By Scotty Lachenauer – Images by the Author
In the classic car hobby, there are two typical scenarios that revolve around project cars. It’s either “I got the money but not the time,” or the even more familiar classic, “I got the time now, but I ain’t got the money.” For Kevin Sensi of Springfield, New Jersey, it was the latter situation that set the tone for his latest Camaro build.
So, let’s set the record straight, since there are always two sides to every story. Kevin doesn’t see his current employment situation as a crutch in any way, shape, or form. “The good news is I’ve been a stay-at-home dad for the last 15 years, so I get to spend plenty of quality time with the kids. Conversely, the bad news is that I’m a stay-at-home dad, and that job doesn’t pay very well! The finances make it tough on my car projects,” Kevin says.
In his local muscle car community Kevin is known as a well-schooled muscle car artisan—a wicked wrencher who’s been involved in the hobby for nearly 40 years. “I built my first 1969 Camaro when I was 17. It was a Butternut Yellow car I found locally in 1987.” Kevin recalls. “Unfortunately, I bought it at night and didn’t see all the rust, but somehow I made it all work. It came with a 307 and a Powerglide. That drivetrain didn’t last long, as I blew it up after I swapped the intake and carb.”
Kevin soon rebuilt the drivetrain starting with a 400ci block and thrashed the Camaro for a few more years, even getting the Chevy down into the mid-11s at the track. However, his ownership didn’t last long as life soon took precedent and the car was parted-out and sold in 1992.
Over the years, he often thought about that Camaro. So, nearly three decades later, Kevin decided to do something about those pent-up feelings. “I knew of a basket case 1969 Camaro with a 307 and a Powerglide sitting less than a mile from my house,” Kevin recalls. “It took over a year to convince the owner to let it go, but I finally did it. For $1,500 I got a lot of rust and two truck beds of stock parts.
“The plan was to have it done for my 50th birthday, which was two years away. The car was rough, I mean ROUGH, and basically needed everything,” Kevin confirms. So, if he was going to make this Camaro rebuild happen, he needed to be able to do everything himself, from fabricating to the mechanicals to bodywork and paint.
Over the course of the next few years, Kevin replaced almost every piece of sheetmetal on the car, excluding the roof and A-pillars. That work included stitching in quarter-panels, a tail panel, doorskins, the firewall, and a new floor. He also replaced the stock rear framerails, moved the leaf springs in 2 inches, and added subframe connectors. He also fabricated a custom chromoly 8.5 certified rollcage.
The subframe was also modified by sectioning the front crossmember and replacing the center with a 2×3 rail to allow the oil pan to be removed without pulling the engine. He then converted the car to a rack-and-pinion setup and added Smith Racecraft upper and lower control arms along with Mencer double-adjustable shocks on all four corners. Out back, Calvert split monoleafs and Caltrac bars help with grip, and the car was mini-tubbed in preparation for the big meats.
Once the metalwork was finished, Kevin went ahead and coated the interior of the car with Lizard Skin. From there, he finished the bodywork and then painted the car in his two-car garage. “It was the first car I ever painted, and it came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.”
The power behind this 1969 comes from a 6.0 LS2, built with a forged Eagle crank, Steve Morris pistons, and Molnar Power Adder rods. It’s equipped with Chevrolet rectangle port LSA heads, paired with a Texas Speed Titan SR-3 intake, 1,200cc Fic injectors, and a MagnaFuel 4303 pump. Boost is delivered by an FIS 94/104mm 1.32 T-6 turbo along with a Ron Shearer Fab Air to Air intercooler creating a one-two punch that sends the power curve skyward. It was a challenge figuring out where the intercooler was going to go, but he managed to fit 10 pounds of “stuff” in a 5-pound bag! To expel spent fuel and to plumb in the turbo, Kevin used Flowtech headers that were modified for proper fit, along with a custom 5-inch downpipe. Running at a healthy 27 psi of boost, this setup produces an impressive 1,189 hp at the rear wheels.
A Capizzi Automotive–built TH400 with 2.05/1.35 gearset full manual valvebody and trans brake feeds power to an upgraded Speedway Engineering 9-inch stuffed with 3.25 gears.
