1969 Camaro Pace Car: Correcting a Restomod Gone Wrong
In this preview episode of /INSIDE Ai Design, Matt shows how his team gave a pro-touring project a perfect balance of past and present.
It was a real, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro factory pace car, an edition commemorating the convertible that paced the Indy 500 that year. All of the dealer-ordered replicas were RS/SS convertibles painted in Dover White with white cloth tops, cowl hoods and Z28-style stripes in Hugger Orange. Inside were houndstooth cloth seats (also in orange). Chevrolet produced 3,675 pace car replicas, including around 130 that were used as courtesy vehicles at the 500 that year.
Sometime during its 48 years on earth, this '69 Camaro pace car had undergone a poorly done restomod. That is, it had been updated with new parts and systems, including engine, suspension, and interior. It desperately needed a retake.
In this first-look episode of /INSIDE Ai Design, proprietor Matt Figliola goes deep on what the shop did to hang on to the '69 Camaro's original look and feel, how they improved on the previous build, and what went into upgrading it to perform more like a modern car.
Ai Design's client wanted to keep the modern performance and comforts, acknowledging that while a restomodded pace car might anger some collectors and purists, bringing it back to stock was not an option. The shop's considerable talents would be put toward improving the restomod, both inside and out.
In coming episodes of /INSIDE Ai Design, you'll learn more about Matt and the shop that reflects his nerdiness for electronics, his leave-no-trace approach to interior upgrades, and his well-known perfectionist's streak. From that combination has emerged an incredible body work on all types of vehicles, from performance cars to ultra-luxury street yachts with no expense spared.
The shop has produced work for P. Diddy, Ken Block, among countless celebrity clients, and famously installed all of the electronics gadgets that aided Alex Roy in breaking the coast-to-coast driving record in 2007, as well as the cameras that captured the run. They're the most famous shop you've never heard of.
Stay tuned.
