Between the golden years of 1968 and 1972, the TransAm race series became a major slug-fest as US auto-makers fielded cars that are now widely regarded as being the best of the classic muscle-car breed. We reunite three of the top TransAm contenders.

The Trans American Sedan Series – more usually referred to as TransAm – was first established in 1966 under the aegis of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Originally intended as a manufacturers’ championship, the series encompassed two classes – under and over 2.0-litre – with both classes racing together.

The first race in the new series was at Sebring on March 25, 1966, with 44 cars lining up for the start and the field featuring 35 under 2.0-litre cars.

This first TransAm race was totally dominated by Alfa Romeo GTAs; they finished in four of the first five positions. However, amongst the smaller cars there was also a smattering of larger, V8 racers – a trio of Plymouth Barracudas, three Mustangs, two Chevrolet Corvairs and a single Dodge Dart.

During the course of that first season the majority of the factory support came in the lower capacity class – with entries from Alfa Romeo, Mini Cooper and Lotus-Cortina. Some famous European drivers would front up in these cars, including future F1 world champion Jochen Rindt, Paddy Hopkirk (in a Mini, of course) and even Alan Moffat, who raced a Lotus-Cortina during the early years of the series. Later, even Porsche would get in on the act by persuading SCCA that its 911 was actually a sedan!

It didn’t take long for US automakers to realise they were missing out, with Mercury, Chevrolet and Ford all announcing works-backed teams for the 1967 TransAm series.

The 1968-’72 period is generally considered to have been a golden one for the series, especially as it coincided with the pony car era. During those classic years TransAm racing was largely dominated by Mark Donohue – who raced Penske Camaros before moving to an AMC Javelin. But all the big US manufacturers were now on board. Chevrolet was represented by the Z-28 Camaro, driven by Jim Hall, Vic Elford and Ed Leslie. Bud Moore’s Boss 302 Mustang team was headed by Parnelli Jones and George Follmer, while Sam Posey headed up the Autodynamics team in his Dodge Challenger T/A. Other notable contenders included Dan Gurney and Swede Savage (AAR ’Cuda); Jerry Titus (Pontiac TransAm); Charlie Rainville and Bruce Jennings (Mercury Cougar) and Roger Penske’s Sunoco-sponsored team of AMC Javelins.

The TransAm series slowly began to lose it lustre after 1972 – the absolute power of the cars involved was slowly being curtailed following the oil crisis of the early ’70s. However, apart from a gap following the 2005 season, the TransAm series continues to this day – and once again European cars dominate the series, with the Jaguar XKR having ruled the TransAm roost for several years.

But for US classic muscle car enthusiasts, the years from 1968-’72 are still regarded as being the best. And at its best, TransAm racing was a real action-packed, vehicle-bruising championship featuring powerful V8 muscle cars in the hands of some of best and most fearless drivers of the day.

1969 Z-28 Camaro

In Z-28 form the Camaro was designed to compete against the Mustang in the TransAm racing series, and it even stole two championships from Ford’s pony car in the late 1960s. What made the Z-28 legendary, however, were the road-going versions, which were basically mildly tamed race-cars.

The 1969 Z-28 Camaro wasn’t exactly the fastest muscle car on the block, but with its unique combination of brake, engine, exhaust, and induction options, it was arguably the most desirable Z-28 of all.

The 1969 Z-28 package included the F41 handling suspension, which incorporated uprated springs and shocks, while the rear live axle also had staggered positioning on the shocks to help control axle tramp during fast take-offs. Front disc brakes were standard on the 1969 Camaro Z-28, and four-wheel discs were also offered for the first time – taken straight from the Corvette. This option cost US$500, so it’s not surprising that only 206 sets were delivered, about half going to full race-cars. Also, courtesy of Corvette were Rallye Steel rims with six-inches (152mm) of width shod with E70X15 raised-letter tyres to improve handling.

The high-revving, solid-lifter 5.0-litre (302ci) V8 with an 850cfm four-barrel carburettor was again exclusive to the Z-28, and 298kW-plus dyno tests made a complete mockery of the quoted 216kW rating.

Dealers also got in on the act by offering dual four-barrel carburettor options, including twin 600cfm Holleys on a cross-ram manifold and chambered exhaust pipes – possibly the least-restrictive exhausts ever offered on any new Chevrolet. This super high-revving V8 needed air and lots of it, so another functional option unique to the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 was a cowl-induction hood which operated via a valve that snapped open at 80 per cent throttle to draw in cool air from the base of the windscreen.

The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28s again came only with a Hurst-shifted close-ratio four-speed gearbox with 3.73:1 final drive ratio as standard, with up to 4.10:1 available. The Positraction differential was offered as an option for those requiring added traction. As expected, the 1969 Z-28 Camaro had impeccable road manners, aided by power steering that was both quick and offered a sense of that all important road feel.

The ’69 Z-28 was without doubt one of the hottest-looking rides of the classic muscle car era, highlighting what Chevy stylists could do to express utter performance and excitement.

1969/70 Boss 302 Mustang

During the ’60s Ford had been heavily involved in motor racing, spawning the famous catch phrase – “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” – thanks to Carroll Shelby, who won the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) TransAmerican (TransAm) Sedan Racing series in 1966 and 1967.

Ford built the Boss 302 engine in direct retaliation to Chevrolet’s Camaro Z–28 win in the 1968 TransAm series.

The 1960 year had been dismal for the Mustang and Ford knew it had to create something special if it was to win back the TransAm championship.

The legendary Boss 302, otherwise referred to as the Ford Boss 302 Mustang, certainly isn’t what most people think it is. In fact, it’s a Ford Mustang built in 1969 and 1970, named and based entirely on an engine, a special purpose-built race engine. The final creation was a hybrid small block 5.0-litre V8 built by taking the heads from the Ford Cleveland (manufactured in 1970) and adding them to the four-bolt heavy-duty block of the Ford Windsor (manufactured in 1962). It proved to be very powerful, and capable of outperforming the Camaro Z-28.

Actually, the real magic behind the Boss engines comes from the canted-valve Cleveland cylinder heads. While the Boss 302 was normally considered a 302 with 351 Cleveland heads, these canted-valve heads were used first on the Boss before the rest of the Cleveland was developed. The heads also featured steel spring seats, screw-in rocker studs, pushrod guide plates, and adjustable rocker arms.

In order to abide by SCCA regulations, which stated that manufacturers had to sell what they raced, Boss 302 Mustangs were offered to the public. Today, Boss 302 collectors and admirers from around the world can thank Larry Shinoda, a former GM stylist who worked at Ford and created the car’s unique styling. He also came up with the name Boss 302 for the car and engine that would go into production so that Ford could race in 1969 and 1970.

The Boss 302 Mustang could only be ordered with a four-speed, wide or close-ratio manual gearbox, and the body, a base Sports Roof, came minus the simulated side scoops.

The 1969 Boss 302 was only available in four colours; Wimbledon White, Bright Yellow, Calypso Coral and Acapulco Blue. Although a variety of interior colour options was available, black was used in most cases.

The 1970 Boss 302 was available in Grabber Blue, Grabber Orange or Grabber Green, Calypso Coral or Pastel Blue, with either a black or white interior. The 1970 Boss 302 also received a redesigned exhaust system and suspension, with aluminium valve covers replacing the chrome items found on the 1969 model.

The Boss 302 was finally retired and replaced with its successor, the Boss 429, in 1970.

Ford came close but did not win the TransAm title in 1969 with the Boss 302 Mustang, but it was more successful in 1970, taking out the TransAm championship and thus entering the history books.

1970 Dodge Challenger T/A

In keeping with the brand’s performance heritage, the Dodge Challenger went racing in its first year. To comply with the homologation requirements for TransAm racing Dodge built a street version of its race-car, which it called the Challenger T/A (TransAm).

The racing version of the Challenger T/A ran a destroked version of the 5.5-litre (340ci) engine, whilst the street version received three, two-barrel carburettors atop an Edelbrock aluminium intake manifold – creating the 340 Six Pack rated at 216kW, about 11 kW more than the original 340 engine and, oddly enough, the same rating as the Camaro Z-28 and Ford Boss 302 Mustang.

A massive suitcase-sized air scoop, moulded into a matte black, fibreglass bonnet pinned at the front to hold it down, provided the copious amounts of air required for the triple carburettor set-up, and a dual low-restriction exhaust system running through the standard muffler location, then reversing direction to exit in chrome-tipped outlets in front of the rear wheels, was part of the T/A package.

Other Challenger T/A options included the TorqueFlite automatic or pistol-grip Hurst-shifted four-speed transmission, a 3.55:1 or 3.90:1 ratio differential and manual or power steering. Front disc brakes were standard. The specially designed, heavy duty Rallye suspension increased the rear spring ratings, and the T/A was the first US muscle car to use different size tyres front and rear to give the car an aggressive, racing stance, with E60x15 fronts, and G60x15 at the rear.

The raked camber angle elevated the tail enough to clear the wider rear rubber and its side exhaust outlets. The racing image was further enhanced with wide dual side stripes, bold ID graphics, a fibreglass ducktail rear spoiler, and a fibreglass front spoiler, whilst the interior was strictly stock Challenger.

The Challenger T/As scored a few top three finishes in the TransAm series in 1970, but lack of a development budget led to Dodge leaving the series at the end of the season. Sam Posey drove the lone TransAm racing Challenger, a car prepared and run by Ray Caldwell’s Autodynamics Race Shop. While Posey didn’t win a race in the No 77 Challenger, he did finish fourth overall after the final points table had been tallied for the 1970 season.

Tony Antonievich: 1969 Z28 Camaro

Tony Antonievich purchased his 1969 Z-28 Camaro from Max Baker (the NZ Funny Car driver) in the US back in 1989 whilst working for John Woodner Racing. The Camaro was used as the family car in the US before returning to New Zealand a year later.

Tony and his family have enjoyed this genuine Z-28 Camaro for over 20 years, and Tony certainly doesn’t mind admitting that the trusty old Chevy has had its fair share of use.

Originally white, the Camaro now wears a Le Mans Blue paint scheme, a period Chevrolet colour for that year, and the blue interior is factory standard except for an after-market steering wheel. The Chevrolet 5.0-litre (302ci) V8 has been freshened up according to Tony, but after looking closely at it during our photo-shoot at the Hampton Downs race track, it would be fair to say it’s had more than a light work over. However, Tony’s not letting on. The four-speed Muncie gearbox, diff and suspension are still basically stock items apart from new bushes and other maintenance items that have been replaced.

The Z-28 complements Tony’s other car, the beautifully restored ex Dennis Marwood racing TransAm Camaro as featured in our February issue this year.

Gary McMurtrie: 1970 Boss 302 Mustang

Gary McMurtrie was looking to build a Mustang race car to enjoy a couple of years ago, either a Boss or Shelby-style replica, when his plans took an about face. Well-known Mustang restorer Malcolm Sankey mentioned a few collectable Mustangs were available from a deceased estate collection in the US, and would Gary be interested? Initially, his thoughts were that he’d put his hand up for an original Grabber Blue 1970 Shelby GT350 Mustang from the collection. He then discovered that the collection also included a black, low mileage 1967 Shelby GT350 Mustang and our featured Calypso Coral 1970 Boss 302 Mustang and that all of these cars were still available for purchase – he ended up buying all three. The 1970 GT350 has since been sold, and Gary has kept the other two cars.

This 1970 Boss 302 Mustang has travelled only 65,000 original miles (104,607km) and was completely restored in the US by its previous, late owner.

Upon its arrival in NZ, it was sent to Matamata Panel Works for a complete check over and some attention to detail. The exhaust system was replaced and Bilstein shocks and stiffer coils were fitted to stiffen up the ride. A few panels needed re-gapping, and the engine bay was tidied up.

The Boss 302 is finished in its original colour scheme, and the white interior complements it nicely. The drivetrain is completely numbers matching and is optioned with the 3.91 diff ratio and front-mounted oil cooler, known as the ‘Drag Pack’, and ‘Shaker’ air intake.

As for Gary’s original idea about a race-car, after our session at Hampton Downs he’s got the bug again – so keep an eye out in these pages for something special.

Allen Lindsay: 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A

After searching for a low mileage, original Dodge Challenger for over a year, Allen Lindsay finally stumbled across this outstanding example in San Francisco in 2007. The car was exactly what he had been looking for, and had been parked up in a barn for over 20 years alongside another Challenger T/A, which Allen believes could still be there, but certainly not for sale.

The Challenger T/A was also completely dry and rust free, typical of cars found on the West Coast, and was completely original, with a numbers-matching drivetrain and two build sheets proving its authenticity. The original 31,000 miles (49,890km) showing on the odometer was further proof that this car had been stored for many years.

Allen brought the car back to New Zealand in 2007 and has since restored minor items such as brake rotors, brake master cylinder and suspension bushes – all testament to the fact the car had been sitting for many years.

The 340 Six Pack V8 engine still sounds crisp and menacing, and is still completely original, as is the four-speed manual gearbox.

According to Allen the Challenger T/A isn’t a showstopper. I beg to differ, and it suits Allen down to the ground, especially as he prefers to enjoy driving this the rare beast whenever time permits.

Allen is no stranger when it comes to Mopars, in fact his previous award-winning Plymouth ’Cuda featured amongst these pages not too long ago.

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Adam Croy

Buying cars form overseas vendors via internet auction sites is fraught with danger, as we’ve all come to realise over the past few years. The temptation to hit the ‘buy now’ key is a something many of us find irresistible – and it was a temptation that Greg and Diane Haliday couldn’t resist when they spotted this Corvette for sale.

Like most of our readers, I’ve certainly heard my fair share of horror stories associated with the importation of cars, especially from the US – with unsuspecting new owners ending up with anything from mild dissatisfaction to a complete and utter financial nightmare.

Our feature car, unfortunately, confirmed an all too familiar story for Greg and Diane Haliday. Sure, they’d imported cars from the US before, and yes, they’d been disappointed and vowed never again. But when a 1958 Corvette looks like a million dollars on a computer screen and is described as a “good driver” with a numbers matching drivetrain, then I’m with Greg and Diane on this one.

I’d have pushed the ‘buy now’ key if I had the cash available. 

It wasn’t really as if it was a rush decision, Greg and Diane had been looking around for a nice early Corvette for some time, and had done their homework researching the differences between the varying Corvette C1 models produced between 1953 and 1962, eventually deciding on the 1958 model. I have to agree, it’s the nicest-looking of the C1 ’Vettes. Diane had also spotted one at the Kumeu Hot Rod Festival which only confirmed they’d made the right choice.

Unchallenged

On the face of it, Greg and Diane had undoubtedly picked a winner – back in 1958 the Corvette was unchallenged, with staggering sales of over 9000 units. That was also the first year in its five year history that the Corvette showed a profit for Chevrolet and GM. Considered by many to be one of the ‘ritziest’ Corvettes ever built, the ’58 model reflected the ostentatious trend towards over-indulgence in cosmetic chrome-work, all wrapped up in a flamboyant, if impractical, body style. The quad headlights would end by becoming the hallmark of the Corvette’s styling for the next 25 years, even after the introduction of concealed lights in 1963.

The car’s curvaceous lines were hooked up with a row of simulated louvres on the bonnet, fake air scoops in the side cove areas, and twin chrome bars running down the boot lid. Stylists considered replacing the distinctive grille teeth with a mesh insert, but that idea was abandoned, although the grille had four of its original ‘teeth’ extracted.

The bumpers, which had previously been attached to the body, were now secured to the frame, providing significantly greater protection for the already toughened fibreglass body.

Interior revisions were just as extreme, but in the long run were to prove far more successful. It was severely criticised by many for its original instrument panel layout, so the ’58 Corvette’s interior designers made sure that every dial, except for the clock, was placed directly in front of the driver. The over-sized semi-circular 160mph (257kph) speedometer dominated, with the 6000rpm tachometer perched in front of it mounted on the steering column and flanked by secondary instruments. From the dash centre dropped a vertical style console housing the heater controls, clock and the ‘Wonder Bar’ signal-seeking radio. A grab-bar in front of a semi-circular cut-out made up the passenger’s side of the dash, and a locking glove compartment was installed between the seats.

Door panels also came in for some treatment, receiving a complete restyling with the inclusion of reflectors at arm level for safety when opening the doors at night.

More Power

But most notably, the all-new 1958 Corvette had even more power than ever before, and was actually reasonably quick. The high compression fuel-injected 4638cc (283ci) V8, complete with Duntov camshaft and cool air intake, was the most potent engine in the line-up, pumping out a respectable 216kW (290hp) at 6200rpm. There was also a twin-carb, 201kW (270bhp) version available. However, more than half the cars sold were equipped with the base 171kW (230bhp) single-carb engine. Barely 1000 customers purchased the 216kW unit, and only about 500 opted for the 186kW (250bhp) injected set-up, which also featured a milder cam. Rounding out the choices was the 182kW (245bhp) version with a four-barrel carburettor and mild 9.5:1 compression.

For about an extra grand you could option up with the hottest engine set-up, Positraction differential, heavy-duty brakes and suspension, four-speed manual transmission and metallic brake linings; making it one of the world’s quickest volume production sports cars – more than a match for the Jaguars and Porsches of the day.

The Purchase

Greg and Diane’s intention was never to buy and restore, but to turn their Corvette, once they found one, into a mild street rod by adding a few of their own subtle modifications and enjoy driving it.

After having the car checked over, Greg and Diane eventually bought their ’58 Vette and had it shipped down-under. Once Greg had had a chance to carry out the usual post purchase once-over he came to the conclusion that his ‘new’ Corvette was exactly what he thought it was, but not as good as he’d hoped it would be. At best it was a driver, just.

Not long after its arrival, Greg and Diane decided to take the Corvette along to an NCRS (National Corvette Restorers’ Society) judging meeting and let the ‘experts’ take a look. Fortunately, or should I say unfortunately for Greg and Diane, there were a few distinguished US NCRS top judges present, and the news wasn’t promising. Their little red Corvette was not what it seemed. It had obviously seen far better days, in fact there weren’t too many positives to come out of their first NCRS judging experience, which left them feeling somewhat dejected.

During the ensuing weeks, Greg and Dianne had some quite frank discussions with local Corvette guru and NCRS New Zealand chairman, Graham McDonald, about their dilemma. Essentially, they had to decide whether to keep the Corvette and restore it, or sell it and cut their losses – the latter option being Graham’s advice. Many sleepless nights followed, as well as some intense anguish, before Greg and Diane decided to bite the bullet and restore the car – although they did come extremely close to getting rid of it.

With this decision made, Greg wasted no time in putting together a budget (we’ve heard that one before). He’d had the foresight to ship a fairly comprehensive range of parts with the car, and soon formulated a plan of attack plus a list of more parts he thought necessary to complete the restoration.

The Restoration

The garage was cleared out and restoration began by stripping the car down to its bare shell. An NCRS member working bee was subsequently arranged and the body was lifted off the chassis. To everyone’s surprise the chassis and suspension were in relatively good shape, showing no signs of rust, a common problem with ageing Corvette chassis.

Graeme McNeill took the chassis away for sand-blasting, painting and suspension reassembly. Meanwhile the body was sent off for some minor fibreglass repairs.

Graeme McNeill also rebuilt one of the Corvette’s major redeeming features, the numbers matching engine, along with the four-speed manual transmission.

Completed parts of the car started to arrive back in Greg’s garage, but one of the ongoing frustrations he was experiencing was finding people with enough experience and knowledge in restoring old Corvettes. At this point the body was mounted on a dolly and sent off to John Lisle at Cascade Auto Finish for paint and more body repairs.

During a monthly NCRS meeting, Greg had light-heartedly mentioned to Graham McDonald that wouldn’t it be great to bring Ralph Ridge – a highly regarded Corvette restorer and frequent visitor to NCRS NZ meetings from Castle Rock, Colorado, USA – over to complete the restoration on his car.

To cut a long story short, a few phone calls later Ralph Ridge was on a flight to New Zealand.

It was March 2009 when Ralph arrived, and one of his first tasks was to visit Cascade Auto Finish and check out the paint job. On first glance he commented that it was a great job but, and there’s always that ‘but’, it was over finished, which would cost Greg valuable points in an NCRS judging situation. By ‘over finished’ Ralph explained that the paint was too highly polished for the period of the car, and the shade of red used was incorrect – apparently it was too red.

Much to Greg and Ralph’s surprise, John Lisle repainted the car overnight; the end result is a stunningly correct finish with the red taking on an almost milky finish, exactly as the original colour did according to Ralph’s expert opinion.

Once the car was back in Greg’s garage Ralph, surrounded by stacks of new parts, started the arduous task of reassembling the Corvette. Thankfully John Lisle, a welcomed and regular visitor, was on hand to assist Ralph and Greg whenever possible.

The Discovery

Things never quite go according to plan when restoring cars. We all know this to be the case, it’s programmed into our psyche, not only does it never go according to plan, but we usually discover somewhere along the way that it’s going to cost more. Way more than we ever expected! Yet we subject ourselves to this stressful heartache time and time again, thinking that one day we will eventually get it right.

Sometimes, and only sometimes, there’s an advantageous twist of fate. It does happen – and here’s proof.

While Ralph was busily reassembling the old ’Vette – which at that stage was about 90 per cent complete – he discovered some old studs when he was trying to fit the new interior kick panels, commenting that someone had obviously fitted ‘Fuel Injection’ badges at some stage for cosmetic reasons. While explaining this to Greg, Ralph went on to explain that if it was a “real fuelie” it would have a bracket for the air cleaner to attach to the underside lip of the front guard. As he mouthed those prophetic words, he was rubbing his hand along the front guard. Yes, you guessed it – the bracket was still in place. At his point Greg started to get rather, although somewhat prematurely excited, thinking that he may have a rare fuel-injected ’58 Corvette. Ralph had an inkling, but tempered his enthusiasm until he was certain.

Ralph immediately started contacting some early Corvette experts in the US for a second opinion, and began research via the internet for some answers. In addition there were many questions being asked – was there a hole in the firewall for the tachometer drive cable? Was there a high rpm tachometer? Were there open holes either side of the radiator support for the air intakes?

Unfortunately, the answer was no to all these questions and Greg felt rather gutted. After all, it appeared he didn’t have one of the rare 216kW fuel injection-optioned cars, of which only 1007 were built.

Then one of Ralph’s contacts suggested there was an even rarer 186kW fuel-injected Corvette also built in 1958. Rarer, because only 504 had been produced. These cars had one hole blocked off on the radiator surround, a low rpm tachometer and no hole in the firewall for the tachometer cable. After some intense double-checking the pieces finally started to fall into place. The clues had been present all along, and it was just a matter of placing them all together. Yes, Greg was in possession of an extremely rare – and valuable, I might add – 1958 186kW fuel-injected Corvette.

After this startling revelation, the project took on a whole new lease of life, and the decision had to be made whether to complete the restoration with or without adding the fuel injection unit which, in any event, was missing and was going to be a very expensive exercise – providing, of course, that they could locate the correct unit. However, both Greg and Diane felt that because they had come this far, they might as well carry on and finish the restoration complete with fuel injection.

The engine was subsequently removed from the car and shipped back to the US for Ralph to completely rebuild in conjunction with Glenn Reiff, a renowned specialist in old fuelie Corvettes.

More Luck

Another stroke of luck, another eBay purchase and Reiff had in his possession (on Greg’s behalf) a perfectly correct fuel injection unit that he completely refurbished and fitted to his own Corvette to ensure it ran perfectly.

When the engine was rebuilt and reassembled, complete with fuel injection, it was shipped back to New Zealand. Ralph arrived 24 hours later to finish the Corvette’s restoration, which took about another two weeks – the car being finished just in time for the annual Corvette and Mustang Show held on the Hibiscus Coast of Auckland, September 2009.

Unfortunately, the Corvette was unable to be tuned, another bug-bear of these fuelie Corvettes, and had to be taken to the show on a transporter.

When Glenn Reiff heard of the tuning issue he immediately flew all the way to New Zealand (now, that’s what I call service) to sort the issue, and discovered the difference in altitude between where the engine had been tuned in the US and NZ was the cause of the problem. Once re-tuned and road tested, the Corvette was running as if it had just rolled off the assembly line. Greg and Dianne appreciate Glenn Reiff making the commitment to stand by his workmanship, and would also like to say a special thank you to their good friends Ralph Ridge and John Lisle for their support and commitment throughout their restoration journey.

Greg and Diane soon had their freshly restored Corvette back at this year’s NCRS NZ Nationals for judging, and received an astounding Top Flight 99.1 per cent score, enough for it to qualify for a Duntov Award of Excellence. As New Zealand and Australian judges haven’t the necessary qualifications or experience at this level of judging, Greg and Diane are considering shipping the car to the US to be judged for this award.

Next year is possibly not an option due to other commitments, but for Greg and Diane, 2012 looks like the year for taking their beauty to the States to be critiqued by the world’s best.

