Build Thread: The Roaring Season Firebird

[Steve Holmes]

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Well this is it folks. I have finally begun the first steps to making the switch from spectator, to driver. Its been a lifelong ambition of mine to go car racing, and specifically, historic car racing, and this build thread is dedicated to the 1967 Pontiac Firebird I eventually intend to race. This car will be known as The Roaring Season Firebird.

The reason for building this car is two-fold. Not only will I finally get to make real a dream of building and racing my own historic car, I’ll also get to share the car with all of you, the members and visitors of The Roaring Season, who have provided me with so much enjoyment since I first started this site back in 2011, and so much inspiration. Its my goal to bring the car to as many tracks as I can, and to fully take advantage of track days and lunchtime parades, to get as many TRS members and supporters into the passenger seat as possible. This is really a car for everyone here to enjoy.

I think it’ll be a great way to promote The Roaring Season, and to allow me to meet more TRS members. And I hope it helps make this an even better website, by encouraging even more old photo collections and great stories out of the woodwork.

As great as my passion is for motorsport history, I really don’t make a good spectator. And while I love running The Roaring Season, and love being involved in running historic groups such as New Zealand Historic Muscle Cars/Historic Saloon Cars, to maintain my interest, I need to get my backside into a race car. The Roaring Season Firebird will incorporate many of my interests into one package, and keep me motivated going forward to stay involved in historic car racing.

I’m not a wealthy guy, and if I were more sensible, I probably wouldn’t be building this car. But at the same time, I’m fully aware that life is short, and I don’t want to leave this earth with any regrets. I recently turned 45, and have been wanting to go historic car racing since I was 21, when I attended the Silverstone Classic event in the early 1990s while doing my OE. So this is going to be a big challenge for me, but its one I’m prepared to tackle head-on.

I raced Karts as a teenager for about five years through to the age of 20. But I’ve never done any car racing. So this whole process is going to be a big learning curve, which I hope you will all enjoy being a part of.

[Terry S]

Good on you Steve and great to see. I hope it goes really well.

It seems too many of us just sit in the grandstand. And believe me, 45 is not old............

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Terry, I really appreciate the encouragement.

[Steve Holmes]

I started getting serious about the idea for building a historic race car about 4 years ago, not long after Dale Mathers, Tony Roberts, and myself created the New Zealand Historic Muscle Cars class. Finally, here was a class that I could actually build a car for, where performance was less important than the joy of ownership and taking part. I don’t have the budget to be racing at the front of any grid, but for me, the car is more important than the result. I’m a car enthusiast first and foremost.

I’ve always been a little different in my thinking, and have always liked the idea of racing a make/model of car that isn’t common. Since I was a young bloke, I’ve always loved the shape of the Holden HQ Monaro coupe. Early influences were the Bob Jane Improved Production/Sports Sedan race car, the Mad Max Nightrider, and a fuel-injected speedway car owned by Bill Dorn that raced at my local dirt track. However, by the time I’d made the decision to build a race car, HQ Monaro prices, along with those of most other classic Australian muscle cars, had soared, and even half-decent road cars were way beyond my budget. But a guy on Trademe had been trying to sell a deregistered bare HQ Monaro coupe body for a while, and I contacted him about buying it. If I couldn’t buy a complete car to convert into a race car, I’d instead cobble together a complete car from parts as they came available.

I paid $2000 for that bare shell. And when I say it was bare, it was bare. It was a shell; no doors, glass, interior, sub-frame, driveline, front sheet-metal, etc. It was a bare shell. Over the span of about a year, I also amassed some doors, all the windows, a sub-frame, all the front sheet-metal, front bumper, and various other parts.

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[Steve Holmes]

However, as time went on, I started to realise attempting to build an HQ Monaro just wasn’t going to work for me. There were two reasons for this:

Reason #1: I’m on a tight budget, and while Aussie muscle car stuff was cheap twenty years ago, today its massively expensive for what it is, and far more so than the American equivalents. I was paying over the odds for used up old rusty parts, and it was driving me crazy. For example, I was Trademe bidding on a rusty back bumper, and as the auction neared its completion, the price hit $350. This was for a bumper that required a few dents to be knocked out, and to be re-chromed. Alternatively, Rare Spares offer brand new HQ Holden rear bumpers, for $995! How can I not be paranoid racing a car in which the rear bumper cost me the best part of a grand? I’d be constantly watching my mirrors, worried about other drivers getting too close.

It was one morning while doing a Trademe search on rear bumpers, that I stumbled upon an auction where someone was selling a brand new 1967/68 Camaro rear bumper. It was $250. These massive price variances continue right throughout the entire car. Eg, door cards for the HQ Monaro were at the time, $1000. New front grill, $795. And on it went.

Then there were the parts that couldn’t be had for love nor money (well, they could for money), such as the stainless trim around the windows. These pieces are unique to the Monaro coupe, and are unbelievably hard to come by. And, they’re not currently being reproduced. I’ve heard of complete sets trading for as much as $3000.

Twenty years ago, there were plenty of Aussie muscle cars being raced, because they were cheap and plentiful. Hell, there were even a couple of HQ Monaro coupes being racing in the Streetstock division at my local speedway! But that isn’t the case today, and building an HQ Monaro was going to kill me financially. If I ever did finish it, I’d probably be too scared to race it.

[Steve Holmes]

Reason #2: The other reason I decided not to continue with the Monaro was because my wife Helen and I are looking to eventually move to Europe. Helen is English, and while we probably won’t go back to England, some countries in Europe, such as France, really appeal. But if I were to build a race car in New Zealand, I’d want to take it with me to race in historic events in Europe. And as I started researching this, I soon began to realise there would be just about nowhere I could race the Monaro. And this is because of the way historic racing is conducted throughout Europe and the UK.

Unlike New Zealand, European and UK historic racing is extremely tightly controlled, with the sports governing body, the FIA, completely in charge. For a car to contest a historic event there, it needs to be completely period correct, and have all the important FIA paperwork. Historic racing in Europe/UK is run to FIA Historic Appendix K rules. Each car must be compliant to these rules. In addition, each car must be correct to its FIA Homologation Sheet. Finally, each car must have an FIA Historic Technical Passport (HTP). If any one of these three pieces are missing or incorrect, the car does not race.

Firstly, I downloaded the Appendix K rules from the FIA website. Its 96 pages long! I read it several times, and it was only after consulting people who had experience with the rules, that I finally began to get a grasp for what they meant. Essentially, when a manufacturer wanted to race a particular make/model of vehicle in any FIA championship back when it was new, be it international or national, a Homologation Sheet needed to be drawn up for the car, stating the various modifications, homologated and aftermarket parts that could be utilized in its construction, specific to the championship it was to contest.

The HQ Monaro fell over at the first hurdle, in that there is no Homologation Sheet for it. The model only contested one national championship of significance; the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1972, which was run to Australia’s unique Improved Production rules, which were not in use anywhere else in the world, and not recognized by the FIA.

The Appendix K rules do state that if a make/model contested a National Championship of importance, it may be eligible to compete legally in historic events. But I didn’t want to go to the trouble and expense of building a car, only to find that there was just no way it would be accepted. In addition, where would I find replacement parts in Europe? It all became too difficult.

[Frosty5]

Live the dream Steve, life is not a rehearsal, we only get one chance at it so you just go for it mate.

Cheers Dave

[John McKechnie]

Definitely do the American car Steve, its a no brainer on the new parts.
After just having my XA Coupe smacked against the wall at Hampton Downs, finding any Aussie panel stuff is heartbreaking.

[ERC]

Well done Steve! Go for it.

And here is the problem for many of us:

"The Appendix K rules do state that if a make/model contested a National Championship of importance, it may be eligible to compete legally in historic events. But I didn’t want to go to the trouble and expense of building a car, only to find that there was just no way it would be accepted."

Correct me if I am wrong, but Appendix K may well be the holy grail for many, but it effectively also excludes models of cars that people want to race today. Although they are 100% period correct, if they weren't homologated, or didn't contest a championship in period, hard luck.

As you well know, I'm also all for variety - which is after all, why Classics and Historics are so appealing. Good choice and so glad it is a bit different.

[GD66]

Wow, this is great news mate, looking forward to following the build, you've really thought it through and it all stacks up beautifully.
I might add that there are a number of folk on TRS who are amongst the finest technical minds and mechanical whiz kids who have ever spun a ring spanner on a race car, or pulled an overnighter to fab up some device to get a race car to the line.
Like many of us, I am absolutely sure these same people share a massive debt of gratitude to you for founding and sharing TRS, which has uncovered thousands of period race pics, awoken countless memories and reunited friends and foes from race days they may otherwise have left in the fondly-recalled but dim and distant past.
For this reason, I am sure you will find there will be many talented people only too willing to assist you with advice, recommendations, support, assistance and knowledge throughout the build, and I think you'll only then realise what a great thing you have conceived with TRS. I'm sure you'll only have to ask and they'll be there for you. Hell, most of them will probably do it off the cuff.
Good luck, and enjoy the project
Regards GD :cool:

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, I really appreciate it. I hope the car proves to be a good tool for making this site even better. I think of the people we've lost just in the time The Roaring Season has been active, and the important stories that have gone with them.

[Grant Sprague]

wooow Steve this is cool , I did not know this until today , you [we] have a great bunch of people in your [our] class , you will enjoy , remember the drug bug [motor racing] can bite hard at times $$$$$ , I know you are not silly so you are well aware of what goes on , floooow with the whole thing , you have good people around you .

[Steve Holmes]

Well done Steve! Go for it.

And here is the problem for many of us:

"The Appendix K rules do state that if a make/model contested a National Championship of importance, it may be eligible to compete legally in historic events. But I didn’t want to go to the trouble and expense of building a car, only to find that there was just no way it would be accepted."

Correct me if I am wrong, but Appendix K may well be the holy grail for many, but it effectively also excludes models of cars that people want to race today. Although they are 100% period correct, if they weren't homologated, or didn't contest a championship in period, hard luck.

As you well know, I'm also all for variety - which is after all, why Classics and Historics are so appealing. Good choice and so glad it is a bit different.

Yes, you are right Ray. The FIA rules do exclude various makes and models, and tends to focus on exactly what raced in period, but mainly just in international competition. There was a reliance on factory involvement, or at least from championship promoters submitting the homologation paperwork.

Unfortunately, that means in a country with a unique racing heritage such as New Zealand, many of the vehicles raced here would not be accepted. When Neil Tolich first began looking at taking the Fleetwood Motors Mustang to race in the UK/Europe, he was told the car would require several changes to comply with the pre-1966 Group 2 rules, even though its a car with period race history that had been restored to how Ivan Segedin raced it in NZ during the 1965/66 season.

