Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

Good evening. I hope everyone is having a good winter season. I'm looking for whatever information I can get on the 68 Camaro previously owned and run by Mr Jimmy Bridges. My brother Mike, bought it from Lynn Engels several years ago and I got it from Mike in late 2015, prior to him passing away in 2016. He had a pretty fair bit of info about the car, but since his passing, I haven't been able to find it. I'd love to see any pictures and hear any stories about when others owned/drove this car. Knowing the history of it is of great interest to me.

I've been hoping to race it since that time, but life has thrown one roadblock after another at us, beginning with Mikes health problems/passing. Long story short, now that everyone I've been taking care of since 2016 has passed on, I should be able to put the time and money into getting back into racing in 2024. I took it out of the trailer and fired it up for the 1st time in 9 years a few weeks ago and drove around the block. Still a few things to do before I take it to the track, but the light at the end of the tunnel is much brighter. I'm hoping to make it out to some divisional races and CCRA events this season.

Thanks and have a great evening.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

BTR... You should just call Jimmy. He will have all the information you need and more. MB

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

Planning on it this week. I just got his number from someone.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

BTR... Make sure you have a note pad and a couple new pens close by. MB

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

I was told to prepare for a long talk. LOL. I may hook up a recording device so I don't forget anything. :) Really looking forward to speaking with him.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

Cool story and good luck with the phone call and future plans with the car.

Did your brother ever get to run the car?? If not, be sure to have something of his with you on your first pass.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

He made a handful of passes at a couple test n tune dates. Never got to race it in competition though. I have a picture of him standing beside his reserved pit spot post, after winning the sportsman class points in 2001 at CPD. planning to tape it to the dash before I make the 1st pass. I have the gold card he got from that as well, which gave him free entry for the following season.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

What a great "feel good" story. God Bless You.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

hey william great that your getting the camaro out just wanted to tell you what a joy it was meeting micheal when he bought the car he was so pumped about it i remember he drove up here in weather you guys arent used to and spent the night he was always so much fun to talk to life isnt fair, anyway if you want to call me 605/237/2357 lynn engels

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

Thank you sir. The story he told me about that trip was colorful and comical. He described the snow as hurricane snow. Us Eastern Carolina flatlanders get sideways rain, not sideways snow. A real eye opener for him I believe. LOL. Next couple of days are gonna be pretty busy. I may call sometime Sunday.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

Jimmy will be happy to talk to you about the car, and its storied history. I see Jimmy, and talk to him regularly, the car is in several pictures on the walls. We talk about it nearly every time I'm there. Be prepared, Jimmy might just spend at least a half hour trying to talk you into selling it back to him.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

I heard a while back that he was interested in getting it back. Had it not been for my plans to race it for Mike, I would have considered it, given his history with the car. Mike had his plans/hopes/dreams, and I'm hoping to keep that alive for him. Mike's influence on me as a kid, is probably the biggest reason I grew up loving racing the way I do. Class racing, SS in particular, is something that appealed to me for a long long time, but I didn't have the time and resources back then. I'm in a much better position now, so we're gonna give it a shot in honor of Mike. Hope you're doing well.

Re: Jimmy Bridges 68 Camaro
 

Good evening all. Hope everyone is doing well and getting quality time at a dragstrip somewhere. I considered starting a thread in the builds, but it's been built for quite a long time and all I'm doing is replacing a few things to make it race ready again. Figured I'd update this thread instead. I've been working on & off, (more off it seems), on getting things squared away. Last year while checking the car over after running it in the driveway and around the block, I found the tranny input shaft was cracked. A bit of a disappointment, but wasn't expecting to do much racing if any last year, so didn't hurt my feelings too bad. Bit off way more than I could chew with work last year, so I hit the brakes and car went back to trailer jail. Bought another home with a decent shop in January, so now I have better opportunities to spend time on it. Tranny has a clean bill of health now and is sitting next to the car. Have a few other needs before it's driving again. With my limited available time, every small step is still forward progress. I had the opportunity to speak with Jimmy in 2024. Great conversation and learned a bit about the car. Hope to speak with him again. I also spoke with Lynn a few months before he passed. Super nice and generous with his time for me on the phone. Had the opportunity to speak with Lynn's brother Doug a couple months ago as well. Great conversation, as he remembered my brother and when he drove out to pick the car up. I'm pretty confident that I'll have it running/driving again by the end of this year, barring any unforeseen issues. As things progress on the car, I'll try to pop in and post about it. Y'all have a great week.