We wish them luck and look forward to following their progress.

1958 Chevrolet Corvette – Specifications

Engine Chevrolet V8
Capacity 4637cc (283ci)
Bore/stroke 3.875/3.00
Valves Two valves per cylinder
C/R 9.5:1
Max power 186kW (250hp) at 6000rpm
Max torque 413Nm
Fuel system Rochester fuel injection
Transmission Four-speed manual
Suspension F/R A-arm, coil springs/ live axle
Steering Rack and pinion
Brakes Drum/drum

Dimensions:
O/all length 4.53m
Width 1.86m
Height 1.31m
Wheelbase 2.61m
Track F/R 1.46m/ 1.51m
Kerb weight 1383kg

Performance:
Max speed 185kph
0-100kph 7.6 seconds
Standing 1/4 mile 15.7 seconds

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Dan Wakelin

This article is from NZ Classic Car issue 233. Click here to check it out.

Gerard charts the revival of a legendary early ’70s Kiwi race track icon — the Joe Chamberlain/Dennis Marwood/John Riley TransAm Camaro.

Following the austere war years, during the 1950s New Zealanders began to look around for more exciting pursuits than the more traditional pastime of working on the land. As the memories of international warfare began to fade, local motor sport took off and began to infiltrate the minds of many a young Kiwi — a number of them from the market gardening area of Franklin County and Pukekohe.

One such man was Louie Antonievich, son of a Yugoslavian who had been a gum-digger in Dargaville. Louie was a larger than life character, and a hot rodder before that term became common on the local scene. He loved having a good time and was a bit of a thrill seeker. His passion for hooning around in early US V8s would probably have been limited to tearing around Franklin’s back roads — until the advent of stock-car racing.

Louie took to it like a duck to water. This was prior to his establishing his wrecking, engineering and tow truck business on the west side of Pukekohe Hill. At the time of his discovery of stock car racing, he was working as an electrician/engineer and a number of his good mates helped prep and tow his classic Ford V8 coupe stocker.

As the stock-car extravaganzas at Epsom Showgrounds swelled into prime Saturday night entertainment for a legion of fans, there emerged a South Auckland racing driver’s cult. These hard men of stock-car racing fame were a select band — a ‘take no prisoners’ brigade of drivers who were all seat-of-the-pants racers.

Louie was part of this inner circle, with his nickname, ‘Louie the Leopard’ (a leaping leopard was often emblazoned on his car). Others in the gang were Johnny Riley, Red Dawson and Garth Souness, to name a few. They were a tight knit crew who would become folk heroes on Saturday nights. Their weapon of choice, more often than not, was a pre-war V8-powered American coupe.

These men also formed the nucleus of the revered NZ Stock Car Racing Team that travelled to Australia and slaughtered the Kangaroos twice, in 1958 and 1959. They played hard, both on and off the track, and Louie’s patch out in the back-blocks of Pukekohe was the scene of many serious rave-ups with the Riley, Dawson entourage.

Growing Interest in Motor Sport

It was from this rich and colourful family that Tony emerged, one of seven children for Louie and Maureen Antonievich. Tony has strong memories of the antics of the rumbustious racing clan, and the deep mate-ship among the South Auckland racing driver/car dealer Mafia.

“Dad was a very charismatic person, he was a naughty boy at times, but he certainly enjoyed life and I never saw him do anything violent or bad to anyone.”

Pulling apart gearboxes and engines at age 11 was natural in a compound overrun with automotive mayhem. Like his dad, Tony had the passion in his veins.

The closing of the circuit at Epsom brought a curtain down on the first era of stock car racing in Auckland, and local hot rod racers were forced to look for new racing pastures. Hill climbing and grass track racing opened fresh opportunities in the area for a growing interest in motor sport. Eventually, of course, this would to lead to the building of the Pukekohe race circuit in 1963, and the Meremere drag strip 10 years later. The Pukekohe Hot Rod Club was a powerful influence in the area.

Hill climbs and grass track racing were essentially club level racing though, and in the early 1960s this was the only avenue for most of the top hot rod racers. Eventually, the lure of competing on the track enticed those with a sizeable bankroll into circuit racing. This was the route Dawson, Riley, Souness, Rod Coppins and others chose to take. Shedding their hot-rod legacy, they were soon competing in single-seaters and sports cars before entering the bank-breaking US big-banger saloon racing category.

Louie would have loved to embrace serious Detroit iron but with seven kids and a busy wrecking parts business, he just didn’t have the resources for this type of campaign.

Instead, he contented himself with becoming a legend at Pukekawa’s grass track meets in his hot 4.5-litre (272ci) Ford V8-powered ’39 Chevrolet coupe, and later in a 5.0-litre (302ci) Chevrolet V8-powered Zephyr MkII. Young 15-year-old Tony was Louie’s number one fan, and was about to embark in his father’s footsteps.

Serious Stuff

It wasn’t exactly rocket science to figure out that on leaving school Tony would enter the motor trade. He served his time as a panel beater, and his first serious car was no less than a ’57 four-door Chevrolet Bel Air, powered by a 6.5-litre (396ci) big-block. Fairly serious stuff for a teenager — although hardly surprising when you consider a family background that encompassed hot rods and racing.

Around this time Louie dug deep into the family coffers, and bought two race-prepared Chevrolet motors from Ken Holden, who built professionally engineered motors for sprint and race cars. Tony remembers that Holden, who ran a speed shop in Manurewa, had previously owned an engine shop in California before moving to South Auckland to wed a Pukekohe girl. Holden had maintained his Stateside connections, which enabled him to import and sell high-performance equipment. Holden was a true enthusiast, bringing fellow countryman Ron Grable out to New Zealand to race F5000 cars, and had also imported the Pontiac Firebird TransAm that Rod Coppins would later acquire. Holden was also an accomplished sprint car racer on the dirt at Western Springs.

The engines which Louie purchased from Holden — the LT1 350 Chevrolet — had particular significance. Built at GM’s racing division and fitted with a Duntov racing cam, Chevrolet ‘pink’ rods, 12 to one compression and fuel injection heads, this motor was a veritable power factory. The Stage 3 racing engine was the type of unit Red Dawson purchased for his race cars during his frequent buying excursions to the US.

In those days these LT1s had to be run on aviation fuel, and Tony remembers accompanying his father to nearby Ardmore airfield to collect avgas. It was also at Ardmore that the younger Antonievich would begin to combine his passion for fast cars with a love for flying and working on aircraft.

Louie would also buy a 302 Z28 engine — another Holden-imported race motor. But this tipped the balance over with the bank, and he got into financial strife, being forced to sell this motor. Tony remembers it as being highly strung, with little low down torque for grass track racing and a tendency to spin the rear wheels.

“It was too peaky and more highly stressed than the 350.” Fortunately, the 350 was held on to. It did duty in Louie’s later Zephyr MkIV drag racer and was also an exciting daily runner. Tony recalled he got into speeding strife on several occasions with the local constabulary — hardly surprising with that sort of powerhouse under the hood.

Grim Affair

A big part of Louie’s business was the tow truck side, travelling to smashes in the local area. Some of the accidents he attended were pretty grim affairs, especially at places like Bombay’s collision crossroads on the old road south. Louie — and later, Tony — did the driving sorties, and their recovery vehicle was typically heavy duty.

Louie had installed a 7.0-litre (430ci) Mercury Marauder motor into a 1948 Ford Jailbar truck — a technical feat in itself — and this beast did the business very effectively. The cops in their state-of-the-art HT Holdens, with 4.2-litres of V8 power, were holding them up as they thundered cross-country to accident scenes. Tony remembers picking up a few tickets!

After racing a 105E Anglia at Meremere’s grass track, Tony moved on to a 1967 Camaro convertible. They installed the 6.5-litre powerplant from the ’57 sedan and this became his daily driver and drag racer. Tony laid a 12.6-second pass on the Meremere strip with the Camaro, and remembered that the V8 had so much torque that it was opening up the door gaps on the Camaro’s body, such was the body flex under fierce acceleration!

Tragically, all this adrenaline-pumping fun came to a sudden end in 1978 when Louie ‘The Leopard’ Antonievich’s life came to an end in a road accident. He was only 49 and, for Tony, the loss was momentous. He withdrew from motor sport as the reminders were too much, and concentrated on his work and family.

By the mid ’80s, Tony had established himself financially and began looking around for a special car to restore. An ex McConnachie Brothers speedway Camaro was considered, but he was looking for something a bit different. He found it one day on a mission to buy a cowl induction hood for his 1967 convertible. A battered ex circuit racing Camaro caught his eye in a workshop, looking strangely familiar. He admitted that — “I fell in love with it right then.”

But the current owner wasn’t selling.

Later, he discovered the car had been sold. Shortly after Tony couldn’t believe it when he saw the same car advertised in the tender section of the NZ Herald. He made a successful offer, returning with the tired pony-car racer on a trailer.

Following that coincidence, with the help of some friends, he established that he had bought more than he had bargained for when it was confirmed that the Camaro was the ex Joe Chamberlain, Dennis Marwood, Johnny Riley, American-built ’69 TransAm racing Camaro — or at least what was left of it. Which was quite a bit as it turned out.

The Camaro’s Racing History

Ian Rorison, a limestone quarry owner and operator of a fleet of trucks in the Bay of Plenty, was the man responsible for the Camaro’s arrival in NZ in late 1970. He was a senior partner of the Bay of Plenty Motor Racing Organisation — which ran Bay Park Raceway and imported various overseas drivers to star at major meetings. One of these was Joe Chamberlain with his privately run ’69 TransAm Camaro, car and driver combination that had run in the West Coast TransAm races during 1969 and 1970.

Joe had bought the car in mid 1969 as a road car that had been damaged shortly after purchase. US$1000 secured him the machine and he proceeded to rebuild it to TransAm spec, fitting all the necessary high performance gear. The engine was reputed to have been built by a bean farmer from Oregon.

Running against the factory teams with their massive budgets and tricks like acid-dipped bodies, it was impossible to compete on equal terms. He did enjoy several good runs which netted 11th place at the Kent 300-miler at Seattle Raceway (September 7,1969), ninth place at the Laguna Seca TransAm meeting of April 19, 1970 and another 11th place at the Mission Bell 200-miler at Riverside on October 4, 1970.

Chamberlain was contracted to appear with the Camaro at the Bay Park International New Year Meeting in late December 1970. He enjoyed himself immensely, even though the TransAm car ran on narrow wheels and was fitted with two four-barrel carbs on a cross ram manifold — not a serious match for the more heavily modified Kiwi and Australian big-banger V8s. Joe engaged in a wild battle with Johnny Riley’s 1966 Shelby Mustang, with both cars suffering body damage in this rough-house duel, particularly Riley’s machine.

The man from Portland Oregon next appeared at the NZ Grand Prix meeting a week later at Pukekohe, before Rorison made a successful offer for the orange Camaro, and it was to add a real wild card to the business end of the elite saloon racing grid.

Marbles and the Camaro

Seasoned racing driver Dennis ‘Marbles’ Marwood, who’d previously been the pilot of several Rorison-backed cars including the hefty Eisert-Chev Formula 5000, was the man nominated for the Camaro’s hot seat. His background in engine development and refining race-car track manners — through his business Performance Development — helped secure the drive. Performance Development’s involvement would play a big part in the Camaro’s leap to the front edge of the competition.

Dennis was a skilful, thinking race driver, looking after the equipment wherever possible, but always able to find an extra burst of speed when the circumstances demanded.

The orange Camaro was a front-runner for two seasons (1970-’72) in his hands. During that period there were some great battles with the likes of Red Dawson, Paul Fahey and Rod Coppins.

This era was the high water mark of pony car racing in this country and I’m sure many still remember it as the most evocative assault of colour, sound and fury ever experienced on local race tracks.

The ground certainly shook as a wave of thunder hit you when a good field of these awe-inspiring beasts erupted from the grid.

Marwood scored several great wins in the Camaro, though he wasn’t able to convert that into winning the coveted championship title. A great battle with Red Dawson’s 1967 Shelby Mustang at Pukekohe in March 1971 stands out in my mind. The crowd was on its feet as the two cars, locked in battle, fought out a titanic struggle. Twice Dennis hurled the Camaro through the inside of Red’s Mustang at Champion Curve — a heart-stopping manoeuvre — eventually winning by a nanosecond. It was a thunderous, epic encounter, one that exploded through my senses and remains with me today as the best race I ever witnessed.

Marwood leased the car from Rorison for a second season (1971-’72) and with the expert engineering skills of Dick Bennetts, he developed the machine into the class act of the field. The suspension was developed further, wider wheels and tyres were fitted and the masterstroke, a Bennetts-built 5.7-litre (350ci) engine breathing through IDA Webers, provided a serious increase in power.

The revamped TransAm Camaro was a rocketship, and would have taken Dennis to the title, but for several missed opportunities.

At the Grand Prix meeting Marwood was leading by a country mile, until a brake bias problem sent the car spinning into the lupins.

Later, a shunt from behind while leading at Teretonga, courtesy of the eventual season champion Paul Fahey, put paid to Marwood’s chances.

A mid-season engine rebuild for the dynamite 5.7-litre engine didn’t help, as the original, smaller 5.0-litre engine had to be reinstalled for a few meetings. However, Marwood rounded out the championship series by winning the last two rounds in commanding fashion, with the big engine back in and going like a scorched cat.

He finished third in the title chase, but the memory of that low brutal orange streak, powering through the Loop of Pukekohe in April 1972, remains with me as my fondest memory of the pony car racing era. The car looked magnificent with its tasteful flares, and low air dam.

As an aside, the prevailing government’s inspired customs import duty was a constant headache for exotic race-car owners during this period. The need to keep re-exporting race cars to avoid hefty taxes eventually forced Rorison to sell the Camaro. Dennis had a couple of outings in the car in late 1972, which brought some good places though no wins, but with the fate of the car’s future sealed, they didn’t sink any further gold into developing it, as Rorison’s $20,000 price tag was beyond Marwood’s reach.

Marwood’s swansong with the Camaro came with a great run at Warwick Farm at the second round of the Australia versus NZ big saloon test match in August 1972. Marwood led Bob Jane’s Torana Repco V8 for several laps before coming home in an excellent second place.

Johnny Riley

The Camaro didn’t reappear again until the 1973-’74 season, now in the hands of crowd favourite, Johnny Riley. Riley fitted a 5.7-litre (350ci) engine, courtesy of Graham Harvey, but it never seemed to be endowed with a healthy supply of horses. As well, Johnny was never that serious about his racing, it was more about fun than winning. At age 50 he would have no doubt agreed that this was his final encore before retirement. He had previously called it a day after selling the green Mustang, but had been tempted to return.

And he certainly had fun, with lots of wild, off course excursions and rearrangements of the panel work. Big spins at Champion Curve at the 1974 Grand Prix meeting and Bay Park the week before were very exciting. At the latter incident, he hit Kevin Haig in the rear before spinning backwards through the fence, and tearing out the Camaro’s petrol tank. But bighearted John wasn’t interested in getting out and carefully assessing the damage — he was trying to find a gear and get back into the action. Although, with no fuel supply he was a bit handicapped!

He hit Haig again from behind at Levin a few weeks later, and this must have seemed more like his old stock car racing days than expensive saloon car racing.

Riley’s second season in the Camaro (1974-’75), was less eventful, as final retirement was beckoning. The once frontline TransAm racer was now a mere shadow of its former glory, and merely a field filler. Modifications to the front and rear suspension — designed to elevate the car to the business end of the grid — had ruined the once magical handling, and it was now quite chopped around.

Johnny had, unfortunately, listened to a supposed suspension guru who convinced him he would be vying for honours if he let him modify the car. In truth, the revised suspension geometry was all wrong. With massive rear tyres and severely modified bodywork, the once lean racer looked distorted with its sagging front end. In its final circuit outings, its appearance was verging on a dirt track speedway saloon of the era.

This was the end of the road for the illustrious Camaro as a serious race-car — although, despite its rough and battered exterior, it was structurally more original than a number of other pony car racer restoration starting points.

The Restoration

Having acquired the remains of the TransAm Camaro, Tony was now confronted with the enormity of the project if he was to return the classic racer back to its original guise.

It was, to put it frankly, a mess. The battered bodywork was loose and radically altered to house the jumbo tyres. It even had the ignominy of having 1972 Falcon XA scoops fitted into the guards.

It was a wonder the car had survived at all — I had seen it in the early ’80s, by which time it was a smoking, joy-riding hack. The only place it appeared to be going then was to the dirt track or the scrap yard — the ultimate fate of many oval racing saloons.

Tony recalled, “We threw my Dad’s 350 motor into it and took it out on the road to see how it ran. Changing between second and third gear at around 85-90mph [137-145kph], the beast simply swapped ends several times on a straight road. It then speared off backwards into a drain — a proper reality check just to see how screwed up the handling was!”

But it had been saved, and Tony now knew its heritage and decided to embark on the long and tortuous restoration process. Despite the daunting road that lay ahead, he realised he had the raw ingredients of a car with a great history, one that was worth spending a lot of money on to ensure it was restored to its former glory.

It was a car that Tony’s father, Louie, would have loved and approved of. There was also the comforting thought of that genuine factory-built 5.7-litre Chevy racing mill that he’d had the foresight to acquire from the family after his father’s death. The engine’s destiny was now assured.

History in Paint Layers

Replacement of the Camaro’s outer door skins and all the external panels was necessary. It would have been great to have retained the originals, but they were unfortunately too chopped around and damaged to be saved. The removal of the outer panels revealed the extent of lightening to the inner frame, with much drilling out of the structure. If there was any doubt as to the pedigree of the car, this was alleviated when Tony sanded down the old panels to reveal all the previous racing numbers — John Riley #50, Dennis Marwood #25 and 24 and Joe Chamberlain #2.

Tony set off to California around 1986 to source the necessary outer skins and various other parts required for the rebuild. However, in his words — “This cunning plan was waylaid for about five years when I got involved in the US racing scene.”

He stayed about six months, then came home before getting the call again, returning with his family for another two-year stint. Finally, they returned home in the late’ 80s to settle down.

Armed with brand-new panels from GM plus new suspension A-arms, stub axles and various other goodies, Tony finally got stuck in to the project. However, after briefly starting a small business in Pukekohe, he found his way into the flying industry — his other great passion.

Tony had learned to fly before leaving NZ and, along with bringing back a Cessna from the US (which he later restored), he also got involved with the helicopter industry at Ardmore, and started his own helicopter maintenance business. This consumed most of time for the next 12 to 14 years, a period which saw only sporadic progress on the Camaro.

Finally, he sold that business and found work in the restoration of old WWII aircraft. When things settled down again (comparatively speaking), he returned to the Camaro’s restoration with more commitment. With the help of good friend, Bruce Thompson, who incidentally owns the partially revived ex Rod Coppins ’69 Firebird, they set to the task.

Thompson sourced America Racing Wheels identical to those fitted to the car when Chamberlain brought the Camaro to NZ. Through his contacts in the historic TransAm series in the US, Tony was able to track down the history of the car and acquire other correct components, like the clutch set-up.

The first major hurdle though was repairing the chassis floor pan, which entailed welding in new sections in the rear where it had been cut out to form a box section.

“Riley’s ‘expert’ had chopped the whole floor out of the boot with a gas axe and added a Watts linkage system.”

This was repaired with a donor section from another car’s floor pan.

Further major repairs were required for the inner wheel arches, which had been carved away in order to fit larger tyres. Rebuilding the boot lift mechanism also proved to be a challenge, as all this had been stripped out as well and the lid was simply pinned down

Probably the biggest task though was rebuilding the front suspension. Fortunately, the front end hadn’t been space-framed, but Riley’s suspension guru had radically altered the set-up by mounting the components in a very unorthodox fashion. This included fitting metal plates on top of the shock towers to place pressure on the springs, meaning the shocks couldn’t be mounted conventionally.

The reason for this apparently was to place extra pressure on the springs! The shocks were mounted directly onto the modified top A-arms, through a series of support frame and box sections attached to the firewall. To achieve this, the inner guards had to be removed, which caused the outer panels to flap in the breeze.

Tony reflected — “It didn’t look nice and was not well engineered, so I decided to take it back to what it was with the top and bottom A-arm arrangement.”

The challenge has been to return the car to its original form as much as possible, but where needed for reliability and safety, some high-tech equipment has been used.

The pressurised interim fuel tank system in the boot is one of these modern modifications, and ensures a constant and regulated flow of fuel no matter what G-forces are being generated whilst cornering. Another is the replacement of the roll cage, which was necessary as the original was made of inferior materials and the location points were not considered safe.

Mighty Warhorse

Craig Highland of Engine Dynamics undertook all the engine work and, in the interests of reliability, the old Ken Holden-built 5.7-litre Chev that originally belonged to his father has been dry sumped, and fitted with Cosworth pistons. The mighty warhorse is soon to be fitted with twin Holley four barrels carburettors, the configuration fitted when the car first came into the country.

Tony has kept the Koni double adjustable shocks that Dennis Marwood fitted to the car. It has the original diff, brakes and steering box, which have all been overhauled — though he has dispensed with the sway bars

Cherie Atkin of Professional Aircraft in Ardmore, a top class aircraft painter, was responsible for the delicious orange lustre on the car. It took three attempts to get it just right — as Tony would admit, he is fastidious when it comes to finish.

The immaculate 1970 period decals are the work of Tony’s daughter, Louisa, a skilled graphic artist with Super Signs in Pukekohe. She created them after carefully photographing early colour pictures and recreating them via computer graphics. They look wonderfully evocative, and are a testament to her skills.

Tony’s long labour of love for this magnificent car is now complete, barring a few minor details, and now is the time to enjoy it!

Meeting the Beast

On a fine and clear midwinter’s day, Tony pushed the machine out of his huge hangar onto the concrete apron. Gleaming in its deep orange paint in the soft winter rays, it looked low and shark-like, almost 160kph standing still. Tony hit the starter and the sheer thunder that erupted from those straight pipes was a true blast from my past.

Tony is aware of the history this car carries, being the only racing US muscle car in NZ to have seen track action in the famed pre ’72 era TransAm series, plus its wonderful local racing heritage.

“I’m really just a caretaker of a legend!” Were his words. “I’m going to have some fun, but won’t be really racing it to its extreme limits, as the prospect of repairing extensive damage is not exciting.”

Tony plans to fit larger 17-inch wheels with lower profile tyres, similar to those currently used in the NZ V8 Touring Cars for racing, which are more economical and will enhance the Camaro’s handling. Tony intends only using these tyres when he is unleashing the beast in the heat of track action. As he put it — “If I’m going to drive the thing at 160mph [257kph] on the back straight at Pukekohe I want as much help as I can get. If that means I need to buy some specific wheels and tyres, that’s great. I don’t think I’m going to impress anyone what a great racing driver I am. I just want to go to the track, enjoy driving it, and spend time talking with people who remember it racing in its heyday.”

The original smaller replica wheels will be used for display purposes.

Well you certainly deserve it Tony, and all power to you. Saving this exquisite thoroughbred from the scrap yard and returning it to its former glory over 25 years later means it’s certainly time for some pleasurable motoring. I for one am hanging out to see its first track appearance in 34 years, which should be at the NZ Motor Festival Celebrating Bruce McLaren at Hampton Downs in January 2010.

May the legends of this magnificent machine’s past be riding with Tony on that occasion.

PS: Tony’s passion doesn’t end with this mighty Camaro — he also owns a beautiful, completely original and unrestored 1969 Camaro Z-28 which he uses as his Sunday driver. Brought back from the US at the end of his sabbatical there in the late ’80s, it makes a perfect stable-mate for his orange rocket ship. How much excitement can one man deal with, I hear you ask. I can assure you, dear readers, Tony is coping very nicely with all that V8 thunder. Roll on this summer!

Words: Gerald Richards Photos: Dan Wakelin

This article is from Classic Car issue 230. Click here to check it out.

Ever since the Transformers movie, Ashley’s wanted to get behind the wheel of a new Camaro — not an easy task with only three examples currently residing in New Zealand .

The Camaro is often referred to as the poor man’s Corvette and, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I’d agree with that sentiment. Today, Generation 1 Camaros rank highly in the muscle car pecking order as far as values are concerned, and have earned their reputation as being amongst some of America’s most precious iron.

So, if you’re a Camaro fan then you can thank Ford. Why? Let me explain.

When Ford introduced its all new Mustang back in 1964, General Motors naively paid minimal attention, but within months of the Mustang’s introduction, and with soaring sales of over 100,000 units in six months (nearly half a million by the end of its first year), GM finally cottoned on to the fact that Americans wanted a genuine four-seater sports car.

The race was now on, big time, for the design team that produced the Corvette, Corvair, and Nova to come up with an answer to the Mustang. Preliminary mock-ups turned out by Chevy’s design team included a two-seat roadster, a fastback and even a station wagon, but they finally settled for a four-seat sport coupe which was also available as a convertible. As it turned out, considering the ‘big’ car standards of the day, the Camaro was actually considered a compact.

