How A Street Machine Project Became Street Machine Of The Year



A project usually starts with a dream, a vision of what the builders want to create from the particular tub of steel they've chosen. But no matter how set in stone those plans may seem at first, they almost always expand as the project progresses. The deeper into the build we go, the more ways we find to make the car better. Sometimes it's just a little deviation, and sometimes the project goes from a bolt-on, parts-oriented driver to a Goodguys Street Machine of the Year (SMOTY) contender. That's how Erv Woller's Camaro came to be.

The genesis of this project was a crate engine--Erv had coveted one of the 200 Ram Jet ZL1 crate engines from GM Performance Parts for a year when a buddy at a dealership secured one before they were sold out. Problem is, Erv didn't have a car to drop it in. While there are myriad projects that could benefit from a limited-edition, 520hp 454, the significance of the ZL1 heritage wasn't lost on Erv, and he wanted there to be a connection between the engine and the chosen platform. That immediately cut down the choices, since other than Can Am racers, the original 427ci ZL1 only came in '69 Camaros and a pair of Vettes back in '69 through the COPO (Central Office Production Order) program. Erv decided on a Camaro and with the help of a friend found a nearly mint, rust-free '69 SS (sans drivetrain) at a swap meet in San Bernardino, California.



Now Erv just needed the right shop to drop in the aluminum big-block for him. When his first choice didn't return his call, he looked elsewhere and remembered a striking Mustang called Kona built by Ringbrothers he'd seen in HOT ROD a few years back and gave them a call. When he arrived at Ringbrothers with his Camaro roller and engine, Erv admittedly didn't have much of a plan; he wanted the engine in the car and wanted it to have more modern handling and braking capabilities, but he was open to ideas on components and how the finished car should look. Ringbrothers may be best known for its high-end Mustangs--Kona, Copperback, and last year's SMOTY winner, Reactor--but that's only a small part of its business. The company builds everything from factory restorations to drivers, and actually, according to Jim Ring, a well-done, modest street machine is their favorite kind of project. Problem is, they sometimes have a hard time containing themselves when the ideas start flowing.



In the case of Erv's Camaro, he thought he just wanted a nice street car, but as the Rings and designer Sean Smith of SS Designs began brainstorming, Erv liked what he heard and encouraged them to keep going. It wasn't long before the Camaro build began to swell far beyond its original scope. Eventually, everything received the Ringbrothers touch; Jim and Mike constantly came up with ways to refine the looks of the Camaro and had Sean sketch the design to illustrate their vision to Erv.

Extensive bodywork is a hallmark of a Ringbrothers car, and true to form, Razor doesn't have a single spot that hasn't been touched. While the dramatic carbon-fiber hood and decklid, rocker panel extensions, and reinterpreted front end stand out as obvious, there are numerous subtle changes as well. It takes someone who truly knows his '69 Camaros to spot some of them. Go ahead and try. Did you notice the extended and razor-sharp upper and lower body lines that spawned the Camaro's moniker? Or the reshaped and extended quarter-panels? Or that it has no driprails but does still have the edge? "I really think the '69 Camaro is already one of the best-looking muscle cars ever built," Jim says, "so we wanted to add to what was already there without taking away from the original design." Some of the best work, however, is the interior. Whereas some builders focus most of their energy and creativity on the outside of the car, Ringbrothers spends as much or more time making the interior just as memorable. We could try to describe it in words, but only pictures come close to doing it justice. It may be the best interior ever installed in a muscle car.



