Long wait pays off for car buff

It's been at least a dozen years since Rodney Walker first spied a '60s era Chevrolet Camaro muscle car in his mechanic's shop in Walterboro.

The car enthusiast, who routinely drove to the shop from his Ravenel home, was enamoured with the Camaro and asked about buying the convertible. But someone else owned it, and that person's whereabouts were a mystery.

This went on for eight years. Then Walker, who works for SCE&G, reached the point where he had to find a way to buy the vehicle. He asked again, and the mechanic, Greg Godwin, agreed to work out a sale as long as he could locate the owner, who was in the military. After a time, he did find the owner, who agreed to sell the car.

That was four years ago. Sitting idle for close to a decade, the wine-colored coupe was worse for the wear. Dry rot had set in. But Walker still wanted it. He likes the body styling on the Camaro, and in addition, convertible Camaros are more unusual than hardtops.

He paid $7,500 for the car. "It was in bad shape," he said, but "I got it home."

His wife, Rose Walker, wasn't too happy. "She didn't agree with it," he said. Walker said she thought he was "throwing money away."

But Walker set to work, first rebuilding the engine to boost capacity from 350 hp to 383 hp. Next, he visited Charleston-based Bendt Brothers auto upholstery, which fixed up the interior and the soft top.

The coupe ran fine, but Walker wanted to give it a new paint job. He went to a paint and body specialist who he knows as "Mike Jr." at Palmetto Collision on Dorchester Road. Walker chose a different color scheme than the original "candy apple" red look. The result was wide stripes, red and black. "He did a good job," Walker said.

Another acquaintance, who Walker knows only by the initials "K.B.," supplied parts and accessories. Walker installed digital gauges on the dashboard. "Everything is new," Walker said.

He wants sometime to replace the windows and install an air-conditioning unit.

The restoration effort has worked out. He started taking the Camaro to car shows and has won first place in two of them. Meanwhile, his wife really likes the car now.

Walker, a collector, also owns a 1964 Chevrolet Nova Super Sport.

He plans to keep the Camaro. "Well, I think it's something out of the ordinary," he said.

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com.