What made the new Camaro unique in terms of its construction was the use of a front sub-frame isolated with rubber ‘biscuits’ in combination with the uni-body structure of the rest of the car. The Europeans had mastered this technique and used it on a number of designs, including several Mercedes-Benz models. It gave drivers a roomier interior with more luggage space than a traditional frame, while providing a quieter, smoother ride than a full uni-body constructed car.

Name Calling

The Camaro was also offered with a wide variety of engine options, ranging from a 3.8-litre (230ci) six-cylinder, to a 5.35-litre (327ci) V8. Chevy also created a new engine just for the Camaro, the 220kW, 5.7-litre (295bhp, 350ci) V8 — the 350 small-block was born!

Oddly enough, Chevy’s new creation had no name, and as the car approached its release date names such as ‘GM,’ ‘Panther,’ ‘Chaparral,’ ‘Wildcat’ and even ‘Nova’ were bandied around. However, Buick ended up making use of the Wildcat name, while Nova went on to become another muscle car in its own right. After intense discussion, the ‘GM’ name was eventually canned because the Chevy suits were nervous about the letters of the company being associated with the car, in case it was a complete disaster (you can bet they’re kicking themselves for that decision).

The name ‘Camaro’ was finally agreed upon, one that supposedly had no meaning but sounded sporty. When asked what it meant, Chevy’s droll product managers simply responded by telling the press it was, “A small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs.”

Of course, the good folks at Ford had come up with their own interpretation — which they’d discovered in an old Spanish dictionary which defined the Camaro as “a small, shrimp-like creature.”

Taking the joke one step further, one journalist found another alternative definition that meant ‘loose bowels.’ In response, Chevrolet found an old French dictionary showing that the word meant ‘friend’ or ‘companion.’

Of course, all the laughing stopped when the Camaro hit the streets in 1967. The rest is, as they say, history.

Modern Muscle

Who would ever have thought that muscle cars would be making a comeback some 40 years later, right smack in the middle of the US auto industry’s and, indeed, the world’s worst financial crisis in decades?

It’s not just the General either, Ford and Chrysler all have new muscle cars on the market.

However, for the moment let’s forget about them — because I was fortunate enough to get behind the wheel of GM’s long-awaited, all-new Camaro for an afternoon, thanks to Eden Houlihan at Grange Motor Company.

My first impressions, although biased I have to admit, are that GM’s latest creation is undoubtedly set to become a future classic; a collectible desired by nostalgic baby boomers around the world eager to relive the ’60s and ’70s, when tyre shredding, gas-guzzling muscle cars basked in the sunlight of simpler, more naà ve times.

If the truth be known, we’re probably witnessing the last gasp of muscle cars — global warming, rising petrol prices, and proposed new government legislation are continually making it more and more difficult to justify owning such brawny, gas-guzzling beasts. That’s why I see the new Camaro SS as a collector’s item — it’s a souvenir of a bygone era.

Style

The latest Chevy Camaro’s styling isn’t what you’d exactly call retro, but somehow it brings forward some visual cues from older Camaros — especially the ’69 Camaro, incorporating that car’s classic lines into a thoroughly contemporary design.The car’s bulky profile and low roof line make its styling controversial, and I have read that many people prefer the redesigned and somewhat slightly less radical 2010 Mustang or the revived Dodge Challenger. However, the Camaro’s trump card is a more powerful V8 engine than its rivals, and it looks radically different from any other car on the road; this vehicle really turns heads.

Sporting a massive L99 6.2-litre, 298kW (400bhp) Corvette aluminium V8 engine coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission, this new Camaro is a very contemporary take on a classic muscle car. And it gets even better if you opt for the six-speed manual version, which boasts a healthy 318kW (426bhp), but I wasn’t complaining as ‘my’ auto 2SS-optioned test car proved to be more than enough for Auckland’s crowded streets as we headed out to our photo location.

The auto version also benefits from variable valve timing and active fuel management, which enables the engine to run as a V8 or in a fuel-saving V4 mode.

Behind the Wheel

One thing you really have to appreciate about America’s newest pony car is the way it moves its 1779kg bulk around. I mean to say, it’s a fair chunk of machinery in anyone’s language, but this Camaro really gets up and goes when pressure is applied from the right foot. The Camaro’s suspension responds immediately, with virtually no roll, whilst the steering is communicative and responsive, giving the car an exceptionally agile feel.

Inside the cabin, if anything, is far too quiet for my liking. The V8 engine emanates a satisfying growl when you finally find a clear, open stretch of road and are able punch the accelerator pedal, but in normal driving conditions the Camaro is as quiet inside as any luxury car. You almost yearn for more road noise in a vehicle like this.

Inside, cues from the past include the twin-pod instrument cluster, which I really liked, while the front-seat passenger is confronted by a somewhat minimalist blank face, tastefully highlighted by horizontal air vents and a cluster of square, retro-design gauges at the base of the centre console — another feature I really like and one reminiscent of the ’69 Z28. The new Camaro’s interior has come under some intense criticism because the dash and doors are covered in inexpensive, albeit stylish, vinyl. However, in my view it still looks stunning.

The front buckets are roomy and slide forward, providing relatively easy access to the rear seats, but there’s only room for two short passengers in the back. Shoulder, knee and foot space are adequate, but the sloping roofline limits overall head room.

While the sporty low-profile roofline makes for a fabulous-looking coupe, limited outward visibility takes some getting used to, and I found myself verging on the point of total paranoia, convinced I was going to hit everything with 10 meters of the car. This feeling was not only due to the fact the seating position is very low for a car of the Camaro’s proportions; the fact it was still left hand drive exacerbated the impression.

In stark contrast to muscle cars of old, the new Camaro’s stopping power is as impressive as its acceleration, with the big Brembo brakes slowing proceedings down fairly rapidly from 100kph to standstill considering the car’s chunky demeanour.

Other options included in the 2SS package are stylish 20-inch alloy wheels, Tiptronic six-speed transmission and Bluetooth for techno-savvy drivers.

Eden Houlihan, in conjunction with GR Engineering, will convert future cars to right hand drive and they will be sold through Grange Motor Company. This particular vehicle was about to be whisked away almost immediately after my afternoon session to receive a few further performance enhancements — a supercharger for starters. Power output is expected to be boosted to around 450kW plus, and I have an invitation by Eden to do a follow up drive. I can’t wait.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS – Specifications

Engine: Aluminium V8
Capacity: 6.2-litre
Valves: Two valves per cylider
C/R: 10.7:1
Bore/stroke: 103.25/92mm
Max power: 300kW at 5000rpm
Max torque: 535Nm at 4500rpm
Fuel system: Multi-port fuel injection
Transmission: Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed auto w/TAPshift
Suspension: F/R, Multi link strut/ 4.5-link independent, coil springs over shocks
Steering: Variable-ratio rack and pinion        Brakes:     Four wheel disc w/ABS

Dimensions
O/all length: 4836mm
Width: 1918mm
Height: 1377mm
Wheelbase: 2852mm
Track F/R: 1618mm/1628mm
Kerb weight: 1779kg

Performance
Max speed: 250kph (limited)
0-100kph: 4.6 seconds
Standing 1/4 mile: 13.4 seconds

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Dan Wakelin

This article is from Classic Car issue 230. Click here to check it out.

In 1959 Chevrolet was inspired by Harley Earl to offer radical new designs for its Biscayne, Bel Air and top-of-the-range Impala models.

Batwing fins and cats’-eye taillights were just a few of the new radical design features. The Impala was offered as a full series for 1959 — which included a four-door sedan, Sports coupe, Sports sedan, and convertible — and ascended to the top of Chevrolet’s line-up, with the Bel Air becoming the mid-range model followed by the Biscayne. With much popularity and a successful year of sales, the Chevrolet Impala became a model in its own right in 1959 instead of being an option of the Bel Air line-up as it had been in 1958.

For many, the 1959 Impala Sports coupe was General Motors’ most elegant Impala. It was longer and wider, and is best known for its wild-looking rear end, huge deck lid and the simple elegance of its front grille. This car was “fresh, fine and fashionable” according to Chevrolet advertisements of the day. Customers got what they wanted — more spacious interiors, vast new areas of visibility, a longer-lasting finish and greater fuel economy.

Love Affair

The reason why Alex Ross, the owner of our featured car, is so passionate about the 1959 Chevrolet Impala is quite simple — his father once owned a brand new four-door sedan in South Africa. Alex remembers the cats’-eye taillights and aircraft carrier-sized boot lid, things that will stick with him forever. Unfortunately, Alex’ mother just couldn’t get used to driving such a huge vehicle and, after one side of the Impala was severely scraped in a car park incident, the decision was made to buy something a little smaller and a 1955 Ford Consul became her new shopping basket.

However, the seed had been sown in Alex’ mind as a young boy, and he never ever forgot the Impala. In fact, he just loved cars from that age and was never really interested in much else.

Alex has owned in excess of 25 cars since those early days, and eventually he reached a stage in his life when he could actually afford to buy the car he’d always dreamed of owning. This was a couple of years ago, with the marking of his 50th birthday. Alex had been collecting pictures of 1959 Impalas off the internet and other various sources, to the point where he had screeds of pictures, and the invitation to his 50th actually featured the tail end of a 1959 Impala.

Unknown to Alex, good friend Cath Lewis and Alex’ partner, Grahame Dawson, decided to search around to see if they could locate and hire a 1959 Impala specially for Alex’ milestone 50th event.

Eventually they found a 1960 Impala for sale on a local web site, and sent the owner a message to see if they knew of anyone with a 1959 Impala they could hire.

About three days or so later the owner of a 1959 Impala rang and said, “I’ve got a 1959 Impala that you can hire.” Once Cath had discretely determined that the car was in good condition, she confirmed the owner was willing be the driver for the evening of Alex’ birthday party.

Surprise

On the evening of his birthday party, Alex wandered down the pathway of his home expecting to be picked up in a taxi, but when he reached the footpath there, parked on the side of the road, was an apple green 1959 Chevrolet Impala Sports coupe, and Alex reckons it was one of those genuine TV moments, as the surprise was overwhelming to say the least.

The car was parked outside the venue for Alex’ 50th for the entire evening, and as guests arrived with their invitations they were able to observe his connection with the car.

As most 50ths go, they become a ‘this is my life in pictures’, and Alex had just about every photograph of himself back to his earliest years displayed along with photographs of every car he’s ever owned, right up to the last photograph — which was of a 1959 Impala, representing the car he wanted to own. It was all quite ironic really, because he’d put the photographic display together long before he ever knew that he’d be taken to the venue in a 1959 Impala.

Three months later, Alex received a message from the owner of the Impala saying that his girlfriend was pregnant, and he needed to buy a house, was Alex interested in buying the car?

Silly question really, Alex couldn’t believe his luck and replied positively.

Alex had never driven a large left hand drive American car before, on the wrong side of the road, ever.

Although he found the car to be an unwieldy beast, Alex was never in any doubt about purchasing it. Although a good driver at best, the Impala certainly had its good and bad points, but Alex knew in his heart that this was the car for him regardless of how much work it needed to be brought up to scratch.

He had been seriously searching eBay for some time, and now he’d finally found a car that was already here in New Zealand that he could look at, drive and actually put up on a hoist to be thoroughly checked out. This way Alex felt confident he could pay a reasonable price knowing exactly what work needed to be done. This is a daunting task to organise when the car is on the other side of the world, and we’ve all heard of the horror stories associated with buying cars from overseas based on wonderful-looking pictures.

In May 2006 Alex was finally in possession of the car he had always dreamed of owning.

Alex and Grahame enjoyed the Impala for a while, repairing a myriad of minor mechanical issues as time went by in order to keep the car in good running condition. Then, unfortunately, the Impala had a slight altercation with a brick wall whilst having some electrical work carried out, which left its rear somewhat worse for wear.

The insurance company was happy to foot the bill, but naturally this would only cover the damage to the rear quarter that was damaged, which basically meant the rest of the car wouldn’t look nearly as good.

Ironically, Alex had already been checking around for an indication of costs to repaint the car, with prices ending up fairly much the same from a couple of different painters, depending on what nasties were discovered under the existing paint.

Alex’ eventual choice of repairer was Steve Noyer at Moselle Panel and Paint, and they discussed what had happened to the car since their previous conversation only a few months earlier. This was in July 2007, following 14 months of cruising enjoyment and attending many events, including their first Beach Hop.

The Rebuild

Once Steve had sorted out a price to repaint the car and organised the insurance company to pay its share, the full repaint was underway.

Firstly, the car needed to be completely stripped, quite a job considering the acres of chrome and stainless trim adorning the exterior of these vehicles. Bill Dunn, who is no stranger to restoring American iron, was brought on board as chief deconstructor and reconstructor. Alex helped a bit during the process of stripping the car down in preparation for painting. Once it was completely stripped there were a few rusty areas that needed attention although, overall, the body was in fairly good condition given the fact it was almost 50 years old.

Steve’s advice to Alex was that, “If you’re going to do it, then you may as well do it properly,” so the car body was sent off to Rotorua for acid dipping. When it arrived back a few months later Alex reckoned it didn’t look too bad, and the rusty areas looked easily repairable.

The car required new front floors, a new boot floor, and panels around the rear wheel arches needed replacing. New rocker panels, and patches on the bonnet and front guards, were required to complete the body. There was also evidence of some previous accident damage to the front, which required attention, but nothing that the dedicated team at Moselle’s couldn’t take care of.

While the bodywork was being completed the final colour combination that Charlie Allen would apply to the car needed to be selected. Alex knew he didn’t want the car to be red, black or blue, and decided to search his own collection of pictures saved from the internet for a colour scheme that was different. He stumbled across a picture of an Impala in the original colour combination of Aspen Green and Classic Cream, and thought how smart it looked, representing the era perfectly. After four intense days of playing around with various derivatives of green and cream colour samples supplied courtesy of PPG, Alex and Grahame ended up with about 21 shades of green they liked before even considering the second colour. Actually, the secondary colour that was finally chosen is called Celery Stalk, while the final green is an early Alfa Romeo colour from the ’80s which complements the lighter Celery Stalk superbly. It has a subtle pearl finish which, according to Alex, speaks quietly and lovingly to you instead of jumping out at you and it is, without doubt, one of the highlights of the car.

John Mincham and Graham from Magnum Automotive, who had been doing repairs to the mechanicals since Alex’ initial purchase, were given the task of rebuilding the Chevrolet’s 4638cc (283ci) V8, which included new cylinder heads with hardened valve seats enabling it to run on unleaded fuel. A new four-barrel Holley carburettor, Hooker exhaust headers and chrome dress-up parts were also added, and the custom exhaust system fabricated.

Autotrans completely rebuilt the standard Powerglide two-stage automatic transmission. The stock suspension components were completely refurbished and the brakes were upgraded with HQ discs up front. Alex chose very stylish period 16-inch Kelsey Hayes-style wheels, with Chevrolet centre spinners and whitewall tyres imported through Chuck’s Restorations.

The air conditioning has been restored, and power steering and power windows were added.

The upholstery was purchased as a complete kit from the US, also through Chuck’s Restorations, including the head lining, windlace and carpet.

An unfortunate incident with the headlining resulted in a few additional holes being cut in the wrong place accidentally, which meant a new one had to be ordered. The fabric left over was made into matching cushions and bolster to match.

Although it was always Alex and Grahame’s intention to build a good-driving, quality car, it had now become clearly obvious that they had created a spectacular show car.

Unveiling

On October 26, 2008, the Impala was unveiled to close friends and the team who had worked on it during the restoration. This was no ordinary ‘come and have a look at our car’ invitation; as Alex and Grahame are involved in the catering and event industry, this was sure to be a spectacular occasion.

In fine style, a special Sunday brunch was organised at the Kelliher Estate on Puketutu Island for no less than 120 guests. During brunch, Alex and Grahame discreetly disappeared to collect the Impala while Cath explained to the guests the story behind Alex’s 50th birthday surprise, and how he and Grahame came to own the car.

Alex and Grahame, dressed in colour co-ordinated outfits to match the car, then appeared with a flamboyant flourish as they drove the glittering Impala onto the large, manicured lawn for a couple of laps in front of their adoring guests.

When the car came to a stop all were invited to inspect the magnificent masterpiece that sat before them — the final fulfilment of Alex’ long-held dream to own a ’59 Impala.

1959 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe- Specifications

Engine Chevrolet V8
Capacity 4638cc (283ci)
Bore/stroke 98.4×76.2mm
Valves Two valves per cylinder, ohv        C/R     9.5:1
Max power 172kW (230hp)
Fuel system Four barrel carburetor
Transmission Two-speed Powerglide
Suspension F/R Coil springs, A-arms, semi-elliptic leaf springs
Steering Recirculating ball
Brakes Disc front/Drum rear
Dimensions:
Overall length 5356mm
Width 2029mm
Height 1386mm
Wheelbase 3022mm
Kerb weight 1629kg
Performance:
0-100kph  13.1 seconds

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Adam Croy

Tim Chadwick visits a trucking repair firm that utilises a rare and genuine ’36 Chevy tow truck as a working publicity vehicle.

When you visit Ross Graham Motors at Bell Block, you are dwarfed by huge trucks. Big, staunch-looking Western Star trucks from Hooker Pacific Transport rub shoulders with smaller trucks, as they go through servicing schedules in a large motor and engineering workshop.

Back in the ’70s, Ross Graham was a young car mechanic for Johnson Motors, a GM dealership in Stratford, and working on his own car, a now classic HB Vauxhall Viva.

Today, along with wife Carmel, he owns and runs the large Bell Block facility that sees big rigs parking over a 25-metre workshop pit for his expert touch, or being washed down through a special environmentally-friendly truck cleaning facility.

It would be easy to assume that Ross and Carmel’s lives revolve around big trucks. Well, to keep the bills paid I guess that’s true, but beyond the large workshop and the servicing of trucks, the Grahams have a few toys to keep them busy on the weekends and on trips away.

Ross is a keen enthusiast of classic racing motorcycles, and among his collection are a bunch of classic British racing bikes such as two AJS 7Rs, two overhead cam G50 500cc Matchless singles, and a G9 Matchless 500 twin. Over six weeks during 2009, Ross Graham is taking some of them to England to race at Donington and Brands Hatch, with rider Dave Coles in the ‘hot seat.’

And then there are the cars, which will make an appearance between our pages in future issues. These include a 1985 Mercedes 500 SEC which Ross brought back from a trip to Germany, and a simply stunning Chevrolet Corvair convertible, complete with its period piece Chevy flat-six engine in the rear. For now, however, we are looking at one of Ross’ more humble pieces of machinery, but a real classic nonetheless, the sturdy 1936 Ross Graham Motors Chevrolet Tow truck.

Promo Toy

The Chevrolet was purchased because Ross and Carmel wanted a ‘promo toy’, as Ross put it, to promote their trucking business and, of course, it had to be ‘something different’. The idea of a Chevrolet also appealed to Ross, not only because he also had a fairly unique Corvair tucked up in the shed but also because of his roots, starting his working life as a young GM mechanic.

Ross found the Chevrolet at a classic car auction, a very original specimen that had spent its whole life as a working truck. Most of its previous employment details were not available at the auction, but Ross did find out that it had apparently worked for 40 years for an Auckland garage. Even though they may wish to forget the episode, perhaps some of our readers may recall having their car towed by this Chevy truck sometime during the 20th century? Please let us know if you do. Ross Graham would certainly be interested too, of course.

Once the Chevrolet was won at auction, Ross had it transported to the Waiwakaiho Valley on the outskirts of New Plymouth’s Fitzroy suburb, where he then had his burgeoning business. I recall seeing it there a few years back in a slightly dilapidated state awaiting restoration.

The next time I saw it, at a street parade, I was blown away by the changes wrought as a result of keen input from a variety of people. Bob Banks, a long established and well-known Taranaki panel beater, literally put the Chevrolet back into shape while Ross and ‘the boys’ at the workshop set about refurbishing the mechanical parts. “Most of them — the younger mechanics — look at something like this and cringe,” Ross said, “It’s not what they are used to working on these days, but it’s a good learning situation for them.”

Old Chev Six

I asked Ross what was involved in putting the engine back into full working order, and he told me that it was kept pretty original apart from the bearings. “We got to work on the old Chev six,” he recalled, “It’s about a 186 cubic inch engine [3048cc] and parts of it were a bit tired. I brought a few new parts in from the United States for it, including pistons. I kept the engine pretty much the same, except for the bearings. I upgraded these to decent shell bearings.”

Once Bob Banks had straightened out the classic Chevrolet’s skin, the body was painted by Brent May at New Plymouth Car Painters in a very beautiful shade of pale metallic blue, which in my humble opinion really suits the tow truck, stylish yet not ostentatious. After all, even though it is now a promotional vehicle, the Chevy was a worker and never a ‘show pony’ during its life in the Auckland area.

After finding out the basic details of the restoration of the old Chev, Ross opened the passenger door of the old truck and ushered me inside for a ride into the countryside behind Bell Block. Immediately the smell of the leather seats and the ingrained aroma from the Chev’s years of working as a tow truck brought back childhood memories for me. Memories from the 1960s when my father would take me out in a Newton Kings Ltd ex-WWII Dodge tow truck, to pull overzealous drivers’ cars out of Taranaki ditches and from over creek banks on rural roads.

Earlier, before my birth in late 1962, he had utilised a 1936 Ford V8 truck at ‘Jones & Chadwick’, a then rural garage that my father ran, along with my uncle John, at Clevedon just south of Auckland.

Air-conditioning?

There I was, reminiscing inside Ross Fraser’s tow truck, but I soon snapped back into the 21st century when he started up the earthy-sounding straight six and turned on the air-conditioning, or what passed for it back in 1936, by winding the front window open! The old Chevy sounded great as we roared off up a slightly dusty road, Ross working the four-speed crash ’box and matching the revs with ease. The rigid-bodied Chevrolet with its workman dual rear wheels biting into the tar and its six on song was a nostalgic delight. I looked ahead at the chromed headlight buckets, and thought about the shiny black wheels turning as we progressed along in the hot summer air. I felt myself rise and fall in my seat with every road undulation, not from a lack of suspension, but because these old Chevs weren’t built to swish along with a US President on board — they had ‘big boys’ work to do!

Ford stole a march on Chevrolet and the rest of the US light to medium trucking industry in the 1930s by producing its famous early flathead V8 engines — in 1932 — and installing them in its trucking products, and although the days of the famous Chevy V8 would come, for a long time the GM company had to rely on its tried and true six-cylinder technology. However, despite Ford commanding a majority of the trucking market, Chevrolet — along with Dodge (and its newly designed L-head straight-six) — sold plenty of units to those used to the rugged reliability and torque of the in-line sixes.

Other market competitors included the distinctive Hudson-Terraplane K-series of trucks, the International C and D series, the beautiful Mack Junior and later in the pre-war decade, the equally gorgeous ‘barrel-nose’ Ford truck.

Nowadays, all these classic truck models are in the hands of serious collectors or hot-rodders, or tucked away in barns or sheds awaiting discovery. Very few, if any, will still be earning a true crust as an everyday worker. Most of us will now only see the working trucks of the ’30s in parades and at vintage vehicle displays. As for old tow trucks, many were worked into the ground, or here in New Zealand were cut down as farm trucks or weekend hunters’ vehicles driven to death out in the boonies.

Thanks to Ross Fraser and his helpers, a piece of New Zealand’s tow truck heritage has been preserved. Now, perhaps it is left to our Auckland readers to piece together some of the old Chevrolet’s history and write in, to complete a bit of the vehicle’s working lineage. This 1936 Chevrolet tow truck has me hooked on its possible history!

Words and Photos: Tim Chadwick

Turning 13 years old was a great time for me. It’s the age when all teenagers miraculously know everything overnight — I know this to be the case because my parents constantly reminded me. I know you’re smiling to yourselves because you know I’m right — those of you with teenagers, or those of you who still have teenagers, will definitely be nodding.

Of course, I wanted to share this ‘instant’ wealth of knowledge with all those willing although, in most cases, friends and family were not so willing to listen. Be that as it may, the year was 1969 — a year which would be indelibly etched into my mind forever.

It was in 1969 that I started to take notice and become interested in American and, to some extent, Australian muscle cars — these early thoughts and opinions would have a profound influence on my subsequent passion for cars. I just couldn’t seem to get enough books, magazines and information to fulfil my constant desire to learn more and more about the tyre-shredding beasts that ruled the American freeways. More than anything, I wished I could have been a teenager growing up in the US. However, this was not the case and I had to make do with whatever I could find.

