The Goodguys Rod and Custom Association has taken car shows to the next level for decades, and founder Gary and Marilyn Meadors are still cruising with the best of them. When their son Marc Meadors first got into the hot rodding scene it was all about going fast in a straight line behind the wheel of a Camaro. Fast forward several years and Marc, who now runs Goodguys, not only pilots the Goodguys Racing Pure Hell 2 1969 Camaro Pro Mod to high 5 second ETs at 250mph, but has also worked to bring an even bigger and more diverse crowd to their shows. With the success of the Goodguys Autocross Series, and the truly amazing growth of Muscle Car attendance, we knew it wouldn’t be long before Marc would want to climb behind the wheel of something that can turn corners with the best of them.

And since the 1969 Camaro is the quintessential muscle car, and Marc’s personal favorite, it should come as no surprise that when Goodguys commissioned the crew over at Ridetech to build one bad as Pro Touring machine, the ’69 Camaro was first on the list. The Goodguys G/RS was born. Not only will you be able to watch the car being built here on the pages of BangShift.com, but also at Ridetech.com and through Ridetech’s Facebook page.

If you have been following the project from the start, click here to jump to the Latest Update. Otherwise, just keep reading.

The G/RS Camaro will feature many of the typical protour type components:
Supercharged LSA engine from GM Performance Products
Tremec T56 Magnum 6 speed
Moser rearend
Baer Brakes
RideTech coilover suspension and TigerCage
Flowmaster headers and exhaust
Forgeline wheels
Vintage Air A/C system
Kicker Stereo
Marquez interior and billet components
Interior by Hudson Rod and Custom
Dakota Digital VX Series guage pod
PPG paint
Flush windshield and backglass by Classic Auto Innovations
American Autowire wiring
Fuel tank by Ricks Stainless Tanks
…and more goodies from Ricks Camaro Parts and Speedway Motors

It will also have some tasteful and subtle body and trim changes as you can see from the rendering. The bumpers and stripes will be metalfinished, the glass flushed, the driprails removed, special lighting created…and more mods you’ll have to hunt for!

Taken from GoodGuys.com

“The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association will be forever tied to the Thom Taylor-penned cartoon of Gary Meadors ’32 Ford sedan. Meadors’ famed sedan has stood tall as the GoodGuys logo for close to three decades. The bright yellow sedan has crisscrossed the country dozens of times and racked up over 200,000 thousand road miles spreading the Goodguys spirit nationwide. It now has company.

A new project is currently underway to build upon the Goodguys legacy. “Project G/RS” – a ground hugging, pavement-pounding ’69 Camaro Muscle Machine that will be added to the Goodguys stable this fall. The Goodguy-yellow Camaro will essentially be used to further promote the Goodguys brand throughout the country on the open road as well as on the Goodguys AutoCross course and other driving events.

Handling the build is Bret Voelkel and his talented Ridetech team in Jasper, Indiana. “We are honored to be chosen to build the new Goodguys Camaro” said Voelkel. We’ve built 2 very successful giveaway cars for Goodguys over the years and now get a chance to do this Camaro – one that will be in the organization forever. It’s fun to work with people who share a common vision for what this car should be… I’m looking forward to the build, and to watching the Goodguys team enjoy the finished car for years to come!”

The car will feature General Motors’ new LSA engine, TREMEC six speed transmission, complete RideTech Suspension, Moser rearend, PPG Paint, Baer brakes, Forgeline wheels, BF Goodrich rubber, Vintage Air A/C, Dakota Digital gauges, Interior by Hudson Rod & Custom, RECARO seats, a fuel tank by Rick’s Tanks, American Autowire Harness as well as other goodies from Speedway Motors and Rick’s Camaro Parts.

“The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association and my dad’s yellow ’32 Ford sedan are known throughout the world,” said company president Marc Meadors. “Gary’s ’32 will be forever tied to Goodguys and all we do. We wanted to add to that legacy by building a muscle car and adding it to the Goodguys logo and company theme – something that represents the current landscape of hot rodding. Much like my father’s hot rod, this Goodguy-yellow Camaro will be driven hard and shared with cars guys and gals nationwide.”

Update 1: Disassembly   June 18, 2012

Parts, we have parts! Spare parts that is. This car is so clean to start with we almost don’t want to show you. All of you midwest and east coast guys are going to fall over when you see how nice the floors are in this bad boy, top and bottom. Wrenches are flying, old parts are being piled up, and the project is full steam ahead. Ridetech’s Bret Voelkel says “When you buy a car to start a project with, every $1000 extra you spend up  front for a rust free straight car will save you at least 5 times that over the course of the build.” We believe him, after all his crew does this day in and day out. This car will require hundreds of hours less bodywork than one that needed floors, rockers, quarters, etc. Even with great sheetmetal, the entire car will be blown apart. A car of this level will have every square inch refinished or modified.

