Customs By Bigun Taking An RDS Body To A Done ’69 Camaro

Just in time for Halloween, Customs by Bigun took delivery of the skeleton of a first-gen Camaro — a Real Deal Steel 1969 Camaro Race Car Body. Perhaps, like us, you have seen these complete bodies for purchase and wondered what it took to turn them into a whole car because you can spend twice this much for a rotted-out hunk of metal that will cost you tens of thousands of dollars in metalwork to make whole. Why not start with fresh metal? That’s exactly what Eric Yost (aka Bigun) at Customs by Bigun is about to do with his sons, in putting together a Pro Touring build.

Yost is no stranger to first-gen Camaros, building, owning and racing the infamous “Tetanus Shot” – the turbocharged SB2-powered ’68 Camaro that’s won more than its share of drag-and-drive events. This build, however, is for his sons. As avid kart racers (as well as other motorsports), the 1969 Camaro will allow for the natural progression of their driving and racing. Eric Yost actually began his love of car building as a teenager with his own ’68 Camaro, so this was a fitting way to pass the torch.

As one of the top fabricators in the country, Yost was not scared of the work that lay ahead in building from a structure-less skeleton. I say “structure-less” because the Race Car Body has no floor, frame rails, firewall, dash, rear seat structure, or inner and outer wheel tubs. In fact, it comes with bracing to hold the shape while you build the car underneath it. The idea is that you will build a chassis and drop this body on top of it. In fact, this version didn’t even have a roof skin for greater access to the top of the cage. Normally, all of this would have to be cut out just to get started. This $11,000 body is straight as an arrow and made entirely from 18-gauge steel from Auto Metal Direct. It’s worth noting that Real Deal Steel does offer more complete bodies as well. The original intent with this one was to use as a race car, but the project concept evolved over time.

You may be wondering: how are you going to drive that car on the street without a VIN? Well, thankfully, states like North Carolina have a “replica” exemption to title the vehicle and drive on the street. It will have to be inspected and verified, though not for emissions. Check the state laws where you live before attempting something like this, otherwise you will be building a race car (not a street car). Texas, Florida, Virginia, and Arizona are known for being friendly to replica builders – and, yes, even in California you can do this, too – though they are more limited in how many of these they allow per year.

To get started, Yost put the Camaro body on his chassis table. A chassis table is essential for this type of build, and Yost has built many from the ground up like this in his Mooresville, North Carolina, shop. He started building the structure from the rockers, so that the body would start to hold its shape. The body was mounted on a structure with reinforcements, and then the rockers were clamped on as he tack-welded it to connect the A- and B-pillars. Similarly, the package tray and cowl were clamped into place for welding as well. This would hold the structure laterally before installing the firewall and floor. Yost has some doors and glass to test-fit as the structure comes together to make sure it is in its proper shape.

Initial Parts List from Auto Metal Direct to Complete the 1969 Camaro Body:

• 1969 Camaro Rear Frame Rails (FR01-69R, FR01-69L) 
• 1969 Camaro Floor Pan for Wider Wheels (CFFT-9)
• 1967-1969 Camaro Mini Tubs (X770-3569-2LS, X770-3569-2RS)
• 1969 Camaro Firewall without AC (370-3569)
• 1969 Camaro Inner and Outer Rocker Panel Assembly (X450-3569-VL, X450-3569-VR)
• 1969 Camaro Cowl Panel Assembly without AC (X360-3569)
• 1967-1969 Camaro Cowl Side Outer Panel (376-3567-L, 376-3567-R)
• 1969 Camaro Trunk Floor (800-3569)
• 1969 Camaro Dash Panel (X470-3569)
• 1969 Camaro Dash Top (465-3569)
• 1967-1969 Camaro Package Tray (X640-3567)
• 1967-1969 Camaro Roof Skin (600-3567)

Stay tuned for more updates on the 1969 Camaro as it comes together with more metal from AMD. Yost is a talented fabricator who designs each piece carefully, so I have no doubt this is going to be an amazing build. The current plan is to use a Gen 2 Coyote engine with a 6-speed transmission and a complete S550 rear cradle, including suspension and 8.8-inch IRS rearend. The front he plans to fabricate himself using either Mustang or Corvette spindles. As the brains behind the Coyote 10, are you surprised? Although he is very experienced with small-block Chevys and LS engines, the cost per horsepower was hard to beat on the Coyote.