Unfortunately, there weren’t too many muscle cars on our roads in those days, but when I did see the odd Dodge Challenger, Camaro or Mustang I would try to absorb every minute detail intensely, just to gain as much knowledge as I could, hoping that one day I might actually own one of these machines. Fortunately, Monaros and GT Falcons were sold new in this country so I was able to spend many hours down at the local dealerships, gazing intently through the windows with my nose pressed hard up against the glass in awe at the wild machines that sat beautifully polished with little carpet squares under the tyres, all the time wishing that my father would trade in his aging — and very boring — 1966 Humber Super Snipe. Sadly, my dear father wasn’t much of a car person so the Humber continued to be the family runabout, much to my disappointment. Actually, in all fairness the Humber was a beautiful old car, and I actually learned to drive in it and spent many comfortable kilometres behind its wheel.

As it turned out one of my very first cars was an amazingly low mileage 1969 Holden Monaro GTS that I bought in about 1974, and ownership of this classic fuelled my early passion for muscle cars of that era and, in particular, cars manufactured in 1969 almost regardless of when they’d been developed.

The Legend

Thus we step back in time, and three years before my 13th birthday in 1966 when a true legend was born, the Chevrolet Camaro. Introduced on September 26, 1966, the Camaro is admired by thousands of enthusiasts around the world even today. The Camaro’s production run began in the 1967 model year and ran until 2002, with four distinct generations — and a fifth only recently released by the General.

The reasons behind the Camaro’s birth are now well known, but it’s worth a brief recap.

In 1966, Chevrolet’s top brass knew they had to come up with an answer to Ford’s incredibly successful Mustang, a car that was easily out-selling Chevrolet’s closest competitor, the Corvair. Mustang sales were buoyant and showed no signs of letting up. To compete with Ford the Camaro was conceived and built on GM’s rear-wheel drive F-body, and several engines sizes were on offer between 1967 and 1969.

Those engines were wide ranging and included the six-cylinder mills in either 3.8-litre (232ci) and 4.1-litre (250ci) capacities. Of course, a range of V8s were also available — 5.4-litre (327ci), 5.7-litre (350ci), 6.5-litre (396ci) and 7.0-litre (427ci).

Just as the first Mustang was based on Ford’s compact Falcon, so the first 1967 Camaro was based on Chevy’s compact Nova. The basic engineering of the Camaro featured a unibody structure from the firewall back, with a separate steel rail sub-frame for everything up front. Independent front suspension consisted of double A-arms and coil springs while the solid rear axle was suspended by semi-elliptical leaf springs. As was typical of standard-equipped vehicles at the time, braking was by drum brake all around and steering was somewhat clumsy and unwieldy.

However, all was not lost as buyers could add some degree of substance to the appearance of their new pride and joy by selecting or combining individual options and trim packages, such as the RS, SS or the Z-28, to spruce up their ride.

The Rally Sport (RS) was basically an appearance package which offered deluxe interior trim and hidden headlights, whilst the high-performance Super Sport (SS) package had its own distinct decoration which included such features as a domed bonnet with simulated vents, ‘bumble bee’ stripes encircling the nose and the iconic SS badges, a heavy-duty suspension and larger D70-series tyres on 14-inch wheels.

The Super Sport, commonly referred to as just the ‘SS’, also offered a new 5.7-litre small-block V8 (Chevy’s first 350) as well as the 6.5-litre big-block V8. These cars were undoubtedly built for speed, ready to take on the best Ford had to offer. The Rally Sport and Super Sport packages could also be ordered together to form the most lavishly equipped Camaro of them all — the RS/SS.

Almost outside the regular Camaro line was the race-oriented Z-28 — but it was not advertised so, initially, buyers were unaware of this variation. The Z-28 Camaro was fitted with the high-revving 5.0-litre (302ci) small-block V8, and was built to compete in the then current TransAm series, which restricted entrants to an engine capacity of less than 305ci. Chevrolet’s special high-compression 302ci V8 was achieved by matching the short-stroke crank of the 4.63-litre (283ci) version with the big-bore block of the 5.35-litre (327ci) V8. This radical power plant was matched to more aggressive suspension, and the Z-28 option code also featured power disc brakes on the front and a Muncie four-speed manual transmission. Only 602 Z-28s were sold in 1967 so, if you are lucky enough to see one for sale today, you might want to give it a second look.

1969 Z-28 Camaro

In Z-28 form the Camaro competed directly against the Mustang in the TransAm racing series, and Chevrolet even stole two championships from Ford’s pony car in the late’ 60s.

However, racing aside, what really transformed the Z-28 into a motoring legend was the availability of the road-going versions, which were basically tamed race cars.

The 1969 Z-28 Camaro wasn’t exactly the fastest muscle car on the block, but with its unique combination of brake, engine, exhaust, and induction options the ’69 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 was arguably the most desirable Camaro of all — and, today, the ’69 models are the most sought after Z-28s.

While the 1969 Camaro’s structure and mechanical elements were virtually unchanged from the ’68 model, a new body for 1969 gave the Camaro a longer and lower appearance. The previously smooth-sided body was now more highly sculptured, with a side feature line tracing the forward edge of the front wheel housing and running straight from the opening to the rear of the car.

Enhanced styled could be easily achieved by ticking the ‘Rally Sport Package’ option, which offered a more subtle-looking, wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing appearance, complete with transparent louvres for the hidden-headlamp covers. A redesigned dash and more comfortable seats made the Z-28 more habitable as well, but it was the staggering array of optional high performance equipment that marks 1969 as the greatest model year for the Camaro.

The 1969 Z-28 package included the F41 handling suspension option, which included up-rated springs and shocks, while the rear live axle also had staggered positioning on the shocks to help control axle tramp on fast take-off. Front disc brakes were standard on the ’69 Camaro Z-28 and, for the first time, four-wheel discs were offered — lifted straight from the Corvette. With a cost of US$500 it’s not surprising that only 206 disc brake sets were delivered to Z-28 customers, about half going to those with full race cars. Also, courtesy of the Corvette, were six-inch-wide Rallye steel rims shod with E70X15 raised-letter tyres for improved handling.

The glorious solid-lifter 5.0-litre V8 with an 850cfm four-barrel carburettor was again exclusive to the Z-28, and the 298kW (400bhp) recorded on subsequent dyno tests made a complete mockery of the factory’s 216kW (290bhp) rating. Dealers also got in on the act by offering dual four-barrel carburettor options, including twin 600cfm Holleys on a cross-ram manifold and chambered exhaust pipes, possibly the least-restrictive exhausts ever offered on any new Chevrolet. This super high-revving V8 needed air — and lots of it — so another functional option unique to the ’69 Z-28 was a cowl-induction hood, which operated via a valve that snapped open at 80 per cent throttle to draw in cool air from the base of the windscreen.

The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28s again came only with a Hurst-shifted close-ratio four-speed gearbox with 3.73:1 gears as standard, with up to 4.10:1 gears available. A Positraction differential was offered as an option for those requiring added traction. As expected, the 1969 Z-28 had impeccable road manners, aided by power steering that was both quick and offered a sense of that all important ‘road feel’.

As TransAm titles in 1968 and ’69 showed, the Z-28 was a road-racer first and street machine second with drivers who understood its white-knuckle character buying 7199 of them for 1968. Sales nearly tripled for the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28, achieving a sales record that would stand until 1978.

The ’69 Z-28 was without doubt one of the hottest-looking rides of the classic muscle car era, highlighting what Chevy stylists could do to express utter performance and excitement.

The Find

Our featured 1969 Camaro Z-28 RS has spent most of its life so far in the sunny US state of California, and was originally owned by well-known Camaro spare parts specialist, Jim Dyer. The story goes that Jim traded the Z-28 on a 1968 RS/SS Camaro convertible. The new owner of the Z-28, Rich Lauzon, kept and drove it for many years until 1991, when he began to have it completely stripped down to remove minor dents and oversee a general tidy up. Halfway through the job, Rich’s panel-beater unfortunately passed away and the Camaro sat in a dismantled state for over 15 years in the back of the workshop.

The original owner, Jim Dyer, was aware of what had happened to the Camaro and was also well aware that the owner, Rich Lauzon, was getting on in years, which meant it was unlikely that the dismantled Z-28 would ever be completed. As a result, Jim arranged for the car to be sold to Rex Kelland.

It just so happens that Rex is a good friend of Kiwi Mustang guru Dale Mathers — who owns Coastline Automotive in Tauranga and specialises in all types of restorations and classic American race cars. Not one to miss an opportunity like this, Dale was able to wrest the Z-28 off Rex after much intense negotiating and, before long, the Camaro arrived in New Zealand.

The Partnership

Dale and his accountant, Mike Coory, decided to team up together on the Z-28 Camaro project and — as Mike was keen on Zs — it seemed a logical partnership. However, it’s the Japanese ‘Z’ we’re talking about here — Mike has owned a few over the years and currently owns a 1990, 500kW, twin-turbocharged Nissan 300ZX race car which he races at club events. He also owns a 1994 300ZX Super GT race car. Ironically, Mike has been modifying and racing cars since he was 16 years old and previously owned a 1967 Camaro — which is now Kevin Gimlet’s race car.

When the Z-28 arrived it was basically in pieces, virtually as it had left the panel-beater’s workshop — untouched for many years. Dale was pleasantly surprised to find every single component correctly bagged and labelled. Additionally, the complete drivetrain was totally original with all the correct and matching numbers — a real bonus, and something quite rare for high performance muscle cars of this era as many were raced to within an inch of their lives, with a consequent toll on their original drivetrain components

Once the car was repainted in its original bright Rallye Green colour by KNR Paintworks, it was just a matter of reassembly — this being carried out by Wayne Hills under the watchful eye of Dale. Most of the original parts were in perfect condition and suitable for re-use and, fortunately, many new-old-stock (NOS) parts came with the car. These NOS parts were obviously collected during the early ’90s, as they’re not only rare, but virtually impossible to obtain today.

Apart from the carpet, the interior was in perfect unmarked condition, and Dale chose to leave it exactly as it left the factory in its original condition.

Dale also chose to leave the drivetrain well alone. He believes that the high performance 5.0-litre (302ci) engine and four-speed transmission had received some attention in the US, and as they were in great shape he decided to reassemble everything as it was. As luck would have it, a complete and very rare NOS exhaust system had been installed, adding the final touch to this magnificent, and very desirable Z28 Camaro.

The final result is an absolutely flawless example of a 1969 Z-28 Camaro with the extremely rare optional RS package. The car is a living, breathing testament to Dale Mathers and Wayne Hills’ workmanship and expertise in with American muscle cars.

1969 Camaro Z28 RS – Specifications

Engine         Chevrolet V8
Capacity         4949cc (302ci)
Bore/stroke         102.5mm/76.9mm
Valves         Two valves per cylinder/ohv
C/R         11.0:1
Max power        216kW (290bhp) at 5800rpm
Max torque         393Nm at 4200rpm
Fuel system     Rochester carburettor
Transmission     Muncie close-ratio four-speed manual
Suspension F/R    Double wishbones, coil springs/live axle with leaf springs
Steering         Recirculating ball, optional power assist
Brakes         Power assisted disc

Dimensions:
O/all length         4769mm
Width         1859mm
Height         1318mm
Wheelbase         2769mm
Kerb weight     1707kg (3763lbs)

Performance:
Max speed         211kph (131mph)
0-60mph         6.9 seconds
Standing 1/4 mile     15.12 seconds

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Dan Wakelin

This article is from Classic Car issue 223. Click here to check it out.

Kiwis have had a strong affiliation with caravans for as long as I can remember — and what better way to tow a caravan than with a classic, V8-powered convertible

Caravanning is part of our heritage, our culture — for many, the answer to our yearning for the great outdoors, sandy beaches and snow-capped mountains. No matter where you are in this great land of ours, you can be sure of one thing — you’re never too far from a camping ground. Although, over the past decade or so, I have noticed a steady decline in caravans on our summer roads.

Remember mum, dad and the kids, complete with all the crucial outdoor paraphernalia (bikes, kayaks and the like) tied to the roof, holding up queues of frustrated motorists as they struggle to haul the family caravan up hill and down dale to their destination? That’s a fading sight on our roads today. Instead, families are opting for mobile homes or camper vans — although still frustrating the heck out of most motorists. Whatever, they only have one thing in mind — the great outdoor experience. Of course, this has spawned a whole new industry for the tourism market in New Zealand, and many overseas tourists travel here just to share in the experience that we Kiwis often take so much for granted.

Open Air

I’m not too sure when convertibles became fashionable in New Zealand. From my recollections I rather doubt we felt it was trendy to own a convertible during the ‘hippy’ era of the ’60s. However, in the US it was a whole different ball game — convertibles were eye-catching and very fashionable.

Not surprisingly, Chevrolet alone accounted for more than a quarter of all cars in America between 1963 and 1964. Much more to its credit was the highly recognised, all-time favourite — the Chevrolet Impala convertible. Its appeal was so strong, young trendy adults preferred the Impala over virtually anything else on offer at the time. Wowed by Chevrolet’s fabulous-sounding V8 engine, lucky Impala drivers quickly recognised the satisfaction-guaranteed performance on offer.

Some time back in the ’50s, Chevrolet had felt it necessary to build a car similar to the more up-market Cadillac, offering customers who wanted more luxury something that would deter them from changing brands. In order to meet these needs it decided to build a new car. There were two things people indicated that they wanted — more luxury and more powerful engines. Chevy planned to build something bigger, faster, and more luxurious than its Bel Air, but something that middle-class Americans could still afford — enter the Impala.

Impala Debuts

Debuting in 1956, the Impala was first seen at the Chevrolet Motorama car show, which hit New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston. This first Impala was a four-passenger coupe, with a strong connection to its stable-mate, the Corvette — indeed, this first car was aptly named the Corvette Impala and was even constructed of fibreglass, just like the Corvette.

At the time the Bel Air was the finest Chevrolet on the market, but the Impala was about to change this.

The first production Impala arrived in 1957 and was only offered as a sport coupe or convertible, giving it a sporty image which proved to be hugely successful.

The Impala was over 230mm longer, 100mm wider, and 50mm lower than the Bel Air models and also came with some exciting new options, including the new 5.7-litre (348ci) V8 and Level-Air suspension system. With Chevrolet’s new engine package the Impala was much faster than previous Chevys and, with its new suspension system, the car offered a much smoother ride than ever before.

Another major change was a new X-frame chassis design, which was built into all new Chevrolets to improve stability and comfort.

The Impala certainly looked the part, with chrome accents on the door and instrument panels, and a sport-style steering wheel giving the impression it was more luxurious than other ’57 Chevrolet models.

1n 1959 the Impala’s body changed to a sleeker, more agile and, most importantly, more contemporary look, enough for it to overtake the Bel Air in the sales stakes. In 1958 the Impala was only offered as a two-door coupe or convertible, but in 1959 there was a full line of Impalas including two-door hardtops, two-door convertibles, four-door sedans, and four-door hardtops.

Minor cosmetic changes were made to it in 1960, including the taillights going from a massive cats-eye shape to six separate round taillights — the latter becoming a familiar sight on the Impala over the next few years — while the car’s tail-fins were made less radical.

Swinging Sixties

Chevrolet decided to completely change the Impala in 1961. The car lost its rear fins completely, and gained an improved instrument panel layout, whilst keeping the signature six taillights. Many buyers were still crying out for options like Posi-Traction, a heavy-duty battery, heavy-duty brakes, springs, and shocks — all of which made Chevrolet rethink its strategy, and it introduced the Super Sport package.

Interestingly, the Impala was the first Chevrolet to offer a Super Sport package and it could be ordered on any body style, but in the future would only be available for sport coupes or convertibles.

Until that point the Corvette had been Chevy’s sports car, but now the Impala SS was right up there. The Impala SS could be optioned with either a high-performance 5.7-litre V8, or the new monster 6.7-litre (409ci) 261kW (350hp) V8 engine, and came equipped with power steering; power brakes; and heavy-duty brakes, shocks, and springs.

Chevrolet introduced the famous 5.35-litre (327ci) engine to the Impala line-up in 1962. This was to be a good year for the automotive industry, and the Impala SS was running hot nationwide as word rapidly spread.

In 1963 Chevrolet sold an impressive 832,000 Impalas. It was indeed ‘America’s car’ — up there with hot dogs and apple pie.

The ’63 Impala didn’t change all that much, and was the only Chevrolet full-size two-door sport coupe and four-door sport sedan offered that year. Chevy’s old big-seller, the Bel Air, was now only available as two-door and four-door sedans.

In 1964 the Impala changed in several ways. In Cadillac-style it received thicker bumpers, which made the car seem lower and heavier. The ’64 grille had a flatter profile than previous models, and other upgrades included an electric clock, emergency brake light, and special sporty steering wheel.

This year the Impala SS became its own line and, incredibly, more than 185,000 Impala SS models were sold. The regular Impala sold over 890,000, while the Bel Air only sold just over 550,000, proving the popularity of the Impala.

Today’s Impalas are said to have a lot to offer — but maybe not quite enough. The Impala image and heritage was never completely fulfilled, and they lack the style and performance of past generations. Even into the early ’90s Impalas were equipped with Corvette V8 engines, before they were replaced with more fuel-efficient six-cylinder units. Unfortunately the modern Impala makes no bold statements, blending easily into a car park full of humdrum sedans.

Chevy Connection

One person who is definitely keeping the Impala tradition alive and well is Jeff Matthews, who owns this magnificent 1964 Chevrolet Impala.

Jeff has been a car man most of his life, in fact earlier that most it seems, because his mother tells the story of how Jeff would often make car noises whilst sitting in his high chair as he mashed his way through whatever tasty, baby food delights were in front of him.

Jeff’s first experience with classic cars was with those of English origin, although he soon discovered that, in his opinion, they were “unmotorable.” Instead, he decided to try something a little different — an American classic. First up was a 1936 straight-eight Hudson, which he purchased in the early ’80s. From there, Jeff moved on to something a little more modern — a 1950 Chrysler followed by a 1961 Dodge.

At this point Jeff decided a convertible was the way to go, and placed an advertisement in the local newspaper to see if anything would come up. Sure enough, the owner of a 1964 Chevrolet Impala, which had been sitting in a shed in Waitakere for over 10 years, contacted him. Jeff was undeterred by the level of work that would be required to bring Chevy up to scratch, he knew the car was basically sound and unmolested, so he bought it.

He has now owned the car for about 15 years, and during that time has treated it to a new, bright red paint scheme, and a new interior. As well, all the Impala’s bright-work has been re-chromed. Jeff replaced the original wheels with a set of chrome Cragar SS wheels to complement the style of the car. Other than this, the Impala is completely original, sporting the original 4.63-litre (283ci) engine, automatic transmission, suspension and brakes.

Another point of interest is that General Motors originally brought this car to New Zealand in 1964 for the Petone Auto Show, and it is one of only 68 right hand drive 1964 Impala convertibles built in Canada.

The Impala fuelled Jeff’s passion and desire to increase his fleet of American cars, and he subsequently went on to acquire a 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1961 Oldsmobile Starfire and — his all-time favourite — a 1958 Chevrolet Impala sports coupe. A few years down the track, Jeff realised that owning four huge American cars was a little excessive, and he sold off the Pontiac and the Oldsmobile, keeping his two Chevrolets.

Broadened Horizons

During this time Jeff had become increasingly interested in old caravans. He now owns two period caravans, one of which you see here — a 1966 Caravelle. The other, believed to have been built by the Auckland Caravan Company around 1953, is currently under restoration.

Jeff has spent many hours bringing his 1966 Caravelle back to life with new exterior paint, new windows and a refurbished interior — all in keeping with the ’60s period. Jeff also enjoys collecting art deco-style antiques and period-style items for his caravans — including an old record player/radiogram, camping set and original-style portable table, not to mention the curtain and awning fabric which was specially imported from the US.

Jeff is unsure of the Caravelle’s origins, but believes they were originally built in the Hawkes Bay during the ’60s for three years, and the moulds could have originally been used to make caravans in Australia during the late ’50s.

The Caravelle looks perfectly at home behind the magnificent 1964 Chevy Impala convertible, although Jeff has yet to take the pair on an extended camping trip. He has opted to display the rig whenever possible, most recently at the Kumeu Hot Rod Festival, where his summer holiday combination made quite an impact.

It’s amazing how many people have fond memories of childhood camping holidays. As I said earlier — it’s all part of our culture, part of our heritage.

1964 Chevrolet Impala Convertible – Specifications

Engine: Chevrolet Turbo Fire V8
Capacity: 4.63 litres (283ci)
Bore/stroke: 98.425 x 76.2mm
Valves: Two valves per cylinder/ohv
C/R: 9.25;1
Max power: 145kW (195hp) @ 4800rpm
Fuel system: Rochester 2bbl
Transmission: Three-speed manual or auto
Dimensions:
Overall Length: 5331mm
Width: 2022mm
Wheelbase: 3022mm
Kerb weight: 1599kg

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Dan Wakelin

This article is from Classic Car issue 219. Click here to check it out.

When it’s time for your final exit – why not go classic-style?

When Feilding funeral director William Cotton & Sons Ltd decided to think about updating its fleet of hearses, it never imagined the journey on which it was about to embark would end up such a complete success story.

With a business spanning back generations, Norman and Jeanette Cotton — together with son, Shane — thought that it would be a good idea to rejuvenate the original feeling and history of their family funeral business by offering something completely different, yet in keeping with the style, grace and reputation built over many decades by their family.

Established in 1930, this privately owned business was founded by the late William Cotton and has served the Feilding and district area ever since. With such a long history behind the company, it wasn’t surprising that in 2006, a 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe four-door sedan was purchased with the idea of converting it into a hearse.

Surgical Procedure

Mike Baucke at The Surgery was given the task of transforming the old Chevy into an original-looking ’30s hearse. Mike Baucke is definitely no stranger to such builds, and has been self-employed and in the restoration industry since 1986, having trained as a coachbuilder straight out of school. Initially, he worked on design and fabrication of Ministry of Defence and fire crash tenders with his father.

Mike follows a proud family tradition of 120 years of coachbuilding — his father, great grandfather and great uncle were also coachbuilders, and the Crown Carriage works was a family business during earlier generations.

The Surgery was born when Irene van de Coolwijk (previously District Apprenticeship Commissioner) came on board as Mike’s business partner, and the company has restored countless cars over the subsequent 17 years — all handled in their large, old world-type building, rather reminiscent of a doctor’s surgery, which includes a workshop complete with period-style polished wood floors. When you realise that Mike is the third generation of highly skilled craftsmen coachbuilders, then it’s not difficult to appreciate the depth of commitment he brings to his craft, which is clearly evident in his magnificent restoration of this Chevrolet. Mike and his foreman, Kayne Thomson, who has 14 years experience at The Surgery and the ability to “make something from nothing”, spent many hours researching period hearses, eventually designing a combination of many, mixed in with their own ideas. This hearse was not ‘born in the USA’, but born in New Zealand.

The Project

As a base for the hearse project the 1939 Chevrolet was in relatively good shape, considering its age, so Mike and his team of specialist metal men proceeded by cutting the car in half and adding 800mm into the centre, then putting it back together. A complete new roof section was designed and fabricated, and they totally redesigned and fabricated of the rear body section and doors. The body width was also increased to accommodate the extra-wide rear door, which included concealed hinges, designed and modified in-house by Kayne Thomson. The side rear doors also required concealed hinges that were supplied by none other than hot rod guru, Boyd Coddington, and modified to suit.

The Surgery meticulously carried out all the design, fabrication, rust repair and paintwork, including general project management over an 18-month period. The restoration included totally stripping the car back to bare metal with a ‘do it once, do it right’ attitude, with replacement steel panels fabricated by The Surgery where rust had taken its toll.

Another crucial challenge was Shane Cotton’s request to keep the long side lower edge of each side window perfectly level with the top edge of the casket, so that the flowers on top of the casket were the prominent feature from the outside, not the casket itself. The rear deck height was another crucial design factor, so that one person could easily load and unload the vehicle, which had to retain its original look. Underneath the casket area, Mike built in huge storage spaces suitable for umbrellas, bags and flowers.

Shane Cotton sourced a lot of the exterior chrome mouldings, door handles and trim himself directly from a US supplier, and when the hearse was completed he sent that supplier a photograph of the finished vehicle — which impressed it so much that it included an image of the Chevrolet in its worldwide parts catalogue, which naturally made Shane rather proud.

Safety and Reliability

Under the huge bonnet, the original 3.5-litre, 63kW six-cylinder engine was dismantled, and all the external parts were powder coated to look as original as possible, as well as keeping the engine durable and easy to clean.

Even after a couple of hundred thousand miles the internal engine components were absolutely perfect, so the engine was re-assembled, totally in line with the original brief of keeping the vehicle as authentic as possible.

The engine now purrs beautifully, just as it came off the factory floor. Money was no object, and the hearse could quite easily have been re-powered with a contemporary engine, but originality was the name of the game. The three-speed original transmission was also left stock standard with an extended, modified two-piece driveshaft connecting it to the original differential. Adjustable air suspension was added to adjust ride height.

