Dare to be Different

Jon Darbyshire’s Camaro is an all-or-nothing proposition.

- Jason Reiss

The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro is an icon in the hot-rodding world. Before the Fox-chassis Mustang ever existed, the ’69 was the car that every speed demon lusted after. From drag racers to road racers, everyone had a story about a ’69, and those who were financially able often rescued one of these cars and turned it into something special.

The body lines of the ’69 have been revered for decades as one of the cleanest examples of automotive styling in the pony car world. So for an enthusiast to commission a build using the ’69 platform—then work with the builder to completely alter those iconic creases to his own liking could have been a recipe for disaster. In this particular case, owner Jon Darbyshire worked with the talented craftsmen at Vintage Fabrication to develop his vision of the ’69 Camaro. Darbyshire came across another Camaro built by Vintage Fabrication at his local World of Wheels show and was intrigued by the possibility of what could be.

“I have always been a Mustang guy, but seeing the unique level of fabrication on that car really caught my attention. In our initial discussions it was my desire to build a one-of-a-kind custom Camaro unlike anything I had seen before. I wanted the overall presence of the car to scream power when you looked at it. At the same time I wanted to bring together the best of the old and new Camaro into a real work of art,” he says.

Darbyshire had a very clear vision of how he felt the project should progress. Not only did he want to build a handcrafted car to showcase some of the newer technology available for Chevy fans, he wanted to work with the builder to bring his concept to life.