I've always loved rare cars. It's cool to drive something that not everyone on the road has, that's why we are into performance cars in the first place. And it's even cooler to own a niche within a niche, a hot rod that is rare even to other hot-rodders.
Even better than rare is purpose-built. I can't put my finger on the exact reason why a car stripped of its comforts and options turns me on; my nostalgic side thinks that somehow the DNA of Swiss Cheese Pontiacs and lightweight '63 Impalas has been passed down a generation for the sole purpose of raising total hell on the boulevards, dragstrips, and road courses of America. My competitive side says that I may outdrive you, or I may not-but if my ride is lighter than yours, it gives me a better chance of pulling on you when the light turns green!
So when it came time to pick up an LS1 Camaro, I bypassed all of those leather/T-top/full-option F-bodies for sale on the Internet, and began sorting through the small selection of low-option hardtops. Obstacles to finding something rare and purpose-built are that they are, well ... rare, and in high demand, and many of them have seen heavy race duty already. It took a few months and several missed opportunities before I found a diamond in the rough: an '01 Camaro hardtop.
This Z started life on March 28, 2001, as a 1SC Z28 base vehicle, and was fitted with a six-speed, a Hurst shifter, and, of course, the LS1. Options like T-tops, Acceleration Slip Regulation, leather, cruise control, and power seat/door locks/windows/mirrors didn't make the cut.
Next, it spent a couple of years around the Wisconsin and Illinois areas, before falling into the hands of its third owner-a young guy who wanted to build a racer out of it. This created several concerns for me as a buyer, as a 4L60E and auto-trans wiring harness had been swapped in, the HVAC vacuum lines were disconnected, the A/C had been removed, some interior lighting didn't work, the sound deadening had been removed in places, the front sway bar was gone, the springs had been changed, and the manifolds, cats, dash, and steering wheel weren't stock. The Loud Mouth exhaust and half-tint windshield dripped of adolescent testosterone.
On the plus side, it had recently been repainted, wore early chrome five-spoke rims, felt nice and tight thanks to the solid top and a set of subframe connectors, and only had 40,000 miles on it. And I gotta tell you: the hardtop and lack of power options really drove me over the edge. Though the $12,500 asking price was a touch steep for all the work that needed to be done, I was more than willing to pay it for a car this unique.
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A pre-six-speed swap photo of the 346-inch mill. For 2001, the (under)rated horsepower was 310, with 340 ft-lb of torque. There are a few mix-and-match parts on her, but the LS1 runs great. | 
Originally equipped with the N96 aluminum wheels, the previous owner bolted up a great looking set of N98 chrome wheels from a '98 car. |