For safety and reliability, the Chevy was converted to a 12-volt system for better lighting and electric wipers. LED lights and modern light switches with modern electrics were all carefully concealed so as not to interfere with the original interior layout. New leather upholstery was put together in fine ’30s style to complete the interior. A secret compartment was also incorporated into the dash to conceal the radio/CD player, and the aerial was concealed to maintain a totally original look.

In order to fit the longest casket available the length of the vehicle was increased significantly; not your average restoration shop measurement guide, Mike reckons.

Mike’s dad, John, now in his eighties, showed a keen interest in this project right from the start, and made a few visits to The Surgery to inspect progress as the hearse took shape.

Work Horse

The completed hearse was delivered to William Cotton & Sons Ltd in March 2008 by Mike and Irene, with a small celebration of family, friends and local dignitaries to mark the occasion. The Chevrolet looks, sounds and drives like a custom-built vehicle from the ’30s and provides a dignified style unique to the area. Mike tells me the hearse is truly amazing to drive — “It stops traffic everywhere on the road¦ every car on the road gives way.”

I suppose that’s good when you’re driving a hearse. The general consensus upon completion is that it’s difficult to tell the difference between the end product and an original ’30s factory-built hearse, and local vintage car buffs are unable to pick that it was designed and built in 2007 not 1939.

Norman, Jeanette and Shane Cotton have been totally blown away by the end result, and their classic hearse has given them and the business a complete new lease of life.

Initially, it was planned that if the old ’39 could handle 25 per cent of the business then it was worthwhile, but that wasn’t to be — the hearse now gets at least 90 per cent of the business from all over the district, and at times has to be rested from service, otherwise it would be used for every single funeral. Actually, the company’s accountant has even suggested the idea of building another, similarly classic hearse, but that may be a little way down the track at this stage. It appears restored, older-looking hearses have become popular around the world.

Many comments have come back from people who recall seeing an old Chevy hearse when it was in service many years ago. They’re pretty sure that this is the hearse that was in some small town in New Zealand back in the ’50s. But when it’s explained that this hearse used to be a car, they usually say something like — “No, not this one, my old dad had his last ride in this hearse in 1950.”

That’s a great compliment to Mike and his team at The Surgery — even if no-one believes they built this hearse.

Fast Exit

Another little story to add to the above — when local race car driver and trackside marshal, Peter Frecklington, passed away recently, his last wish was to be taken around Manfeild one last time. His wishes were honoured when a local race meeting was interrupted to allow the Chevy hearse onto the track to complete a few laps in his memory — with Peter, for once, riding in the ‘back-seat.’

Now that’s what I call going the extra mile.

Words by Ashley Webb | Photos by Adam Croy

Noel and Trevor Shaw have achieved quiet fame as serious collectors of vintage cars, and are the envy of most of us who would like to accumulate a sizeable shed full of vehicles

At the recent Kumeu Classic Car show, I saw the Shaw’s original 1926 Chevrolet Tourer Superior K. Overcome with a sense of history I knew that I had to get closer to it, so using my Garmin GPS device I found my way into the fastnesses of the Shaw kingdom, where I found them converting a huge heap of timber into firewood by means of their vintage David Brown and vintage sawbench, and loading the resultant fuel onto their vintage Chev truck. For old-timers they sure can work.

I knew I was in the right place because of the machinery parked here and there. Clearly these lads don’t just collect vintage Fords and Chevs, if it’s got a wheel at each corner they’re very interested and will find a home — and a use — for it. Men after my own heart.

I went and had a chat to Trevor, who told me the four cylinder ohv motor was a typically Chevrolet cross-flow, and had exposed pushrods But this is a pretty advanced version of Chevrolet’s famous ohv motors — it wears a valve gear cover. The earlier ones had exposed everything, valve springs, rockers and camshaft as well as the exposed pushrods. No doubt allowing easy access for the thoughtful owner/driver to squirt oil everywhere at intervals.

Early History

The early history of this car is not known in any depth. It was bought and used by a Dargaville family — the second owners — in 1929. They must have kept squirting that oil, because they’re reputed to have used it steadily until the mid ’50s. We’re talking 20-something years, and that wasn’t unusual in those days when cars weren’t seen as an item of personal adornment, they were there to be useful and treated accordingly.

I remember that decade very well, it marked my transition from youth to adulthood. By the end of it I was living in Northland, and knew Dargaville, Kaikohe and Kaitaia very fondly. In the North, working cars weren’t spoilt with new coats of paint, a fancy retrim or even big fluffy dice. Radios (valve) and chrome rear vision door mirrors were okay though — not that our Chev has either.

At some stage in the next decade or two it was parked up for the last time, changed hands once and finally came to Trevor a bit over a year ago, and all he’s done is get it running. That was a bit of a task because it had been dead for a couple of decades, he thinks. A mate of the Shaw brothers, Peter McKenzie, had it at Iron Park — a sort of museum set up in Helensville — and they’d known that it was there for about 17 years.

Iron Park was auctioned and Trevor (the Chev collector) went to get this car. He comments that it was something he had to have, and would probably have paid whatever he had to. I think (the Shaw brothers don’t tell you what they don’t need to) that I know what he paid, and think it very reasonable. However he couldn’t drive it home, so there’s always that unknown fiscal gap bridging the space between delirious pleasure and deep despair. These two seem as happy as crickets, so it must have been a very sound old girl.

It was given a valve grind, and everything mechanical was checked for free movement. The petrol tank was full of some very murky stuff — rather tar-like, and the vacuum tank needed repairs. They also did the wheel bearings, rewired the loom and sorted the rather primitive rear wheel brakes and so on, and found that — probably thanks to simplicity of design — it was in a state of suspended animation rather than rigor mortis. You’ll notice from the photographs that simplicity is the keyword here, so freeing everything, firing her up and having your first drive was probably finished by smoko.

At 16kW (21.7hp) they don’t have as much power as Henry’s products — which is what brother Noel collects — but you didn’t buy either of them for GP performance, they were workhorses.

Amazing Patina

I asked Trevor, “What are you going to do to it?” suspecting that I already knew the answer, which came back to me firmly and promptly, “Nothing, it’ll never ever be restored!” Clearly he believes in immortality, but then so do I.
It would be a sin to restore this car, there wouldn’t be many totally original ’20s Chevrolets in the world — and they made lots and lots of them, definably and distinctly products of the United States of America. Everything appears to have been left as it left the factory, albeit with an amazing patina coming from 82 years of Chevrolet life and living.

The front guards and bonnet have large areas of patchy bareness revealing here and there what appears to be bare metal showing through the original undercoat/ primer and colour coat — which can be seen as green, mostly, but you have to see the whole car to pick that green. Probably it’s the doors, which being vertical have retained the colour best, and they save the day. The strange thing was that it didn’t seem to be heading for terminal rust — partly I presume because it’s been kept in sheds all its life to date. Although that said, the Kiwi shed is usually made of corrugated iron, and that offers lots of condensation. I guess maybe the steel is better and it’s taken all this time to get down to the bare metal, so how will they save it in the future?

However, the top and the seats are definitely only holding together by habit. Very tatty, so I’m not sure Trevor will be able to hold to his oath that she will never be restored. Since sooner or later material gives it away.
In the shed, next to this car, are a couple of other prized collectibles. A lovely Chev Roadster from the same era and an immaculate Ford T, in gleaming black and brass.

I too am firmly convinced that this car must be left in this (rather tatty) state.

On The Road

Trevor’s driven the car quite a bit in the 12 months since he got it, and comments that like all rear-wheel braked cars you need to drive with lots of anticipation. These rear brakes include an internal brake on the inside of the two rear drums running off the handbrake, and footbrakes functioning on the outside of the drums.

The three-speed gearbox is the classic crash ’box of the period, and young people who have not learned to double declutch on a crash ’box need the experience to enhance their qualifications — not to mention self esteem. However, I do think that the real skill lies in driving on these sorts of brakes in modern traffic, and that’s what sorts the men from the boys.

This model saw Chevs move to full elliptic springs with the axle mid-mounted — the earlier ones were half elliptic with one end attached to the chassis, and the other to the axle. The effect was to give them a strange gait so that they became known as ‘grasshoppers’, but whichever system was used these early vintage, leaf-springed cars didn’t compare well to later coil and damped suspensions. Consequently, there’s no doubt that driving the cars from yesteryear is a very different experience for the new generations of petrol-heads coming on — used to a great deal more sophistication than the cars of the ’20s and even the cars of the ’30s can provide.

Let’s be honest, some of them were pigs in almost every facet. Nevertheless, there are large crowds turning out every time there is a display of these old girls, and year after year people pay substantial money to own them — and usually even more money to restore them.

Original is good!

Louis Chevrolet

In 1911 WC Durant started making a car with the help of Louis Chevrolet, who had some fame as a racing driver. The first motor was a 4.9-litre side-valve six, then came a smaller version. However, 1916 saw them putting out the 2.7-litre overhead valve four, which was a big success, and this is the motor we’re talking about here — Chevrolet’s first ohv motor and very popular — 70,000 a year! It was the grandfather, of course, of Chevrolet’s justly famous ohv six — The Cast Iron Wonder. That drew GM’s attention, and it acquired Chevrolet in 1917. Interestingly, by 1931 Chevrolet was outselling Ford, and by and large stayed that way over the next couple of decades.

Words & Photos: Penn McKay

During World War II, US servicemen stationed in Europe found themselves attracted to MG’s two-seater sports cars even though ownership of these cars was limited to a small, elite group. Nothing evokes the period better than the image of a Spitfire pilot zipping across the airfield in a low-slung MG J2.

Once the war was over, General Motors — no doubt influenced by the overseas experiences of returning servicemen — worked on the idea of a bespoke sports car that would be suitable for American driving conditions, and with features that an affluent US population sought in their cars. Such a car would also boost Chevrolet’s image which, at the time, was less than exciting.

Impressed by the innovative sports car designs he had observed in Europe after World War II, Harley J Earl was determined to bring the sports car to America, and was hired in 1952 to design cars for GM.

America’s sports car

In 1953, General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Corvette, the first modern American sports car and probably the first US car to feature overt sporting features since the heady days of the Stutz Bearcat, supercharged Duesenbergs and the Mercer Raceabout. Available in any colour combination providing it was white with red interior, the first Corvettes were manufactured in GM’s assembly plant at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Zora Arkus-Duntov was also hired in 1953 as assistant staff engineer, and would later became Corvette’s chief engineer. Without his support and determination Corvette production would probably have ceased in 1955, but instead, changes were made in 1956 and 1957 to develop the Corvette into a genuine sports car

Incidentally, the name for Chevrolet’s entry-level sports car, ‘Corvette’, came from a highly manoeuvrable frigate class war­ship of the same name, and the person responsible for choosing it was Myron E Scott, who happened also to be the creator of the Soap Box Derby.

Due to the steel quotas left over from the war years early Corvettes used fibreglass for their outer bodies, while power was supplied by ‘Blue Flame’ in-line six-cylinder truck engines. These motors were mated with a two-speed Powerglide auto­matic transmission and, like all other Chevrolet models of the day, braking was achieved by drum brakes all round.

Compared with its European counterparts, the Corvette was an underpowered vehicle. It wasn’t until 1954 that Paxton super­chargers became available as a dealer-installed option, which significantly improved the Corvette’s performance, but these cars were still a long way behind their European counterparts.

Sting Ray

Harley Earl retired in the early ’60s, and through new GM chief of design, Bill Mitchell, the exceptionally popular Sting Ray was born. The totally redesigned Corvette was offered to the public in either coupe or convertible configuration, complete with four V8 engine options. These Corvettes were slick in appearance, and boasted much improved passenger comfort.

Americans loved the 1963-1967 Sting Rays immediately, because they were fast, powerful machines that looked super­sonic even when sitting at a standstill.

The Corvette had undergone major changes by 1963, which marked the start of the sec­ond, the C2 generation, with several body designs from 1963 to 1967. The Corvette Sting Ray was among them, sporting split-rear windows and fake hood vents. A 6.5-litre big-block V8 engine option also became available, and an even larger 7.0-litre big-block arrived by 1966.

In today’s classic car market, C2 Corvettes are amongst the most desirable and collectable cars available. Corvettes have maintained their reputation as very powerful yet affordable cars for more than half a century now. Emphasis on simplicity is what sets Corvettes apart from their European counterparts. Nearly all opposing brands rely on more complex, smaller displacement engines while the Corvette stuck to simpler overhead valve engines, and relied on larger capacities — a combination which often resulted in a lighter, cheaper and physically smaller engine. This same ‘keep it simple’ philosophy is also reflected in the type of suspension used by the Corvette, GM opting to use transverse leaf springs.

Mako Shark

The Third generation (C3) Corvette, designed by Larry Shinoda, was inspired by the Mako Shark and was introduced in 1968, remaining in production until 1982.

Various improvements were added to the Corvette every year, especially to its engine, and in 1974 urethane-compound bumpers replaced the chrome items though the basic body shape remained virtually untouched.

Chevrolet also included many new features, such as a fibre-optic system linked to the centre console that made it possible for the driver to observe headlight function. Unfortunately, this feature only lasted a few years.

In November 1969, the 250,000th Corvette was built. Since the new 1968 Corvette Sting Ray had received severe criticism, Chevrolet endeavoured to improve the 1969 version. A strict regime was quickly established to track down, investigate and resolve any ongoing problems.

The 1968 model had been criticised for having a cramped and uncomfortable interior; subsequently the door panels were reshaped to make the interior space larger in the 1969 Sting Ray. The diameter of the steering wheel was also decreased by 25mm, from 406 to 381. As an added security precaution, the ignition key was moved from the upper corner of the tachometer on the dash to the steering column.

Another difference between the 1968 model and the new 1969 Corvette Sting Ray was the availability of the optional side mounted exhaust system. Side exhaust pipes had long been one of the signature features of a Corvette Sting Ray, but were not available on the 1968 model.

Corvette enthusiasts worldwide were happy to see their return on the 1969 model.

In 1969, the 5359cc (327ci) engine was dropped in favour of the 5735cc (350ci) V8 engine as standard with either 224kW or 261kW (300bhp or 350bhp). There were also four 7.0-litre (427ci) V8 engine alternatives. The two most expensive 7.0-litre engine variants, L71 and L88, were racing engines and not really a good choice for street cars. The L88 321kW (430bhp) engine cost a staggering US$1032 and was only installed in 0.3 per cent of the cars. The L71 324kW (435bhp) engine for US$437 was a more popular alternative, but was still only chosen by seven per cent of buyers.

For those wanting the 7.0-litre engine but planning to drive their cars in the street rather than on the race track, the L36 and L68 engines were better options. The L36 291kW (390bhp) engine cost US$221 and was installed in over 27 per cent of all 1969 Corvette Sting Rays. The 298kW (400hp) alternative was more expensive, at US$327, and was chosen by less than six per cent of all buyers.

Oddly, the 1968 Corvette Sting Ray had no ‘Sting Ray’ badges on its exterior. In 1969, this was remedied and the name was proudly displayed — now spelled ‘Stingray.’ Optional louvre trim was also available to dress up car’s the Mako-style gills, an option dropped for the 1970 Stingray. Inside the car, below the shifter, you could find a small plate identifying particular information relating to power, torque, displacement and compression ratio of each car.

Big-Block

Graham McDonald grew up in Dunedin, and remembers the local baker’s bright red 1964 Corvette coupe well. It was a car which he admired as a youngster, unaware that it would be the catalyst for his life-long passion for Corvettes.

It wasn’t until Graham was a young adult working in American Samoa in 1976 that he had his next real encounter with a Corvette. His boss knew he liked to tinker with cars and asked Graham if he could have a look at his Corvette, as it required some TLC. He agreed, and a 1969 L88 Corvette appeared on the scene.

Apart from an obviously cracked windscreen and other cosmetic defects, the sad-looking Corvette also had some fairly bad rust in the frame as it had been on the island for some time, and had obviously seen its share of salt water. Graham remembers driving it and thinking why on earth would anyone want such a ‘pig’ of a car. The massive 7.0-litre big-block V8 engine was lumpy and rough, and he can even remember seeing the 103 octane decal on the console and thinking why would you bother, as you couldn’t even buy 103 octane!

But things have changed over the years when it comes to classic cars, as we all know, especially when it comes to today’s values, and the 1969 L88 321kW Corvette is no exception.

With only 116 built, basically as street legal race-cars in 1969, they are an extremely rare find today, fetching hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

Graham even travelled back to American Samoa last year in an attempt to find the rare and extremely desirable L88 but, unfortunately, it had long since gone — or so he says. I might have to double check what’s down at the back of his garage next time I’m passing!

Rare Corvette

In 1978 Graham moved to Hawaii, where he became interested in AC Cobras after seeing many of them in Ford dealerships and cruising the sunny Honolulu boulevards. When he retuned to New Zealand in 1982 one of the first things on the agenda was to purchase an Almac AC Cobra which was highly modified and produced huge amounts of power. This fad would not last long, as Graham soon heard through a friend of a silver blue 1963 Corvette split window coupe tucked away in Nelson. The Cobra was subsequently sold, and the ’63 Corvette soon found its way into Graham’s possession.

“It was a great, original car,” Graham told me, and it had some interesting history, including competing in Targa Tasmania where it had a slight altercation with a ditch, causing some minor frontal suspension damage. Graham was very fond of this car with its remarkable body shape and unique (to 1963 only) split rear window.

It wasn’t long before he got wind of another rare Corvette with an interesting story — a 1968 L89 7.0-litre, tri-power, aluminium head, Corvette coupe which was missing its original motor, and needed to be completely restored. Once Graham found the car he was able to determine that it was in fact a genuine L89, the identification aided by help from his friend, Roy Sinor, judging chairman of the National Corvette Restorers’ Society (NCRS). Graham also knew the original engine had been tracked down back in 1996, and after some intense investigating through the DMV in the US, he was able to eventually reunite the Corvette with its original powerplant. After a few years of extreme restoration work Graham received an offer he couldn’t refuse, by which time he admits he was starting to get a bit sick of the whole process. The car was sold about 75 per cent finished to another Corvette Club member, and its restoration is still ongoing.

Daytona Yellow

It was about this time that Graham heard of another Corvette through a different NCRS friend in the US. Graham’s friend had been approached by the Corvette’s original owner to determine its value for a neighbour, who had always admired the car, and was interested in making an offer. Once the car had been valued, the neighbour decided it was way out of his price range and chose not to proceed any further.

The Corvette’s original owner had purchased it after returning home injured from Vietnam and, with a pile of cash in his back pocket to spend, decided to buy the Daytona Yellow 7.0-litre, L71 tri-power Corvette Roadster which you see here.

In its first year the car travelled only 16,000 miles (25,750km), and it was used very little until 1994, when it was last registered, accumulating a total of 50,000 miles (80,467km) since new. The car was complete, including the build sheet, protecto-plate and all the original documentation and registration details back to day one. Because of this history and documentation Graham decided to buy the Corvette sight unseen, and had it shipped back to New Zealand with another Corvette he had sourced for Corvette Club member.

The Corvette’s original triple carburettors were missing. The owner had lent them to a friend for his boat, but Graham was fortunate enough to track them down and have them reconditioned and fitted back onto the car. Apart from some small replacement parts and detailing work, this Corvette is in completely original condition, and Graham enjoys driving it whenever possible.

His Corvette not only boasts a rare factory side-mount exhaust system unique to C3 1969 Corvettes, but it’s also equipped with the four-speed manual gearbox, 3.70 diff ratio and with 324kW (435hp) on tap, why wouldn’t you want to drive it?

Things are bit tough for Graham at times though, because he has to choose between this Corvette and a black 1999 Corvette roadster for his Sunday drive. At some Corvette Club functions it’s not uncommon for both his cars to turn up, with Graham at the wheel of one and his wife Veronica at the wheel of the other.

But things have changed again, and the 1999 Corvette has just been sold, so by the time this issue hits the stands Graham and Veronica will have picked up an Atomic Orange 2007 Corvette ZO6 in the States. They plan to travel around for the required 90 days before shipping it back home. As I said before, it’s tough for some.

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Adam Croy

Apart, perhaps, from the VW Beetle, I cannot think of a single model line that has lasted continuously for over 50 years, and still remains as successful today. The Corvette is certainly a unique sports car in that respect. Its origins date from1952, when GM’s Chevrolet division started work on a low volume two-seater concept, most likely as a response to the increasing number of continental imported sports cars lead by the Jaguar XK120. It was a toe in the water, to see if there was enough volume in the market to make it worthwhile producing a home-grown product, which met the demand for a two-seater recreational vehicle but reflected more about the American psyche and, crucially, used as many components from Chevrolet’s own parts bin as it could muster. At the end of 1952 the concept was shown at the GM Motorama party at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York. Harley Earl’s styling proved sufficiently popular for the ‘go’ button to be pressed immediately.

GM was clearly still very nervous about investing in the project, which is no doubt part of the reason it chose glass fibre for the body construction (over a shortened 2615mm Chev passenger car frame), and only made the car available in one colour, Polo White.

Makeshift

The Corvette was initially hand-built on a makeshift production line in Flint, Michigan, and the company’s lack of commitment was nearly the undoing of the Corvette before the model got on to its feet. Of the 300 built in 1953, only a miserable 183 found buyers that year.

Harley Earl’s styling was on the nail, but the Corvette cost more than a Caddy or the Jaguar — and couldn’t out-perform either of them.

Only one engine specification was available, a mildly tuned 3851cc (235ci) stock Chevy motor — the Blue Flame Special. The engine work-over for the Corvette included a high-lift cam, special alloy-steel valves with double springs, an 8.0:1 compression ratio and triple Carter downdraft carburettors on a cast aluminium intake manifold, with dual extractors. The 112kW (150bhp) straight-six could only be ordered with a two-speed Powerglide automatic. Supporting the chassis the Corvette’s conventional coil spring and wishbone front suspension, and four-leaf semi-elliptical springs made the car handle reasonably well by American standards of the day. These 300 white 1953 cars, all with red interiors, represent the rarest and most collectible Corvette — a stunning 255 of them can still be accounted for.

Duntov

The Corvette concept car made a huge impression on a young Belgian-born research and development engineer hired by GM that year.

Already famous for his Ardun (ARkus-DUNtov) tuning parts for flat-head Fords, young Zora Arkus-Duntov would come to be credited with the resurrection and subsequent success of the Corvette. His engineering know-how and European circuit racing background gave him the insight which his employers lacked; he helped Chevrolet realise that a sports car needed appropriate performance in order to sell well.

Harley Earl’s orphan stumbled into 1954 with three new colours but little else to shout about. GM moved production to St Louis, Missouri, where the plant had been refurbished especially to produce 10,000 Corvettes per year.

In the event 3640 were produced, but over a third of them remained unsold. Had Ford not shown the Thunderbird two-seat convertible at the Detroit show, many of GM’s management would have given the slow-selling sportster the chop. But they needed a competitor to the new Ford, and were too far down the road to develop something entirely new.

V8 power

Conveniently, Ed Cole and Harry Barr were working on a new 4343cc (265ci) V8, which generated 145kW (195bhp), and Duntov made sure it went into the Corvette, along with a three-speed manual transmission. Suitable publicity was needed to unleash the car’s potential to the public and company shareholders, so Duntov arranged to drive the V8 Corvette to break the Daytona measured mile speed record, which it did at just over 240kph (150mph).

GM management caved in to Duntov’s well written treatise on what was wrong with the Corvette and spent up big, giving the two-seater an extreme makeover with the now famous side cove, two-tone paint, roll-up windows, external door handles, seat belts, a factory hard top and a ‘transistorised’ radio. Dual four-barrel carburettors were available as an option, and the American public got what it wanted — a sports car like the Europeans, but without their austerity and with lots of American glitz.

1957 Corvette

Our featured car represents the year the Corvette really got to its feet, and is generally recognised as the most attractive body style for the C1 Corvette: 1957 was also the year Zora Arkus-Duntov officially became chief of Corvette.

Production.

Duntov kept piling on more power and better options; and that year you could order fuel injection (a real ‘racing’ novelty at the time) and a four-speed manual gearbox. A new bored-out 4636cc (283ci) V8 became available in four versions — a 164kW (220bhp) single four-barrel; a 186kW (250bhp) fuel-injected unit; a dual four-barrel rated at 201kW (270bhp); and the king of the hill — the advanced, fuel-injected injection ‘fuelie’, which made 211kW (283bhp). Now Chevrolet could claim 0-60mph in less than six seconds, and the quarter in the low 14-second range at over 161kph — 100mph in the old money. With a power hike to one horse power per cubic inch and, at last, some success on the race track, sales doubled over the previous year.

