Mark Allen, 45, of Mesa, Ariz., has a heart that needs tune-up and a car that dreams are made of.
After placing a nitroglycerin pill under his tongue to relieve the pain in his chest Allen heads to his car to hit the Autocross track at the 2nd Annual Good-Guys Rod and Custom Show Spring Nationals in Scottsdale, Ariz. With the famous “Highway to the Danger Zone” from the movie “Top Gun” blasting on his radio Allen makes his 2nd and fastest pass of the day. The announcer starts calling Allen “Maverick” after the Tom Cruise character in the movie.
Although his heart hurts Allen says he doesn’t notice it while he is racing. The medicated stints that are holding open the arteries in his heart are doing their job. The nitroglycerin patch on his arm gives a slower timed-released dosage so he can function fairly normal. He pulls the car back to its parking spot and gets out with a big smile.
Allen’s 20-year-old daughter, Natalie, runs up and hugs him while telling him he is now in first place. After a short break, a quick check of the car and a kiss from his wife Allen puts another nitro pill under his tongue and heads back onto the track.
Allen’s car is one-of-a-kind. It is a perfect blend of top quality show car and something that can be driven. It’s no trailer queen and Allen’s family made this all possible. From his understanding wife and loving daughter to his cousin who paid for the project so he could enjoy it before his heart quit.
The paint on Allen’s blue beauty is the first thing to catch the eye. The depth is so great it looks like you could step into it. Matt Myers, owner of Kandy Shop Kreations, painted the car with House of Kolors True Blue Pearl and the silver accent is a custom blended pewter color, also House of Kolors.
This car would’ve have probably stayed a basically stock ’67 Camaro had it not been for Allen’s cousin. The old 350 c.i. motor in the Camaro was worn out and his cousin surprised him with a new motor and a promise to “Overhaul” his car like on the TLC channel TV show. His cousin wanted to help Allen realize his dream of owning an award winning Camaro.
In 2005 Allen started having heart troubles. His blood attacks the arteries in his heart so all doctors can do is stint the arteries to hold them open. Six years later Allen has 20 medicated stints in his heart and wears the nitro patch and takes nitro pills to keep his arteries open and blood flowing.
The Shafiroff racing motor in his Camaro helps to do this also. At 700 hp it will definitely get the blood flowing. It has been ported, polished and port matched to achieve maximum flow. Custom built Lemons two inch headers, three inch collector and a ceramic coated exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers give this car a sound that is hard to forget. It is tame and throaty under normal acceleration but when you put the go pedal to the floor it wakes up the beast under the hood.
Giving the Camaro a huge motor meant building the rest of the car to hold that kind of power. The Tremec TKO 6-speed was built to race specs and capable of holding 850 hp. To get the power between is a McLeod hydraulic clutch. A narrowed Fab 9 was used for the rear end with Currie 32 spline axles and 3.73 gears.
Allen wanted form and functionality in his ride so everything is well thought out and serves a purpose. A Detroit Speed hydroformed front-end was used with three inch drop spindles and a race inspired stabilizer bar so the Camaro has a great looking stance and performs as good as it looks. Baer brakes were used to slow down all the power the Shafiroff motor makes. Custom made, 17x9 front and 18x11.5 rear, Boze wheels were used to mount the Michelin Pilot tires.
Allen’s friends and family understand why the interior of his car is so perfect. It is the inside of something he has control over. The blue and silver leather match the exterior paint and the custom center console stretches from the front under the dash all the way through the back seat. Monitoring the vitals of the car are Autometer C2 gauges with, you guessed it, blue backlights. Since the car has no windshield wipers the wiper switch is now used to control the electric fuel pump. The 1000-watt stereo tops off the perfect interior.
When Allen’s family had a little get-together back in late 2006 he had no idea they were going to surprise him with this beast of a motor. “After the birth of my daughter, it was the best day of my life,” Allen said.
Allen helped work on the car as much as possible to try and offset some of the costs to his cousin so he had a great deal of input in the car. Allen’s cousin, who would prefer to remain anonymous, is a huge car nut as well. “I believe our purpose in life is to help others, that’s what we’re here for,” Allen’s cousin said. “Giving can be much more rewarding than receiving.”
Allen won the autocross at the Good Guys show. That’s right, this Camaro wins in every category. Allen is living his dream and is proud to show off his one-of-a-kind 1967 Camaro. “I live everyday like it’s a bonus day,” Allen said. “I’m so grateful for my family and friends I can hardly stand it some days.”
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