BUILT TO BE BEAT ON

It may look like a show pony, but this first-gen Camaro was...

- STEVEN RUPP

COPO-Themed Pro-Touring 1969 Camaro

We love a finely crafted show car as much as anyone, and some cars are so well done that they've transitioned from automobiles to art pieces. However, when we see a high-end custom that actually gets driven, our interest is most certainly piqued.

Randy Johnson's COPO-themed 1969 Camaro falls into this category for sure. Randy is the owner of D&Z Customs, and he builds his cars for function in addition to form.

He knows that you can have your performance cake and chow down on it as well.

Though admittedly more partial to the curvaceous lines of the earlier '67 and '68 Camaros, Randy describes how he came to buy a '69, saying, "One day, a good friend of mine who had this original Hugger Orange '69 Camaro project sitting on his two-post lift since 2009, called me up and asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in his project.

He needed the cash since he'd found a numbers-matching DZ 302ci 1969 Z/28 Camaro that he wanted to purchase.

I couldn’t think of anyone, so I told him no and went back to work.” But that conversation planted the idea. When this super clean Hugger Orange ’69 popped up on Randy’s radar, he scooped it up.

His other projects were immediately placed on the back burner, and this COPO-themed Camaro began its two-year build.

The main driver for fast-tracking the ’69 build was a new partnership with Speedtech Performance.

They wanted their products on Randy’s build since they knew two things—first, Randy builds nice-looking cars, and second, he’s not afraid to drive them hard at the track.