There Were No Expenses Spared On This Custom 1971 Camaro Restomod: Video
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Earlier this week, we shared with our readers some more information on the 1970 Camaro ProTouring build by Ridetech, otherwise known as the 48 Hour Camaro. There were no corners cut and no expenses spared on that custom 1971 Camaro build, with the spec sheet full of high-priced aftermarket parts that helped justify the $99,000 price tag it is currently listed for sale with.
Continuing with that theme, we’re now turning our attention to a very similar Camaro restomod build – but readers should know that this one isn’t for sale. In fact, the owner of this car appears to be extremely pleased with the end result of his no-expenses-spared Camaro build, so we really can’t see him selling it anytime soon.
This 1971 Camaro, nicknamed Infrared, was recently featured on YouTube channel Autotopia. As the owner explains, it was already a fully restored, show-winning car when he decided to pull it apart for a complete overhaul. He had initially only planned on changing some small things and installing the Detroit Speed suspension he had on hand, but like all good automotive restoration projects, things quickly snowballed from there.
Powering Infrared is a 454 cubic-inch LSx V8 engine. With a bevy of upgrades and tuning by Westech, the massive Small Block produces a healthy 600 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque at the rear wheels. A set of Baer brakes help bring the car to a stop, while the aforementioned Detroit Speed suspension ensures things stay nice and orderly through the corners.
This car also has some other impressive cosmetic parts and components on it, such as custom-made flush glass, one-off HRE wheels with custom center caps, a custom rear bumper and a very high quality-looking custom interior with a ton of nickel-finish metal parts.
Check out the video below for a complete overview of this unique 1971 Camaro restomod.
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A beautiful car! The interior is fantastic, and it likely goes like stink, BUT, for the $99K the owner spent on the car’s re-conversion, from the orange version, shown in the video, I’d have kept the orange version, which looks to have been an outstanding restomod, and used the money to buy a new C8, a Shelby GT350, or a Challenger Hellcat. One to go, one to show! After a few years, the owner is likely to get perhaps 50% of what he paid, if he tries to resell it. Too much custom work that I’d be afraid to take it out often for fear of it getting wrecked or stolen.
It certainly seems you don’t have an understanding of why some hot rod enthusiasts will go seemingly overboard with their hobby. The answer is because they can. There are both men and women hot rod owners who spend their lives dreaming about a certain car they’ve always wanted to own and when they finally get that opportunity, they choose to personalize and modify that vehicle to fit their vision, even if it includes modifying or upgrading every part on the car. For some, expense is not a limitation.
Some folks love old vintage Corvettes, Porsches, Ferraris, etc. Other folks love old pickup trucks. Some people love low-riders and there are others who love monster 4×4 pickup trucks lifted 4 ft off the ground riding on 33″ tires. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a person putting a check mark next to something that’s on their bucket list.
You speak of this car in terms of a regular street vehicle which is something it is absolutely not. You speak of Hellcats, GT500’s and Corvette C8’s. Along with the ZL1 Camaro which you didn’t mention, those cars represent the highest level of American car performance, but at the end of the day, they are simply cars that you daily drive Monday through Friday and run 11 second passes at the strip on Saturday. That’s absolutely not what thtis Camaro is about.
This particular Camaro is a show car, or better yet, it’s the owner’s vision of an automotive work of art and a model of automotive engineering at it’s finest. Quite simply, It’s not just a car like the C8, Hellcat, GT500, and ZL1 are. If you don’t understand that, you probably don’t understand the concept of resto-mods, pro-touring, and hot rodding in general.
I doubt if the owner, Steve Aguilar, takes his Camaro down to the local Costco for a grocery run. Chances are that car stays in a heated and air-conditioned garage where it’s meticulously maintained in preparation for it’s next appearance at a car event. Chances are that when he does drive the vehicle on the street, it’s going to always be parked in a secure location or more likely, he’s not going to let it out of his sight. This obviously is not a go-anywhere car.
As far as whether it’s financially pragmatic to spend $100,000 to build a one of kind Camaro is not for you to judge. Steve Aguilar is the co-owner of Far West Contractors, Inc., a company that specializes in large scale aeronautics construction projects. He has the financial means to spend what he wants to build the car of dreams and probably plenty of money left over to buy one each of your proposed C8 Corvette, Dodge Hellcat, and Shelby GT500. To second guess his decision-making is completely pointless.
You are very astute. Appreciate your input. New to restomods. Please enlighten me. Seems like overkill.
This Camaro could outsell Mustang. This is my favorite design era and the modern modifications look so sexy. This front facia flowsand stands out with the triangle point while the current model sorta crams all elements into a tiny space.
GM would sell more Camaro if special Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am editions were offered to compete against DodgeHell Cat.
One of the GM’s most beautiful designs and in that era, there were many. In fact, I think everything GM built during the Bill Mitchell years had good proportions and design but some were simply landmarks and this generation Camaro and Firebird fall into that category. Simply beautiful even 50 years after the design’s launch. GM even made a motorhome look good in those days and like these F-Bodies, their motorhomes from that era are still sought after.
I don’t know what it would take to get back to that level of design excellence. I don’t think they can resurrect Mitchell himself and I know there is only so much that can be done with a silver box but I’d like to see GM as a design leader again, building cars people lust after. They lost the design leadership mantle to Ford in the 80s then Chrysler took it in the 90s and today I don’t really see any company that is the trendsetter anymore. No doubt though that GM’s products once ruled and as the poet John Keats said ‘A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever’ and that’s quite true of these F-Bodies.
Mr Aguilar spent his money well spent, perhaps in realizing one of his dreams or in the pleasure of having an exclusive work of art and I congratulate him for that, I would have done the same.
This is a beautiful car. I have a 71 Camaro as well. Where did he get the grill for this car? I’m trying to get one like that for mine. Thanks!