COULDA-WOULDA-SHOULDA CAMARO

This custom 1969 Camaro is so good, Chevy should've built it! If America had an automotive sweetheart, the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro would likely be a top contender. Few enthusiasts can gaze upon its illustrious lines and find fault in the stamped-steel skin. That takes skill.

- EVAN PERKINS

While few possess the eye to take such a car to the next level, there are builders unafraid to challenge the status quo. The reward has been countless revisions, revelations, and remasters that have augmented the blissful and ever-lasting romance with this iconic pony car. Jeff Lilly's version does it again, but in a wildly different way.

There are no linebacker-esque fender flares, no carbon-fiber accoutrements, or really any of the all-too-common queues found on many a custom car. Instead, Jeff took a step back in time, reimagining the Camaro's lines with a modern eye. Any manufacturing or production inadequacies of the era were booted from the fantasy, and the finished product, dubbed Dead On, has an almost concept-car quality to it.

Concept, not in the way one might find it pristinely lit and elevated on a rotating turntable. Rather, it's effortless to imagine Dead On's silhouette straining beneath a red silk sheet during a late-'60s Chevrolet model unveiling. In a weird, alternate universe sort of way, it's a car that was always meant to be.

"The owner came to me and said he wanted a muscle car that nobody else has, so we took on the challenge but knew it had to retain its most appreciated features," said Jeff. "That got me thinking."

After searching for the right blank canvas, Jeff and the car's owner settled on a relatively clean, six-cylinder Camaro. The car didn't have a collectible pedigree, but there was still considerable thoughtfulness applied to respecting the breed.

"I told [the owner], 'you've got to be really careful what you do to this thing," said Jeff. "It's still a '69 Camaro and people have loved this car since its inception. It's America's car. It's like taking a '57 Chevy and cutting it up."