Super Chevy – September 2019

14 SUPER CHEVY SEPTEMBER^2019

In the case of Hardee’s killer

Camaro, the story starts in high school.

“My first car, at the age of 15, was a

1969 Camaro. It was a hardtop because

it was all I could afford at the time and

I kept that car for 15 years. I finally sold

it after the birth of my third child, for

obvious financial reasons and that it

was taking up too much room in the

garage,” he says.

But the burning fire never went

away and when he was finally in a finan-

cial position to return a ’69 Camaro

AN UNLIKELY MARRIAGE

to his garage, this car was chosen to

complete the boomerang’s path.

During the time he was longing

for the Camaro’s revival he remained

a car guy. Over the years he owned

vehicles as diverse as a Shelby GT

Mustang convertible and a new-gen

2015 Camaro, which he raced in the

Optima Challenge series for several

years. As a ’69 Camaro convertible

was at the top of his wish list, he

had the motivation to build the best

Camaro possible, without limitation.

“I always wanted a convertible,

so the motivation was to build the

best 1969 Camaro convertible I could.

I still remember the YearOne Camaro

and loved the rollbar, but even though

I am a Camaro fan I fell in love with

the look of the Shelby. So I married

features from my Shelby GT

convertible and my 2015 Z/28,”

explains Hardee.

“The car was originally purchased

by me in 2013 to turn into a weekend

driver that could be restored back to