Just as the plans swelled, so did the time necessary to accomplish the lofty goals. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. Two thousand eight hundred hours later, the Rings knew they had another SMOTY contender on their hands but felt sure they'd be overlooked since they had won the previous year. Nevertheless, Razor debuted at the Nashville Goodguys event. Everything went as planned, until the brothers got a look at it from a distance on the autocross track, where Razor bested all challengers, save Detroit Speed's own test car. Oddly, and unfortunately, for some reason the color just didn't flow right in the sunlight. Jim and Mike grimaced at one another; they knew what had to be done. Despite the fact that they seemed to be the only ones who saw the flaws, Mike and Jim insisted on perfection and took Razor back to their shop and spent the next 96 hours over the Fourth of July weekend tearing the car apart and completely repainting it, as well as making a few suspension adjustments per Erv's recommendations. It was well worth the effort; they finished it just in time to be ready for the Columbus, Ohio, Goodguys show, where they fielded continuous compliments on the build from attendees and other pro builders.



In the end, the little project that spiraled from run of the mill to remarkable defeated 28 of the best cars in the country to take home the title of Street Machine of the Year for the second time for Ringbrothers. Even more significant, that win represented the first time in the competition's 14-year history that the same builder had won the award consecutively. So where does it go from here? Despite the dramatic departure from his initial vision of the car, Erv has stuck firmly to his original intentions for it: Razor's future is on the streets and the track. The last time we spoke with Jim and Mike, they were preparing to pull apart the front end of Razor to create molds so the pieces could be replaced should something happen while Erv's out making sure it lives up to the title of Street Machine of the Year.

Quick Inspection '69 Chevy CamaroErv Woller/RingbrothersSpring Green, WIPowertrainEngine: The all-aluminum 454 crate motor was built from GM's ZL1 block that still utilizes the original tooling used in 1969. The ZL1 uses GMPP's Ram Jet fuel injection originally introduced on the Ram Jet 502. A forged crankshaft, rods, 10.2:1 pistons, and 0.640/0.598-lift solid roller cam create the noise. Plumbing is done with Aeroquip hoses.Power: As tuned by GM, the ZL1 makes 510 hp at 5,750 and 493 lb-ft at 4,250.Transmission: To counteract the steep rear gears, the trans is a Tremec Viper-spec six-speed.Rearend: The rearend is a custom-built Currie 9-inch with 4.56 gears on an Eaton Truetrac differential.

ChassisFrame: A Detroit Speed and Engineering (DSE) hydroformed subframe replaces the front, but the rest of the unibody is stock.Suspension: The DSE subframe comes equipped with tubular upper and lower control arms, coilovers with Detroit-tuned valving, power rack-and-pinion, a splined sway bar, and C6 Corvette steering knuckles and bearing packs.Brakes: Baer six-piston calipers on 13-inch rotors take up all four corners.Wheels: Three sets of wheels from two different manufacturers graced the lugs before the one-off 18x9s and 19x12s were created by Budnik Wheels in Huntington Beach, California.Tires: Superwide 325/30R19 Goodyear Eagle run-flats are on the rear, and 275/35R18s are on the front.

StyleBody: A quick list of highlights includes a custom carbon-fiber hood and decklid, exhaust tips molded to match the taillights, front and rear wheelwells opened up 11?4-inch at the bottoms, the B-pillar lowered 1 inch, handbuilt rocker moldings, the cutline on the rocker panel altered 30 degrees to flow better with the doors, the fenders and cowl extended upward to the windshield to eliminate stainless moldings, a complete new front end fabbed out of steel to eliminate the bumper, a handmade three-piece aluminum front chin spoiler, carbon-fiber rear brake ducts replaced original gills, and a reshaped and recessed carbon-fiber rear bumper.Paint: Above the orange slash is BASF Mineral Grey; below that is a custom-blended color. Spraying was handled by Ringbrothers' Simeon Caraway. The stripe and Razor logo were designed by Sean Smith and painted by Bob Thrash.Interior: The Hunter-colored leather was stretched by Upholstery Unlimited in Clinton, Iowa. The handformed aluminum dash is outfitted with gauges from Classic Instruments and wiring from Painless Performance. The Momo steering wheel is perched atop an ididit steering column. Those killer seats are recovered Audi TT buckets. Erv plans to drive Razor, so Vintage Air and an Alpine stereo with navigation and Blue Tooth were installed for convenience and comfort.