F-BODY ELEGANCE

EAT YOUR HEART OUT FERRARI! THIS ’71 CAMARO IS THE ONLY EXOTIC WE NEED

- Evan Perkins

In a world of Camaros, this one stands out. And of course it should, because Bob Schumacher doesn’t build boring cars. He and the team at Vintage Fabrication have churned out some truly amazing muscle cars and hot rods over the years, but this 1971 Camaro may be the feather in their cap.

The car’s owner, Gary Fish, came to Schumacher with a vision of a one-off Camaro inspired by Dave Leisinger’s “The Professor” Camaro, built by Roger Burman. Fish wanted an uber-custom split bumper of the same caliber, and the hunt was on for the perfect canvas for the build.

At the Springfield, Missouri Street Machine Nationals, Schumacher found the perfect specimen. It was a 1971 Camaro with an anemic 6-cylinder power plant but a perfect, rust-free body. They brought it back to the shop, and before long, it was stripped down, anesthetized, and sent into surgery.

“It was a sin to cut the perfect floors out of it to drop [the body] over the Roadster Shop Elite chassis,” said Schumacher. “But it was worth it! The handling and the ride are super!”