[Steve Holmes]

wooow Steve this is cool , I did not know this until today , you [we] have a great bunch of people in your [our] class , you will enjoy , remember the drug bug [motor racing] can bite hard at times $$$$$ , I know you are not silly so you are well aware of what goes on , floooow with the whole thing , you have good people around you .

Thanks Grant, I appreciate the advice. And yes, I will be very careful with my spending. I don't have a choice. Actually, when I decided against building the Monaro, I sold the car and made a profit from it which really surprised me. I thought I was doing well. But then I spent the exact same amount of money on an engagement ring for Helen!

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
That is really wonderful news and I know you will put in a 100 % effort to make it all happen.
If I can be of any help from this end please let me know.
Sometimes you might see something here at this site that can not be sent directly to NZ and I will try to assist.(Just for you ONLY !)

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/1967-pontiac-firebird

These cars have always been a favorite of mine such as this one where the flowers are so pretty !
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Cheers, (p.s. It is great to have the wife on your side and you don't have to hide that extra expense account,,correct ? )
Ken H

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Ken, thanks so much for the kind words. And yes, they really are a pretty car, and that one in your picture is especially so!

Its best to be honest with the wife, they always find out sooner or later. I read something recently that made me laugh. It said: "My biggest fear is that when I die my wife sells my race car for what I told her it cost me". Ha ha

[Steve Holmes]

With the Monaro gone, I turned my attentions to what to build instead. I still liked the idea of doing something a little different, but it had to be cheaper than the Monaro for parts, and it had to be something for which there was an FIA Homologation Sheet, therefore allowing me to race the car in Europe. I quickly settled on what is one of my all-time favourite cars; a 1967/68 Pontiac Firebird.

To my mind, the 1967/68 shape Firebird is one of the most beautiful and aesthetically well balanced cars ever to come out of the US. Its essentially a Camaro, but with a few sheet-metal changes, most notable of which is its very clean looking integrated front bumper inside which the grill and headlights are housed.

Best of all, the Firebird contested the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Trans-Am series from 1968. The Trans-Am is a series I’ve had a lifelong fascination with, have studied for many years, and for which I’ve built a sizable amount of research material. It was contested under the FIA, and therefore, I felt it likely the Firebird would have a Homologation Sheet, as I knew the Camaro does. Better still, the first generation Firebirds that raced in the Trans-Am series used a Chevy driveline, which would help keep costs down.

A quick search through the FIA Homologation Sheet list turned up the following: The Pontiac Firebird is listed under Homologation Sheet #1528, for Group 2 Touring Cars, homologation date May 1, 1968.

So I began an online search for a 1967 or 1968 Firebird. Because I wouldn’t be able to view the car in person and would be working off photos, I needed something that was honest, so I knew what I was getting. My search eventually led to a 1967 Firebird on Craigslist, in Palmdale, California. It had no motor, no transmission. It also had no Title, which meant it couldn’t be used on the road. But that was OK with me, as it was only going to be a race car. The seller had started stripping it down for restoration, so I could see the bare metal, and the areas that needed attention. But I could see it was structurally in great shape, with excellent floors. The price was US$4000.

I shipped the Firebird home in 2016, and was really happy with its condition when it arrived. Its an honest car, and really solid, with just a few tiny rust holes around the lip of one rear wheel arch, plus the lower rear quarters, and tail pan. In addition, the lower sections of the front guards have rust holes, but brand new replacement guards are only $250, so its not even worth bothering to repair the old ones.

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The low prices on new and old parts for these cars is a big part of the appeal to me. Like so many American cars where there is a strong restoration market, pretty much everything is being reproduced. Likewise, most original parts are easy to source, and very reasonably priced. Remember I mentioned the stainless window trim for HQ Monaros selling for $3000? I’ve seen complete used sets of stainless trim for 1967-69 Camaros/Firebirds for as little as $40. Big difference.

The car I purchased is a 1967 model to which the seller had fitted with a 1968 front. The only real difference is that the 1968 models had side indicators, which became law in the US that year. In addition, my car had also been fitted with a reproduction Firebird 400 steel hood, with its twin nostril scoops. Having this already on the car saved me money and a lot of hassle, as I would have needed to source one for the build.

[kiwi285]

Fantastic news Steve and I am really shuffed to see that you have taken the bull by the horns and are prepared to give it a big shake. As someone else said 45 is certainly NOT too old. Waiting until you retire doesn't work either and you start running out of energy.

Enjoy old age it is a privilege denied to many. And what better way than historic motor racing with such a great bunch of people.

[Steve Holmes]

Thank you Mike, I appreciate that.

[Steve Holmes]

As for how the car will be built, from the moment I settled on a 1967/68 Firebird, I was clear in my mind how it would look. The car will be a replica of the yellow Firebird raced by Craig Fisher in the 1968 Trans-Am series. ‘Who is Craig Fisher’, you may ask? To my mind, he is one of the great unsung heroes of the Trans-Am series, who many will be unfamiliar with, but who played an important role in regards to General Motors impact on the series.

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Craig Fisher Collection photo.

The young and very shy Canadian driver Craig Fisher became the first driver to score Trans-Am points for the Camaro model when he placed second in the 1967 Daytona 300 Miles Trans-Am feature which was a support to the big Daytona 24 Hour race. This was the very first Trans-Am race in which the Camaro competed.

Fisher was a hugely accomplished driver, and very good car developer. His achievements brought him to the attention of Roger Penske, who was in partnership with another Canadian by the name of Terry Godsall, in 1967. When the Penske team required a co-driver for Mark Donohue in a couple of the longer Trans-Am races, they called upon Craig Fisher. In Round 7 of the championship at Marlboro Raceway, Fisher was drafted in to drive alongside Donohue, and the pairing claimed the very first victory for Camaro in the Trans-Am series.

For the Daytona 24 Hour and Sebring 12 Hour endurance events that opened the 1968 Trans-Am championship, Fisher was once again called upon as a Penske co-driver, and it was at Sebring the pairing of Donohue and Fisher claimed an incredible third outright in the race, headed only by a pair of factory Porsche 907s. After 12 hours of racing, they were just 5 laps behind the second placed car, and 6 laps behind the winner. The entire paddock was stunned.

For the shorter Trans-Am races of 1968, Donohue drove solo, while Craig Fisher teamed up with Terry Godsall to run their own entry. Godsall was a successful businessman whose father ran a company supplying parts to General Motors. So he had strong GM ties.

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Craig Fisher Collection photo.

Fisher contested Round 4 of the championship in a Camaro, however, Godsall wanted to score a factory contract, and was busy working behind the scenes setting in motion plans to woo Pontiac into the Trans-Am series. But first he had to find a way to show the potential of the Firebird as a road racer, and do so as quickly and cheaply as possible. So he went to the SCCA, and somehow convinced them that in Canada it was possible to purchase a Pontiac Firebird fitted with a Chevy V8 motor. Whether the SCCA actually believed this or whether they were prepared to play dumb in order to have another manufacturer on-board is not known to me. Firebirds were not available in Canada with Chevy V8 engines. But regardless, they gave Godsall the green light to run a Pontiac Firebird fitted with Camaro running gear.

To that end, Craig Fisher debuted the very first Pontiac Firebird to contest the Trans-Am series at Round 7 at Meadowdale. This was not a factory backed entry. The factory money would come later. This was just a privateer effort. Fisher finished 4th behind Donohue in the Penske Camaro, Peter Revson in a factory Javelin, and Sam Posey in the second Penske Camaro at Meadowdale. Not a bad start for the Trans-Am’s newest manufacturer.

[Steve Holmes]

In fact, the Fisher Firebird was actually the Camaro he’d contested the early rounds, which started life as a 1967 model. The team simply changed the sheet-metal, including the nose, hood, and tail-pan, plus they cut sections out of the rear quarters to fit the Firebird flutes. Initially, the car retained its white paint, as it had appeared in Camaro form, but was soon presented in a striking yellow with black scallops running back from the nose, with more scallops coming forward from the tail-pan across the hipline. It was a superb looking car.

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Howard Cohen photo of the Gagnon Springs Firebird in original Camaro form, as driven by Francois Favreau at a St. Jovite USAC or F1 support race.

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Gilles Corbeil photo showing the car in its Trans-Am debut race as a Firebird, at Meadowdale, still wearing its white paint.

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Now with black hood and stripes over the roof and down the rear.

Throughout the remainder of the season, Fisher produced several more strong results, including 4th at St Jovite, 2nd at Continental Divide, and 3rd at Riverside.

Meanwhile, over in the factory Shelby camp, Ford hero Jerry Titus, who’d won the Trans-Am Championship for Mustang in 1967, had become increasingly frustrated with his teams progress. For 1968, Ford developed their famous tunnel-port heads, in a desperate bid to try and bridge the horsepower gap to Chevrolet. The tunnel-port motors proved powerful, but were incredibly unreliable, with engine failures taking place in most races, and even throughout practice and qualifying. Prior to the final round, Carroll Shelby got wind of the fact Titus was planning to depart, and so he fired his number one driver. Titus had watched Fisher scoring top results in his privateer Firebird, and figured a factory backed effort could at least be the equal of the dominant Penske Camaro. After all, they were essentially the same car.

To that end, Titus had Godsall quickly hash together a Firebird for the final race. Again, this car started life as a 1967 Camaro, built by Jon Ward, which was hastily converted to Firebird sheet-metal. And Titus promptly stuck the car on pole. He was leading the race from Donohue when the engine failed on lap 43 or 124. But the potential was clear to see. In that same race, Fisher finished 2nd to Donohue.

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Bill Sutton photo from Bryar 1968.

For 1969, Jerry Titus and Terry Godsall formed T/G Racing, and with backing from Pontiac, entered the Trans-Am series as a factory team. In addition, Pontiac set about building a homologation special, with design aspects and parts intended to help the effort. To make clear their intentions, they approached the SCCA and arranged a lucrative deal by which they’d name their homologation special the Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am, for which they’d pay the SCCA $5 for every car that carried the name.

The Trans-Am name remained a hero car throughout the remainder of Pontiacs history, before the company was eventually closed by GM in 2010. Although it took until 1972 before a Pontiac finally won a Trans-Am race, the Trans-Am name in the Pontiac companies line-up of road cars proved extremely successful, eventually becoming a star of the silver screen in movies such as Smokey And The Bandit, Hooper (both starring Burt Reynolds at the pinnacle of his popularity), Knight Rider, and others.

