Jack Harrington Finally Settled Into His ’69 Drop-Top Camaro

car feature -- HArrington Camaro

If there is one thing that is certain, once you are a car guy, you’re always a car guy. How many times have we heard about a project that got put on the back burner for an extended period of time because life got in the way, and that car was eventually sold? More often than not, sometime later, the story always comes back to, “I wanted another one.”

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There are even some guys who are fortunate enough that they never sell their car, but life gets in the way, responsibilities change, and it takes decades to complete the project. IMG_5981Then we have other guys like Jack Harrington of Winter Haven, Florida. Jack is one of those enthusiasts that never seems to be without a car of some sort that he can get comfortable behind the wheel, and just enjoy the thrill of driving. Over the years, he’s owned his fair share of cars, most have been street rods, but this ’69 Camaro is his latest ride, and if it were ours, it would be our last.

When we first saw Jack’s folding-roof Chevrolet, it was parked at the 2015 NSRA Southeast Nationals held in Tampa. At first glance from a distance, we thought this to be a true Pacesetter Camaro. But as we got closer to it, we started to notice that some things didn’t look right, they looked … upgraded. For starters, Jack tells us, “This isn’t a real pace car Camaro. It was originally painted Butternut Yellow and had a black interior and top.”

For the next 30-minutes or so, we walked around Jack’s car just trying to see if we could notice all of the small modifications and upgrades that were made. The problem was, we were stuck looking at the chrome and other shiny parts that cover and surround the big engine. Jack told us that the engine is a daily-driver-reliable 454 cubic-inch tire fryer. According to him, “The engine was in the car when I bought it. I beleive it’s a crate engine.” Although large in the cubic-inch department, Jack says that it is as dependable as any small-block engine he ever has owned.

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The 1 7/8-inch-tube headers lead into a 3-inch dual exhaust that is muffled by a pair of Turbo mufflers. Although it might not be a 700 horsepower monster the under-hood, all dressed-up with the chrome and billet accessories, and the requisite aluminum dual-plane intake and Demon carburetor, it is just impressive enough to catch your eye.

White-faced gauges are just enough of a change to give a modern look to the dash.

White-faced gauges are just enough of a change to give a modern look to the dash.

But make no mistake, when Jack gets behind the wheel and puts the transmission in Drive, in his words, “it’s reliable, and it can get out of control really quick.” Speaking of the transmission, the 700R4 makes this cruiser even that much more enjoyable on long treks across the Sunshine State.

While looking at the interior, it is not immediately apparent that upgrades come into play. At a quick glance, the interior is an almost-perfect recreation of a Pacesetter Camaro. Although the car originally came with a black vinyl interior, it has been upgraded with orange Houndstooth seat skins, and received a console with gauges.

Did you notice the white-faced gauges? We’ll forgive you if you didn’t notice that somewhat-hidden upgrade, but there is no way you missed the Classic Performance Products Bandit steering wheel or the Lokar shifter poking out of the console.

The rest of the interior looks to be stock, but looks can be deceiving. Since we are not talking about a purpose-built race car, if there is one thing that is a requirement in a true cruiser, it is that having quality tunes to listen to doesn’t just make the ride more enjoyable, it is a necessity. CAM-CH92-230But don’t think for a minute that the stock-looking AM radio in the dash is not conducive for allowing highway cruising. The radio stock-appearing radio is by no means original. It has been worked on by Custom Autosound, which means the USA-1 radio gives Jack the ability to not only listen to the vintage crackling sounds of AM radio, but he can also crank up the FM signal as well. This well-rounded system is not limited to radio waves, as it also features a cassette player, 200 watts of speaker-tearing output, and the ability to connect to a CD player. Finally, a set of Pioneer speakers are hidden under both the dash, and in the convertible-top well.

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Since Jack does not plan on beating the car around a road course or even make a blast down the ¼-mile anytime soon, there are no special components underneath that are designed to either make the car handle like it’s on rails, or launch like a rocket. But, having a suspension that is worn and unsafe is not in the cards, so the front end was rebuilt using all stock components, and is OE fresh.

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Since the car did come with factory disc-brakes on the front, the disc/drum stopping chores are handled by rebuilt, stock parts. One part of the chassis that Jack did install some upgrades, was the wheels and tires.

I didn’t want anything drastic, just a nice driver. – Jack Harrington

From a distance, the wheels look like a factory Rally wheel, but when you get close, you realize that something is different. You are looking at a set of Rev Wheels “Classic 107” wheels. The rears are 18x9s, the fronts are 18x8s, and they feature the stock-looking Chevrolet center caps. The tires are 225/45R18 and 255/45R18.

This 1969 Camaro is more than just an iconic car, and if you factor in the folding roof, this one is off-the-charts cool. Even so, Jack remains level-headed about his pride and joy. “I wanted a ’69 Camaro for quite some time, and when I found this one, well, it didn’t need much work, so I grabbed it.” If the vastness of Jack’s previous ownership of classic cruisers is any indication, you can bet he plans to enjoy the car hobby for as long as he can. Previous vehicle ownership aside, there is a good possibility that the ’69 Camaro convertible that is currently parked in his garage might just be the one that stays around the longest.

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From a distance, the Rev Classic wheels look almost like factory Rally wheels.

If you ever get the chance to drive around central Florida, and you happen to pull along side Jack and his Camaro, don’t expect a smoke show at the intersection, and if you think he will race you to the next red light, you are mistaken. But, if you think you can cruise longer distances than he can, you better be ready, we hear that Jack is not one to let the grass grow under his tires.

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About the author

Randy Bolig

Randy Bolig has been working on cars and has been involved in the hobby ever since he bought his first car when he was only 14 years old. His passion for performance got him noticed by many locals, and he began helping them modify their vehicles.
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