I want the bumper guards off this car. Everyone I know hates them on Camaros. I love them. Bret, remember you said I could have them.

Check out how nice the floors are in this thing!

Even on the bottom.

These are the takeoffs. Most guys would kill for some of this stuff.

Click here to see all the Update 1 photos from Ridetech.

Update 2: Sandblasting   June 22,2012

Every piece of the car is being sandblasted to bare metal. There are other ways to strip the body, but with sheetmetal this good sandblasting gives great “tooth” for sealer, primer, etc. Plus it allows Ridetech to do everything in house which insures that every phase of the project is under their control. From start to finish, every aspect of this build will be completed at Ridetech.

This is not the normal way to lean into your car.

The blasted subframe has received a few cleanup welds. Pretty…

My inner fenders have never looked this nice.

Click here to see all the Update 2 photos from Ridetech.

Update 3: Refinishing Starts   June 25, 2012

The Ridetech crew has started making things pretty again. With an intermediate coat of primer on all surfaces, they are starting bodywork, body modifications, and more. We thought this thing looked good before, but now it’s even better! The drip rails are being shaved and smoothed, window frames prepared for flush mount glass, and the right rear quarter panel is being replaced.

Shaving drip rails isn’t a quick and easy mod. It takes a lot more than just a grinder. Welding skill is key, and these guys have it in spades.

The original right rear quarter panel had a couple small rust spots and some previous damage. Rather than spend days trying to get it looking “okay”, the team replaced it with new sheetmetal and will have it lined up and looking better than stock when done.

Besides the quarter going on, you can see in the photo below that the rear bumper is tucked way in. Too far in in fact. The ends will get some love to make everything line up nicely.

Click here to see all the Update 3 photos from Ridetech.

Update 4: Assembly Mockup and Fabrication   June 28, 2012

This is where the fun really starts. In Update 4 we see Kurt working to change the ends of the bumpers so that they are flush with the side of the ’69 Camaro quarter panel out back. At the same time that Kurt is working on getting the rear of the car looking right, the rest of the gang is working on body panel fitment, including tightening up the gaps on both doors by adding material to the door edges.

There is a ton going on in these two photos. Notice that the bumper has been split lengthwise and is now thinner, sharper pointed at it’s face, and is going to have a Mustangesque end to it. Oh and the side markers have been shaved.

Making a bumper like this is a lot of work. The skill involved in fitting everything to this level so that it is ready for plating, paint, or whatever is really impressive. We dig the look and that’s saying something. We are tuff critics when it comes to ’69 Camaro modifications.

Note the material that has been added to the front edge of the doors, and the hand fitting that is going on to get the gap “just right”.

Click here to check out all of Ridetech’s Update 4 photos.

Update 5: More Mockup   July 2, 2012

Last time we showed you the rear bumper and tail panel getting shaved, snipped, tucked, and fitted to perfection, while the door gaps were getting buttoned up as well. This installment features Ridetech Street Challenge and Tru Turn systems being bolted in up front for mockup and tire fitment, the Tiger Cage is going together, and even more body fitment is being worked on.

Okay, that’s one good looking rear bumper assembly. There are still some sheetmetal panels to fill in behind it, but the outside look is awesome.

The work continues on getting all the door gaps just right. Tightening up the gaps like this has become common on very high end builds as crews work to achieve modern day door gaps in 1960’s vehicles. With all the new chassis parts going into the car, it will be much more rigid than it was originally which allows for the tighter gaps.

Thanks to all of Ridetech’s products being a “bolt in”, the mockup phase is going very quickly. I wish we could build a car this fast.

Ridetech’s Street Challenge and Tru Turn systems have been installed for mockup and tire fitment but there are no Triple Adjustable shocks installed just yet.

Click here to see the rest of the Update 5 photos from Ridetech.

Update 6: Tubs, Door Panels, and Headliner!

Custom wheeltubs, more rear tail panel mods, and a cool looking set of door panels along with a super smooth headliner are what we got from this update. We’re not sure on details as these are mostly teaser photos, but we are intrigued!

There are lots of things changing on the Goodguys G/RS 1969 Camaro and the fabrication and design choices are really starting to show. The flush mounted rear glass is probably the nicest we’ve ever seen, and it’s not even finished yet. The lower rear valance is getting exhaust cutouts built and are looking cool as hell. The interior panels that we were teased with before are being fitted, and overall the car is really making good headway.

Check out the flush mount glass! We aren’t sure what the glass is originally out of, but it’s clear by the matrix on it that it’s something late model. We’ll see if we can find out and let you know.

The custom dash and door panels are being fitted and will add a really cool look to this ’69 Camaro.

Even more work going on at the rear of the Camaro. Shaping everything so that it is perfect, and getting the exhaust cutouts just right will make this thing look super smooth.

Click here to see all the Update 7 photos from Ridetech.