“The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro looks good from any angle – it does not have a bad side. The bodylines make the car appear to be in motion, even when it is sitting still.” So spoke Danny Cruz when describing his dream car. The 33-year-old from Camarillo, California has always been into muscle cars, and it wasn’t until four years ago that he decided to turn his hobby of building and restoring classics into a side business. He now owns his own shop, called Muscle Mechanix, where he works on an assortment of projects, including his own 1969 Camaro nicknamed the Slayer Camaro.
Danny first came across the F-body for sale on Craigslist in 2014. Nothing more than just a roller, the Camaro was in need of a new engine and transmission. Parts of the interior including the door panels and steering wheel were missing and the car had previously been painted satin black. Fortunately, the Camaro had no rust, making it a solid project worth investing in and Danny already had a number of goals in mind: “I wanted a daily driver with good gas mileage and with enough reliability to drive across the country,” he explained. Good gas mileage and reliability not typically being words used to describe a late-60s muscle car, but this old Chevy was destined for modern power.
Upon purchasing the Camaro, Danny began by making a list of all the components he would need to achieve his goals. He then pulled apart the entire front end so he could start rebuilding the suspension using new tubular upper and lower control arms and QA1 adjustable coil-over shocks. He also installed Calvert Racing’s Split-Mono Leafs to prevent wheel hop.
The Camaro’s power plant was sourced from a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado. Danny pulled out the 5.3L engine and had the cylinder bores honed by legendary engine builder, Kenny Duttweiler, at his nearby shop. While the engine was apart, Danny also opted for SCAT connecting rods and Wiseco pistons to beef up the bottom end. The stock throttle body was also replaced with a new one from BBK Performance and the colder spark plugs and high-quality coils are made by Granatelli Motorsports. Danny knew he wanted to make even more power out of the LS engine, so he bought a 78mm Turbonetics turbocharger to bring in the boost. The intake charge is cooled by a 1,000 hp-rated intercooler and methanol injection over three pounds of boost. The large intercooler forced Danny to get creative and run a rear-mount radiator set-up that also helped transfer weight to the rear tires. The entire combination at 9 PSI of boost makes 573 horsepower and 598 ft-lb of torque at the wheels.
“Since I wanted to drive the car across the country, I chose to go with a Tremec T56 Magnum. It is the strongest manual transmission on the market and has the best gearing for long distance driving,” he explained. To mate the six-speed to the engine, he selected a Monster Stage II twin-disc clutch to handle the high torque and converted the automatic pedal assembly to a manual set up. “I decided to leave the factory 12-bolt and rear leaf suspension completely stock as they were built strong from the factory,” Danny continued.
In the three years of driving the Camaro, Danny has rolled over 33,000 miles on the odometer. The classic American muscle car serves as his daily driver and has also travelled across 12 states from coast to coast. “I wanted to complete my original goal of taking the Camaro across the country. I still don’t know exactly why I wanted to do the trip alone. I think I just always envisioned myself driving along the barren roads, without another soul in sight – just me, my hot rod, and the open country,” described Danny.
From Los Angeles to Destin, Florida, this 50-year-old Camaro drove more than 2,000 miles without a hitch. Danny met with friends along the way and got the chance to experience America’s Eastern states: “I had the most beautiful drive through Atlanta and into Chattanooga, Tennessee. Lots of green trees and lakes; things that I am not used to seeing out in Southern California,” Danny said.
He kept track of each state he visited by writing them down in black marker on the top of his intercooler. He plans on crossing off a few more, including Oregon, Washington, and Idaho on his upcoming road trip as he travels further north.
The Slayer Camaro has become a relatively well-known project via social media because, who doesn’t love a ratty muscle car with enough power to roast its tires off? Danny has documented his road trips and day-to-day life with the car on Instagram and YouTube and has developed quite the following. Probably because his passion for hot rodding and going on adventures has inspired many others to do the same – we cannot wait to see what Danny does with the Camaro next.
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