The only real constant in life is change. It happens all the time all around us, and it has a habit of transforming our plans along the way. That same theme holds true with racecars. The more you think things will stay the same, the more they’ll have to change to keep up with the competition. Bryan Marrow’s boosted 1979 Chevy Camaro has been through a few changes of its own, and that has transformed it into one of the quickest leaf spring suspension cars in the country.

Bryan’s exposure to the world of the automobile has been a lifelong endeavor. Ever since he was a kid, he’s found great joy and relaxation from working on or modifying anything with wheels. Having a car to build throughout his life is a constant that Bryan has grown accustomed to and openly welcomes.

The automotive infusion he experienced at such a young age came directly from his family. Bryan’s father helped kick-start the gasoline flow into his veins that still pumps today. “My dad always had paint and body shops he owned, so I was exposed to it as a kid, for sure. I just never took up the paint and body side of it. Instead, I took up the mechanical side of things,” Bryan says.

That mechanical interest soon led Bryan to experiment on his own car, and it kept his family on their toes, as well. “Building motors as a kid really got me hooked even more into cars. My mom would leave for work, and my car would be a perfectly running machine in the driveway. By the time she came home, it wouldn’t have a motor in it. The next day she would come home from work, and it would be back in the car running. That’s the kind of stuff I did when I was 16,” Bryan says.

“I decided that I wanted to go faster, so I sold the ‘67 and built a 1970 Camaro. That was a full tube chassis car that I raced Super Gas with for a while. I got rid of the Super Gas car because I wanted to get back into the street stuff for a while,” Bryan says.

To scratch that street car itch, Bryan decided the 1979 Camaro he had would fit the bill. How he decided on that car is an interesting story itself.

“I actually got the car from my wife. It was her very first car she ever owned from when she was in high school. So when we got married, the car came with her. When we started having kids, the car was a bit too small to use as a daily, but it had so much sentimental value to her that she wouldn’t let me sell it. Since we had to keep it over the years, I decided to have some fun with it, and turned it into what it is today,” Bryan says about the history of his car.

The transformation from daily driver that was powered by a small-block Chevy, to an all-out racecar, took some time. In the second phase, the car received a 555 cubic inch big-block that ran on pump gas, and was mostly a weekend cruiser. Things escalated quickly from there, and the Camaro’s street-driven days would be numbered. “The car just got way too fast and scary to drive on the street, so it was just a natural fit to take it to a full-blown racecar. It became more of a radial tire car that I raced a lot, to this now fourth evolution as a real heads-up radial car. It has just been phased into different levels over the years based on how fast I wanted to go,” Bryan says.

Under the hood of Bryan’s Camaro is a very rowdy Fig Performance-built 540 cubic inch Dart-based big-block Chevy. Inside the rat motor is a Scat billet crank that rotates a set of GRP connecting rods and Ross pistons.  Keeping the oil flowing on the big motor is a five-stage Peterson S4 system, along with a Stef’s oil pan.

For the top end, Fig Performance kept everything Dart, going with a set of their Pro 1 aluminum heads that use stainless 2.400-inch sized intake, and Inconel 1.9400-inch exhaust valves. The heads are topped off with 1.7 ratio rocker arms from T&D. Chris Pasget spec’d out a special solid roller 60 mm camshaft from Comp Cams that’s designed specifically for this boosted build.

Introducing the oxygen into the motor is a 105 mm Wilson throttle body and an Edelbrock intake manifold. Adding the methanol to the boosted beast is a Waterman pump that has its pressure measured by an Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator. A set of Precision Turbo and Engine 550 and 225 pound injectors add fuel to each cylinder, while taking their orders from a BigStuff3 ECU that’s tuned by Patrick Barnhill of PTP Racing. Ignition is provided by an MSD Digital 8 box, MSD coil, and crank trigger.

Behind the big cubic inch Chevy motor is a driveline full of top notch parts to help put the power down. A Powerglide that uses an ATI case and is built by PTC works with a 4600 stall ATI torque converter. The transmission sends the power to the rearend via a carbon fiber driveshaft, each time Bryan shifts the gears with this Precision Products shifter.

AC Car Craft fabricated the Camaro’s chrome moly chassis that Bryan rides in each time he heads down the track. The rearend is based on a Fab 9-inch unit from Mark Williams Enterprises that uses a set of Mark Williams 40-spline axles, and custom anti-roll bar. A full rear suspension from Calvert Racing helps keep this leaf-spring rocket planted, along with a set of AFCO shocks.

The front suspension of the Camaro features a complete set of TRZ Motorsports control arms. Dampening duties are handled by AFCO shocks and springs, while a manual steering rack keeps the F-body going straight.

A set of 17x 3-1/2  Weld Racing wheels occupy the front wheel wells, while Champion 15 x 12 wheels with Mac Fab DXP beadlocks that wear a Mickey Thompson 275 Pro tires take care of the rear. To bring the Camaro to a stop after each pass, Wilwood brakes are used at each corner of the car.

Bryan has left the all-steel body of the Camaro pretty well untouched with the exception of the VFN fiberglass hood, but that’s set to change in the future. “This is a stock suspension, leaf spring car that has been pretty successful at the track while weighing 3,500 pounds. To keep up with the other cars, we’re planning on taking some weight out of the car. Right now, the plan is to look at more fiberglass and some carbon fiber doors, as well,” Bryan says of the Camaro’s future diet.

The Camaro has been more than a racecar for Bryan — it has opened the door for him to turn everything he loves automotive into a way of life. “I always had a lifelong dream to have my own shop that had something to do with cars and racing. After getting tired of driving a fuel tanker truck for over 20 years, I started my own apparel company called Commando Racing. That has now turned into a full-blown shop where we build cars for customers and have cars to sell. The Camaro has just kind of helped me transition into this full-time car life,” Bryan explains.  

To get to his car to this point, Bryan received a lot of help and he’s forver grateful for that assistance. “A huge thank you to my business partner at Commando Racing, Steve Kanner. I’ve been lucky to have people like Fig Performance, Wilson Manifolds, PTP Racing, ATI, PTC, Mickey Thompson Tires, Mac Fab Beadlocks, AC Car Craft, and many others to all help make this car what it is today,” Bryan says.

Bryan and his Camaro have been through a few transformations over the years, and that’s led them both to this point. No matter how much has changed, Bryan always kept the goal of building a life around cars and racing close to his heart. He’s been able to mix his beloved Camaro with a career around performance cars in a way he could have never imagined, and now he gets to live his childhood dream of being around all things racing nearly every day — and he’s okay with that!