Aftermarket vehicle of the month

Jan. 1, 2020

3 min read

The place is paradise and so is the ride!

Royden Wong, from Hilo, Hawaii, owns one of the quickest and fastest small-block Chevrolet-powered Camaro street cars on the Big Island, having run as quick as 11.20 seconds/120.00 mph on drag radials. A self-employed mechanic by trade, Royden, his brother Greg (whose identical-appearing, yet big-block 1968 Camaro has reportedly run as fast as 9.33/150.33) and his wife Lori spent one year and $20,000 transforming the $2,000 thrasher into the tire-smoking giant killer you see today.

Powering Royden's "1TYME" is a 355-cubic-inch, ATI ProCharger-equipped GM small-block stuffed with a set of 10:1 compression Speed Pro pistons, piston rings and main bearings, along with an H.O. 350 cast-iron crank and set of connecting rods, and a COMP Cams roller cam, timing chain and kit. A set of Ron Shaver Racing big-valve aluminum cylinder heads feature a Manley stainless-steel 2.02-inch intake and 1.60-inch exhaust valves, along with COMP Cams valve springs, retainers and 1.6-ratio roller rocker arms. The valve covers are Billet Specialties models equipped with a set of Moroso Performance breathers.

Induction comes in the form of an Edelbrock four-barrel intake and 750-cfm Holley carburetor force-fed by the ATI ProCharger at 8 psi. Wong uses an MSD Pro Billet electronic ignition on his Camaro, firing a set of NGK platinum spark plugs. Exhaust exits via a set of 1 ⅞-inch Hooker full-length headers and Flowmaster two-chamber mufflers. Backing all that up is a Gary Mizuno-prepared GM Turbo 400, outfitted with a Hipster manual valve body and a Mike's Transmissions 4000 stall-speed torque converter and trans brake.

To handle all that power, Wong relies on a Competition Engineering ladder bar-suspended, Strange Engineering-equipped, GM 12-bolt rear end fitted with a 4.10:1 final drive ratio. The Camaro's front suspension also has been modified using a set of Competition Engineering 90/10 drag shocks. Wheels and tires consist of 15x4-inch front and 15x10-inch rear American Racing wheels rolling on 600x15-inch Moroso front, and P295/50x15-inch B.F. Goodrich Drag radials on the rear. Stopping is courtesy of a set of Master Power brakes.

Paint and body men Wade and Jason Rabang are responsible for smoothing out the '68 sheet metal and repainting it Target Red with metallic gold stripes.

Inside, the '68's Richard and Ruth Perriera-installed interior features a Competition Engineering roll bar, Auto Meter instruments, a Classic Auto Sound AM/FM/CD and a Hurst quarter stick. Both Royden and his wife Lori are members of the Classic Cruisers.