And it all started with that little yellow Firebird raced by the painfully shy, but hugely accomplished Craig Fisher. This is the car I’ll be building a replica of.

[Steve Holmes]

Before I go any further, and even though I’m still only in the research and parts buying stage of this project, I already have several people I want to thank for their help and support just to get to this point. The list below are those who’ve played a role in this cars creation very early on, mostly in the research and planning stage. There are other people who I’ll thank in later chapters who have shown amazing generosity with parts supply, and I’ll be mentioning them in due course. There will undoubtedly be more along the way, but I want to start with those who have already had a role to play.

Neil Tolich:

First up is Neil Tolich. I first reached out to Neil for help when I was trying to gather information on understanding the hows and whys of FIA Appendix K rules, and the accompanying Homologation Sheet and HTP. Neil raced the famous Ivan Segedin Fleetwood Motors Mustang in the UK and Europe, and went through the same challenges as me in having to get his head around the rules.

The Mustang, even though it was restored back to its original Segedin guise as raced during the 1965/66 season, didn’t fit the very strict FIA Pre 1966 Group 2 Touring Car rules which are in use throughout the UK and Europe, and Neil had to make several changes made to his car, including have a complete Group 2 motor built in the UK. It was Neil who alerted me to the Homologation Sheet list, and helped me to understand the rules.

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[John H]

Hi Ken, thanks so much for the kind words. And yes, they really are a pretty car, and that one in your picture is especially so!

Its best to be honest with the wife, they always find out sooner or later. I read something recently that made me laugh. It said: "My biggest fear is that when I die my wife sells my race car for what I told her it cost me". Ha ha
That's very funny.. I thought I was the only one who is guilty of that!!!!
Steve look forward to seeing your project progress.

[khyndart in CA]

I guess some of the original Dennis Simmons modifications have been altered !
As mentioned in a 2005 motoring magazine " some of the modifications carried out by Dennis Simmons are amusing. "Dennis also lowered the front of the car in an attempt to make it handle, and then raised the wheel arches on inch to disguise this modification (as lowering was banned).
Interior-wise, the cabin looked totally stock, with original bucket seats, no roll bars, a standard factory dash with strip speedometer and factory steering wheel. Every second seat spring was removed, brackets were binned, and sound deadening removed to lighten the car, but kept the ‘stock’ upholstery which was called for the current rules in 1965 ! "

(Ken H )

[Steve Holmes]

I guess some of the original Dennis Simmons modifications have been altered !
As mentioned in a 2005 motoring magazine " some of the modifications carried out by Dennis Simmons are amusing. "Dennis also lowered the front of the car in an attempt to make it handle, and then raised the wheel arches on inch to disguise this modification (as lowering was banned).
Interior-wise, the cabin looked totally stock, with original bucket seats, no roll bars, a standard factory dash with strip speedometer and factory steering wheel. Every second seat spring was removed, brackets were binned, and sound deadening removed to lighten the car, but kept the ‘stock’ upholstery which was called for the current rules in 1965 ! "

(Ken H )

Hi Ken, the FIA rules actually allow the interiors to be completely stripped out, only requiring a single seat for the driver, and nothing else. The issues for Neil were the Weber carbs, and Mustang tramp rods, and a few other things. These were both items fitted to the car in period. But that doesn't matter. If they don't fit the rules they can't be used, no matter what the Mustang was fitted with in period.

[Steve Holmes]

That's very funny.. I thought I was the only one who is guilty of that!!!!
Steve look forward to seeing your project progress.

Thanks John, I appreciate that.

[Steve Holmes]

Christophe Schwartz:

Christophe was the first European historic racer I reached out to. He is French, but lives in Germany, and is a total Mopar nut. He races a Dodge Charger NASCAR stockcar, a Plymouth Cuda, plus a modern Dodge Viper. The Charger he built for Classic Le Mans, while the Cuda is powered by a big block Hemi. It was because of the Cuda I first contacted Christophe, as I knew he’d based its mechanicals on the Dan Gurney AAR factory Trans-Am Cuda that went to France at the end of the 1970 season, and was eventually fitted with a big block Hemi.

At this stage I was still toying with the idea of taking the Monaro to Europe, and wondered how likely it would be to race an odd-ball car there. Christophe was very helpful, and told me I’d need to provide the FIA with evidence of the racing heritage of the HQ Monaro model in Australia, including period photos and magazine articles.

It was during my conversations with Christophe I began to appreciate just how important it was to work closely with the FIA on attempting to race a car that is an unknown to them, and that attempting to do so from the other side of the world was going to be an incredibly difficult process that would likely not have the outcome I’d hoped for.

It was thanks to all this I finally decided to drop the Monaro idea, and go with the Firebird instead. It’s a decision I’m really happy I made.

Check out Christophe's fascinating blogs here:

http://www.hemicuda-france.com/
http://www.olympia-charger.com/

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[Steve Holmes]

Eric Broutin:

Eric is another French historic racer, and has been amazing to me. I’m certain I couldn’t have taken on this project if not for Eric, and he has happily answered all my stupid questions. And there have been many.

Eric races a 1967 Camaro in European historic events, which was an SCCA A/Sedan car when it was new. It never contested the Trans-Am series, but was built to the same regulations. The Trans-Am series used A/Sedan rules. Eric purchased his car in the US, shipped it to France, and then went through the difficult process of getting a Historic Technical Passport for the car, which he ultimately did as a Trans-Am car.

Eric races his Camaro with the Peter Auto historic group, in the Heritage Touring Cup class for touring cars from the mid-1960s through mid-1980s. The series includes everything from Group 5, Group 2, Group A cars etc, and races at tracks such as Spa, Monza, Hungaroring etc. Looks like a lot of fun!

Eric has also helped me with technical details such as what I can and can’t get away with under the rules, and even the best/cheapest fuel to use. The plan is to build my car so it doesn’t require having to change anything in order to race in Europe, including the fuel octane. Eris is an awesome guy!

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Please check out Eric’s website here. If you're thinking of purchasing a historic race car, he is the guy to speak to: http://www.ericbroutin.com/

More on Peter Auto can be found here: https://peterauto.peter.fr/en

Heritage Touring Cup promotional video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKa-XFjA63M

[Bruce302]

You might like to add one of these TG Racing foil decals. it is on silver foil, not the black that the scan appears.
You can see one on the door of the car when in white and on the front fender above the Firebird script.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2mfagbm.jpg



In fact, the Fisher Firebird was actually the Camaro he’d contested the early rounds, which started life as a 1967 model. The team simply changed the sheet-metal, including the nose, hood, and tail-pan, plus they cut sections out of the rear quarters to fit the Firebird flutes. Initially, the car retained its white paint, as it had appeared in Camaro form, but was soon presented in a striking yellow with black scallops running back from the nose, with more scallops coming forward from the tail-pan across the hipline. It was a superb looking car.


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Gilles Corbeil photo showing the car in its Trans-Am debut race as a Firebird, at Meadowdale, still wearing its white paint.

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Now with black hood and stripes over the roof and down the rear.

Throughout the remainder of the season, Fisher produced several more strong results, including 4th at St Jovite, 2nd at Continental Divide, and 3rd at Riverside.

And it all started with that little yellow Firebird raced by the painfully shy, but hugely accomplished Craig Fisher. This is the car I’ll be building a replica of.

[Bruce302]

Sorry, I meant to say on the front fender above the "Firebird" script when the car is yellow.

[Steve Holmes]

You might like to add one of these TG Racing foil decals. it is on silver foil, not the black that the scan appears.
You can see one on the door of the car when in white and on the front fender above the Firebird script.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2mfagbm.jpg

Wow Bruce, that is really cool! Where did you get this?

I'd love to get a couple of these made.

[Bruce302]

One of my Canadian friends who worked with TG Racing was kind enough to gift this NOS one to me.
I will see if I can get some run off for, but we don't want them turning up on any old Firechicken.

[Spgeti]

It is all about the detail Steve. "The Firechicken", gee I just love that name, will look great with these on...

[Steve Holmes]

One of my Canadian friends who worked with TG Racing was kind enough to gift this NOS one to me.
I will see if I can get some run off for, but we don't want them turning up on any old Firechicken.

Bruce, that would be amazing if you could! I promise to make the car worthy. This would be a nice finishing touch.

[Steve Holmes]

Jon Mello:

Jon Mello is from California, and is a historian of first gen road and racing Camaros. He runs the Trans-Am Camaro section of the Camaro Research Group website and forum, which provides an enormously detailed reference for all aspects of first gen Camaros and the various parts homologated for them. He is also the go-to guy for first gen Camaros in the Historic Trans-Am group.

Jon has an incredible knowledge of the first generation Camaros that contested the Trans-Am series, including the homologated parts, and everything else associated with them. He has amassed a huge amount of historical material over the years, and even owns and restored the very first Z28 Camaro to roll of the assembly line, which was immediately converted for racing duties in the Trans-Am series. Be sure to get a copy of the December 2016 issue of Muscle Car Review, in which there is a fantastic 6 page article on Jon’s Camaro. The article can be viewed online also: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/first-1967-chevrolet-camaro-z-28-back-track-years-research-meticulous-restoration/ The attention to detail, and total commitment to period correctness has really raised the bar.

I wrote a story on Jon's Camaro here: http://www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?2108-Article-Z-28-Number-One

I’ve found Jon’s material, which is available for anyone to view on the CRG, to be incredibly helpful in researching my car. Its an amazing resource, and as my car is essentially a Camaro with different sheet-metal, this all relates directly to my project. Likewise, Jon himself is always happy to answer my questions, and has encouraged me throughout this project.

Please be sure to visit the Trans-Am section of the CRG: http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?board=19.0

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Rich Truesdell photo from Hot Rod magazine.

[Kiwiboss]

More pics of Jon Mello's Camaro, Z28 number one, that's Jon with the "Palm Springs" Tee shirt. Want to know anything Camaro, he's the go too guy.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Dale, cool photos.

[Steve Holmes]

Bruce Thompson:

I’ve known Bruce for about 15 years now, maybe more. He and I first came into contact when I wrote an article on the former T/G Racing 1969 Firebird later raced by Rod Coppins to win the 1973 New Zealand Saloon Car Championship. Bruce has owned this car since the mid-1980s.

Bruce and I struck up an immediate friendship, and I’ve closely followed the very accurate restoration of this extremely significant race car. T/G Racing (Jerry Titus/Terry Godsall) were the factory Pontiac team in the Trans-Am series beginning 1969, and for that season sought to help fund their program by building a small production run of cars, some of which they’d keep for themselves, some of which they’d sell to privateer teams. The exact number is around 6 or 7 cars. Its thought the car Bruce owns is the only known surviving T/G Racing built Firebird.