Race Proven

Duntov and his engineers even developed option packages on top of that; RPO 579E was a cold-air induction option, and included a tachometer strapped to the steering column. Now that Corvettes were regulars on the race track, the feedback was used to develop a ‘beat the Jag’ package. Quicker steering, a Positraction rear axle, heavy-duty suspension with a sway bar and metallic brake shoes were specified, but RPO684 was sold only for use on the race track. A ban on works-assisted motor racing prevented Duntov from developing the Corvette’s performance on track, but that did not stop him planting extreme option packages on the specification table to keep it competitive. Corvettes won the Sebring 12 Hour and two sports car championships which, as Duntov predicted, lead to success in the showroom.

The Corvette finally fulfilled its obligation to its designers, customers and the GM shareholders when in 1958 the project broke even.

With money under the table, serious sums could be spent on the body, which received a double- headlight front end in 1958. When production finally met the 10,000 per annum target in 1960 the grille lost its toothy grin; the neat, faired-in rear lights disappeared in favour of four round ones; and the rear began to look more like the Corvette Sting Ray that was to follow. The last Corvette C1 left the production line in 1962, and with it went the last live axle-equipped Corvette. However, the tradition of building the GM sports car with a glass fibre body would continue to the present day — as would those double rear lights.

Pete Briton’s ’57 Vette

Pete Briton bought his 1957 Corvette from New Zealand’s Corvette guru, Duncan Fox, seven years ago. The car has never had a complete restoration and proudly shows the patina of many years’ enthusiastic use and care. Although it was sold originally in the USA, the car spent much of its life in Australia’s Northern Territory, surviving Cyclone Tracy intact.

Even though it is basically standard, and never had the ‘fuelie’ Rochester fuel injection system available to 1957 buyers, Pete’s car has been uprated with a Duntov solid lift camshaft — which releases an additional 22kW.

The GRP body was crazed when he bought the car, but rather than give it a complete restoration with modern two-pack paints, Pete decided it would be more fitting to cover the car in something closer to its original finish. So he painted it with Venetian Red Dulon, so it would look tidier overall, while retaining its aged look.

As far as he is aware the body has never been separated from the chassis, and he would like to keep it looking just like it has for years, but without the cracks. Whilst we can share the passion that some owners invest into a top notch Concours restoration, there is something about a totally unspoilt car — that has a story in every scratch and patch — which takes it into a different plane of appreciation. We loved it.

Effortless Performance

Pete’s ’57 drives beautifully, and ticks over so slowly that you think it is going to chuff out, but it never does. Remarkable. The V8 pulls really well and the gearbox, with its dog-leg first, is a joy to use, although the car has so much torque the lever is not used very often. The old V8 smacks away with a very distinct beat, shrugging off hills and overtaking manoeuvres with easy disdain.

There isn’t much room in the Corvette — you slide tightly under the steering wheel and sit with your legs both sides and your chest right up against it, crouching as if to reduce the car’s frontal area. The seats are superbly separated by the bodywork — a timeless piece of styling integration.

The Legacy and the Heritage

Arkus-Duntov would become the spiritual father of the Corvette through its many iterations, before handing over the reigns to the current chief, Dave Hill.

The C2 Sting Ray, which included the famous split rear window coupe, served through the early ’60s, while the Coke bottle C3 brought in the Targa roof style and suffered the indignity of emissions and safety strangleholds on performance and aesthetics throughout the ’70s, and went on for far too long.

We almost thought we had seen the end of the line, but when the fabulous slab-shaped C4 brought in huge tyres, incredible lateral grip, lots of light weight aluminium hardware and, later, the infamous quad-cam Lotus engine, the marque was resurrected once again.

Into the new millennium the curvy but slightly odd-shaped C5 continued the weight-saving regime, and blasted into new performance standards with a lightweight powertrain.

In With The New

The new C6 Corvette features exposed headlamps, the first time since 1962 that a production Corvette has not had a mechanism to conceal the lamps when not in use. The Xenon High-Intensity Discharge lamps integrate seamlessly into the design and aerodynamics of the car.

“The C6 represents a comprehensive upgrade to the Corvette,” said Dave Hill, chief engineer of the Corvette. “Our goal is to create a Corvette that does more things well than any performance car. We’ve thoroughly improved performance, and developed new features and capabilities in many areas, while at the same time systematically searching out and destroying every imperfection we could find.

“The development of the C6 intends to not only replace the outgoing C5 Corvette (1997-2004), but also to create a 21st Century Corvette that both thrills the legions of traditional loyalists and captures the imagination of a new generation of performance enthusiasts. The formula from the C5 era remains: extremely high performance capabilities in a car that offers great style, value and quality, with surprising comfort for daily driving. The C6 builds on that foundation and reaches beyond with dramatic increases in performance and refinement, wrapped in a passionate new design.”

Taut

Hill has pretty much kept his promise. Five inches — or 128mm — shorter than the current car, the 2005 Corvette cuts a tighter, more taut profile, with virtually no loss of usable space. The new dimensions make the car more agile, and with a 0.28 coefficient of drag, the C6 is the most aerodynamically efficient Corvette ever produced and has downforce characteristics for improved high-speed stability and confidence.

“The C6 is more competition-influenced — given our championship experience with Corvette Racing — than any previous Corvette,” Hill says.

“Our goal was a performance car at home in virtually any environment. That means more than just raw performance. It calls for improved ride comfort, a precisely-built and technically-sophisticated interior, and a sleek new body that is fresh and contemporary, while still instantly recognized as the new Corvette.”

A new LS2 6.0-litre small-block V8 is the standard engine in the 2005 Corvette C6. It’s based on GM’s new Gen IV small-block family of engines, producing, like the Quad Cam C4, 298kW and 542Nm of torque (400bhp and 400lb/ft). Major revisions to the manual and automatic transmissions provide this Corvette with significant improvements geared towards performance driving. The Tremec six-speed manual gearbox is available with two sets of ratios, one reserved for Corvette’s Z51 Performance Package that emulates the performance of the C5’s landmark Z06 model. The LS2 gives the Corvette power in the range of exotic cars that cost tens of thousands more, combined with fuel efficiency better than some family sedans.

A central element of the 2005 Corvette is an all-new interior that includes greatly improved materials, craftsmanship and functionality, continuing the dual cockpit design theme that has been a Corvette hallmark. C6 also contains many new electronic technologies including Keyless Access with push-button start, and optional features such as a reconfigurable head-up display.

Light

While the chassis design philosophy continues from the C5 Corvette — with low weight, high strength, cored composite floors, an enclosed centre tunnel, rear axle-mounted transmission and aluminium cockpit structure — it has been extensively revised to enhance structural integrity, feel, refinement and quietness. Overall vehicle weight is projected to mirror the C5, despite mass-increasing features such as larger wheels and tyres, more robust brakes and increased body acoustics.

None of the suspension bits has been carried over from C5. The short-long arm and transverse leaf spring independent suspension configuration remains, but the cradles, control arms, knuckles, springs, dampers, bushings, stabiliser bars, and steering gear are all redesigned.

Extended Mobility Tires (EMT) also are new, taking advantage of the latest sidewall design and compound technology for run-flat capabilities. They play a critical role in the tuning of the suspension for excellent handling and comfortable ride, but also achieve greater lateral acceleration, more body control, less noise transmitted from the road, and better traction and stability in corners. Geometry is optimised for better handling and ride and general poise. The optional F55 Magnetic Selective Ride Control suspension features magneto-rheological dampers able to detect road surfaces and adjust the damping rates to those surfaces almost instantly, for optimal ride and body control. GM says it is the world’s fastest reacting suspension, replacing mechanical valves with nearly instantaneous reactions of magneto-rheological fluid. The system has been improved for the C6, allowing drivers more differentiation in character between the system’s two settings, Tour and Sport.

NZ’s Bunce Z0-6

George Bunce, on Auckland’s North Shore, has brought in two of the latest generation C6 Z0-6 Corvettes. The first is stripped down in his Glenfield workshops, where it’s the prototype for conversion to right-hand-drive — an operation George has performed on hundreds of GM products (mainly trucks), providing local ambulance services and bow-tie enthusiasts with NZ-legal American muscle. The second car is the one we are driving alongside the ’57 C1, and whilst they share four wheels, round rear lights and a V8 engine, they couldn’t have been more different.

George will know more once he has finished the prototype, but he reckons he should be able to deliver you a 2005 Z0-6 in right hand drive for around NZ$160,000. From our brief drive in the left-hand-drive car, I can tell you that it will be worth it.

I have known of George’s conversion work for many years, and it is so professional you would be very hard pressed to tell the vehicle wasn’t supplied as RHD new from the factory.His job is even harder on the new Z06 because, unlike Corvettes from previous generations, it is beautifully put together, exuding real quality, without a single rattle or squeak and with shut lines and door gaps that could have come from Japan. Whilst previous Corvettes certainly had get up and go, many of the components got up and went as soon as they left the production line — production engineering and build quality was pretty weak, something that was accentuated by a rock hard ride from those massive tyres. It meant that a Corvette was very much an enthusiast’s car, and when you drove one you were aware that cost saving was an integral part of the design portfolio. There was no question that you got a big bang for your buck, but the old Corvette was never in the same class as most of its European competition when fit and finish were concerned.

Conversion

Whilst this new generation offers lots of go for your dollar — its performance is quite stunning — and the charisma of a great muscle car, GM has made sure you do not feel as if you have just got into a sporty Astra. Everywhere you look there are blasts from the Corvette’s mighty past, with styling features that mirror Corvettes from the last 50 years.

The car has incredible performance and character, but with fabulous build quality to match its gutsy image and a pleasant ride quality that won’t adjust your dental-ware. The Tremec six-speed gearbox makes it easy to use the performance that is there, and the massive tyres put the power down firmly, with all the electronic safety gizmos to protect you from yourself if you exceed the tenacious grip of that fat rubber.

The interior is classy and comfortable, and with Bunce’s conversion you will get a mirror image of the US spec car, replicated so well that you won’t know the difference.

It seems that with the 2005 model year the Corvette has finally matured into a sports car that can exceed your expectations in every respect, even to the extent that when you walk up to the car with your keys in your pocket your vehicle will recognise you and unlock the door — in fact the doors are unlatched from inside and out by electronics, very weird and a little unnerving until you get used to it, and realise that there is a mechanical linkage for emergencies. For a glimpse of this new supercar, or to enquire about any left to right-hand-drive conversions, whether for Chevy Suburbans, Hummers or Corvettes, visit Bunce Motor Co at Wairau Road, Glenfield.

* Our thanks to Neil Kimpton of North Shore Aero Club

Trevor retraces the path his brother took on the way to acquiring his current big-block Camaro

My brother Dennis left high school at the age of 16, to start an apprenticeship as an auto electrician at SV Turnbull and Son in Montreal Street, Christchurch. Within a few months Dennis bought his first car — a 1947 J Model Vauxhall 14/6.

However, his ownership of the Vauxhall was short-lived. At that time I owned a pink and black ’39 Ford coupe, our sister Rosalie’s ‘boyfriend’ Neil Stuart drove a red ’34 V8 five-window coupe, and our elder brother Jim owned a Ford V8-powered powerboat. Dennis also caught the V8 bug, and sold the Vauxhall in favour of a 1937 Ford V8 DeLuxe sedan which he bought from my then-girlfriend Lorraine’s brother.

Dennis was soon lowering the Ford, fitting new longer shackle plates and telescopic shock absorbers, and dropping the body by an incredible 77mm (three inches). That’s a lot for an otherwise stock ’37 V8. With help from Mum and Dad, the interior of the Ford was trimmed in possum skins! Of course, it didn’t end there. The tails were tied to the six foot-high twin aerials. A year or so later the ’37 was swapped for a ’34 three-window coupe.

About nine months later came a sudden and unplanned change. One night, Dennis and a mate were crossing an old wooden bridge over the Avon River on the way to a party in the ’34 coupe when they crashed over the side, wiping out 120 feet of wooden rail and ending up in the river. When daylight came it revealed the true state of the damage — there was no option but to embark on a complete rebuild.

CHANGE OF EMPLOYMENT

By 1965 Dennis had finished his apprenticeship and transferred to the larger auto electric company of Woof and Salvesen. As the coupe was undergoing a major, long-term rebuild, he purchased a little 1951 Renault 750. The Renault was later written off during a major accident with a ’37 Ford V8 — so a ’36 Ford V8 pick-up was purchased as an everyday driver.

It was during the ownership of this Ford V8 that Dennis met his new girlfriend, Janice. However, for economic reasons the V8 pick-up was eventually sold in favour of a 1951 LIP Vauxhall Velox.

In 1971 Dennis transferred to the Hornby branch of Woof & Salvesen, and in the same year he married Janice Anne Mackie. The Velox served well as everyday transport for three years, until a major motor failure ended its run. Next came a 1947 Prefect, which they nicknamed ‘Cuddles’ — possibly because this model Ford was so narrow that passengers sat close at all times. Dennis and Jan obviously have fond memories of how this little 93A 10hp four-cylinder sidevalve motor would give trouble. The block and head needed to be surface ground, and about every two weeks or so Cuddles would ‘blow’ a head gasket. Dennis taught Jan how to remove the head and replace the gasket.

The ongoing rebuild of the ’34 three-window coupe was finally finished in mid 1972. They named it ‘Lollipop’ due to its amazing paint design, with no less than 17 different colours and 32 different shapes with quarter-inch lines all the way through it. Today hot-rodding has come a full circle, with nostalgia rods being built as they were back in the ’50s and ’60s. If Lollipop still existed as built, it would now be back in vogue.

SHOW STOPPER

Dennis estimates the standing quarter-mile time would be around mid 13s on its current street tyres

Dennis and Jan travelled all over New Zealand in Lollipop, taking in several hot-rod shows. One of the best shows they visited was in Dunedin where the coupe won Best Custom hot-rod coupe, Best Custom Paint, Best Flathead, and it also took the Sweepstake prize. “After the show, we had that much prize money that we went to Queenstown for two days and spent it all,” Dennis chuckles. During 1975 Dennis took up a position as foreman at the Lucas head office in Newmarket, Auckland. Just prior to leaving Christchurch he purchased a one-owner ’54 Chevrolet from a young guy who had inherited it from his grandfather.

They still owned Lollipop and left it in Christchurch with Paul Hutson, the painter who had designed and sprayed that famous paint job, with instructions to repaint it ‘Simply Red.’ Six months later they returned to Christchurch to pick up the coupe, and returned to Auckland with it. Lollipop was now rechristened Bloody Mary.

With the rod in Auckland, they displayed the car at various shows in the upper North Island and participated in a lot of rod-runs, making dozens of new friends.

BACK SOUTH

Moving away from the motor trade, in 1977 Dennis and Jan took over the management of the Lake Tekapo Hotel. The Chevrolet was sold, but the rod travelled south with them. After about 18 months down at Tekapo, the rod was advertised and duly sold to a young lady in Kurow for $5000. It was immediately replaced with a mint 1964 Fairlane Compact in blue and white. When they quit the hotel management game and returned to Auckland in 1979, the Fairlane came with them.

Back at Lucas at Newmarket, Dennis purchased a ’38 Tudor and was soon back into the rod scene once more. The Fairlane was sold and replaced with a 1975 big block Pontiac TransAm. Dennis did some research on the car’s history, which uncovered that our second cousin had brought it back from Canada. By now it was 1981, another year of change.

Dennis opened up a sandwich bar in Papakura — Gobby’s Gobble and Go. The Pontiac was signwritten, and proved to be a great moving billboard.

Dennis drag- raced the Pontiac at Meremere for a few years, as well as participating in the local rod and custom scene. One particular year he won the dial-your-own series at Meremere, running a consistent 13.9 seconds.

During a trip to attend the Street Rod Nationals in Ashburton they heard that their old ’34 coupe was for sale. They drove down to Kurow and repurchased Bloody Mary from the lady they had originally sold it to — for the same price of $5000. The Ford was towed back to Auckland behind their Pontiac.

GREAT BARRIER

During the mid ’80s Jan and Dennis moved to Great Barrier Island. At Tryphena Bay they owned Pigeon Lodge, a bed and breakfast establishment. During their ownership the Prime Minister of the time, David Lange, was their guest for a week. Later they owned a fishing charter business, on Great Barrier.

On the Barrier, at least up to recently, there was no sealed roads. As with any small island, naturally there’s a lot of sea air, which does little for the long life of a vehicle body. Consequently the decision was made to sell Bloody Mary. The sale was to a friend, Marie Barbrich, who has since rebuilt the car.

In the 14 years that Jan and Dennis lived on Great Barrier they went through eight vehicles! They all fell apart, rusted out or both — no vehicle lasted more than about 18 months on average.

In 1999 Jan and Dennis decided they had had enough of Great Barrier, and wished to live in the South Island again. The first thing they bought when arriving back on the mainland was a 1971 factory big-block Camaro. Apparently it was pretty rare, and they love it. “We looked at a lot before deciding on this one. It was a little bit rough around the edges, but we could see through that when we bought it. Just a nice genuine big block Camaro.”

FULL CIRCLE

Life has certainly gone the full circle for Jan and Dennis. Back in Christchurch they soon joined up with the Southern Street Rodders, and regularly go to monthly meetings and rod runs.

“Since moving to Christchurch we have continually improved the Camaro to our personal liking, and we will keep improving her. The first thing we did was lower it to just on the legal limit.” Dennis is progressively adding some modern comforts to the Chevrolet. The original seats have just been replaced with Honda Integra items, giving far more comfort and support than the originals, while not looking out of place.

Andy Walker, a fellow club member and auto trimmer, is about to recover them to match the original rear seats. Future improvements include a full repaint to black and, of course, a flame job.

Their Camaro is an ex California car, and is fitted with a nine-inch differential and a late model auto transmission. The motor is 6489cc (396ci) bored to 6588cc (402ci), fitted with a mild Isky cam, and it puts out close on 298kW (400bhp).

Petrol consumption varies from 15.6 to 35.3l/100km (8mpg to 18mpg), depending on how much you use all that performance. Dennis estimates the standing quarter mile time would be around mid 13s on its current street tyres. However, running on street legal slicks, the time could be as low as the mid to high 12s.

Dennis was well known for his announcing at the drags, sometimes breaking out into a ‘Donald Duck’ voice, which never failed to amuse the spectators

In the early days of living in Christchurch, Dennis was a founding member of the Pegasus Bay Drag Club. He was well known for his announcing at the drags, sometimes breaking out into a ‘Donald Duck’ voice, which never failed to amuse the spectators (he rarely does this impersonation now, and then only when prompted). All of his mates from those days are now in their 50s and early 60s. Every couple of months these guys get together for a Sunday morning breakfast, and Dennis and Jan always look forward to the meetings.

These guys are nearly all still into hot-rodding or drag racing. Dennis says, “it’s good to be back into it again, 26 years later”.

OLD MEMORIES

Today Dennis and Jan own and operate a New Brighton cafe, which has become a favourite meeting point for local car clubs. The Annual Henry Ford Memorial Rally has departed here since 2000, and the Classic Motoring Society has also used the venue as the departure point on two occasions. One of the many car photos which adorn the cafe’s walls shows the cover of the July 1974 NZ Hot Rod Magazine. This depicts Jan and Dennis in front of Lollipop on the Waimakariri river bed. Some of the people recognize Jan, but ask her who the guy is beside her? She normally replies, “Oh, that’s my husband Dennis.”

“What happened to you, mate?” one customer asked. Dennis replied, “Too much drugs, sex and rock ’n’ roll. That’s what happened, mate!”

Classic racing has bought about a number of positives, among them the reappearance of many old racing cars that were once simply mothballed when they passed their use-by-date. Steve checks out a slice of classic muscle

Classic racing has provided a new arena where cars such as this can be appreciated for what they are. Another positive has been the surge in beautiful, truly enjoyable, classic race cars built from scratch for classic car racing. Now, many of the cars have been competing in the sport long enough to have developed their own very interesting histories.

The last Chevrolet Camaro rolled off the production line on August 29, 2002. Its long-time twin, the Pontiac Firebird, was dropped a short time earlier. By 1996, the Camaro and Firebird were the only front-engined, rear wheel drive passenger cars left in the General Motors American line-up. Now, the only car to remain from the wonderful pony car craze of the 1960’s was the car that started it all — Ford’s Mustang.

GM enters the muscle car arena

The Mustang, launched in April 1964, was the brainchild of Lee Iacocca. General Motors was taken somewhat by surprise by the popularity of the Mustang, as were America’s other manufacturers. They had originally hoped their rear-engined Corvair would take the fight to Ford, but after 100,000 Mustangs had sold over the next three months, the decision was made to respond in full.

The shape of Chevrolet’s first generation Camaro came about thanks to two important factors: Firstly, it needed to be affordable, like the Mustang.  Secondly, it needed to hit the market as soon as possible. The Camaro was built on the floor plan of the company’s compact Nova, sharing its tall firewall. The Camaro designers felt this was a handicap as it ran counter to the low, sleek look they intended for the car.

Cleverly, they managed to disguise the tall firewall by designing the Camaro as a multitude of flowing curves and bulges. They swooped the bodywork from the firewall back to gently narrow down before bulging aggressively over the rear wheel arches. They also created a deep indent in the lower bodywork between the front and rear wheels, which graduated upwards before dipping back down to meet the rear arches, making the car look shallower than it actually is.

Designers were much happier with the second generation Camaro, released in February 1970. It was a much sleeker, lithe car no longer lumbered with the tall firewall of the first generation. It was a theme that continued until the car’s demise 32 years later.

The first generation Camaro, although not as sleek, featured the most aggressive styling of the model’s history. Incredibly, from the decision to build the car, the first examples were in showrooms by September 1966 — the Firebird appeared five months later. Within a couple of years, the American Motor Company and Chrysler (Dodge and Plymouth) were also riding the pony car wave. From the beginning, the Camaro and Firebirds were designed as performance cars and the option of a big block was always intended.

Some GM dealers, such as Don Yenko of Pennsylvania, offered their own performance touches to the model. Yenko produced a small number of re-engined big-block cars with the original 396 cubic inch unit replaced by a 425bhp (317kW) 427ci (6997cc) V8. These were sold through his dealership and are still highly sought after. However, the original factory 396ci (6489cc) big-block car is a very rare car in its own right.

Camaro RS/SS

One of these cars, a factory big block 396ci 1968 model, competes in New Zealand classic events and is currently owned by Paul Kirwan. Although it has no New Zealand competition history prior to being imported in 1988, the car has since notching up a 13-year resume in classic events.

The Camaro was sold new as a factory RS/SS 396ci big-block with factory four-speed gearbox by Diller Chevrolet of Corona California on March 22, 1968. Its original colour was blue and it arrived in New Zealand with a basic cage fitted, including swinging bars for easy access. It had been commissioned by a New Zealander based in the US and included roller rockers, a drop tank and, strangely, Australian-made Simmons wheels — not available in the US. It had clocked just 29,000 miles from new.

Although the race preparation was completed to a moderate level, the owner didn’t actually compete it and, on returning with it to New Zealand, had Giltrap Motors sell the car.

Pinepac

It was bought by Wayne Anderson, of Pinepac Racing, who wanted to inject a bit more fun and a bit less stress into his racing hobby — he’d already competed a couple of Mustangs and a Falcon for a few years in Group A with his brother Bruce. The Camaro was purchased for $20,000 — even at the time, this was a good price for such a rare car. Ken Hopper did a good deal of the work at the Pinepac Racing workshop, which was fully equipped from the Group A days.

The engine was taken to 454ci (7440cc), fitted with J&E pistons, Carillo rods, 1050cfm carburettor, Hooker heads and mounted to a Super T10 gearbox (later replaced by a Jericho). A 1991 Hot Rod magazine article on the car quoted the power figures at the time as 646bhp (482kW). Most impressive, as the car was running treaded tyres at the time, so must have given its driver a good workout. Bilstein shocks were mounted on the rear, with traction bars and a panhard rod. Bilstein shocks and heavy-duty springs were fitted up front and the car stopped with the help of a set of 11.75-inch Corvette discs.

Anderson campaigned the car for several seasons, including twice racing at the Wellington Street race, at Baypark and at Whenuapai. The car was a sensation wherever it appeared, but it was also highly stressed.

By 1995, Anderson was building a replacement, a second generation Camaro, and the ‘68 was sold to Rick Cooper of Taupo. By the time Anderson had finished with it, the Camaro was producing 700bhp (522kW)! Cooper, a long time Ford enthusiast, raced the Camaro just twice at Taupo — Labour weekend 1995 and again in ‘96.

He sold it to Gary Doyle of Palmerston North as a replacement for his ex-Dexter Dunlop Trans-Am Mustang. Doyle also raced the car just twice, once at the Manfeild Whittakers Classic meeting in 1997, then at Whenuapai in 1998. He beat an impressive line-up of top muscle cars at Manfield, using the huge power on the straights to good effect. But the car’s fragility was always present. Not keen on being consumed by the car’s high maintenance requirements, he put it up for sale for just $45,000 — a fraction of what had been spent on the car.

