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Kenny's G-Spot

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Not entirely, most of it comes down to the ratio 1.618:1. When it comes to the things we find beautiful, whether that’s a car or a girl, if the proportions measure up to that magic ratio, the chances are it’ll be gorgeous in the looks department. Just take a look at Kenny Favel’s ’68 Camaro SS; a better-proportioned, sexier car you’d be hard-pushed to find. What’s interesting is the more you look at its shape the more it becomes apparent what a simply designed car it is. It’s almost childishly simple. No fuss, no complex swages and precious little in terms of detail or adornment, yet it’s got simple, sassy curves in all the right places.

It’s no wonder, despite hitting the market two years after the Mustang; the Camaro was an instant hit. The short tail and long nose shout speed and performance – it looks fast standing still – and the chiselled nose sends out enough signals of aggression for there to be no doubts that this is a muscle car. Yet there’s a prettiness, a femininity about its curves. Coke bottle styling never looked so sharp as the way a first generation Camaro’s hips swell over the rear wheels. Add flawless black paint to that shape and set it low over polished 17-inch Cragar SS wheels and you have an object of great beauty. And as New Zealander, Kenny Favel, has made his career running London’s top Gentlemen’s Clubs, it’s kind of fitting he should have a hot-looking car too.

Kenny’s story with the car starts with a case of love at first sight. Despite being in the UK for 15 years now, Kenny returned to New Zealand in ’06 for a short break and while he was visiting friends in Christchurch it seemed rude not to have a nosey around local classic car dealer, Moorhouse Muscle Cars. That was when Kenny first clapped eyes on this black ’68 SS and, fulfilling his dream, bought it on a whim. ‘I’ve always been into the American cars. Throughout most of growing up I couldn’t really afford it. Most cars I’ve wanted I’ve generally had photos or models of so I suppose it inspired me to actually get them in the end. I’ve always been a strong believer that every man should have his toys,’ laughs Kenny.

‘We all seem to work longer and harder and there’s very little time these days to do the things we enjoy and love, this car I suppose is my little way of escapism. I’m always telling my › mates to follow their dreams. You only live once, right? And we’re a long time dead!’ The car had been in New Zealand since ’89. Kenny doesn’t have much clue as to the car’s first 20 years in the States but after a little bit of research, he’s pretty confident that it’s a genuine SS. Back in ’68, the SS was the one to have for performance, bar the race-ready and rare Z/28, Chevrolet advertising that ‘The go machine look outside tells everyone you’ve got the big-inch V8 inside’.

Unlike the RS, which was basically a cosmetics package added on to the basic Camaro, the SS had the mechanical balls to back up its looks. There were none of the wheezing six-pot motors you’d find in all the ‘secretary specials’, nor the smaller 327 V8. SS buyers had to pick between the all-new Turbo-Fire 350cu.in. small block, rated at 290bhp, or the 396cu.in. Turbo-Jet big block, packing an advertised 325bhp. Of course, these being pony cars, you could dress the Camaro SS up with all manner of interior and exterior packages, but with a contrasting nose stripe and numerous ‘SS’ badges and decals letting everyone know your car meant business, it’s no real surprise that SS clones became as common as the real thing.

Kenny’s SS has what’s generally regarded to be the best engine and transmission combo; the 350cu.in. small block hooked up to the four-speed manual ‘box. The big 396 may have had the edge on ultimate horsepower and torque but it was a big old lump of iron to have sitting on the front springs. If you fancied tackling the odd corner, the new, big-cube small block was the engine to have. You could specify the new Turbo Hydramatic three-speed auto behind the 396, but choosing the 350 made you shift gears manually – there were no archaic two-speed Powerglides on the SS models – the choice was between the stock three-speed manual or optional four-speed. And this car has the desirable four-speed with a Hurst shifter sitting on top.

Around seven years ago, while it was still in New Zealand, the Camaro was subject to a full restoration. The paint, body and interior were all made flawless, but like any old car there was still plenty to get stuck into to bring the car up to scratch. ‘Finding someone else capable to do the work can be difficult but the group of mates I grew up with from New Zealand kindly did the work on the car. I don’t think I was too popular with their wives as they were often to be found in the garage on weekends working on g-spot – that’s what I call the Camaro,’ laughs Kenny.

‘When I decided to return to the UK, I was a bit undecided as to whether to ship the car to the UK given how big the craze for muscle cars is in New Zealand. In the end, I figured that I wanted to drive it as much as possible so I decided to bring the car with me.

‘Unfortunately, the day before I flew back to the UK, the original fuelie heads were found to be cracked. Instead of trying to find a pair of good originals I chose to replace them with Trickflow aluminium heads.’

With the new heads, Kenny bolted on a pair of Doug Thorley tubular headers and had a 2.5-inch dual exhaust made up with Flowmaster mufflers. The Edelbrock carb on the RPM manifold wasn’t delivering enough fuel so was swapped for a 600cfm Holley and as the radiator couldn’t keep the temperature down a new aluminium replacement was made up and the single engine-driven fan swapped for a pair of electric ones from a Toyota Celica. There was already an Isky Mega cam in the block and the four-bolt bottom end had been improved with big-capacity fuel and oil pumps. Sounds like a pretty healthy stack of parts to us and can’t be too far from 400bhp.

Matching up the Camaro’s serious performance needed some serious brakes and rubber. Holden parts were used for the four-wheel disc brake conversion – easy parts to find down under if not here. They’re one aspect of the car Kenny’s thinking about replacing. There’s certainly plenty of room behind the 17-inch wheels. Talking of the wheels, it’s impossible to imagine a better choice of rims for this car. The Cragar SS came out in ’64 as a composite motorsport wheel that was far stronger than any standard steel and in the Sixties and early Seventies, the 1st Gen Camaro’s heyday, were the de rigueur wheel for muscle cars. In their latest 17 and 18-inch incarnation, the design has been brought right up to date and looks fantastic, combining elements of traditional modification with the popular pro-touring that suits this era of muscle car so well. Kenny did consider going bigger at the rear but has been advised that he wouldn’t be able to run the ride height so low without cutting out the inner rear arches to be mini-tubbed, so he’s going to leave it as it is.
Air suspension and a diff upgrade are perhaps on the cards, but otherwise the only plans Kenny has are to drive the tyres off the Chevy as well as using it as an eye-catching promotional tool for his latest gentlemen’s club, Platinum Lace, London.

‘The Camaro is no trailer queen. I bought it to drive it and it does drive like a dream, especially since I’ve had electronic ignition fitted. I spend most of the summer cruising around in it with my girl and my dog, Shiloh.’ Dream drive, dream car, dream job. Doesn’t sound too bad to us.

Words: Edward Hall
Photography: Mark Fagelson