Bruce has restored the Firebird to its 1973 Coppins guise, rather than its 1969 Trans-Am guise. The differences aren’t many, mainly the engine and wheel widths, and a few smaller details. But either way, the research he has done on Pontiacs involvement in Trans-Am racing during the late 1960s is world-class. He has become an authority on the subject. And I’ve been able to glean information from him to make my car as accurate as it can be.

When we think of important racing cars that have a New Zealand history, we mostly think of single seaters. But Bruce’s Firebird is up there amongst the most important, as being a very rare factory supported racer, and we’re extremely privileged to have it here in this country, and for it to have the caretaker it does.

Check out the thread on Bruce’s Firebird here: http://www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?89-Coppins-Pontiac-come-on-Bruce!!

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[Bruce302]

Cheers Steve,
The chase continues, I am finding out more about my car all the time, but I love the small detail.
I am still finding more of the correct parts that have been separated from the car over the years, and refining what is already there.

Good luck with your build, I know you have a similar outlook on period correct detail. It will be good to see the finished article.

Bruce.

[Steve Holmes]

Cheers Steve,
The chase continues, I am finding out more about my car all the time, but I love the small detail.
I am still finding more of the correct parts that have been separated from the car over the years, and refining what is already there.

Good luck with your build, I know you have a similar outlook on period correct detail. It will be good to see the finished article.

Bruce.

Thanks Bruce, I appreciate that.

[Steve Holmes]

Dale Mathers:

Last but not least, my old mate Dale Mathers. The main reason for my deciding to build this car, was because now I finally have somewhere suitable in New Zealand to race it. Dale, Tony Roberts and myself started the Historic Muscle Cars class back in 2010, with the focus being on building and racing period correct big-bore sedans.

Although it was the three of us who started this thing, its Dale who has taken on most of the workload, and really carried it on his back. We got a bit of grief in the first few years, because people thought it would never work, and most of that was aimed at Dale. But he dug his toes in and hung on, and today, combined with the small-bore Historic Saloon Cars class we’ve also taken on, and which is headed by Bruce Dyer, we’re getting really great support.

Actually having somewhere suitable to race a car is an incredible motivating factor. I used to be involved with Central Muscle Cars, but never really had the urge to race my own car in that group. They’re much faster, and much more competitive, with the cars themselves much more heavily modified and modernised for my liking.

Although my car will actually be a lot more period correct than many of the cars in HMC, and be a lot slower than most, the class provides me the perfect place to race. Not only will it look right in amongst the HMC/HSC cars, those taking part in HMC/HSC are genuine enthusiasts who race for fun, not all-out racers, and have respect the each others machinery. For example, everyone gets a trophy for finishing second, and they get their trophy when the weekend is only half finished! Added to that, its also just a really fun place to go racing, with a really great bunch of people.

41152

[Steve Holmes]

The Car:

OK, so lets talk about the car we’ll be building, and how it’ll be built to fit both the HMC and FIA Appendix K regulations. The car I purchased is a 1967 Pontiac Firebird, with 1968 front sheet-metal. The fact it features this funky mix appeals to me, because the car I’m replicating started life as a 1967 Camaro, and was updated to become a 1968 Firebird.

The way the FIA regulations work is quite simple; the car must be exactly as raced in period. To confuse matters slightly, the Appendix K rules are broken into date classifications, which allows the use of parts from within those date classifications, even if not strictly correct for the year the vehicle first raced. I’ll explain this in more detail when I get to the engine chapter.

There are a couple of small areas where I’ll be able to pick and choose parts to suit, such as some of the engine internals, and rear end internals, but overall this car will need to accurately represent the cars that were actually raced in period. So I can’t just go fitting an aftermarket engine block, aftermarket heads, Willwood brakes, Tex Racing or Jerico gearbox etc as the HMC rules allow. I have to use the parts that were used in period.

What I’m building is a replica of what raced in the Trans-Am series in 1968. However, I can’t just collect a set of 1968 Trans-Am regulations and build a car to them. The way the FIA rules work is that I need to work off the vehicles Homologation Sheet, and not the period class regulations. So too, just because the rules in period allowed certain modifications, doesn’t mean I can apply them to my car. I can only do what was done on the Pontiac Firebirds that raced in period. For example, in 1971, the SCCA allowed for the first time dry-sump systems to be used. But I can’t just apply the logic that by 1971 there might have still been 1968 Firebirds racing in the Trans-Am series, and that they might have been converted to dry-sump, and therefore I can fit my car with a dry-sump. No way. I have to actually prove that in 1971, someone fit a 1968 Firebird with a dry-sump system. As I can’t prove this, I need to therefore fit my car with a set-sump.

The Trans-Am rules were strict. They required the basic silhouette of the car to remain standard, with only light flaring of the wheel arches allowed. The bodywork had to be factory standard, and retain the standard material. So too, only factory homologated front and rear spoilers were allowed. For the Firebird, that means the same spoilers as fitted to the Camaro.

For the most part, factory or manufacturer homologated parts had to be used throughout, including engine block, heads, intake manifold, gearbox, brakes, rear-end. There were freedoms in areas such as the wheels and tyres, although there was a strict 8 inch width rule in place. Shocks and springs were free, but all other suspension and chassis parts had to be factory or manufacturer homologated.

For the anoraks among us, the following is the FIA Homologation Sheet for 1968 Pontiac Firebird under Group 2 classification That The Roaring Season Firebird will be built to. It makes for fascinating reading:

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[Steve Holmes]

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[Steve Holmes]

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[Steve Holmes]

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[Steve Holmes]

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[Steve Holmes]

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[Steve Holmes]

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[Steve Holmes]

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End

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
That is fantastic information for you to have. I have not seen such detailed paperwork from that period before.
I bet John McKechnie is envious and look what he managed to recreate.
I think you are out of my league as far as being of any help from here. (I just don't want you putting any "Flaming Chicken" on the hood / bonnet !..ok )
Sorry I can not be of better help.
41253


(Ken Hyndman )

[John McKechnie]

John McKechnie heard what Neil Tollich had to do to make his Mustang aceptable.......end of story

[Kiwiboss]

John McKechnie heard what Neil Tollich had to do to make his Mustang aceptable.......end of story

and they think I'm tuff and picky, geez...................LOL

[Kiwiboss]

Dale Mathers:

Last but not least, my old mate Dale Mathers. The main reason for my deciding to build this car, was because now I finally have somewhere suitable in New Zealand to race it. Dale, Tony Roberts and myself started the Historic Muscle Cars class back in 2010, with the focus being on building and racing period correct big-bore sedans.

Although it was the three of us who started this thing, its Dale who has taken on most of the workload, and really carried it on his back. We got a bit of grief in the first few years, because people thought it would never work, and most of that was aimed at Dale. But he dug his toes in and hung on, and today, combined with the small-bore Historic Saloon Cars class we’ve also taken on, and which is headed by Bruce Dyer, we’re getting really great support.

Actually having somewhere suitable to race a car is an incredible motivating factor. I used to be involved with Central Muscle Cars, but never really had the urge to race my own car in that group. They’re much faster, and much more competitive, with the cars themselves much more heavily modified and modernised for my liking.

Although my car will actually be a lot more period correct than many of the cars in HMC, and be a lot slower than most, the class provides me the perfect place to race. Not only will it look right in amongst the HMC/HSC cars, those taking part in HMC/HSC are genuine enthusiasts who race for fun, not all-out racers, and have respect the each others machinery. For example, everyone gets a trophy for finishing second, and they get their trophy when the weekend is only half finished! Added to that, its also just a really fun place to go racing, with a really great bunch of people.

At least I know I have ONE mate........:)

[Jac Mac]

At least I know I have ONE mate........:)

Soooo, you gunna put a 3" crank and a 4" bore block in your Boss 302 so you can play fair with your mate...:)

[Steve Holmes]

I think he'd need to do a lot more than bring it back to 302ci to be going as slow as me Jac. He might need to be towing a caravan as well.

[Spgeti]

I think he'd need to do a lot more than bring it back to 302ci to be going as slow as me Jac. He might need to be towing a caravan as well.

The caravan will have to be pre 78......

[khyndart in CA]

Speaking of tow vehicles.
Steve on my way to work this morning I saw this 1979 Pontiac Firebird at the local car lot and I thought it would make a good tow vehicle for you. ( See, I am looking out for you.) You can appreciate how much better your car looks at the front end instead of these terrible looking "safety bumpers" !
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( Ken Hyndman photos. Jan. 31. 2017 )

[John McKechnie]

Earlier convertible in the forest would be better tow car....order 2 of everything Transam
one lot for he race car, one for the road car, use experience gained.

[Kiwiboss]

I think he'd need to do a lot more than bring it back to 302ci to be going as slow as me Jac. He might need to be towing a caravan as well.

According to the latest Classic Car Magazine my engine is way bigger than I even thought........ :(

[928]

According to the latest Classic Car Magazine my engine is way bigger than I even thought........ :(
has your engine builder mixed up C.I and C.C. again?

[Kiwiboss]

has your engine builder mixed up C.I and C.C. again?

Nope....think someones imagination got in the way...........or my engines been replaced without me knowing it.......i'll blame JacMac LOL

[Jac Mac]

Nope....think someones imagination got in the way...........or my engines been replaced without me knowing it.......i'll blame JacMac LOL

Contrary to popular belief my generosity does have limits, besides you seem to have enough wobbly moments as things are...:)

[John McKechnie]

Wikki Leaks releasing new material ..........

[928]

Wikki Leaks releasing new material ..........
bloody aussies at it again

[Kiwiboss]

bloody aussies at it again

Nar its the Russians, I tell yar its the Russians........ or is it JacMac????????

[Spgeti]

Nar its the Russians, I tell yar its the Russians........ or is it JacMac????????

No it's your mate....Donald Trump !!!! sound like something he would do !!

[Steve Holmes]

Speaking of tow vehicles.
Steve on my way to work this morning I saw this 1979 Pontiac Firebird at the local car lot and I thought it would make a good tow vehicle for you. ( See, I am looking out for you.) You can appreciate how much better your car looks at the front end instead of these terrible looking "safety bumpers" !
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( Ken Hyndman photos. Jan. 31. 2017 )

Hi Ken, thats my kind of used car yard!

[Steve Holmes]

Speaking of tow vehicles.
Steve on my way to work this morning I saw this 1979 Pontiac Firebird at the local car lot and I thought it would make a good tow vehicle for you. ( See, I am looking out for you.) You can appreciate how much better your car looks at the front end instead of these terrible looking "safety bumpers" !