Wilwood 11.5-inch rotors with four-piston calipers both front and rear help get this beast to a halt. RC Comp Wheels (15×4 front and 15×11 rear, with MacFab double beadlocks) are shod in Hoosier Drag Race bias-ply tires and Mickey Thompson 275 Radial Pros, respectively.
Kevin wired the car from scratch using an ARC relay panel and a Pro Mod switch panel, which made it very easy. A Holley Terminator X runs the car, and to Kevin’s surprise it started up on the first try.
The cockpit includes some of the stock Camaro interior pieces, which were made to fit around the ’cage. He added Kirkey Road Race seats and installed a Glasstek fiberglass dash with a Holley 6.86 Pro Dash to keep track of the vitals. A Precision Products shifter gets the Camaro through the gears and a Motion Race Works MPI Race steering wheel on a Woodward column keeps this Chevy pointed in the right direction.
Kevin completed the car a year after his 50th birthday but was ecstatic to see the results of all his work. Unfortunately, on the first drive around the block, the car was rear ended. So back in the garage it went for another round of bodywork and paint.
Once fixed, he hit the track and ran 9.40 e.t.’s at 142 mph on its first outing. The car now goes 8.20 at 165.4 mph while racking up 4,330 street miles at the same time. Kevin ends with this: “I’m proud to have built the car myself instead of just handing it over to a shop with a bag of cash. I like to believe it proves that you can still build a car on a reasonable budget and achieve great results if you put in the effort.”
Check out this story in our digital edition here.
Tech Check
Owner: Kevin Sensi, Springfield, New Jersey
Vehicle:1969 Camaro
Engine
Type: LS2
Block: Iron 6.0L
Displacement: 370 ci
Compression Ratio: 9.5:1
Bore: 4.030
Stroke: 3.62
Cylinder Heads: Chevrolet rectangle port LSA with stainless valves and dual springs
Rotating Assembly: Eagle Forged steel crankshaft, Steve Morris CP forged pistons, Molnar Power Adder rods
Valvetrain: Stock LS7 lifters, stock LS3 rockers with a bronze bushing trunnion upgrade
Camshaft: Steve Morris Hydraulic Roller Cam 0.647/0.647 lift, 236/246 duration at 0.050 116+4 degree lobe separation
Intake Manifold: Texas Speed Titan SR-3 with Fic 1,200cc injectors
Fuel Pump: Magnafuel 4303
Turbo: FIS 94mm/104mm 1.32 T-6 with a Ron Shearer Fab Air to Air intercooler
Ignition: Holley Terminator X, stock GM D581 coils, ARC Pro Mod control panel and relay board
Exhaust: Modified Flowtech headers, custom 5-inch down pipe
Output (at crank): 1,189 hp at 27-psi boost
Quarter-Mile Time and Speed: 8.20 e.t.’s at 165.4
Drivetrain
Transmission: Capizzi Automotive-built TH400 with 2.05/1.35 gearset, full manual valvebody, and trans brake
Converter: PTC 9.5 spec by Capizzi Automotive
Driveshaft: PST 3.5-inch chromoly
Rear Axle: Speedway Engineering floater, Ford 9-inch, 3.25 gears, 31-spine axles, and spool
Chassis
Front Suspension: Stock, front subframe modified for rack-and-pinion steering, Smith Racecraft upper and lower control arms, Mencer double-adjustable shocks, Lowdollar shock sensor
Rear Suspension: Calvert split monoleaf springs with Caltrac bars, Mencer double-adjustable shocks, Matt Funkhouser antiroll bar, adjustable Caltrac mounts
Brakes: Wilwood 11.5-inch rotors and four-piston calipers front and rear
Wheels & Tires
Wheels: RC Comp 15×11 rear with MacFab double beadlocks, 15×4 front
Tires: Mickey Thompson 275 radial pro rear, Hoosier drag race bias-ply front
Interior
Material: Black vinyl
Dash: Fiberglass Glasstek with Holley 6.86 Pro Dash
Seats: Kirkey Intermediate Road Race
Steering: Woodward column
Shifter: Precision Products
Rollcage: 8.50 cert chromoly
Exterior
Paint: Restoration Shop LeMans Blue
Hood: Glasstek 2-inch cowl
