Check Out This Race Car Enthusiast’s One-of-a-Kind Camaro
Warren Bergman's distinctive 2018 Camaro sports a paint job inspired by a Chevy 1956 Bel Air.
Racing Colours
My father, Warren Bergman, has always been fascinated with automobiles. Into his 70s, he still loves modifying, painting and racing his own cars. This has been a major hobby of his for several years and his most recent project has been the complete makeover of his stock race car.
Every year, in the middle of our cold winters, Dad strips down the frame of his race car and meticulously measures, weighs, calibrates and redesigns the entire vehicle. He is constantly adjusting the weight distribution, ride height and spring tension, and making other performance-enhancing changes to get the most out of his car. The final thing on his to-do list is deciding on a unique paint job, so that the car really stands out. Last winter, he came up with the innovative idea of merging the detailed design of a 2018 Camaro’s front end with that of a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air’s back end. He painted the car using an original robin’s egg blue and India white paint, with custom-cut silver tape for a chrome-like finish. There isn’t much chrome on newer cars, but the old classics had loads of it. Dad calls this car his “classic Camaro.”
Behind the Wheel
The first car Dad ever owned was a 1956 Chevy, and he kept it for 15 years. He decided to attach the original hood ornament from that old Chevy onto the front end of his 2018 Camaro race car. He first began racing in 1970 and the first car he used on the track was a 1955 Chevy. He always loved the look of those classic cars, and this is where he drew inspiration for the race car he modified last winter.
Just to be clear, my father did not weld two separate cars into one. Every race car has to conform to certain racing standards in terms of weight, ride height and engine output, and so his latest rebuild combines the body of a modern race car, with the paint job of a more classic car.
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The Old Meets the New
Dad actually built most of this car himself. His original pit crew has since moved on in life, with its former members now dedicating more time to raising families and participating in, shall we say, more relaxing sports. Dad still works on his cars during the winter season and races in the summer, primarily in the Wescar Late Model Touring Series in British Columbia. In fact, he saw some action with his “classic Camaro” this past summer and it received plenty of “racing rubs”—tire marks on the sides of the car—and even acquired some front-end collision damage.
“That’s how it goes,” was how Dad summed it up afterwards. But he wasn’t totally happy with the car’s performance and says he has some new plans in the works for next season.
That’s right—this is one “70-something” who, with 40 years of experience behind the wheel, still loves racing and does not intend to give up the sport just yet!
Next, check out the loving restoration of this 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS.
