Image Source: Jeremy Cliff for The Block

Convertibles are hit or miss, there’s no doubt about that. And it’s safe to say that they’re more of a want, not a necessity.

Pirelli World Challenge driver, Tony Gaples, has been daily driving a 2014 Camaro SS Convertible until he got his hands on a new 2014 Camaro Z/28. Being a racer, Gaples absolutely loved the performance of the Z/28, but missed the feeling of driving with the top down in his SS. This problem was quickly resolved after Gaples and his team at Blackdog Speed Shop decided to build a one-off Camaro Z/28 Convertible by transferring all of the parts from his new, high-performance Camaro over to his SS, creating the Z/28 drop-top the factory never intended.

As you can imagine, everything from the Z/28 was transferred over to the SS – the LS7 engine, suspension, emblems, interior, wiring harnesses, etc. Nothing from the Z/28 was left behind. Gaples and his team even added some custom touches to bring the build to another level, including the awesome metallic burgundy color and the trick tonneau cover to conceal the vinyl top. You’ll also notice that the Z/28 wheels, which usually come in gloss black, were embellished with a subtle black chrome finish.

We really like this one-off example of a Camaro Z/28 convertible, and the Blackdog Speed Shop crew did an awesome job executing the build. This car was, in fact, built for the 2014 SEMA Show, and we’re surprised we didn’t catch it. It does take a lot of nerve to build a car like this, though – you’re tearing apart a Z/28! For more photos of the build, check out the full feature on The Block.