( Ken Hyndman photos. Jan. 31. 2017 )

Ken, as for tow vehicle, I've had a lifelong passion for '70s customs vans. Wouldn't that be cool! But I'll probably just get something boring; a pick-up or SUV to make the travel easier.

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[BigBird]

Steve
Are you aware of the Road Test on 1968 Pontiac FIREBIRD 350 IN Wide Wheels Mag Aug 1971 #21
Let me know if you would like a copy.Following you build with interest.
Cheers David

[Steve Holmes]

Steve
Are you aware of the Road Test on 1968 Pontiac FIREBIRD 350 IN Wide Wheels Mag Aug 1971 #21
Let me know if you would like a copy.Following you build with interest.
Cheers David

Hi David, no I've not seen that one. I managed to get hold of a couple copies of Wide Wheels, but not that one. They're very hard to find. Would love to see the article. Many thanks

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
I came across this photo taken at the 1969 Michigan Speedway Trans Am race by Ron Lathrop.
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Canadian Dick Brown driving the same Firebird Craig Fisher had a successful season in during 1968."




(Ken H)

[BigBird]

Steve
Having Trouble uploading Test

[khyndart in CA]

Another photo of the Firebird at speed on the banking at the 1969 Michigan Speedway Trans Am race. It had been snowing and raining before and during the race and the cars showed the effects of the weather !
41363
(Ron Lathrop photo )

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ken, I have these photos among my collection of the Firebird. As you quite rightly say, the Craig Fisher Firebird was being driven in the early part of 1969 by Dick Brown. Jerry Titus, who by 1969 was heading up the factory Pontiac team under the T/G Racing guise, was testing this car and wrecked it early in the season, and so arranged for a new '69 model Firebird for Brown to race.

[Steve Holmes]

Because I’m on a tight budget, I’m viewing this almost as a ‘kit-car build’, for want of a better term. By that I mean, I plan to purchase as many off-the-shelf parts as I can. Invariably, its cheaper to purchase an item thats mass-produced than it is to have a one-off part custom made. Because there is such a massive after-market industry dedicated to the first gen Camaro, there is a vast array of bolt-on performance parts available for the model that will also fit my car. Things such as sway-bars, for example, are available in a wide variety of thicknesses from a wide variety of manufacturers. They start at just over US$100 each.

So too, because the Camaro has been raced in the US, Australia, and the UK/Europe in the same basic guise in historic competition as it did in period, there is widespread knowledge for things such as spring rates and the like. Indeed, Chevrolet themselves produced a small pamphlet in 1968 called the Camaro Chassis Preparation Manual for privateer racers wanting to compete in the Trans-Am and SCCA A/Sedan events, that specified part numbers they could simply purchase across the parts counter at their local GM dealer, bolt on their car, and be relatively successful. It also showed the best way to build a rollcage, and other useful info. GM gained this information through bringing one of the Penske Camaros to their proving grounds, where they hooked it up to all their electronics, and drove it around their huge skid-pad, gathering reams of data for their engineers to pour over. This actually had the added benefit of allowing them to produce and homologate parts that would help the model perform better on the track. It was a win-win.

For Chevrolet, although they outwardly had a no-racing policy in place, and didn’t openly sponsor race teams or fund their own racing efforts, as Ford did, they knew the importance of achieving sales through success on the race track, and did everything they could to help customers build and race Camaros that performed well.

So this information is all available, and I plan to use it in my build, rather than spending money trying to reinvent the wheel. Its nearly 50 years since the Camaro model first began its racing career, and while a huge amount has been learned since then, at the same time, the combined might of Chevrolet and Penske Racing knew a thing or two, and enjoyed enormous success. I know I won’t go too far wrong by tapping into this.

I’ll be making a small concession with regards to the bodywork. The Craig Fisher Firebird, like most Trans-am cars of the era, had a basic exhaust system whereby each bank of four header pipes fed into one collector pipe, which dumped out on either side beneath the doors. There were no noise limits back then, and the cars didn’t use mufflers. They just had straight open pipes. In the modern world, however, most tracks have noise limits, and therefore I’ll need to fit my car with mufflers.

I asked Eric Broutin about the noise limits in Europe, and he confirmed most tracks now have them. So I’ll need to build my car to fit a muffler. Eric said on some tracks his mufflers hit the ground. His car has the mufflers under the body, as his car still has the period style exhaust system hanging down underneath. Add a bulky muffler, and you can have ground clearance problems. With just the straight open pipes, ground clearance usually isn’t a problem. However, with mufflers fitted, there becomes an issue.

Therefore, I’ll build my car with the full exhaust exiting out the passenger side, and will cut an indentation into the floor to make space for the muffler so it can be tucked up to give better ground clearance.

Both the Craig Fisher and Jerry Titus Firebirds used the 400 hood, with its twin scoops. On the road cars, the scoops were functional and created a ram-air effect, ducting cool air into the carb. But this was really a road car gimmick that several manufacturers featured on the muscle cars in the ‘60s. However, on the race cars, these scoops were blocked off, with the cool air instead being directed from the base of the windscreen. I’ll talk more about this in the engine section.

It took a little extra research to get confirmation that the Firebirds used the same cowl induction system as the Camaros in 1968. My thanks to Jon Mello and Chad Raynal for helping me with this. I should point out that Chad has been an amazing resource, but preferred I didn’t make a song and dance about the amount of help he has provided me. He is a very clever, very talented and knowledgeable guy, but also very modest.

To best see the blocked-off scoops, its probably better to show a photo of the sister car to the Fisher car, which was originally built as a Camaro by Jon Ward in 1967, before being converted to a Firebird for the final 1968 Trans-Am race, when Jerry Titus joined the team. It was this same car which, with Titus/Ward driving, and a new paint job, finished an incredible 3rd outright at the 1969 Daytona 24 Hour race. It was after this the organisers decided to drop the Trans-Am sedans from contesting the race, which some determined was because they embarrassed the factory sports prototype teams, as they were only ever intended to be grid fillers.

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[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
On the way home I came across another vehicle that I thought you would look good in. This 1986 Chevrolet El Camino. A very good looking vehicle.
Trump states that a man who races American car has to use an American vehicle for towing.
(Trump called the Australian PM to discuss how to implement this policy in Australasia but the PM hung up on him !..is that true ?)

41365

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(Ken Hyndman..photos )

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ken, those El Caminos are pretty cool little trucks, but I've been told they aren't too good for towing. I think they probably just have car suspension in the rear. I'll probably just buy a 20 year old F150 or something. I've shipped a few cars from the US to transport parts for the Firebird, so makes sense to get a pick-up at some stage to use for towing.

[Jac Mac]

Thanks Ken, those El Caminos are pretty cool little trucks, but I've been told they aren't too good for towing. I think they probably just have car suspension in the rear. I'll probably just buy a 20 year old F150 or something. I've shipped a few cars from the US to transport parts for the Firebird, so makes sense to get a pick-up at some stage to use for towing.

Why tow when you could build something like this,Ive got a 79 RHD F250 duallie I'd let go, was going to do the conversion myself but my racing days are done. The Caddy, Toronado idea has novelty value, often wonder why we dont see more stuff like that. You could probably use a Bronco on front diff only for same setup

[khyndart in CA]

Steve wrote; "The Craig Fisher Firebird, like most Trans-am cars of the era, had a basic exhaust system whereby each bank of four header pipes fed into one collector pipe, which dumped out on either side beneath the doors. There were no noise limits back then, and the cars didn’t use mufflers. They just had straight open pipes. In the modern world, however, most tracks have noise limits, and therefore I’ll need to fit my car with mufflers."
In 1969 you could just go out and let 'er "rip". Noise levels were not an issue then. No wonder my hearing is not worth a hoot right now ! ( Only old people wore ear protection in those days !) I have many regrets now but it was such a great sound. Imagine this at high speed on the speedway banking.
41533

(Ken H)

[Steve Holmes]

Why tow when you could build something like this,Ive got a 79 RHD F250 duallie I'd let go, was going to do the conversion myself but my racing days are done. The Caddy, Toronado idea has novelty value, often wonder why we dont see more stuff like that. You could probably use a Bronco on front diff only for same setup

Those are cool looking rigs Jac and I love the idea of having a neat old period hauler. But for me personally, with most tracks so far away, the novelty would wear off. I'd love to get a modern pick-up, but they're expensive. So a late 1990s pick-up is probably the best compromise, as I wouldn't need to spend the money having it converted to rhd.

[Steve Holmes]

Steve wrote; "The Craig Fisher Firebird, like most Trans-am cars of the era, had a basic exhaust system whereby each bank of four header pipes fed into one collector pipe, which dumped out on either side beneath the doors. There were no noise limits back then, and the cars didn’t use mufflers. They just had straight open pipes. In the modern world, however, most tracks have noise limits, and therefore I’ll need to fit my car with mufflers."
In 1969 you could just go out and let 'er "rip". Noise levels were not an issue then. No wonder my hearing is not worth a hoot right now ! ( Only old people wore ear protection in those days !) I have many regrets now but it was such a great sound. Imagine this at high speed on the speedway banking.
41533

(Ken H)

Yes thats a great example of how the exhaust systems commonly looked in period Ken. There would be a similar pipe exiting on the drivers side. The collectors and exhaust pipes were commonly 3.5 inches in diameter. Really loud. And Trans-Am cars usually didn't have side windows. Imagine that after 4 hours!

The Historic Trans-Am group in the US still run the original style open pipes, as these cars are extremely correct to how they originally raced. These are all the original cars, no replicas. So they race at tracks where noise isn't an issue, or where the tracks have permission to run historic events where the cars are loud.

This is a great example of just how loud these cars were/are:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_aK-zw5vhA

[khyndart in CA]

Thanks for that reminder Steve. I was at that race in 2010 and the sounds of the opening laps when they were bunched up was truly magnificent.

[Steve Holmes]

Engine:

This is one area where the FIA rules really differ from those of HMC. The engines for FIA historic cars must be completely period correct. Well, sort of. And for the car to get an HTP, an FIA inspector checks it, looking for all the correct serial numbers for each part.

In HMC, we’re allowed aftermarket engine blocks, heads etc. This isn’t the case under Appendix K. I have to use an original production car block and heads of the type that would have been used in period. My car will run a small block Chevy. The Trans-Am series rules for the period 1966 – 1972 required mostly production car parts be used on the race cars. There were some freedoms, such as wheels, tyres, engine internals etc, but for the most part, these were production-based cars. You may think production car parts wouldn’t have coped with the stresses placed on them in a competition environment. But in fact, they held up extremely well. Most Trans-Am races were around 3 or 4 hours long. Added to that events such as the Daytona 24 Hour and Sebring 12 Hour races were part of the championship in the late 1960s. The engines were producing less horsepower than we see today, and they were far from bullet-proof, but if prepared properly, would go the distance.

