Yahoo Autos This Gambler 500 'Camerico' Camaro Is the Most Hilarious Build I've Ever Seen
The Gambler 500 is a race that encourages insanity. With pretty much no safety standards, a $500 price cap, and a free-wheeling attitude, you see some wild stuff out on trail. Often things more absurd than a cheap, chopped Camaro. But dig under the skin of the "Camerico" and you'll find it's one of the most hilarious patchwork vehicles to ever hit pavement.
According to Tommy Calabro, who built the Camerico with his brother Joe, the project started with a $100 1994 Camaro with with a misfiring V-6 and a vacuum leak. The goal was to get the thing running with whatever the brothers had lying around.
That led to some MacGyver-like solutions, like a Big Gulp cup that functions as a coolant reservoir with an overflow hose running through the straw hole. The massive RV tires were free, balanced with a handful of golf balls. The car's bodywork came courtesy of Sawzall. Calabro also borrowed a welder, learning as he went, scorching the Camaro bodywork in the process. Detailing work was completed with the business end of a sledge hammer.
Weather sealing for the de-bodied F-body's mechanical bits came in the form of expanding foam, dielectric grease, and some melted plastic ammunition boxes. Chevy Blazer wheels from a pick-and-pull lot were used and the big-rig exhaust is made up of some spare flex pipe, a Cherry Bomb Glasspack, and a flapper top.
