The first gen Camaro with an LS1 swap is almost a cliché, seen at car shows from coast to coast. Lots of builders try to put their own stamp on the blueprint with over the top paint, insane suspensions, or monster powerplants, but there’s something to be said for a car that exemplifies rather than tries to deconstruct the basic concept.

The primary red interior is striking, well executed, and elegantly simple.

That’s what we have here, in this 1968 Camaro built by Prodigy Customs. It’s definitely Pro Touring mainstream, but mainstream isn’t bad when it’s done right. This is a car that was clearly built to be driven and enjoyed, not dusted and fretted over. Frank Serafine of Prodigy Customs tells us that this is a four year old build, and while it’s not exactly a daily driver, the owner has taken it on road trips from its home base in Florida all the way to Tennessee, and it’s actually been in deep water up to the door sills while caught on the highway in a heavy rain.

Of course, water and mud are temporary, but pride is forever, and there’s plenty to be proud of in this build. Starting from the ground up, 18 x 9 front hoops and 18 x 11 rears carry 265 and 315-section rubber, respectively. A Moser Ford 9-inch rearend with 3.50 gears delivers the torque routed from a T56 6-speed manual transmission, and the Camaro is mini-tubbed to make room for the big tires. RideTech coilovers handle the suspension duties, while C5 Corvette brakes slow things down. Under the hood, a stock LS1 powerplant is topped by a Kenne Bell 2.8 liter supercharger. The net result is 565 horsepower to the tires.

Serafine tells us that this former Nevada car was clean to begin with, and Prodigy handled all the interior and exterior work while the owner helped turn wrenches. In the time the car has been on the road since the work was complete, Serafine estimates it’s put about 25,ooo miles on the odometer (and plenty of smiles on the owner’s face, no doubt…)