Pictured below is the engine bay from one of the 1968 Penske Camaros. This was Mark Donohue's main race car for 1968, which he used from Round 3 of the series, and in which he dominated the championship. This car has been owned by Tom McIntyre for many years, and is a great example of how a period correct engine bay should look. There is no bling. The engine bay features nothing that isn't serving a purpose.

Penske, like any good race team, didn't want any parts coming along for the ride if they didn't serve a purpose. So too, although the team took great pride in the appearance of their cars, they generally didn't leave the hood open for prying eyes. Unlike in todays historic racing, the engine bay usually wasn't on display. So there was no need for adding chrome, or polished aluminium, or anything else that wasn't purely functional.

Note the grey paint on the engine. I'll talk about this towards the end of the engine chapter.

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[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
I know you will give a much better explanation but I had entered this piece of information a few years ago.
(05-30-2014,*09:50 PM
#102
khyndart in CA

"Grant, Thanks to your comment I remembered my first visit to Riverside in October 1974.
It was to see the IROC race that was now consisting of (Identical) 1974 Camaros powered by 350 Chev engines prepared by Traco Engineering that produced 440 horsepower and also had to be identical.
(The engines were painted gray so as to show any oil leaks. )"

Was that the reason in 1968 ?
It does make sense compared to the Black, Cherry red, Ford blue, Green etc engines that were out there.

[Steve Holmes]

Steve,
I know you will give a much better explanation but I had entered this piece of information a few years ago.
(05-30-2014,*09:50 PM
#102
khyndart in CA

"Grant, Thanks to your comment I remembered my first visit to Riverside in October 1974.
It was to see the IROC race that was now consisting of (Identical) 1974 Camaros powered by 350 Chev engines prepared by Traco Engineering that produced 440 horsepower and also had to be identical.
(The engines were painted gray so as to show any oil leaks. )"

Was that the reason in 1968 ?
It does make sense compared to the Black, Cherry red, Ford blue, Green etc engines that were out there.

Hi Ken, that may very well have been the reason for TRACO painting their engines grey. Much like how most Trans-Am and A/Sedan cars back then had a grey interior. Its thought the lighter colour allowed for spotting oil a little easier. Also, many of the teams acid dipped their cars very heavily, and the grey paint was thought to help spot the cracks easier from where they'd broken apart.

But as for the grey paint on the TRACO motors, while I'm sure the grey paint would have helped spot oil leaks, the various engine builders would paint their engines in their own chosen colour, which often differed to that of other engine builders. It was almost like a signature, so you'd know who the engine builder was from the colour of the engine.

[Steve Holmes]

Engine Block:

The SCCA Trans-Am series had a strict maximum engine limit size of 5000cc (305ci). Chevrolet produced the Z28 Camaro specifically to compete in the Trans-Am. By mating a 3 inch crank with the blocks standard 4 inch bore, they achieved an almost perfect 302ci. The Z28 was the only model in which the 302 motor was available. Likewise, the only engine option available in the Z28 was the 302.

When the Z28 Camaro was first homologated for the Trans-Am series in 1967, the Chevy engine block used was casting #3892657. For 1968, the production part number for the engine block was 3914678. But these were only 2-bolt mains blocks. For racing, a 4-bolt mains block is preferable. However, for 1969 onwards, the more familiar 3970010 block was used, which first went into production in late 1968. The ‘010’ block was used in numerous applications, and was available in both 2-bolt mains and 4-bolt mains. The 2-bolt mains blocks were used in low-stress applications including passenger cars and trucks etc. But the 4-bolt mains blocks were used in high performance applications, and were the basis for the 302ci motor found in 1969 Z28 Camaros.

Now, I should be using a ‘678’ block in my car, being that this is the correct block for 1968. However, as explained earlier, the Appendix K rules have what they call “Date Classifications And Definitions”. This is, as the name suggests, date classifications, ie, the classification into which each make and model of vehicle falls based on its year of manufacturer. This is described as such: “A car will be dated by the specification of that car and not necessarily by the date of build”. My 1968 Firebird is classified under Appendix K G1; “1/1/1966 to 31/12/1969 for homologated Touring and GT cars”. What this means is that I can use parts that were in production prior to 31/12/1969.

To that end, for my car, I’ll be able to use an ‘010’ 4-bolt mains block. This is the block many of the Camaros use in the Historic Trans-Am group in the US, as well as those racing in Europe and the UK under FIA Appendix K rules. I can use a ‘678’ block, but an FIA inspector will green light me having an ‘010’ block also. What I absolutely can’t do, is use a modern aftermarket block, such as a Dart or similar. It must be an original Chevy production block with the correct production part number on it.

So I spent some time searching the internet, and eventually found a good block in Las Vegas that had been bored 020 over, magnafluxed, cleaned, and fitted with new frost plugs. I think from memory it cost me about US$600. Decoding the factory stamping, the block dates to 1976. I don’t know if this will work against me if/when inspected by an FIA officer, but I feel I might keep a look out for a 1969 block, just as a back-up.

41560

41561

I’d been collecting parts in the US, and needed to get them to New Zealand. So I bought an old 1964 Ford Galaxie in Arizona with which to ship home some of my parts in the boot (these things have a HUGE boot!), and by the time the engine block reached New Zealand it had developed a layer of surface rust, so I’ll need to have it cleaned again. But in the spots where surface rust hasn’t formed, its possible to see the cross-hatching from where it was recently bored.

41562

Technically, the engine internals need to be as used in period, but from asking various people who race historic cars in the UK and Europe, this area provides relative freedom. What is important, however, is that the engine size is correct. The Trans-Am series had a strict 5 litre (305 cu.in) limit, and my Firebird will need to have the correct engine size.

[seaqnmac27]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRjo6r0nVpA

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Sean, that was awesome!

[Steve Holmes]

Heads:

The heads on The Roaring Season Firebird must be original Chevy items, and period Chevy race heads were based on what we refer to as ‘camel hump’, or ‘double hump’ heads. Some people also refer to them as ‘fuelie’ heads, a name picked up from the fact early versions were fitted to Corvettes running fuel-injection. However, they were also fitted to Corvettes running carbureted motors as well. These were in production for several years, from 1961, and included various minor changes along the way. Casting numbers for me to look out for were: 3782461, 3890462, 3917291, 3917040, 3927186, 3947041, and 3991492. The term ‘camel hump’, or ‘double hump’ refers to the casting shape on the ends which look like the humps on a camels back. This is the case for all the castings above, except 3917040 and 3947041, which have a triangle shape on them.

41653

Intake and exhaust port sizes were either 1.94 and 1.50, or 2.02 and 1.60. Obviously the larger option is preferred.

I searched for some time to find some nice heads. The key with these heads is in finding a set that have been crack tested. After hitting a few dead-ends, on an off-chance I emailed my good buddy Tony Garmey (TRS member Horizon) of Horizon Racing. Tony is an ex-pat Kiwi who has lived and worked in the US for many years, race preparing, restoring, and racing historic cars. He runs his very successful and very busy company out of Washington State, and despite being insanely busy all the time, to my mind is living the dream. He is also an awesome guy, and very, very talented.

I emailed Tony and asked if he had a set of camel hump heads he’d be interested in selling. He replied saying that indeed he did, a nice set that had been crack tested and lightly ported. He said he had both Roger Williams’ and Graeme Cameron’s race cars in his shop that would soon be sent back to New Zealand, and that he’d put the heads into the container with the cars. I asked how much he wanted for them, and in an amazing gesture, he said he didn’t want any money. He said he gets so much enjoyment from The Roaring Season, he wanted to gift them to me. I was blown away by this generosity! Thank you Tony. I really appreciate it. You are an absolute champion.

Please visit Tony’s website at: http://www.horizonracing.com/

Thanks also to Graeme Cameron for delivering the heads to Tony Roberts, and to Tony for bringing them down to Manfeild for me.

The heads Tony sent me are the original camel hump items, 3782461, and they’re in beautiful shape. These were produced from 1961 through 1966, so I definitely don’t have to worry about them being too new for the FIA inspector.

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In the Trans-Am series, roller rockers really didn’t appear until at least 1970, which therefore means I can’t run them on my engine. However, I’ve also been told that the FIA inspectors often don’t check such things, so I’ll make a decision on whether or not to use include roller rockers once I get to that stage in the build.

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
I might have found an engine for you !
Tuck this one away under the hood and you could find yourself up on the podium ahead of all the "big boys "
41883

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/chevrolet-427-zl-1-engine-block-found-new-in-crate-stored-for-40-years/ar-AAmMAvK?li=BBisPVf&ocid=spartandhp

( Ken H )

[Paul B]

The Firebird will be a very cool build, You are right they are aesthetically very nicely balanced design.
I did not start racing until I was 49 ... don't let anything hold you back.
I am looking forward to lining up together in the Sprint.
Cheers

[Steve Holmes]

Steve,
I might have found an engine for you !
Tuck this one away under the hood and you could find yourself up on the podium ahead of all the "big boys "
41883

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/chevrolet-427-zl-1-engine-block-found-new-in-crate-stored-for-40-years/ar-AAmMAvK?li=BBisPVf&ocid=spartandhp

( Ken H )

Hi Ken, wow, that is really cool! I can't even begin to imagine what that must be worth.

[Steve Holmes]

The Firebird will be a very cool build, You are right they are aesthetically very nicely balanced design.
I did not start racing until I was 49 ... don't let anything hold you back.
I am looking forward to lining up together in the Sprint.
Cheers

Hi Paul, hey thanks so much for the awesome encouragement. I really appreciate it. I'm looking forward to getting out on the track with you and your Falcon Sprint. I hope you'll create a build thread here for it? This is really going to be an amazing car.

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
Here is another engine option even though it may not meet the rules for your class.
This would have kept the lads at Repco busy if this had gone into production !

It was John DeLorean's desire to give the Firebird a racing image with this Brabham 400 version. The fuel injected OHC Brabham-Pontiac V-8 proved disappointing in early tests and very expensive to produce in 1967 so the project was terminated after only one prototype was produced.
42044



(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

Steve.
I got this 1988 book regarding the Firebird from the library and it is very interesting reading. You may have read it but if there is anything you might be interested in please let me know.

