Building a Black Ops 502 Ram Jet ’69 Camaro

March 2026 • by Nestor Cabrera & Tony Thacker 
Presented by FirstUpApparel.com & MicksPaint.com

We’ve seen dozens of ’69 Camaros—from mild to wild—and it’s always the sleepers that get our attention. Sleepers like Jeff Pont’s stack-injected 502 Ram Jet re-imagined by Mick’s Paint.  

Jeff Pont reworked this ’69 in memory of his father Duane because doing things with your father, for your father or in memory of your father, is one of life’s great pleasures.

“Duane was a lifelong muscle car enthusiast and for as long as I can remember, he dreamed of owning a ’69 Camaro.” Said Jeff. “Years ago, I was lucky enough to spend a weekend with Duane at Barrett-Jackson, where he fell in love with this ’69 Camaro. I’ll never forget the moment it came across the block—I bid, won, and looked over to see his face filled with pure joy and disbelief.

“That car quickly became one of his greatest joys. He loved taking it out for weekend drives and especially enjoyed picking up his grandchildren from school in it. It was a special tradition.

“Unfortunately, Duane was diagnosed with lung cancer and a few weeks before he passed, I took the car out to keep it running and refuel it. After I parked it back in his garage, it was just a little off from straight. That small detail mattered to him—he wanted everything just right, especially his pride and joy. Despite his declining health, he got in to straighten it out. Sadly, he accidentally hit the gas and bumped the front end into the garage wall. He was heartbroken. I came over immediately and reassured him, ‘Don’t worry, dad—it can be fixed. I’ll make it even better.’ Unfortunately, just one week later, he passed away but I never forgot that promise.”

Bodywork

The Camaro as it arrived at Mick's Paint

In time, the car was taken to Jeff’s friend Steve Sbelgio’s Eclipse Engineering that used to be in Whittier, CA where Steve removed the Tremec and replaced it with a 4L80E built by Dave Dibbs at Orange County Transmissions, Costa Mesa, CA. Steve also removed the existing GM Mefi engine controller used on all Ram Jet engines and replaced it with a Holley Dominator ECM for both the engine and the trans.

Unfortunately, it was discovered that some previous rear fender repair work was not quite up to scratch and further inspection revealed that new quarter panels had been welded on top of the rotten ones partially left underneath. There was nothing for it but to have fabricator Pauly Rivera at Mick’s Paint, Pomona, CA remove all the quarter panels and replace them along with the inner fenders with new sheet metal. “While you’re at it,” said Jeff, “let’s smooth out the firewall, fix the funky inner front fenders, detail the bumpers, and repaint the car. Oh, and let’s install stack injection, and black out everything.”

A shave and a haircut turned into a major makeover at Mick’s but the result was worth the effort. Pauly began by removing the rear quarters from the door all the way back to the rear panel and up to the roof panel—it was a big task after which Pauly installed new Dynacorn quarters. Another unexpected problem came with the discovery of holes around the roof where the factory vinyl roof trim had been removed. The holes, and there were plenty, that had been filled with bondo and not welded, had to be ground out and welded.

Smooth firewall

Next, the gnarly inner fenders were removed and extensively reworked as was the firewall while all the air con lines, wiring, etc., were carefully rerouted and hidden as was the wiper motor. Meanwhile, the exposed tops of the frame rails were likewise massaged for a smooth finish.

Bumper tuck

Having completed the major bodywork, Pauly moved onto the bumpers that were cut, shut, shaved and re-contoured to exactly fit the body. Again, it was lots of work that would go mostly unnoticed but it’s those details that separate the good from the bad. From Pauly’s fab department Jeff’s Camaro was passed along to Mick’s paint team. “It’s always a challenge to improve on an already nice car,” said Mick, “but Jeff had a vision for this black-on-black tribute to Duane and entrusted it to us to execute. We encountered a few more problems than we anticipated but hopefully we executed the rebuild with attitude and taste.” 

Stack injection

Simultaneous to all the bodywork, Steve Sbelgio was working on replacing the GM Mefi system with a Borla 8-stack Chevrolet V-8 injection kit with 50mm IDA throttle bodies for oval-port heads. “This is a fairly simple swap,” said Steve, “however, the install required new fuel lines and throttle linkage using a Lokar pedal and cable. The factory Ram Jet distributor was retained but we used a Holley engine management system to control idle speed and ignition timing. The most time consuming operation was the balancing and synchronization of the injectors before developing the calibration.” Once the componentry had been determined, all the parts were detailed in black with orange anodized accents to match the graphics and wheels.

“This car is now a legacy piece.” Concluded Jeff, “As a family of car lovers, we plan to keep it in the family for generations. My family and I all take joy in cruising together, and I know Duane is smiling down from heaven—especially knowing this Camaro might end up in a magazine.”

SPECS:

Owner: Jeff Pont

Vehicle: 1969 Camaro

Engine: Chevy 502 Ram Jet

Displacement: 502 ci

Compression Ratio: 9.6:1

Bore: 4.47in

Stroke: 4in

Camshaft: Hydraulic roller

Cylinder Heads: GM Ram Jet aluminum small rectangular port

Induction: Borla 8-stack custom finish

Headers: Sanderson QP cast

Valve Covers: Moroso billet, smoothed and painted by Mick’s Paint, Moroso breathers moved to the rear

Accessory Drive: Holley

Ancillaries: Spal dual fans controlled by Holley management system

Transmission: 4L80E

Torque converter: Custom Pro Torque 2500 rpm stall

Rear Axle: Rebuilt 12-bolt Posi

Front Suspension: OEM clip with Global West upper and lower control arms

Rear Suspension: Mono leaf springs

Brakes: Front brakes: Wilwood 6-piston discs drilled and vented

Rear axle: 10-bolt posi limited slip

Rear brakes: Wilwood 4-piston

Master cylinder: Wilwood Hydra boost

Shocks: KYB Gas-a-Just

Sway bars: Global West front and rear

Steering: Rack-and-pinion

Wheels: Schott GT Cover-Loc painted black

Tires: Firestone Firehawk front 235/45R17, rear 275/40R18

Upholstery: Gabe’s Custom Interiors, center console reworked by Collins Interiors

Trim: All interior trim custom made aluminum by Gabe’s

Seats: Custom upholstered to compliment exterior paint

Steering:

Shifter: Lokar

Instrumentation: AutoMeter Pro Comp Ultra-Lite Analog

HVAC: Vintage Air

Bodywork and Paint: Mick’s Paint

Custom smooth inner fenders by Pauly Rivera at Mick’s Paint

Firewall: Custom made smooth firewall by Pauly Rivera at Mick’s Paint

Paint: PPG

Graphic design: Eric Brockmeyer

Graphics: Brad King

Hood hinges: Eddie Motorsport

Grille: Stock

Front Bumper: Smoothed and shaped by Pauly Rivera at Mick’s Paint

Rear Bumper: Smoothed and shaped by Pauly Rivera at Mick’s Paint

Headlights: Stock

Taillights: Billet frames painted black, custom lenses

Side Mirrors: 1970 Camaro

Door handles: Eddie Motorsports billet

Bonus feature from All Chevy Performance magazine March 2026