Steve Sieverding Calls it Good – The Ultimate ’85 Camaro

Steve Sieverding

Steve Sieverding is the Warranty Claims Specialist at our Chevrolet store, he’s done it for over 13 years. Everybody knows and loves Steve.  Steve is just one of those guys that is easy to start a conversation with and he always keeps the chat interesting. If you know Steve, you also know he has a Camaro. Steve’s Camaro is one of a kind – a classic with a kick. The Camaro and Steve has quite the history together – over 13 years of working hard, overcoming road blocks, and enjoying the fruit of those accomplishments on both ends.

2012 marks a momentous year for the two – Completion. Steve Sieverding believes he is now satisfied with all of the modifications (and they are VAST) and can now call it good as far as working on the Camaro. To celebrate his accomplishments, we got an interview with him to get to know more about the hard work behind the Camaro.

What year is your Camaro?
1985. I bought it privately down in the Quad Cities. I’m the 2nd owner.

How long have you had the car?
13 and-a-half years.

What kind of condition was it in when you got it?
Almost like new. Nothing like it is now, but it was in good shape.

Compared to how it originally was, how different is it today?
COMPLETELY different, except for the looks. The body, the shape and the color are all original. I replaced the paint recently because the old paint was getting worn.

What all have you done to the car?
The brakes, wheels, suspension, transmission, engine, practically everything is different or modified.

What’s the biggest modification you did to the Camaro?
The engine is probably the biggest modification. I put a 355 Tuned-Port Injection, highly modified engine in there.

Was the engine designed to fit into this car?
Well… I made it work in this car.

What kind of horsepower are you getting out of it?
I haven’t been to a DYNO yet so I’m not too sure, but probably something around 300 to the rear wheels. Originally it had a 305 engine in it that only has 215HP at the crank and about 185HP to the rear wheels.

You kept it in perfect shape!
There’s no rust on this car and the interior is in perfect shape. It WILL NOT go out in bad weather.

Is the vehicle within the city sound ordinance?
*laughs*

Have you been racing it at all?
Not yet, I just recently got it all done. We’ll be going to the drag strip to see what it can do.

Would you say modifying cars is a passion or a hobby for Steve Sieverding?
It’s a little bit of both.

I know you and your son are both kind of into modding cars, right?
Yea, my son Matt Sieverding is the one that actually got me started into all of it.

What car does he have?
He has a highly modified 1986 Buick Regal T-type.

How does your wife like the car?
Oh she likes it. She doesn’t drive it but she does enjoy it.

Does she support your modifying endeavors?
To a point. She actually wanted it re-painted because of all the oxidation and wear.

Does she like to ride in the car?
She doesn’t ride in it much. And she wont come with me when I’m really pushing it… She doesn’t like that high-speed stuff.

What else do you want to modify in it?
Right now, I think it’s probably as good as it’s going to get. I’d have to jump into some big money to push any more out of it. This is running really good right now just the way it is.

How many hours do you think you put into the car?
Oh jeez, over the years?… The rear-end has been re-built, the transmission has been rebuilt, Brakes, different engine. There’s just hours and hours of time in there. Everything mechanically has been re-done… Drive train, power train, chassis, computers, translators… it just goes on and on.

So, when you needed help along the way, who did you go to?
I mostly did all of the work myself. There are a few companies around the area that make some of the stuff I used in the car that helped me with some questions.

When did you start modifying the Camaro?
Probably about 2002 or 2003 is when I got really serious about changing it up and making it more than it was.

What do you want to do with it now that it’s all done?
Just drive it and Enjoy it.

What makes you want to keep modifying cars?
Because there’s always new technologies and new things that make the old cars run better. I like as much performance as I can get.

Any more project cars coming up in the near future?
No, this is going to be the last one for a while.

Any advice or tips for anyone else out there that wants to do some major modifications to their car?
It’s going to cost you money and time. You also have to have some patience with it because almost nothing happens as quick or as smooth as you might think.

Thanks Steve! If anybody has any questions about Tuned-Port Cars, feel free to give Steve Sieverding a call! You can reach him at (815) 747-3011 and ask for Steve!