42051

42052


( Ken Hyndman )

[Steve Holmes]

Steve,
Here is another engine option even though it may not meet the rules for your class.
This would have kept the lads at Repco busy if this had gone into production !

It was John DeLorean's desire to give the Firebird a racing image with this Brabham 400 version. The fuel injected OHC Brabham-Pontiac V-8 proved disappointing in early tests and very expensive to produce in 1967 so the project was terminated after only one prototype was produced.
42044



(Ken H )

Hi Ken, hey wow, this is so cool! I wasn't aware Pontiac ever looked into such a project. Must have sounded amazing! Out of interest, what size was the Repco Brabham engine?

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
It was a 5 liter SOHC Repco / Pontiac fuel injected engine.

42085

You can read more about it at this site.


http://musclecarfilms.com/1969_Firebird_Engineering_Cars_1.html



( Ken Hyndman )

[Kevin Hirst]

Steve,
It was a 5 liter SOHC Repco / Pontiac fuel injected engine.

42085

You can read more about it at this site.


http://musclecarfilms.com/1969_Firebird_Engineering_Cars_1.html



( Ken Hyndman )

Did you see Gas monkey garage last where they have Firebird #1&2 to restore.

[Greg Stokes]

Looks great Steve and very inspiring for others to build something. I sure love the Penske Donahugue car too

[Steve Holmes]

Steve,
It was a 5 liter SOHC Repco / Pontiac fuel injected engine.

42085

You can read more about it at this site.


http://musclecarfilms.com/1969_Firebird_Engineering_Cars_1.html



( Ken Hyndman )

That would be so cool!

[Steve Holmes]

Looks great Steve and very inspiring for others to build something. I sure love the Penske Donahugue car too

Thanks Greg, much appreciated. Here is a story I wrote on the Donohue Camaro: http://www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?1985-Article-An-Unfair-Advantage

[Steve Holmes]

Intake Manifold:

The maximum engine size in the Trans-Am series from 1966 through 1972 was 5000cc. To fit this requirement, Chevrolet created the Camaro Z28, which, using a 3 inch crank with the 4 inch bore provided a near-perfect 302 cu.in engine size for the category. Once specialist engine builders such as Traco, Bartz etc got hold of these engines, they worked their magic, and the Chevy teams were at least on a par with those from Ford and Mercury. By early to mid-1967, teams such as Penske were enjoying around 440hp. The Camaro in the early races may not have stopped or handled too well, but it had plenty of boogie in a straight line.

However, not one to go resting on their laurels, GM engineers were constantly looking for ways to squeeze more power out of these motors within the tight confines of the regulations. One of the rules required by the SCCA was that the cars all have a flat hood, and that the motor and all its parts not protrude through the hood. So too, in 1967, the rules also required that while up to four 2-barrel carburettors could be used, not more than one 4-barrel could be used. But with some pressure from the manufacturers, this rule was changed for the 1968 season, from being not more than one 4-barrel, to not more than two 4-barrels.

So in mid-1967, GM engineers began working on a prototype tunnel ram intake manifold, but in which the tunnels ran horizontally, not vertically, and on top of which would be mounted a pair of 4-barrel carbs. A vertical tunnel ram would produce better results, but wouldn’t fit under the hood. So instead they produced a cross ram, whereby a pair of off-set 4-barrel carbs were mounted in an outboard position to keep the entire system very low. Such systems had been used previously by Chrysler in the early 1960s, although the GM intake was much more compact, as engineers also needed to house it within a special plenum into which cold air could be drawn in through the top of the cowl.

The GM cross ram intake is an aluminium two-piece unit with a main mounting plate featuring equal length long tuned runners that create a ram effect of packing in the fuel mixture when using a long duration camshaft on high revving engines. A lid is bolted to the base onto which the carbs are fitted. The cross ram was designed specifically for this small 5 litre engine, and its ability to rev.

42153

In August 1967, back-to-back tests were undertaken pitting a Chevy Trans-Am engine fitted firstly with a single 4-barrel, then the new cross ram. The single 4-barrel engine used an 800cfm Holley, which was the typical set-up in 1967, and produced 441.5hp @7400rpm. The cross ram intake was then fitted, using a pair of 600cfm Holleys, and it produced 467hp @7400rpm. The cross ram netted an impressive 25hp gain. That was a massive increase for a 5 litre engine, and particularly in a championship where all the various makes produced roughly around the same amount of power. By the end of 1969, the cross ram equipped Traco built Chevys in the Penske Camaros were punching out close to 500hp.

Two 600cfm carbs sound way too much for a small 5 litre engine, but in fact after several tests using different carb sizes and carb types, this was the combination that produced the best result.

[Steve Holmes]

This is a cross ram set-up fitted to a Penske Camaro.

42164
Photo courtesy CRG website.

[Steve Holmes]

Intake Manifold continued:

But the cross ram can’t function just on its own. It needs large gulps of cold air to help feed the beast. And the best place to source this cold air is the high pressure area at the base of the windscreen. Therefore, GM engineers also produced a special plenum housing which wraps around the cross ram and carbs at one end, and which then follows a wide tunnel which attaches to the firewall on the passenger side at the other end. A hole is cut in the firewall, and cold air is ducted in through the cowl vent at the base of the windscreen.

42176

42177

Clearance between the hood and the cowl plenum created problems early on, as the height of the early air cleaners was only 1 ½ inches tall, which caused air-flow problems to the carbs. This was remedied with a taller air filter. For Chevy teams to be able to use the cross ram set-up on their cars required Chevrolet to manufacturer and sell all the parts involved across their parts counter, for each item to have a part number, and for everything to be homologated. So this was no small job. Most of the really serious teams ditched the factory plastic plenum and made their own taller plenums so they could fit a taller air cleaner. These were usually made from aluminium.

42178

The GM cross ram and its various associated parts was homologated in early 1968. Interestingly, while a well-connected team such as Penske were using the piece from Round 1, these were the prototype models, as GM hadn’t actually started producing them yet. They became available to the regular privateer teams part-way through the year.

As a side note, for the 1969 Trans-Am season, the SCCA relaxed their rules slightly and allowed the use of small hood scoops. But these scoops weren’t allowed to interfere in any way with the drivers vision. To that end, Chevrolet produced its beautiful and now very familiar RPO ZL2 steel hood, with its rear-facing scoop that forced cool air to the carb/s from the base on of the windscreen, just as the 1968 set-up did, but now the air was fed via the rear facing scoop allowing for a much taller cowl plenum and air cleaner, thus creating even more horsepower. In order for the ZL2 hood to be accepted in the Trans-Am series, GM had to sell 1000 units, which they did by making it a regular production option.

In addition, GM also homologated a fibreglass version of the ZL2 hood, which was only available over the parts counter and which they labelled a ‘heavy duty option’, which was in-house code for ‘racing option’. The fibreglass hood was designed specifically for Camaro racers, and was never actually available on road cars, not even as an option. Exactly how many fibreglass ZL2 hoods GM made is not clear, but its fair to say if you sent down to your local Chevy dealer in 1969 and tried to order one, they wouldn’t have any in stock.

[Steve Holmes]

Intake Manifold continued:

Now, both the Craig Fisher and Jerry Titus Pontiac Firebirds used the GM cross ram set-up on their Chevy engines in 1968, and I’d love to do the same on my Firebird. Not only is this authentic for my car, it also just looks so damn cool. But for 1970, the SCCA changed its rules once more and stipulated only a single 4-barrel carb would be allowed. So GM had no need to keep producing the cross ram.

So what this means is that, given the cross ram and its associated parts was only produced in small numbers to begin with, and given not all of them would have survived, originals intake manifolds are extremely rare, and also extremely expensive. I’ve seen bare intakes being offered for sale upwards of US$4000, and Heartbeat City Camaro currently have a 1968 cross ram with date matching carbs for sale at US$27500: http://www.heartbeatcitycamaro.com/store/product/27366/Camaro-Crossram-intake-carbs-4-10-68-1968/

As much as I’d love to fit my car with an original GM cross ram intake, these prices are way out of my league. However, I want to build an engine that looks just like the one in the Fisher Firebird. Fortunately, both Edelbrock and Offenhauser also produced their own cross ram intakes in period. From what I can tell, neither are still in production, or have been for a long time. However, when they do come on the market, they’re a lot more affordable than a GM unit.

42225

[Steve Holmes]

This was where Jon Mello’s excellent research shared on the CRG website came in handy. The following photos compare the three intakes. The Edelbrock looks quite different to the original GM part, and doesn’t have the ridge travelling around the top outer perimeter. However, the Offy does, and in fact, other than the Offenhauser lettering, could easily be mistaken for the GM item, unless sat right next to it.

42226

42227
GM cross ram

42228

42229
Offenhauser cross ram

42230

42231
Edelbrock cross ram

These photos are courtesy of the CRG website.

[Steve Holmes]

To that end, I set my sights on finding an Offenhauser cross ram, and my search soon led me to an Ebay auction where a seller had a beautiful NOS item for sale. I bid, and ended up owning the intake for just under US$1000. I was well pleased with that. In fact, when it arrived in New Zealand, I thought it was such a beautiful looking piece, I have since displayed it on my office desk. Whether I grind off the Offenhauser lettering or not I’ve not fully decided.

I’ll purchase a pair of Holley 600 carbs, model number 4150, to get the right period look.

42233

[Spgeti]

As interest Steve I sold the cross ram from the Tulloch Camaro in 2006 back to a guy in Texas. I had advertised it on Trade Me with bidding starting at $6500. No one wanted it but the guy in Texas had been chasing on for years and typed in cross ram on his computer and my add came up. In all complete with the carbs I got $10K for it.
I had asked Inky did he want it with the car but they had only run the car with it in 3 meetings and said it was difficult to tune so removed it and replaced it with the LT1 Z/28 intake with single carb.

I sold the car with a Smoke Ram on it.

Bet I could of sold it here today now that historic racing is on the up.

[Mark Fiddyment]

Hi Steve. These are nice manifolds, I picked up 2 NOS Offy manifolds about 4-5 years ago for $600 ea from a hotrod shop in the U.S via ebay. The carbies I am planning on getting are 600 double pump model #4295 and have the progressive secondary linkage like the ones from the original setup.
https://www.camarocentral.com/1968_1969_Holley_Carburetor_4295_585_CFM_Z_28_p/enc-843.htm

[Rod Grimwood]

Reckon leave the casting as is Steve, later on who knows what they worth. (original)

[Steve Holmes]

Reckon leave the casting as is Steve, later on who knows what they worth. (original)

Hi Rod, yeah I'll probably have to. It'd be almost impossible to grind it off and not make it noticeable.

