The World’s First Lamborghini-Powered ’69 Camaro? Cameron Johnson Race Cars Goes Wild on Drag-and-Drive Project Car
‘Been there, done that,’ is a phrase that could be applied to a lot of things in the world, especially car builds.
Sure, there are unique builds out there, but a majority of them have similar drivelines that are employed by thousands of other examples. Until now.
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Last month, we covered the Cameron Johnson Race Cars (CJRC) new build to jump into the drag-and-drive spectrum: a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. Owner Cameron Johnson said that despite the shop building a lot of cars geared towards 5-6 second quarter-mile times, he would keep the ‘Seagull’ Camaro project a little more reasonable.
Initial plans included a 10-12 point roll cage, stock-style leaf spring rear suspension, air conditioning, between 1500-1800 horsepower, and mid 8-second time slips.
Cameron revealed he had three engine options dancing in his head in that first video on June 25th: a twin-turbocharged LS swap, a twin-turbo LT engine option, or a big block Chevy twin-turbo.
“I would like to do big block Chevy twin-turbo,” Cameron said, with a Turbo 400 3-speed automatic likely the transmission of choice behind the engine.
Fast forward one month, and Camaron is bringing a unique flavor to the Camaro build. “We decided to put a Lamborghini V-10 in a Camaro,” said Cameron. “The reason we went with this: everyone has done a LS or LT or big block. I don’t think there’s ever been a V-10 Lamborghini engine put in any front engine car that I know of with an automatic.”
Test fitting the engine revealed that the width of the engine and the accessories caused some concern about the engine working with the Camaro’s control arms.
“This motor is really wide,” said Cameron. “We’re going to have to take the subframe back out and put in on the table, and fix some stuff.” That includes moving the control arm mounts and steering racks, as well as engine mounts.
“This was probably not a great idea,” said Cameron. “But I think we’re going to make it work.”
Check out the video below; do you think they can make it happen?
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Cameron Johnson Race Cars.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com