Constant failures

The car was away from the track for two years, but when it returned it was better than it had ever been

Paul Kirwan then bought the Camaro. Although he’d been interested in the car for some time, he soon became frustrated by its constant failures. The engine was now out to 468ci (7669cc), and mounted with Merlin heads. The torque it was producing consistently stripped the teeth from second and third gear in the Jericho ‘box and it also suffered several broken valve springs, broken pushrods, and roller follower failures. Of the six meetings he competed in during his first year, he didn’t manage to finish one of them. Also, the Camaro’s body, after several years of hard use, was beginning to pull apart.

When built, it was fitted with a roll cage attached only to the floor, putting a huge strain on certain parts of the body shell. The doorsills and A-pillar were riddled with large cracks and the factory spot welds had come apart. The rear of the car, where the back seat once was and where the leaf springs were mounted, was also coming apart. Kirwan raced the car for two seasons, and then parked it up to concentrate on his business. He finally decided to have the car completely rebuilt with the emphasis on reliability, as well as speed.

Racer’s return

The car was away from the track for two years, but when it returned it was better than it had ever been. First up, the heavy iron big-block was replaced with an alloy — the spare Donovan block from Wayne Anderson’s second Camaro. The alloy block produced around the same power as the old engine, but weighed 100kg less, putting a lot less strain on the car and making it easier to drive.

Brodix heads, Holley 1050cfm Dominator carburettor and Hooker Super Competition headers were all fitted. A Super Duty Jericho gearbox, the same used in NASCAR, also went in, along with a Quarter Master Super Pro Series clutch. Down the back sits a GM 12-bolt rear end with floating hubs and 31 spline axles with Eaton HD limited slip carrier. The brakes are AP six-pot front and four-pot rear, and the suspension features Koni double adjustable shocks with the leaf springs remaining in the rear. Wheels are Simmons 17×11-inch as it is becoming increasingly hard to find tyres to fit the old 16×10-inch wheels. The tired body shell was restored with a new cage built to evenly distribute the stresses throughout the body rather than in one or two small areas. Craig Hyland maintains the engine, while Kevin Payne, who was in charge of the rebuild, also takes care of preparation.

Since it debuted at the start of the 2003/04 season, the Camaro has started nine meetings with excellent reliability. It has failed to finish just one race in that time, out with steering damage due to contact with another car. Kirwan raced the car in the first ever Central Muscle Cars series and won the Group One class. Up close, the car is magnificent and a credit to Kirwan and his commitment to the preservation of this classic machine. At speed, it’s a sight to behold.

We all know GM was caught napping in the pony car revolution; Ford’s Mustang took the market by storm when announced in 1964 and became the fastest selling car ever. For a short while GM convinced itself the Corvair was a reasonable competitor, but Mustang-shaped styling bucks were in the GM studios within short order.

Words Tim Nevinson Photos Jared Clark

In some ways Chevrolet had a small advantage in that it could look hard at the Mustang and find its pitfalls. The problem was that, as far as the public was concerned, there weren’t many. The wonder of the Ford package was that it was based heavily on their cheapest model, the Falcon. Chevrolet had an additional dilemma in that its small package, the Chevy Nova, was on the way out and making way for the Chevy II Nova, which was quite a radical redesign. Instead of using a chassis and separate body, the new Chevy II Nova was going to be unibody, or monocoque, construction without a chassis. Its development and tooling were well on the way, but of course it was an unknown quantity.

The sector in which the Mustang and Camaro were competing was very much aimed at young and performance-oriented customers

For Chevrolet, in consideration of the new ‘X’ car — the Mustang competitor — this was both good and bad. It was good in that Chevrolet thought it had a lower volume car on which to test out the construction that should give them an advantage on weight and long-term production costs over the Mustang. It was bad in that the Nova had a high firewall to the base of the screen and there simply wasn’t time to re-engineer a different solution for the X-car, so its styling would have to accommodate this. Also bad news was that a convertible version was a must, and unibody construction did not lend itself well to convertible shells at that time (scuttle shake was a feature of cars with this construction).

The first of these problems Chevrolet breezed through. Its styling house at the time was on top of the world and they designed what became known as the Coke bottle shape (a fashion that was to go on well into the seventies throughout the world) for the X-car. This meant the door waist line went downwards from the screen pillar and then arched upwards as it went over the rear wheel. The X-car was a masterpiece of styling: it masked what was originally seen as a negative and made it into a positive.

The X-Factor

The scuttle shake on the X—car convertible was never satisfactorily solved. Torsionally, the convertible version was a jelly, but then with the sort of uses it would be put to, it wasn’t such a big deal for the public. Of course, the alternative coupe version was torsionally stronger and therefore potentially better than a conventional chassis car in terms of ride, handling and refinement. While the Mustang was available in convertible, notchback and fastback versions, GM cut costs by making its ‘pony car’ a convertible, and one closed coupe version that was half way between a notchback and a fastback. Suspension was another area where GM cut costs — as it was doing throughout its range — by using interchangeable components. Another decision made up front was to engineer the car so that it could take both small block and big block V8 engines, as well as a straight six.

One of the last, hardest and most important decisions GM had to make was what to call the X-car. In the end they didn’t use any of the names they had enrolled through a company wide suggestion scheme, but a word found by Ed Rollet (vice president) and merchandising manager Bob Lund while going through a foreign language dictionary. ‘Camaro’ was a Spanish derived word that meant ‘friend’. The Camaro was revealed at the GM Proving Grounds in September 1966, and went on sale in 1967. Arch rival Ford had discovered this gold mine of a sales sector and its three-year start meant GM had some catching up to do. However, the Camaro did all that was expected of it.

The sector in which the Mustang and Camaro were competing was very much aimed at young and performance-oriented customers. While they didn’t necessarily opt for the fastest model, it was important that the car had a sporty image, whether they bought a six-cylinder poverty pack or the fastest available. The American Motor Manufacturers were still tied by a self-imposed ban on works entry into competition, although by this time they had all found ways of circumventing the ban by providing off-the-shelf parts and option packs that allowed favoured race teams to be competitive.

The number of different official option and accessory packs for each model was bewildering, not just for the sport, but for looks and comfort across the ranges of each manufacturer. While the full size cars and big block engines took care of NASCAR and some drag racing specials, the Camaro was particularly suitable for a new series of circuit racing sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. Originally dominated by imports from Porsche and Alfa Romeo, this class was ripe for the picking by the big three. The SCCA series for two-door, four-passenger cars became known as Trans-Am.

Penske’s Parcel

Mustangs were already winning this hands down when Vince Piggins, who was GM’s product promotion engineer, recommended to his management that a package should be made available that made the Camaro an easy choice for GM friendly teams. The best engine size (five litres) to be successful in this formula suited Ford very well, but Chevrolet didn’t have an engine that was a perfect fit, so Piggins made one up out of the GM parts bin. A 327ci engine with a 283 crankshaft gave a displacement just below five litres (302ci). Roger Penske was the key customer and his Sunoco cars driven by Mark Donohue would become ultra successful in this formula. Penske used a company called Travis & Coon (Traco) to do his development, and this was where Chevrolet initially shipped their parts for development.

going through a foreign language dictionary. ‘Camaro’ was a Spanish derived word that meant ‘friend’

Traco used a four-inch bore and three-inch stroke to develop a quoted 290bhp and 290lb/ft of torque from an 11:1 compression ratio in stock form, running through an 800cfm Holley carburettor.  A Corvette camshaft was used and a special dual exhaust for use with tubular headers, which were thrown in the boot as an after market accessory and fitted by the dealer on delivery. In fact, because of the shroud that was being put over performance of cars, the power was somewhat underrated on paper and a stock 302ci Chevrolet could put out 340 to 350hp on the street. These components were put together as a Performance Option pack available from GM, and this particular set of hardware was the 28th option on register Z of Regular Production Options.

While it was exactly what Traco needed to make its racing engines for Penske; on the street it was a dog, especially with Automatic transmission, because the low-down torque was virtually nonexistent. A Camaro fitted with Option Z-28 was built to rev, but was the opposite of all we know about torquey American V8s. This 302 was a homologation special, less suitable for road use than other derivatives Chevrolet offered for the Camaro, but because of its race success, the 1967 RPO Z-28 package became legendary and sought after in show rooms, although only 602 were built.
For 1968, Penske’s parcel from GM was even more robust. In the buyer’s crate marked RPO Z-28, he got a two-stage 600cfm carburettor with fresh air intake and a special aluminium intake manifold and tubular exhaust manifold, transistorized ignition, Koni adjustable shocks and disc brakes for each corner.

After the success of the previous option pack on the track 7200 cars were sold in 1968 with Option Z-28 and Penske was pretty happy with 10 wins out of 12 TransAm events in 1968. In 1969 he had to try a bit harder, but still won the championship. Penske moved to AMC product after that, but Jim Hall’s Chaparral team took up the mantle for Chevrolet.

No Coke

GM at the time considered most body shapes had a three-year run before they needed replacing. In 1969 the original shape got different styling around the wheel arches, but for 1970 it was going to be completely different, the Coke bottle would disappear. GM didn’t know it at the time, but that three-year cycle wasn’t going to apply this new shape. The car that Robin Ambrusfy drives is 1979, but still derived from that 1970 shell.

Chevrolet planners decided they could do without convertible sales, so the new car was coupe-only. Apparently the styling team were instructed to come up with something that looked ‘European’. It didn’t, but it did look good, and with the right combination of wheels and trim looked very aggressive. This time they were determined to engineer in a sporty low firewall, which caused headaches for those involved in the heating and ventilation systems as they didn’t have as much room, but nevertheless it got done. Despite the restyle having been completed early in 1968, the car wasn’t ready for production until after the traditional model year replacements for 1970.

This time, RPO Z-28 was a whole package of performance bits and styling addendum. It was more of a model than an option package, and had an absolute screamer of an engine, the LT-1, built to rev and hold together with four bolt main bearings, solid lifters, big valves and a 780cfm four-barrel Holley. It did 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and nearly 100mph within the quarter mile. The small-block Z-28 outsold the SS396 big-block optioned Camaro. While GM did achieve the stated aim of outselling the Mustang in 1970, the new Camaro sales nosedived. The problem was that instead of Mustang vs Camaro, now most brands had a pony car (and a convertible pony car at that) and they were all trying to sell into an economic depression. A strike halted production for 70 days and to make matters worse the government was about to slap stringent safety and emission laws on cars, which would take a huge amount of engineering and certification work; in one word — cost.

The company’s focus changed from performance to cost saving in order to finance an engineering effort that gave the customer no perceivable benefit. In terms of performance, the safety and emissions legislation meant the cars got heavier and slower. A 1971 Z-28 got to 60mph in 7.6 seconds and struck the quarter mile at 90mph, a huge loss. Strikes hit again in 1972, and this time nearly half a year’s production was lost; the cars remaining unfinished in the factory were scrapped because they could not be finished before regulations for the next model year came in. Camaro nearly died on the spot as a result. To add to its woes, insurance premiums on performance cars were going through the roof.

The Catalyst

Losses in performance and revenue continued through the ’70s, despite the Camaro having carved a respectable reputation. It grew 5mph bumpers and then got hit by the Middle East oil embargo. Curiously, Camaro sales got better. The other manufacturers were either pulling out of the pony car market or making unpopular styling decisions. Chevrolet was making hay out of the six-cylinder model, which was now selling very well. While the Camaro continued to soldier on, the final nail in the Z-28 performance coffin came in 1975. Catalytic converters made of precious metals were required to burn off hydrocarbons that had not fired in the combustion chamber. Fitted into the exhaust system, it was the only way to pass the strict emissions legislation. The Z-28 performance package was going to need two, as it depended on the dual exhaust for performance. GM decided it was just too expensive to buy, engineer and certify twin catalysts for the size of market, so the Z-28 was dropped.

ripe for the picking by the big three. The SCCA series for two-door, four-passenger cars became known as Trans-Am

As it turned out Pontiac was still making large performance engines for the Firebird and selling them quite well when the next review came up, so the Chevrolet division decided to reintroduce the Z-28 name tag for 1977. There were no big gains in horsepower, effectively side stepping the dual catalyst dilemma by splitting the exhaust after the catalyst. However, this time efforts were directed into the handling and a great deal of work was done on suspension settings, roll bars and bushing. The result was a car that really handled well in comparison to the other domestic products.

A brave and unusual move for an American manufacturer, but the domestic press, who usually doted on European cars for their performance handling mix, thought it was wonderful and gave the Camaro Z-28 rave reviews, and a much needed boost. Chevrolet outsold Mustang and gave the gutsy Firebirds a good run. The Camaro had a light facelift that included a wrap-around rear window and much tidier polyurethane front and rear end incorporating the 5mph bumper into the styling. In 1978 the two-millionth Camaro rolled out of the Van Nuys plant in California and the Z-28 sold 55,000 in that year alone. Sales were going incredibly well for what was becoming a dated model, and would continue basically unchanged until 1982.

The trusty straight six was becoming the best selling model in the range because gas-guzzler taxes, oil embargoes and the resulting fuel price hikes saw to it that the V8s got a lot less popular. Chevrolet replaced the old straight six with a V6 that most have looked lost in the engine bay.

Trusted Friend

Z-28 continued to be the leading V8 option, a great name living off a great legend. The Z-28 was no longer the unruly rev-or-bust racer for the road, but a mildly pepped-up V8 with sports styling features. Despite the body’s age, the handling package and plastic bumpers made the car a complete and desirable package. But it was now fighting a battle with recession and inflation, and given the conditions they were trading in, the final Mark II body-shape Z-28 gave a good account of itself. It was a Camaro sales record year in 1979 with 282,582 produced, including a record 84,877 Z-28s.

Sales were helped along by the use of the car in the International Race of Champions series, where Grand Prix Greats and Sports Car Champions went up against the Kings of NASCAR and USAC oval racing in identical cars. IROC, as it became known, was great television and a Camaro was guaranteed to win, with a great name behind the wheel. To a large extent the Hunts, Fittipaldis and Scheckters of the European scene were soundly beaten by America’s good ’ol boys, which doubled the American public’s appetite for the series. It did Camaro sales no harm at all, and developed a new performance series for Camaros of the future the IROC.

Performance derivative

The Camaro name has gone through thick and thin, and after a few years rest will see the light of day again soon. What started as a simple production order number became a legendary performance derivative of the Camaro, and lived on for another 20 years after the model you see here — Robin Ambrufsy’s 1979 Z-28. Robin’s family moved from New Zealand to Northern California when he was young. When thinking about coming back to New Zealand, they bought three Z-28s with a view to taking the cars back. Robin’s was black and gold. He took it to New Zealand, drove it around for a while and then sold it. His Dad was still in the US and still had his silver Z-28, so Robin decided to buy that from him for $6000 in 1982.

The car was driven day to day, then stored for a while, then driven day to day and then stored again. The effect on its paint was not good, so Robin decided it warranted a new paint job and bought all the stripes ready for the re-spray in 1990. However, the stripes got burnt in a house fire and the Camaro rework had to wait. He got a new set in 2002 and the repaint was completed at Howick Panel and Paint: Bob Norris completing the whole task to a really good standard in six weeks. Robin has found the trim parts that he buys from the US to be of a varying standard, some suffering from poor fit or thin paint. He recommends trying to get GM parts if you can.

It was a Camaro sales record year in 1979 with 282,582 produced, including a record 84,877 Z-28s

The finished product is superb with new carpets and headlining making the interior look just like it came out of the factory. Actually, in many ways, it’s better because the rear shelf won’t fade like the old one and the roof lining is of a different material, but looks nicer in cloth than vinyl. The car has done 92,000 miles, which isn’t much for a car like this — barely run in.

Cars purchased in California during this period had far more stringent emission regulations applied to them than cars built to the ’49 States spec’ and as such, this car could only be bought in California with Auto transmission and with a strangled motor. That’s perfectly adequate for woofling around New Zealand, safe in the knowledge that this was the best handling American car of the time and that if you wanted to make it faster there was no shortage of ways to gee-up a Chevy V8.

1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28

Engine: iron pushrod LM-1 V8
Capacity: 350ci (5.73 litre)
Bore/stroke: 4.00 x 3.48 (76x88mm)
Compression: 8.2:1
Max power: 170bhp (126.77kW) @ 4000rpm (California)
Max torque: 265lb/ft (359Nm) @ 2400rpm
Fuel system: four-barrel Rochester
Transmission: Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 (mandatory in California)
Brakes: 11-inch (279mm), vented, cast-iron front discs with vacuum assist standard. Rear 9.5-inch (241mm) drums
Suspension: Front spring rates 365 lb/in. Stabiliser 1.2-inch Rear spring rate 127 lb/in. Rear stabiliser .55-inch
Steering: PAS
Wheels: 15 x 7
Tyres: Goodyear GR70-15 P225x70R15

Dimensions

Width: 74.5 inches (1892mm)
Height: 49.2 inches (1250mm)
Length: 197.6 inches (5019mm)
Wheelbase: 108.0 inches (2743mm)
Weight: 3612lb (1638kg)

In 1956 a brand spanking new Chevrolet Bel Air was delivered to its owner in Nelson. Now, nearly 50 years later, it stands immaculate after a lifetime’s hard work that no car should be expected to survive.

Words & Photos Tim Monck-Mason

What a gorgeous old motor. Just look at it; it’s as beautiful as you would expect after a no-holds-barred restoration. Better still, it drives wonderfully due to great attention having being paid to the mechanical parts under that lovely coachwork. But that isn’t always enough; sometimes a highly restored car loses any ability to connect you with its past. By restoring out its patina, an old car can lose its ability to tell you about itself. So, the icing on the cake is that this ’56 Bel Air is still in the family, having lived a seriously hard life until its thoroughly deserved restoration. History, then, made this car.

The first impression is just how solid this car feels, and how every tiny thing works absolutely beautifully

The first time I saw the Chevrolet was a surprise, as it backed out of her garage next door to my own lock-up. But what a nice surprise! First impressions were of how original it looked — thankfully, this one’s never had a hot-rodder near it. I got talking to Bob, the Chevrolet’s caregiver, and soon jacked up a drive. It’s hard graft, this writing lark! Driving around Nelson, the Bel Air got the thumbs up and smiles all around. It’s a car we can all associate with; we seem to feel comfortable with it in a way we aren’t with more exotic offerings. Young and old love the shape, and this one looks just as it did when she left the factory, right down to the cross-ply tyres.

Showroom style

The proportions look just right. It’s big, but does without the expanse of later American chrome mobiles. It’s a little flashy, but avoids the overdone fins of the ’57 Bel Air, or an excess of chrome. Rather like a big Holden, I guess. So it looks good, and is obviously a popular and much-loved shape. But that’s not why this Chev impressed me so much; what I loved was how well it drives. It might be showroom quality, but the craftsman who performed this make-over built it to drive. Drive we do, out of Nelson on a beautiful sunny day, and into the back roads of Wakefield and Tasman where there’s the space to wind the V8 up, just a little.

The first impression is just how solid this car feels, and how every tiny thing works absolutely beautifully. Take the delicious gear-change. An original column change snicks through the three forward speeds with so much refinement, and so little slack, I’m sure it really is better than new. If it was this good when new then things went backwards for the Australian Kingswoods and Falcons! There’s no synchro on first, but the small block V8 lugs in second or third from pretty much any speed, so changing down to first just isn’t necessary unless you actually stop.

And that V8 makes the car such a lovely cruiser, though I should say right now that a newer 327ci (5359cc) small-block motivates the car — but it’s the existence of the V8 that so characterises this vehicle. Big and lazy, it’s a comfortable easy cruiser. However, give it some space and a bit of wellie, and the Bel Air pick up her skirts and sprints into the sunset with indecent verve.

“The Hot One’s Even Hotter”

That was Chevrolet’s slogan for 1956, and indeed at 100kph there is plenty left for overtaking those pesky little Austins and Morries. I wouldn’t want to get too carried away though, as braking requires some adjustment after more modern cars. Again, the quality of this restoration shone through, and the big drums pull it up straight and true — albeit requiring a hard shove that is to be expected in any car from this era. A little respect is needed for what is, after all, a 50-year-old design.

Inside, the Bel Air is as close to original as you could get

Steering that initially seems sloppy and inaccurate firms up nicely, and once over 60kph the Bel Air tracks straight and holds her line beautifully, with just gentle, though constant, corrections needed. As the steering box was meticulously rebuilt it may be that the new parts have bedded in, and it now needs some adjustment. The confidence I initially lacked at low speeds grew, and I soon felt comfortable and relaxed as we happily bowled along.

Body roll is surprisingly well restrained for such a big car, though the ride is very firm and the leaf sprung solid rear end bounces around on even the smallest pothole. Good quality shocks, fitted during the restoration, may be stiffer than the originals. What is impressive is how solid everything feels when driving down the road.
This Chevy’s done more than a lifetime’s hard work, but such is its strength, and the quality of the rebuild, that it feels solid all-together — rather than the loose collection of bits and pieces that many old cars feel like even after so-called ‘rebuilds.’

Dreams are free

Inside, the Bel Air is as close to original as you could get, with a new upholstery kit sent out from the US and fitted locally. There’s the expected huge amount of space, including fantastic legroom that puts a Falcon to shame. If she were mine, I’d hide away a CD player so I could play ’50s soundtracks as I cruised around with a few dozen borrowed kids in the back seat. Dreams are free and, in this case, originality extends to the sound equipment.

The original radio has been restored with the help of some new parts, and looks completely wonderful. Real time warp stuff. Like an old car, the radio takes a while to warm up, indeed you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s broken as nothing happens at all when you turn it on, which at least is preferable to those annoying ‘welcome’ messages modern stereos give. Patience rewards, and once the valves warm up music will indeed issue forth, but somehow it seems unwanted and the drive more pleasing with mechanical, rather than musical, sounds.

And what a lovely sound it makes. An exhaust system that, I would guess, is close to the original size and layout, makes a totally different noise to the more open systems usually associated with a small-block Chev these days. This car burbles rather than roars, with a satisfying deep resonance and enough decibels to appreciate, without being drowned in noise. It’s still distinctly a lazy V8, but the noise is subtle and there’s no fancy set of organ pipes sticking out the back.

Whilst on the outside we should discuss those cross-plies. Authentic indeed, but I did appreciate the Nelson sunshine; I don’t fancy cross-plies in the wet, and rather fear I’ve lost the talent for sliding around since discovering radials. They do, however, help authenticity, and no doubt recreate the original road-holding, circa 1956. Their skinny footprint also allows the steering to remain surprisingly light for such a big car with no power steering. I’ve driven much lighter cars with heavier steering than this.

Those cross-plies are a sign of the authenticity of the restoration, and the quality of the rebuild is testimony to the work that the car has done for its owners. This Chevrolet won respect through sheer hard graft and, although highly restored, the history is all there, and the car produces fond memories in anybody associated with it through the years.

Personal history

Built in Canada as a right-hand-drive export model, this Bel Air four-door sedan was registered new in Nelson on September 25, 1956, to C Gibbons Ltd. The certificate of registration shows it as being for private use, seating six passengers, and boasting 22kW (30hp). This was the second year of the small block Chevrolet V8, known affectionately as the ‘mouse’ motor (as opposed to the ‘rat’ big-block). The Bel Air was top of the 1956 tree above the Two-Ten and One-Fifty models, so Bill Gibbons was getting himself a fine automobile here; heck it even had a radio and heater.

That this Chev drives so well is a tribute to the workmanship of all those concerned

Having been Bill’s personal car for its first years, the big Chev then became the workshop hack for the expanding Gibbons company’s concrete plant, where it was mostly used by Bill’s son-in-law, Donald. During this period of its life, the car really does seem to have worked its butt off — carrying commercial diesel engines in its boot and, on one occasion, towing a broken concrete truck out of the Wangamoas, just outside Nelson.

Regrettably, the Bel Air lost her original 265ci (4343cc) small-block along the way after being car-napped, but such was the loyalty towards it that a brand spanking new 327ci small-block was installed, and the big Chev kept working until its retirement. Originally imported as a marine motor, the new small-block has been kept as authentic-looking as possible, and is in a reasonably low state of tune. Although it undoubtedly has more power than the original, it’s not a highly tuned motor, and we need to remember that this car worked hard for its living back then and a bigger motor was a bonus.

Ripe for restoration

Over the years C Gibbons Ltd grew into Gibbons Holdings — one of Nelson’s biggest companies — with Bill’s son, Roger, now at the helm. And it’s Roger who had the Chevrolet pulled out of storage and re-registered in 1997. Apparently the boot floor was bent and buckled beyond repair after carrying those heavy commercial diesel engines around.

In 1998 it was pulled apart by Pat Walsh, who at that time maintained Gibbons’ fleet under contract. The intention was to refurbish rather than restore, but Pat’s investigation revealed too much damage and wear and tear in the old Bel Air to get away with a tidy up. As often happens, they ended up going the whole hog, with a no-holds-barred body-off restoration. Peter Douglas performed miracles on the bodywork once Pat had taken the body off, and a host of experts from around Nelson were commissioned to help in their area of expertise.

