Posted on 07/18/2012 7:12:00 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
State Farm Built The Harvey Dent Of Camaros, Can You Tell Its Good Side From Its Bad?
Meet Two Face the Camaro. Can you tell which is the good half and which is the bad on this '68 convertible?
State Farm had it built to serve as a gimmicky training tool for classic car insurance appraisers, so that they'd know the difference between a factory spec restoration and a cobbled together resto-mod.
The driver's side of the car was refinished exactly as it came from the Chevrolet assembly line, while the passenger side was the recipient of sloppy welds and body filler application, incorrectly sized wheels and brake parts, and a less-than-concourse quality paint job. It also has a bunch of goofy modifications — bling bling rims and weird brakes among them — that many classic car aficionados would consider anathema.
Looking at the picture, you still might think that this is just a quick cut and paste photoshop job, but State Farm's restorers made sure the line between concourse and crappy was abrupt enough to look almost fake. From paint and interior carpet to the car's convertible top and cylinder heads, it's the Harvey Dent of Camaros.
The dual Camaro took three and a half years to complete, but using a totaled '68 Camaro they had in storage, four guys at State Farm's Vehicle Research Facility in Bloomington, Ill. decided that the best way to show appraisers the difference between a good restoration and a half-assed one was to apply both to the same car.
In addition to using the two tone car as a training tool, State Farm also parades it around at car shows, using it as a prop to promote classic car insurance policies.
Even though functional parts like the brakes, wheels, and cylinder heads are mismatched — the passenger side head is an aluminum performance upgrade — the car runs and drives, albeit weirdly. You wouldn't want to take it on any long trips, but driving this car around town would be a blast. Imagine the incredulous stares you'd get.
I want BOTH cars!
FYI ... lots more pics at: State Farm Split Camaro Project
http://www.flickr.com/photos/statefarm/sets/72157629103097163/with/6791094871/
So glad I’m in subrogation with them..............
You didn’t build that! Somebody else did!
Weird.
What’s the point of using a half R/S (concealed headlights) and a half standard SS front end?
The schtick is compromised right out of the chute.
Look close at the parking lights below the front grill.
On the fake (passenger) side there is flaired styling.
On the original the line is smooth and the hole for the parking light is cut out of the panel without altering the line of the panel.
Baby Sh!t Yellow with the vinyl top.
paid cash and polished it for 2 months before I got my license.
Right answer!
If it was close to original I wouldn’t hack it up, but the painstaking restoration game is one I have neither the time nor money for.
But, if it was hacked already I’d make a runner. I will never forgive myself for unloading a ‘70 SS Chevelle with a rockcrusher...originally a 396 that was gone but I had a 327 corvette motor and air shocks to level it out for the big block front springs.
Face Palm!
I had one, a 68 I believe. It looked identical to the one in the Viagra commercial. It was green. ...at least when my wife drove off in it,I heard she had the colors changed, (she wasn’t real smart!)
It had a small block, I think it was a 327. It was light, fast, and easy on gas and maintenance.
Weird, I am working on my 1967 Camaro doing a restore. My car resembles this hybrid in many ways:)
You’d think someone at “Jalopnik” would know the difference between “Concours” and “concourse,” especially since the word was used several times throughout the article.
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