18 SUPER CHEVY OCTOBER^2019Growing up, young Kenny was
always around his dad, Anthony, while
he was building hot rods at their home
in Middle Island, New York. The two-
some was usually out in the garage all
winter long, toiling away in dad’s off-
season from his day job as a proprietor
of a local landscaping company. It was
about that time that young Kenny
began to lust after Chevy’s F-body plat-
form. “It started by hearing stories and
looking at pictures of dad’s Pro Street
first-generation Camaros from the ’80s.
It really hit me hard,” says Kenny.
Soon, the young gun was pining
for his own personal Camaro to work
on. “Then one day I got a call from my
dad. He had found a ’67 for sale nearby
on the side of a road. He asked me if
I wanted it, and, of course, I said yes,”
admits Kenny. And just like that, the
needy first-gen Camaro was coming
back to the family garage.F-START
For just a couple of Benjamins, father
Anthony surgically implanted a smile
on young Kenny’s face that’s been
hard to wipe off over the years. But
there was work to be done in the
garage now, as the car would need an
overhaul to get it road ready. Luckily,
Kenny was years away from legally
driving in New York, which gave the
crew plenty of time to get this one out
on the streets.The first thing the father/son team
did was collect the parts they needed.
Many were found at swap meets, while
others were donated from old parts
cars and such. Working on it over the
next five years, the guys got the car
ready to roll by the time Kenny was a
senior in high school. Built with a stout
stroker 383 and rowed by a six-speed
manual transmission, the little pony
wreaked havoc out on the streets of
central Long Island from the start.
But soon, Kenny realized that this
Camaro needed more; more style, more
grace, and much more power. Luckily
for him, his dad had just recently
opened up his first full-service hot rod
shop of his own: Anthony’s Rod and
Custom, located in Middle Island.
From the start it’s been a shop catering
to Chevy lovers looking for both style
upgrades and an infusion of power
under the hood. So then Kenny made a
decision, “After years of building high-
end custom cars with my dad, I wanted
to build something to the next level.
So, in 2015, I decided to completely
tear the car down to its shell and start
from scratch.”
It all started by reducing the car to
its sheetmetal. Next, Kenny installed
a pair of mini-tubs under the quarters,
getting the car ready for the big meats
he was going to install out back. A cus-
tom four-link suspension, along with
a beefy 9-inch rear with an aluminumStrange centersection were then added
to the mix. To stiffen up the chassis
and handle the future powertrain,
frame connectors were installed to tie
the unibody together and give it much
needed support.
From there, Kenny went to the
body. “I started with completely
shaving the firewall, door locks, wiper
motor cowl, and the driprails. Then
from there, my father and I fabricated
the one-off, molded-in rear spoiler; one-
piece front fenders, and exhaust outlets
in the rear valance,” says Kenny. It also
sports a frenched-in and smoothed rear
bumper to give the car a clean, flowing
look. Once the extensive bodywork
was finished, Anthony basted the
Camaro in a Spies Hecker by Axalta
Amber/Gold Metallic blend, adding
ghost stripes under the clear along the
way. The car was then wet-sanded and
sprayed in clear again, to make the skin
as perfect as possible.
How about the “motorvation” of
this wild ride? It all starts with a Dart
Big M block, which is built up withGRADE SCHOOL CRUSH