Mike DuSold of Dusold Designs has been in business since 1996. The company handles all aspects of automotive work, from custom paint to fabrication and mechanical work. DuSold, like a lot of small business owners, started out of his garage and over the past 20 years the business has grown. Based out of Lewisville, Texas, Mike and crew operate out of a 12,000 square foot facility. The current focus for the shop is to build cars that mix outstanding performance with great looks or as Mike states, “Where art meets speed.”

The talent level for this crew becomes obvious when you take a look at their purpose-built 1967 Camaro. Like most projects, the Camaro was slated to be a nice daily driver. Mike shares, “I had a ’67 Camaro in high school and I’ve always liked them. When I went to a Goodguys show and discovered autocross, that goal changed.”

The car is our test bed and has taught me more than I would have ever imagined.

Since that day the Dusold Camaro has been continually “evolving” since its start and Mike doesn’t expect that to change anytime soon. Mike continued, “The car is our test bed and has taught me more than I would have ever imagined. Because it’s mine, I can experiment in any way I want without having to worry if the experiment doesn’t work.”

The classic subframe of the F-body Camaro was ditched in favor of a one-off custom design. The chassis and suspension were fabricated and completed by Mike and crew. The already stout 427 cubic-inch LS engine with CMP heads and cam was mated with a pair of Precision Turbos to get the car out of the corners and down the straights in a hurry. A Quartermaster 7.25-inch clutch assembly allows the power to be transferred to a C6 corvette transaxle built by RPM Transmissions. On the induction side of things, the 427 utilizes a Holley intake manifold and Holley fuel system which is controlled by an Amp EFI engine management system. To bring this car to a halt, Mike relies on a set of Wilwood brakes mated with G-LOC brake pads. For the rollers, Mike chose a super clean-looking Forgeline five-spoke wheel. He wrapped them with the BFGoodrich Rival S 335/30/18 tires and placed them on all four corners of the Camaro.

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Mike went with a P-51 theme with the entire car, complete with a pin-up girl riding a turbo on the side. The outside of the Camaro has extensive body modifications that include carbon fiber doors and hood. The front fenders were stretched to accommodate the large tires up front. The front fascia of the classic F-Body has completely been reworked to duct air through the radiator and the hood to allow for better aerodynamics and cooling efficiency. It sports a monster rear spoiler to keep the turbo LS hooked up at speed while the custom full belly pan and carbon-fiber diffuser keep the air moving effortlessly under the Camaro.  

The interior is nothing short of mind-boggling. This handmade work of art is full of vintage aircraft gauges from an actual P-51 Mustang. When you look at the interior you will immediately think you’re looking inside an actual aircraft cockpit and not the interior of a 1960’s-era muscle car. JBS interiors was responsible for re-covering the seats and door panels in the distressed brown. The interior is all hand made out of aluminum and features vintage aircraft gauges from a P-51 Mustang.

When asked about challenges with this car Mike responded, “Everything with the car has been a challenge!” He continued, “Trying to get a first-generation Camaro to compete against Corvettes and exotics has been the biggest.” As new cars come out with ABS, better brakes, and a substantial aerodynamic advantage this should be of no surprise.

Everything with the car has been a challenge!

While it is no surprise that the DuSold Camaro is competitive, it’s phenomenal that the car has dominated the last three Optima Batteries Search For The Ultimate Street Car events, with the latest win coming at Barber Motorsports Park. This competition is stacked with some very hard-hitters and the DuSold Camaro is right at the top.

When asked what’s in store for DuSold Design Mike stated, “The plans for the future are to keep developing the Camaro and use what we have learned to come to market with some parts. We also have a few really wild cars in the pipeline that everyone should look out for in the future!”

We can’t wait to see them and are quite positive that these guys will not disappoint!