Pat did most of the mechanical work in one of Gibbons Holdings own workshops, and even Roger Gibbons’ PA, and others, got roped in to help by ordering endless amounts of new bits and bobs for the ongoing restoration. Every little detail was given attention — right down to getting the correct wiring harness clips and a host of other parts from Chuck’s Restoration Supplies in Henderson. Other stuff was sent out from the US, or simply rebuilt. By the 2000 the Bel Air was finally back together, and it’s now looked after by Bob Miles, a retired gentleman who worked for the Gibbons family for some 30 years. The two retirees (man and car) look after each other well, and when the Gibbons Group built the new AA Warrant of Fitness station here in Nelson the old Chevrolet was the first car to pass through for a new warrant.

It’s a lovely story of a car admirably serving a family, working hard, and being hugely rewarded. That this big old Chev drives so well is a tribute to the workmanship and resolve of all those concerned. It carries its history with great style and panache, and gave me new insight into what is, for me, the last era of great American cars.

Ed Cole – Farther of the Small-Block

Prior to joining Chevrolet in 1952, Ed Cole was with Cadillac for the development of its new V8. So when he saw Chevrolet’s existing plans for its new V8 Ed proceeded to scrap it, as being too like the Caddy’s! He wanted to do better, and drove the team hard to develop what became an all-time great — the small-block Chevrolet V8. It was light, small, and powerful, with several breakthroughs that changed the shape of engine technology in the US for the next 50 years.

The V8 block was cast upside down, with thin-wall castings, and needed fewer cores than usual. Inside the block were slipper skirt aluminium pistons and hydraulic lifters that metered oil to the cylinder heads by way of hollow pushrods. Stamped steel rocker arms on spherical pivots increased the rev limit, and the cylinder heads were interchangeable with wedge-type chambers and an intake that sealed the lifter valley. It also featured cross-flow ports and five head bolts for each cylinder.

General Motors estimates it has built over 92 million small block motors since its launch in 1955 — just one year before this car arrived in NZ with its original 265 cubic inch. Through varying capacities — 265, 283, 302, 325, 327, the famous 350, up to 400, and then back down again to 262 (4343, 4638, 4949, 5326 and 5359cc, the famous 5735, 6555 and 4293cc) — it’s been a dream run for the small-block, and it’s still being made and raced, having powered over 550 winners in NASCAR’s premier division — and still counting!
Good design lasts!

Words: Terry Dalton
Photos: Quinn Hamill

People often say that dreams are free, but dreams can also be turned into reality if you want them to NZCC reader, Terry Dalton, tells us how he made his dream come true¦

I’ve lived with the dream of owning a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air for over 20 years, and have collected many items of memorabilia pertaining to the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air for that same period of time. No matter what the item was, as long as it said 1957 Chevrolet I had to have it. How did all this start? Well, as a young boy of about six years old (the same age as my son is now), I used to ride in the middle of the front seat of my uncle’s car.

At the time, I did not know what this amazing car was — later in life I discovered it was a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. As a kid there was something special about that car, and it has haunted me all of my life. As a teenager in Invercargill during the late ’70s there were a lot of older cars such as early Fords and Chevs. A couple of them were 1957 Chev Bel Airs, and the moment I saw my fi rst 1957 Chev in Invercargill I knew straight away that this was what my uncle had once had. It became an obsession — I really wanted to own one of these magnifi cent automobiles one day. I was too stupid as a teenager in Invercargill to save my money and buy one, but the passion never left me. I returned to Christchurch in the early ’80s and I met my wife, Carol, who helped me fi nd 1957 Chev memorabilia everywhere we went in New Zealand.

The Search Becomes Serious

I have been telling Carol for over 20 years that I want to own a real 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. We actually looked at a couple that were for sale but needed a lot of work, and I did not want the fi nancial commitment at that time in my life. I even avoided seriously looking for a Bel Air because if I had found a good one I would have wanted it at all costs — even if I couldn’t have afforded it.  I guess I was scared to commit to my dream. Other things were more important in my life. I am also a workaholic, so taking time to realise my goals and dreams was not in my plan. For some reason — and I really do not know what trigger was — but last Easter I turned to my wife and said, “I am going to buy a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air this year.” She couldn’t believe what I had just said — she thought about it for a moment, and said, “Okay, if you want to, go for it.” What is even more bewildering, I wanted to buy one from the USA and import it to New Zealand.

My entire collection is based on the American model — it has a more luxurious interior compared to the New Zealand version. The funny thing is I was happy to buy a New Zealand model, but somehow I had just decided to buy the American 1957 Chev. To buy a car in America and end up with it in my garage was a mammoth task, and I never once considered how I would get it to New Zealand until after I had bought it. I didn’t know anyone on the planet who would be able to help or advise me. I was so focused on my dream that getting it to New Zealand was not in my thoughts.

Logging On

I started a search which went on for some weeks. I even placed some bids, but for various reasons I never saw the auctions through to the end. Then one day I logged onto eBay — as I normally did each morning to check for new listings — and there it was. The moment I saw this particular car it was love at fi rst sight, and I instantly knew this was the 1957 Chev Bel Air that I was going to buy. I did not sleep very well for the entire week leading up to the close of auction. I used to wake up at 5am each morning just to check the auction to see if it had moved in price overnight. I contacted the car’s owners via email, letting them know that owning such a car was my life-long dream, and that their Bel Air was exactly what I had been looking for. I asked them if they would have a problem with it coming to New Zealand.

They didn’t mind it leaving the US and, as my email had so much passion for their car, the owner told me that he knew I would be the best person they could sell his deceased father’s car to. In fact they did not want anyone else to have the car, and they were watching the auction closely in the fi nal stages just hoping I would win it.

The Auction Closes

The auction closed on Good Friday while we were on holiday — travelling to our new caravan for the fi rst time on the Thursday night. We were towing a trailer with all our items for the caravan, and the trailer developed major problems on the way to our destination. To cut a long story short, we did not get to bed until 2am, and I thought the auction was closing at 6am. So, I was up at 5.30am. I had my laptop with me and a mobile connect card. The only problem was that there was no cell-phone coverage where we were, and I had to drive 10km into Picton just to get coverage. When I logged on to eBay I discovered I was an hour early! I was tired, but found a cafe that was opening up and ordered breakfast. I set up my laptop with my mobile connect card, and did several connects to eBay just to make sure it was working. I even made sure there was a power plug nearby, just in case my battery went flat.

During the waiting time I was looking around eBay and discovered you could enter a maximum amount that you were prepared to pay. I did not understand the principle at the time, and was scared to use this feature. In the last 30 seconds of the auction I decided to use the maximum bid feature, and am I glad I did because there was another bidder who had a maximum bid that was only $400 less than mine. With the auction closing, neither of us had time left to increase our bids. I tried, too — but was too late.

Fulfilling The Dream

I did not know until approximately three minutes later that I had been successful. I will never forget the feeling I had seeing the email confirming my purchase. The thrill of finally owning a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air was overwhelming, it was one of the greatest moments of my life and I will never forget it. I sent an email from the cafe to the owners in Illinois to thank them for being so kind and understanding and that I was not a fraud, that I wanted their car to keep forever, and I told them that because I really meant it. I still feel the same way today. The emotions set in on my way back to our caravan: did I do the right thing? Is this for real? I was really mixed up about what I had just done. I even cried for a while — it was just too much. The people in Illinois were so thrilled for me, and their courtesy towards me was so amazing I will never forget it.

Later that day I managed to check my email in the  caravan — which meant that I needn’t have driven 10km early that morning, but it was worth it. There was an email from a person in New Zealand (now a good friend of mine) saying he had been watching the auction, and that I had just bought one of the nicest 1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs he had ever seen. He also advised me that he restored them for customers, and also supplied his telephone number just in case he could be of any help to me.

This email was the most important email I had received concerning my purchase as this person, Bruce, knew all the contacts that were necessary to get my car to California, thousands of miles away, then into a container, onto a ship and finally into my garage. Without Bruce’s help I would have been lost, so I can never thank him enough for his email and help. I am forever grateful to Bruce, Chuck, Duane, John and Eddie. These five people each played their own important part to get my cars to New Zealand and into my garage.

A Bigger Dream

Cars, you heard me say? My next thought was, should I buy another 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air to sell in New Zealand? Selling the second car would pay for the whole exercise — my first car would then ultimately cost me nothing. A great plan while it lasted! After all, the car has to come in a container and there was room for two cars. Convinced, I set out to find another Bel Air on eBay.

I looked for several weeks but could not find another good one, then Bruce advised me of a car that was worth buying. I had seen this car previously, but had decided not to bid on it because it wasn’t totally original. When I went to check the auction of this car it only had 30 minutes before closing, so up went the heart rate again.

I won this car using the maximum bid feature again. I had not spoken to the owner at all, so I was out on a limb with this one. When the auction closed I contacted the owner via email and ask if they had a problem with the car coming to New Zealand. Luckily they did not. I told them about my passion, but didn’t disclose that I had already bought one, because I did not want them to know I was buying their car for resale. This second car was in California, so it did not have far to go to be put into a container.

But I had massive problems getting the Illinois car to California. After all, it had to travel thousands of kilometres to get there. It took months to finally get the car to California, and then the other car had to be picked up so both would arrive at the same time at Performance Imports in Long Beach, which was packing the cars into the container. I finally got my cars one week before Christmas 2006, some nine months later. I had spent most of that time trying to get the Illinois car to California. Both previous owners were very understanding, storing my cars in their garages until I worked everything out.

The lady in California was getting a bit worried, and I was pushing their patience as they wanted the space in their garage and were very forthright in telling me in the end! I owe Mary Lou, Mark and Sheila my greatest appreciation for their understanding of the long timeframe this all took. Waiting nine months wasn’t hard, because I had no control over the car’s destiny. It was all in the hands of other people, and I had to go with the flow.

Overwhelming

When I finally got to see the two cars in the container for the fi rst time the emotions I had over buying my fi rst 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air came back to me. I was able to reach in and touch the car from Illinois — the other car was a right down the back, as they came in a 12-metre container. The thrill of sitting in the driver’s seat of the Illinois car and starting the engine was just incredible. Getting the other one out was a bit of a mission as it had been packed up higher on wooden ramps, so Eddie, who was the importer, could bring some other items in for his business.

This was the car I was going to sell, so I wasn’t as excited about it as the Illinois car. After all, I already had my dream car — right? I should have known better, because when the California car came out of the container, I realised I was looking at the most beautiful  1957 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan I had ever laid eyes upon. It was like brand new inside and out, and I instantly made a decision that I was never going to sell this car either. I became more excited about the California car than the Illinois car.Then I realised both cars were equally good, and I was so lucky they were well above my expectations. The people who helped me that day were equally impressed.

They couldn’t believe I had bought 1957 Chevs in such amazing condition straight off eBay. Why would I keep two? Both cars are different: one is a four-door sedan with a bigger motor and amazing upholstery — this is what I call my hot rod. The second car is a four-door pillarless sports sedan with a lower roof-line, and very sporty-looking.

This car is completely original with 106,217km (66,000 miles) on the clock so I have the best of both worlds, a hot rod for the boy racer in me, and an original car for the older person under my skin. Every time I walk into my garage and I see them there together it still completely blows me away that I actually own the real cars now, after 25 years of dreaming about one.

Unforgettable Experience

I will never forget the whole experience. I have put together two clear file manuals with every email and document pertaining to the purchase of the two cars, right through to the day I drove them into my garage. I have never been a person who would even contemplate taking on a mission of this magnitude, but somehow I made a decision to fulfill my dream — a lot of people never do. I did not want to leave this world without owning a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, and every time I drive one of them I have to pinch myself just to remind me that this is for real.

If you really have a dream like mine that has bugged you for years, then go for it and make it happen — no one else will do it for you, only you can. You are in charge of your life — enjoy every moment.

Words: Peter ‘PC’ Callen
Photos: Jared Clark

It isn’t often that good things come from unlawful activities, but there are exceptions. Stop-light racing is frowned upon by the powers that be, and probably by many onlookers, but one such incident during the’50s sparked a relationship that would help shape one of America’s most loved automotive icons¦

The first Chevrolet Corvette didn’t get off to a good start, in fact the first examples didn’t start at all! Electrical equipment demands that a circuit be completed for any given device to operate in any given way, starter motors in automobiles included. In the case of a starter motor the action required is to rotate the flywheel or flex-plate so that it can, in turn, rotate the internal combustion engine under the hood and voila, you’re mobile.

However, someone at Chevrolet hadn’t done their science class homework and on June 30, 1953, when the first Corvette was to fire into life, the starter, wipers, radio, lights and anything electrical that you can think of didn’t work. While all the engineers were familiar with steel bodies, nobody had thought about the fact that fibreglass doesn’t conduct electricity! A few wires and straps were quickly installed to remedy the problem, but for a corporation the size of General Motors to miss something so basic was pretty bizarre.

That failure to start didn’t mean the world would reject the Corvette — far from it. The first run of just 300 units (all white, with red interiors) were snapped up in short order, but niggling problems with the new car were soon to rear their ugly heads.

I’ll not nit-pick too much, but the one thing we all yearn for in a car of this ilk is power, and there just wasn’t enough of it in the 1953 Corvette. The fact is, the Corvette’s early incarnations were really only a fibreglass extension of design chief Harley Earl’s styling whims, cobbled together to wow the crowds as a ‘dream car’ at GM’s Motorama exhibit at the January, 1953, New York Auto Show.

Budget sports car

The chassis/suspension package for the first Corvette was whipped off the existing 1952 Chevrolet sedan production line, as was the 3851cc (235ci) six-cylinder engine, because there wasn’t much else available. The chassis had a 2591mm wheelbase, and the passenger cubicle was shifted further back than would have been the case in a sedan body to improve weight distribution.

The engine received a larger dose of compression, a bigger camshaft and triple Carter side-draught carburettors, but that only added up to a wimpish 112kW (150hp) — hardly enough to fry your cross-plies. The underpinnings were also a little disappointing — even back then — but GM was being understandably cautious. There was little desire to throw large sums of cash into an unknown quantity. An American sports car? What were these people thinking?

When the Corvette was first offered to the public in September of 1953 it retailed for US$3498, which was expensive at that time. The Corvette also required a bit of effort to stop and lacked a ‘real’ gearbox, having been fitted with the new PowerGlide two-speed automatic.

Conversely the crowning glory, of course, was the car’s shape. The outer skin of this machine caused a sensation, and little has changed in over 50 years in that respect. In fact, those early machines are so beloved that of the initial run of 300 units, 255 can still be accounted for today! Percentage-wise I doubt many models could match that.

The reaction to that shape saw the bigwigs at GM push for a 1954 production run of 10,000 units, a bit of a jump from the previous year’s 300. However, of the 3640 actually produced about one third remained unsold at the end of the model year, because buyers were being as cautious as GM. It only got worse for the 700 units which rolled off the line in 1955. The reality was that those who actually drove the car soon came to the conclusion its performance simply didn’t match its looks.

Small-block saviour

At that point Corvette aficionados should probably have been grateful to the Ford Motor Company. The blue oval boys had a little something up their sleeve called the Thunderbird, and that vehicle was released for the 1955 model year. Here was an all-American two-door with style as well as V8 power. The Corvette crew needed to fight back and, fortunately for them, a hard-working individual by the name of Ed Cole had been slaving away over a hot easel designing a new engine, the small block Chevrolet V8. How convenient.

The new engine was a wake-up call for the world of the American car buyer. No matter which vehicle it was installed in, the small-block Chevrolet V8 sparkled — so what better body to install it in than the plastic fantastic? The infinite sadness felt by lovers of the Corvette’s shape when they contemplated its lack of mechanical prowess was finally dispelled when some real power was installed under the hood. The 1956 Corvette was offered with six (now available in two-tone) body colours and two interior colours, with roll-up windows, a raft of other options and, most importantly, V8 power.

The V8 wasn’t about to go unmodified either, even from the factory. The most popular under-hood option for 1956 was the twin four-barrel carburettor option, delivering 168kW (225hp) from the 4343cc (265ci) engine. There was also an unofficial output of 179kW on offer with a stiffer camshaft. Compare that with the 112kW of 1953, and there’s no doubt that customers would easily feel the difference. The Corvette had come of age.

It was at about this time that one Larry Shinoda entered the frame. Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda, a Japanese American, was in his mid-20s when the V8 Corvette saw the light of day, and he was cruising here and there in a ’55 Ford. Shinoda had a bit of a reputation around Southern California at the time for being able to make things go fast, and had won the first National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1955 in his hot-rodded ’24 Ford Roadster.

In 1954 he’d managed to get into a great employment position with Ford, and he moved to Detroit. At age 26 he was employed by GM’s head of design (Harley Earl), and got to work on the fabulous 1959 Chevrolet line. Then in 1958 Shinoda was assigned to partake in special styling projects, overseenby Bill Mitchell.
Mitchell was a car guy through and through, but so was Shinoda. It turns out that while still at Ford, Shinoda (rightly or wrongly and probably ironically) was driving his aforementioned ’55 Ford home from work one day when a stop-light challenge was laid down as Mitchell pulled up beside him in a red Pontiac.

Not too long after the green light came on, Shinoda got a glimpse of Mitchell’s Pontiac in the rear view mirror. That probably wasn’t the norm with stock-standard automobiles of his type, and the defeated Mitchell approached Shinoda to ask if the Ford was supercharged, which it wasn’t. It was just a well tuned, twin four-barrel carbie set-up. That conversation sparked a relationship which would see some of Chevrolet’s finest motor vehicles reach the showroom and, more importantly, the hands of enthusiastic owners.

Sting Ray

Larry and Bill worked well together, Mitchell the styling guru and Shinoda a designer extraordinaire — and if you think that sounds like gunpowder and a flint, you’d be right. Mitchell got a race-car together and dubbed it ‘Sting Ray.’ Shinoda played his part as designer, but also as pit crew, mechanic and general dogs-body. It was that race-car which inspired the pair to start sketching a street version; the Corvette Sting Ray.

This was the first of the second generation (or C2) Corvettes, and it featured some styling cues reminiscent of earlier European machines. There was more than just a hint of a ’30s boat-tail taper out the back, and Shinoda incorporated a split rear window that smacked of an older Bugatti.

There was much more on offer besides a split rear window, though, including the likes of concealed headlights that popped up when they were switched on. Power steering also appeared on the option sheet (with an improved, tighter ratio), the wheelbase was trimmed to 2489mm and independent rear suspension came on stream.

This was also the first year the Corvette was offered as a hard-top coupe as well as the traditional convertible, making it more popular for drivers in those states where it actually rained. The completely redesigned vehicle’s popularity was growing almost exponentially, and GM ordered the assembly staff to take on a second shift at the plant in St Louis, Missouri, to keep up with demand.

Split decision

The ’63 was a styling revelation. Introduced in late 1962, it was an instant hit with buyers, but that rear window took some fairly tough criticism. Some proclaimed it to be a visibility hazard, while others felt it detracted from an otherwise beautiful motor car.

Those who felt strongly enough about it actually removed it and fitted a one-piece item that closely resembled the ’64 rear window when it became available. Of course, that simply pushed up the value of unmolested cars, and there are now fewer split-window ’Vettes on offer than were actually produced.

Whatever the buyers’ feelings toward that rear window, there was a new chassis hidden underneath that was the brainchild of GM’s chief engineer, Zora Arkus Duntov, with whom Mitchell had argued over that split rear window. Despite that slight disagreement, the gelling of Mitchell, Shinoda and Duntov could not have gone more smoothly or have been more productive.

Many Corvette enthusiasts see this generation of the marque as being a defining moment in its history. With that finely chiselled nose, high (comparatively) waistline, the power (now reaching 268kW (360hp) with a fuel-injected 5359cc (327ci) mill) and the handling package on offer, the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray was simply ‘it.’

Under the skin

The new underpinnings Duntov designed for the Corvette were attached to a ladder-type chassis, as opposed the previous X-member that had been pinched from the early ’50s sedan parts bin. This allowed the passengers’ nether regions to be dropped closer to the ground for a livelier, sportier feel and lower centre of gravity. The rear suspension was also tweaked and made independent, while the transverse leaf spring that Duntov incorporated had no fewer than nine leaves.

The whole enchilada was well received, and sales topped 20,000 units — another first for that model year. Some buyers had to wait for as long as 60 days for their new Corvette, with pricing set at US$4307 for a convertible, while the controversial split-window hard-top cost US$4257. This, of course, was the bottom line for the base model. If you wanted more power you shelled out more cash, as you would have to for the Z06 race pack deal. This package, offered on the hard-top, included finned aluminium brake drums, sintered metallic brake linings, a stiffer suspension package and a 138-litre fuel tank, all of which was only available with the fuel-injected (read costly) engine. Unfortunately, few were ever produced.

Not everything went smoothly though and, like the day the first Corvette sparked into life, the opposition would again get their jollies at the expense of GM. It seems the Corvette’s roof moulds were built to less than accurate dimensions, and practically all 1963-’67 Corvettes had ill-fitting roofs. This results in a gap than can usually be seen in the door pillar, just above the door latch. Many were sent from the factory after having a dose of filler applied by spatula, but there are still many C2s that carry the ‘deformity’.

Incredible find

Deformed or not, the ’63 split window had, and still has, its admiring masses. Among them is South Auckland engineer Ross Fleming. Ross knew of this Corvette’s existence long before he ever got his hands on it. Waiting to do the deal his heart yearned for, he waited until the then North Shore owner, Jon Ward, would part with it. Jon had owned the car since about 1995, importing it from California. The car had been in the hands of just one owner in the United States, and with only 23,000 miles (37,014km) on the odometer it was a truly incredible find.

Genuine in every respect, including the aforementioned deformity, Ross’ Corvette features a four-barrel 327 and is wrapped in a coat of Daytona Blue. The interior is black and chrome, and that’s pretty much all you need with a layout as jazzy as this.

When you look at the dashboard it appears, at first glance, to be quite complex — almost busy — but once ensconced you soon familiarise yourself with your surroundings and, like a pair of slippers, you soon reach the desired comfort level. In my opinion, American cars, regardless of their size, have a tendency to do that — they shrink around you or, speaking like a true automotive romantic, you become embraced by them.

Ross, sensibly, carries a fire extinguisher in the rear which is easily reached from the driver’s seat; he has added a wood-rimmed steering wheel and also installed a brand new console. The console has as its centrepiece a stick shift that leads to an M20 four-speed transmission. This certainly adds to the sporting attitude of the car, and I can only imagine how the tyres of the time (still fitted when Jon bought it) stood up to the power and torque of the 327. The cross-ply tyres have long since been cast aside, except for the spare — that being a poignant reminder of the craziness which was the ’60s; big power, terrible tyres.
Something else somewhat awry in that era were the braking systems. Ross took it upon himself to improve that area, sourcing all the correct parts to fit the factory power assist components, just as if they had been ordered from Chevrolet by the original owner. He also confessed to having the desire to fit power steering in the same fashion, using only the correct parts.

Bolt-on additions like that can make life a lot more comfortable in modern traffic, while retaining the value of the automobile and making its return to ‘factory stock’ a breeze should anyone choose to do this.

All the little incidentals, such the correct screws and so on, have been installed by Ross, and the electrical devices and circuits have also been titivated to provide reliable performance. The wiper/washer ensemble, for example, underwent intense scrutiny so that it, along with everything else, functions as it should. Even the plug leads were replaced with the genuine, shielded items, the fuel tank was replaced (“I could smell petrol every time I went into the garage,” Ross said) and Corvette Parts came to the rescue every time.

Timeless

Ross informed me that the coupe came from the factory with a 3.08 rear end, without the ‘posi’ centre; one of just 211 to be built this way. It would have been so much fun to have one with the original tyres, don’t you think? Especially on a rainy day; not that you get too many of them in California, or so they say. Mind you, too much abuse might see those tasty imitation knock-off wheel trims go sailing down the gutters and into oblivion, something else that would be frowned upon by the ’Vette set. However, Ross doesn’t drive that way, and the only slippery thing that’s happened to the rear end so far is the installation of a set of liners in between each leaf of the rear suspension’s transverse spring.

Correctly adjusted, with the right linings for the application, the Corvette’s drum brakes work admirably. Only continued hard stops will see fade enter the picture, and it’s not likely that Ross will press the Corvette to such levels; the machines are now firmly settled in the ‘valuable collector’ bracket, and as such they command a certain level of respect.

For me the ’63 split-window is a timeless shape, one that is always and easily recognised as a Corvette even by those who know little about the breed. A hit when new, and sought after in their mid-40s, the cars have fared well, which just goes to show that a fair dose of good old American power wrapped in a timeless shape will always appeal.

Stop-light racing has given the world something it can hang onto with pride.