On a sweltering July day in 1955, Walt Disney announced at the opening ceremony of world’s first “theme park,” “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” The very same can be said for Rick Andrade’s wickedly cool ’10 Camaro Super Sport. Rick is a automotive nut, loving a wide range of cars – classics, trucks, and modern muscle alike – and has spent several fortunes building a decade’s worth of unique, never-before-seen customs. Most of which have been photographed countless times for dozens of publications and have graced the show floor at SEMA. So, when LSX Magazine got the chance to meet Rick and take a spin in his 5th generation Camaro, we were surprised to hear all of Rick’s future plans for this already impressive tire-scorching creation.
“Oh, I’m not done with her,” Rick laughed. When I meet Rick, he was busily wiping down the big chrome exhaust tips with a microfiber towel. High above his head, the Camaro is up on a lift at Hotchkis sport suspension. Rick is so ingrained into the automotive performance aftermarket that he’s proffered up his cars for trial fitting and R&D. In fact, that’s why we were at Hotchkis today. Rick’s ’10 Super Sport was the blank canvas from which the aftermarket suspension company designed their newest 5th Gen. Camaro kit. Newly completed, it now rides on full Hotchkis TVS front and rear springs, increasing the spring rate while lowering the Camaro’s center of gravity; front and rear sway bars for less body roll, better cornering; a lightweight chassis brace made from custom extruded aluminum oval tubing and a front engine brace designed to clear the supercharger.
Rick’s ’10 Camaro SS was the test mule for Hotchkis’ new 5th Gen. sport suspension package, which lowers it an inch. Below, a trick extruded aluminum oval tubing subframe connector frame ties the chassis together for less body twist and better response.
Beneath the SEIBON carbon fiber hood, the LS3 has received just as much attention. While Rick’s Camaro is quite the beauty, it’s no trailer queen. In fact, Rick is notoriously rough on his show cars, driving them, drag racing them, and even taking them out onto the road course! Knowing how many speeding tickets he’s was looking forward to racking up, Rick had a Stage 1 camshaft ground specifically for a supercharger setup made. Next, a Magnuson TVS2300 supercharger replaced the factory intake, producing a street friendly 8-pounds of boost with custom tune. Feeding the ‘charger is a RotoFab cold air intake. A pair of Dynatech stainless steel long tube headers flowing into a set of 3-inch high-flow catalytic converters going into a complete MagnaFlow 3-inch Competition package. What does it all add up to? How about 604 rwhp and 572 ft. lbs. of twist.
This ain’t your regular run-of-the-mill LS3. Rick – never one to leave well enough alone – squeezes a whole lot more power out of the stock 430hp plant with a Magnuson TVS2300 supercharger, custom-grind camshaft, an equally-custom tune, cold air intake and Dynatech headers.
Backing all that horsepower is a Tremec TR6060 6-speed with a Centerforce twin-disc clutch installed by Chris Johnson at Francisco’s Automotive in Huntington Beach, California, with a polished Hurst Racing T-handle shifter. The blue Gen 5 rolls on a set of Axion AX-601 20x9s up front and 20x11s in back, 3-piece, forged custom-finish wheels. Equipped with Axiom’s race hardware reinforcement package, the big rollers are wrapped in Pirelli Pzero 275/40/20s and 305/35/20s. Stopping those big dubs is Baer’s “Big Brake Kit” installed by Industrial Motoring in Anaheim, California, which includes a quartet of 6-piston calipers, 15-inch two-piece rotors, race pads up front and aggressive street pads in the rear. While driving, Rick laughed, “The race pads squeak like hell, but I knew that going in. They asked me, ‘You sure you want those?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I know what I’m asking for.’ And that was it.” He then slammed on the skids, coming to a dead stop within milliseconds. Yeah, the race pads were the right choice.
The rolling stock is just as custom as anything else on Rick’s Camaro. The forged Axion AX-601 3-piece, custom-finished rims are formidable at 20x9s up front and 20x11s in back. Riding on Pirelli Pzero rubber, the giant 275/40/20s and 305/35/20s provide the grip needed while massive 6-piston Baer 15-inch, two-piece rotors are clamped by race pads up front and street pads in the rear.
But it where it counts nine-times-out-ten for a show car is the exterior. Rick’s a big believer of “It’s all in the details” and never leaves out the little stuff, making sure that every inch of his customized cars have slight touches to distinguish them from everyone else. Rick had a Street Scene equipment front splitter, ground effects kit and three-piece rear spoiler installed. Additionally, Rick had all the names badges and Bow Ties shaved off. Robert Dipi from 3D Customs in Corona, California performed all the bodywork and customizing while William Wipperman at Prestige Auto Collision in Mission Viejo coated the Camaro in GM Aqua Blue Metallic with custom-mixed PPG metallic black stripes with blue pearl and several passes clear coat. Even the Axion wheels have the same blue pearl flakes in the black inserts. Cool T-REX phantom upper and lower grilles were installed for the classic RS look while miscellaneous trim bezels, door sills, and exterior trim were provided by Defenderworx. Ultimately, Rick had all the lights custom tinted by URR2SLO Motorsports and the Window tint by We Do Windows.
The devil’s in the details with Rick’s blue SS. All of the lights were tinted by URR2SLO while all the glass was tinted by We Do Windows. You might have noticed the wild paint job. The GM Aqua Blue Metallic with custom PPG metallic black stripes with blue pearl were applied by William Wipperman at Prestige Auto Collision in Mission Viejo, CA.
When prepping for a show (or a photoshoot like this one), Rick has the Camaro detailed by Pic in Mission Viejo, CA. Inside, the cabin is just as impressive – as to be expected – yet subtly modest. No obnoxious neon lights, drop-down LCD screens or anything of the sort. Rick is a classic Camaro lover at heart and wanted to keep this Camaro – although gorgeous – true to its roots. Rick had all the seats recovered with Katzkin leather and suede seat covers, including the back bench – designed to match the front buckets with custom embroidered headrests and floor mats. All of this work has paid off in spades, as Rick’s Camaro has been an All American Muscle Car Challenge participant and graced the floor of SEMA last year and will return this November. Yet, as we said previously, this Camaro is no dainty flower. As of late, the Camaro’s best ET is a 11.86-second pass at 119.9mph on street tires at Firebird Raceway. Recently, Rick hinted at a Snow Performance methanol injection kit coming sometime in August. If so, we have to believe that much like the “Happiest Place on Earth,” this Camaro will have a bright future.
While Rick spared no expense of money or effort to get this Camaro to look and perform at its best, he did reserve himself when it came to the interior. Wanting to preserve the Camaro’s RS/SS heritage, the interior was kept moderately Spartan, choosing recover the seats with Katzkin leather and suede seat covers and the iconic Hurst T-handle shifter.