The Inside Story of Campaigning an Independent ’67 Camaro in the Trans Am

[satman]

Sorry Jon.......Obviously a rookie mistake !!

[BULLITT65]

So how many cubes is your block going to be? are you going to be running an 11:1 compression ratio or a bit higher?
I like all the insight, but you say the motor put out as much power, or when you switched cams to engle not a significant power difference. Any idea what your car or penske or similar motor would dyno at? with and without the cross ram,
What kind of boost to horsepower were you getting after having the heads gone through?

[satman]

The block is a 30 over 350, I am keeping the compression at around 10:1 so I can run pump gas without any problems....... Penske was using Traco engines supposedly they were putting out around 450 HP we were probably 30 HP south of that. With today's technology and the right parts I think something around 475 should be easy......... Nascar engines are making over 850 HP out of 5.8 L . The cam we ran was a specialty item with a GM part number but I have a feeling it was probably made by an outside vendor due to the limited production volume.The other factor might be the fact that back then Cam manufacturers were focusing more on Drag Racing than Road Racing so we might not of had the good stuff Not sure what your application will be but be sure to remember that with an aggressive cam it certainly will not be a torque monster
 



 

[BULLITT65]

good info. thanks man
I noticed your car looks to be garnet red, are staying with that color? is it original to the car?

[satman]

Yes I am pretty sure that garnet red was the cars original color but I will have to check the trim tag to be sure. The car is going to Camaro Specialty this summer for interior work then if I have any funds left over I would like to paint it Blue in the same livery of our 67 Race car. A repaint will no be a big priority as the body and paint are still in pretty good shape. 

[janobyte]

Hey, I might get to see it. Ordered a stencil kit from him yesterday, and plan on picking up a small list of parts this summer. My wife has family near by so we plan to make a weekend out of it. Found out he knew a couple of her cousins and a 69Z one of them once owned...small world.

[Jon Mello]

Al, do you recall how you got any of the parts such as the crossram or any other performance part that you used for racing back then? I'm wondering if you ever dealt with Barney Krass or Ernie Callard to get some of those goodies. They seemed to be the Chevy back door parts connection for some of the race teams. I've heard of stuff showing up at certain local dealers to certain teams and it would be addressed to the dealership but care of the name of the racer. I'm thinking it was Ken Deckman who got a couple of crossrams given to him to use and he never paid a penny for them. I suppose you guys were not so lucky.

[satman]

   Jon, I had made some contacts with GM Canada when I was working for a Chev/Olds dealership in Toronto in fact Mo Carter was the general manager there before he acquired his own dealership in Hamilton .............. Anyway my GM contacts were able to help me out in a somewhat limited way with whatever they could.
         
      However I have heard rumors of GM engineers handing out small parts like carburetor jets axle shafts and such at the track but they never approached me with any goodies but I do remember Mark Donohue burning out his ignition wiring harness at Mid Ohio and would you believe I was the only one at the track with a spare harness. I was expecting Roger to come over to pick it up but he used Mark Schwein as an intermediary instead........Come to think of it I never got paid for that part.

[69Z28-RS]

   Jon, I had made some contacts with GM Canada when I was working for a Chev/Olds dealership in Toronto in fact Mo Carter was the general manager there before he acquired his own dealership in Hamilton .............. Anyway my GM contacts were able to help me out in a somewhat limited way with whatever they could.
         
      However I have heard rumors of GM engineers handing out small parts like carburetor jets axle shafts and such at the track but they never approached me with any goodies but I do remember Mark Donohue burning out his ignition wiring harness at Mid Ohio and would you believe I was the only one at the track with a spare harness. I was expecting Roger to come over to pick it up but he used Mark Schwein as an intermediary instead........Come to think of it I never got paid for that part.

You should have told Roger to come himself and pay you up front.. 

[Jon Mello]

Al, great story about the harness. Thanks for sharing that. Out of curiosity, what was the name of the Toronto dealership where Mo was the general manager?

[satman]

       Mo was General Manager at Central Chevrolet in the late 50s in 1962 he moved on to Leavans Motors where I was working as an apprentice mechanic.......... I think it was around this time that he started rally racing in a Corvair Monza, and the story going around the garage was that once while leading in a big Rally out West he put the lit end of a cigar in his mouth and crashed.

         My next introduction to Mo was at the 12 HR. race at Sebring in 1969, Mo was pitting next to us  and went out early with engine problems. We were having our own problems during the race as one of our drivers Rick Stevens was suffering from heat stroke and was unable to continue on. Mo hearing about our problems came over and generously offered to co/drive the rest of the race with Robert Barg our lead driver................ Not knowing MO'S reputation to me this sounded like a good idea but I thought that I should run it by Bob first and so on the next pit stop I mentioned MO's offer to Bob who proceeded to roll his eyes and look at me like I was crazy . Anyway Bob was the Iron man that day and he soldiered on by himself and posted a great finish.
  
                Later that year at a Trans-Am race at Bryar I was able to help Mo secure a strong finish...... About halfway through the race something happened to Mo's clutch and once again he was pitting next to us so as Mo who was in the process of undoing his belts I wandered over and to see what going on with the car. Mo explained that he was unable to shift gears  so I suggested to him that if he put the car in 3rd. gear and crank it over on the starter perhaps he could solider on and at least finish the race. Miraculously he was able to restart the engine with the transmission in gear and he ended up with a respectable finish............... I hate to think what RPMs the engine was turning on the short straightaway but it hung in and after the race Mo came over and shook my hand thanking me for helping him finish.  

        My scariest Mo moment came at a Trans-AM race at Sanair around 1972 ..........Mo who was running up front and out of control as usual somehow manged spin out on the front straight and get T boned in the drivers door. The crash was probably the most violent that I have ever witnessed in my life and I thought for sure that Mo had bought the farm that day but miraculously they were able to pry him out of the car and he somehow managed to survive the incident.

  

[Jon Mello]

Al, that Sanair track layout was pretty dangerous for the TA cars. Roy Woods was there and loaded up his cars and left for home before the race began because he felt it was unsafe.

[satman]

           Sanair was a Dragstrip with a Mickey Mouse road course with tacked on, it was right up there with MIS as one of my least favorite tracks on the circuit........... Instead of Armco barriers they used chain link fencing so by the end of the race the track looked like scrap yard for galvanized metal.
   I really liked racing at St. Jovite but with the drop in attendance they had to move the race to a different venue.

AL

[Jon Mello]

Sounds a bit like Green Valley, Texas except I think there was a wide and safe transition back onto the main straight at Green Valley and that wasn't the case at Sanair.

[satman]

     Yes the conditions at Sanair were far from ideal but like a famous riverboat gambler once said " it was the only game in town"

AL