Wright Welden’s “Show Car” Camaro

71 Camaro

Automotive painters are like upholsterers, they want to have a nice car to drive, take it to car shows and cruise nights, and basically, just show them off. This is a great way to expose their work to prospective customers. Unfortunately, most of those guys don’t have time to build their own show car, because they are busy building cars for customers.  Such was the case for automotive painter Wright Welden, owner of Wicked Custom Classics in Castle Rock, Colorado. For years, he had dreams of building a nice “show car,” but life always seemed to get in the way.

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Attempt One

Wright grew up learning how to properly apply paint and do body work as a young man while working in his father’s body shop in Englewood, Colorado. Wright’s first car was a 1950 Chevrolet two-door sedan Rotatorthat he bought when he was 14-years-old. Any spare time he could find, he was in his dad’s shop working on the car. From the very beginning, he was filled with a vision of what a great show car the shoebox Chevy could become. As fate would have it though, it never got that far in the process! Before he reached the age of 16 years, the Chevy was painted two-toned-blue with a white top, and was the recipient of an all-new interior. According to Wright, the car didn’t turn out too bad for a 16 year-old’s first attempt at a rebuild. The problem was, it never really reached show-car status, and he eventually sold it back to the same guy from whom he bought it. From that day on, projects came and went, but he never achieved building a car that he felt was worthy of show car status.

I knew I could build the car to look the way I wanted, if I could only find the time – Wright Weldon

After graduating high school, Wright was invited to become a paint technician at a well-established automotive body shop in Summerville, South Carolina. That career choice kept him busy for approximately 13 years, until 1996, when he decided it was time to move back to his home state of Colorado. After returning to the Buffalo Plains State, he worked as a painter in several collision repair shops for the next 17 years.

Attempt Two

In 2004, a paint and body technician that knew Wright, told him about a 1971 Camaro that was languishing in someone’s backyard. It seems the car had been sitting for years, and had 4-foot-high weeds growing around it. Although the weeds were great camouflage from prying eyes on the street, it’s not the best environment for long-term parking of a car.

The gorgeous green paint is striking, and the House of Color stripes add to the overall great looks.

Since the body of the Camaro was not in very bad condition, the gears in Wright’s brain began to think that this could be the show car he’d always wanted to build. His main concern was, did he have the time to build it the way he wanted?  Wright shelled out the $1,200 for the not-so-showy car, installed a battery, and drove it home. After taking possession of the car, he and a good friend pulled the engine in preparation for a new one. While disassembling the drivetrain, the fuel line disintegrated in Wright’s hands. Imagine if this happened while driving home — his “new” show car might never have seen fruition.

As does happen many times for many people, Wright’s life became more complicated. In 2013, he left his comfortable job after a dispute with his boss, and went to work at another shop. It didn’t take long for Wright to realize that he was not happy there, so he moved once again, hoping to find a place he could call home. It was at this time that his good friend Larry Cantarano saw the writing on the wall and asked Wright why he didn’t open his own shop? Between the two of them, they came up with enough cash to open a body shop in a small garage with one overhead door in mid-2013. Since opening the shop, Wright and his expanded crew have grown the business considerably. Their workload now consists of custom painting, complete restorations, and collision and insurance work.

Complete interior came out of a 2010 Camaro ... the fit is near perfect.

When it came to Wright’s Camaro, he was only able to work on the car in his sparsely-available spare time. Eventually, the car was painted with a PPG-brand waterborne paint called Organic Green. Paying homage to earlier-model Camaros, Wright added his version of the body side stripes by using House of Color’s Candy Green.

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Motivational duties are handled by a small-block engine, now displacing 383 cubic-inches. A Billet Specialties Tru Trac serpentine belt-kit with other chrome accessories dresses-up the engine. Wright installed an Edelbrock Air Gap intake manifold and 650 cfm four-barrel carburetor. The air cleaner is an after-market cowl-induction unit that fits like it came from the factory.  Trick Flow coated-headers send the exhaust fumes through a pair of Flowmaster mufflers, and behind the engine is a 700R4 transmission. There are Heidt’s front-suspension parts replacing the original components, while the rear suspension remains stock. The wheels are from US Mags, and the fronts measure 7 inches, sporting Continental Sport 215/50VR17 low-profile tires. The rears are 8 1/2 inches wide with Continental Sport 245/45VR17 tires. Wright says they do very well at keeping the car planted to the ground. Adding some style to the body is a Camaro RS front end with that familiar split bumper, and behind the opening in those bumperettes is a billet grille.

What you might not expect to see when looking inside the car are the modern amenities Wright has incorporated. The interior was removed from a wrecked 2010 Camaro SS, and was fitted inside the vintage Camaro body. The only thing that needed to be modified were the door panels, which were lengthened. Finally, a Vintage Air A/C unit keeps the car cool while cruising on hot summer days.

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The car was finished in spring of 2014, and has taken several awards at various car shows since then.

It’s taken Wright eight long years to get the car into the condition he was hoping to achieve, but he can finally say that he has his first show car! However, for him it’s time to move on to his next project, a tribute to the memory of his brother who passed away in 1996.  Wright has a 1950 bullet-nose Studebaker, and always wanted to build this car for him. The car was nicknamed “Silver Bullet” some time ago, and will use a big-block engine for power. Wright feels now is the perfect time to start on that project and make it show car number two.

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Continuing the tradition Wright had with his father, both of his sons, Austin and Wes, have worked with him at his shop. His long-time friend John Tillson also works there to help continually grow the business and take care of all the day-to-day operations. Wright attributes his love and experience for this industry from his father. He says, it’s been a delight to do what he loves, and do it with his family and friends.

About the author

Roger Jetter

Roger’s interests in cars started at 14 with a ’40 Ford pick-up until he bought his first ’57 Chevy at age 16. That car is featured in the first two books he’s written about the 1960’s and growing up in the Midwest. He’s authored several more books as well and has built several cars over the years that have received major coverage in magazines and won plenty of awards. His current build is a 1948 Cadillac Sedanet, although his current 'driver' is a '55 Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
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