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.
