |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
| Wheels: | Coddington Sultans,
17x8- and 17x9.5-inch |
| Tires: | General Exclaim UHP
245/45R17 and 275/40R17 |