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Steve. These are nice manifolds, I picked up 2 NOS Offy manifolds about 4-5 years ago for $600 ea from a hotrod shop in the U.S via ebay. The carbies I am planning on getting are 600 double pump model #4295 and have the progressive secondary linkage like the ones from the original setup.
https://www.camarocentral.com/1968_1969_Holley_Carburetor_4295_585_CFM_Z_28_p/enc-843.htm

Thanks Mark, yeah I've looked at those carbs before. What will you be fitting yours to?

[Mark Fiddyment]

Thanks Mark, yeah I've looked at those carbs before. What will you be fitting yours to?

Steve, I have 2 HK Monaro's a genuine 327 that I want to restore as close to original as I can money allowing, plus a base model that will get one of the following that I already have, cross ram, moon with 4 DCOE Webbers, Formula 5000 mechanical injection or 80's Camaro Tune Port Injection.

[John McKechnie]

moon with 4 DCOE Webbers----excellent taste, Mark. Very period for a HK

[Steve Holmes]

Steve, I have 2 HK Monaro's a genuine 327 that I want to restore as close to original as I can money allowing, plus a base model that will get one of the following that I already have, cross ram, moon with 4 DCOE Webbers, Formula 5000 mechanical injection or 80's Camaro Tune Port Injection.

Mark, those sound like cool projects. The mechanical fuel-injection would really be cool.

[Steve Holmes]

Intake Manifold continued:

As mentioned earlier, the carb induction system used on the Camaros and Firebirds in 1968 was fed via the cowl vent, from the base of the windscreen. GM produced a plastic cowl plenum which attached to the passenger side of the firewall, and wrapped around the carbs. A hole was then cut into the firewall, from which cool air was drawn in through the cowl vent. If you look at period photos of the Camaros and Pontiacs that raced the Trans-Am in 1968, you’ll see they had flat hoods. It was only in 1969 that Chevrolet homologated the ZL2 cowl scoop hood for the Camaro.

Another person who is helping me a great deal with information, particularly with regards the cross ram, is Ron Atchley. Ron owns the beautiful British Green 1968 Z28 that is featured elsewhere on this site. The car was originally raced by Johnny Ware, and competed in the Trans-Am series from 1970 onwards. From the time it was bought new until it was converted to a road racer, the Ware family drag raced it.

42258

42259

Ron has been messing about with cross ram systems since the 1970s, and has produced a number of plenums for them, plus various other parts. The original units were made from plastic. Ron’s are fibreglass. Many of the plenums he produced are now being sold through Heartbeat City Camaro.

One thing I wasn’t aware of, until Ron told me, was that the Offy intake is slightly taller than the GM, most notably the carb plates. Ron is currently building an Offy cross ram to fit to his Trans-Am Camaro, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing this come together.

Ron said he plans to produce his own fibreglass plenum for the Offy intake he will be running on his car this year, and I’m hoping to purchase one of these off him. If not, I might try and make my own.

[khyndart in CA]

Hey Steve,
I found another tow vehicle for you as I drove around at the weekend. Just 22 K (US) and you could mix with both the Ford and GM boys when you arrived with your 1970 Boss Mustang. Put on some silver pin striping and a silver fern etc. and you would be a big hit.

You could even sell John McKechnie the rear spoiler as he can't find a suitable one for his Monaro. (Don't tell him I suggested this and I have also supplied some instructions ! BTW this site has some good Mustang Tech Tips.http://www.cjponyparts.com/mustang-rear-spoiler-assembly-1969-1970-installation-instructions/a/354/ )
I had to put the Mini Cooper in to show that I actually did stop by to check it out. p.s. It was not there this morning. :( )
42274

42275

42276

(It seemed like a good car for the price. Do not get many like this now around here for sale.)
Ken Hyndman.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Ken, thats a good looking car. I don't think its a Boss, they had the brake duct inlet thingies on the rear fenders removed. But still a neat looking car and the price seems good for a '70 fastback.

You sure see some cool cars over there! I love your Mini Cooper.

[khyndart in CA]

Thanks Steve regarding the Cooper.
Do you note the high quality third brake light so as to try to warn others that I am slowing down.
It works almost as well as when I use my oil can to put some drops on the exhaust when I am driving and someone is tail-gating right on my butt. They will endanger everyone with their tail gating but they hate to inhale any blue smoke as it might affect their health and they drop way back. ( So a small hole for the oiler nozzle and 2 squirts, works every time ! )

Ken H

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Steve regarding the Cooper.
Do you note the high quality third brake light so as to try to warn others that I am slowing down.
It works almost as well as when I use my oil can to put some drops on the exhaust when I am driving and someone is tail-gating right on my butt. They will endanger everyone with their tail gating but they hate to inhale any blue smoke as it might affect their health and they drop way back. ( So a small hole for the oiler nozzle and 2 squirts, works every time ! )

Ken H

Ha ha, thats brilliant!

[Steve Holmes]

Internals, Externals, Cooling:

I haven’t assembled many of the engine parts yet, only a 3 inch Eagle crank which I purchased from Shane Johnson at Segedins. Shane has been great to work with and really knows his stuff. I told him what I intended to do with the car, ie, to eventually take it to Europe, and he got me to ask Eric Broutin (in France) all the right questions about his motor, and the fuel he uses. Eric runs his car on 98 octane fuel, which is available at service stations. Most race tracks in Europe supply 103 octane, but its about three times the price.

Shane asked whether the fuel used in Europe is RON (research motor octane) or MON (motor octane number). Our New Zealand fuel is 98 MON which is around the same as 90 RON. Eric said their fuel is 98 RON, so we’ll build the motor using parts based on this octane level, so I don’t have to tear it all apart if/when we go to Europe.

For cooling, alloy radiators didn’t appear in the Trans-Am series until around 1971, therefore I will almost certainly need to fit a copper/brass item to my car.

In addition, I’ll need to use the correct tin valve covers, as alloy valve covers didn’t appear until the 1970s. Its all about making the car look right.

Al Bartz built the motors for Terry Godsall Racing in 1968, and for T/G Racing in 1969. Engine builders such as Bartz, TRACO etc, usually had their own corporate colour they’d paint the engines they built. It was like an extension of their company logo, or like an artist signing one of their paintings. TRACO were light grey. Bartz were navy blue, with a Bartz tag on the valve covers. Therefore, my motor will be navy blue.

This Ron Lathrop photo shows the engine bay of the Craig Fisher Firebird at Bryar in 1968. This is a great shot in that it clearly shows the cross ram intake, the navy blue of the engine, plus the fact the car used stock type rockers.

42289
Ron Lathrop photo courtesy CRG website.

My car will probably only have around 400 – 450hp when I’m done, which is obviously way down on the HMC cars with their bigger engines and aftermarket blocks and heads. In period, the top factory supported Trans-Am teams were up in the high-400s. By 1969, the Penske Camaros were thought to have somewhere in the region of 470 – 495 horsepower. But that’s fine with me. Regardless of whether I was building an HMC car or period correct Appendix K car, I don’t have the budget to be running at the front. For me the enjoyment is in researching and building a car that is fully period correct.

Regardless, there will always be someone running around at the same speed as me. I think it was Graham Hill who was once quoted after having had a poor qualifying session and was starting down the back, “people down the back of the grid are much friendlier than those at the front”.

[Steve Holmes]

As a slight deviation from the parts-collecting that has been going on for this car, a few weeks ago I finally received a copy of the specialist book Camaro Untold Secrets. I've been trying for about two years to get a copy of this book.

It was first published in 1991 but is still available new from the author Wayne Guinn. I contacted Wayne with the intention of purchasing a copy and while he said he was happy to ship to NZ, he stopped replying to my emails not long after my first contact with him.

I tried to get a used copy from Amazon but these have mostly been very expensive, usually much more than new copies. Plus, most of the places selling them didn't ship outside the US. I purchased a copy direct from Amazon late last year and waited about three months for it to arrive, only to receive an email out of the blue from Amazon telling me it was no longer available and that my order had been cancelled! It all got pretty frustrating.

Finally, in January this year, a copy came on the market for a decent price, from a seller who was happy to ship to NZ, and this arrived a few weeks ago.

Camaro Untold Secrets goes into the fine detail of the specialist homologation parts produced by General Motors to help make the Camaro a winner in the Trans-Am series. Its a fascinating insight, and really details how, despite this being a massive conglomerate, were really not keen to spend money on motor racing. And as such, GM engineers did a lot of work outside their normal work hours, and also found clever ways to save money for the company, while also helping the Camaro become a winner on the track. The rear sway bar is a good example. Its the exact same shape as the front sway bar, only smaller in diameter.

Camaro Untold Secrets details parts such as the GM cross ram intake, J56 and JL8 brake packages, heavy duty rear axle assemblies, ZL2 hood, etc etc. Its been a huge amount of help to me and a really good addition to my book collection.

42458

[Bruce302]

That is a very good book Steve, Essential when building a car for that period.

Bruce.

[dekon]

Shame the boot spoiler is fitted backwards...on the black mustang

[Steve Holmes]

Shame the boot spoiler is fitted backwards...on the black mustang

Not real good for rear downforce Foggy.

[Steve Holmes]

That is a very good book Steve, Essential when building a car for that period.

Bruce.

Yeah you are right Bruce, was worth all the hassle to finally get it.

[Steve Holmes]

Gearbox:

I’m going to be seriously down on power compared to most HMC cars. Added to that, I also have to run an original GM gearbox, whereas HMC allows Jerico and Tex Racing boxes, in which flat shifts (ie, where the driver doesn’t have to engage the clutch every time they change gear) are possible because of their design and strength. Being able to flat shift allows a time saving over a lap. Its thought being able to flat shift saves around 1 second per lap on tracks such as Hampton Downs or Manfeild.

I did consider buying a Tex Racing box and if/when we go to Europe, sell it and buy a Muncie. But at this stage I’m opting for the correct Muncie. Once again, the Trans-Am rules stipulated only a factory production gearbox was allowed, which means the FIA Appendix K rules also require this. And the best available box in 1968 in the GM line-up was the Muncie M22 ‘rock crusher’. I searched various sites and various options looking at both M22s and close ratio M21s, and spoke to a bunch of people about this.

I eventually opted for an M21, mainly because they’re about half the price of an M22. I found a nice rebuilt M21 in California, with Hurst shifter, for US$1200.

42567

42568

42569

The seller was a neat guy called John Foreman, who specializes in rebuilding Muncie boxes. John has been a keen drag racer since the 1960s, having raced Corvettes and a bunch of other stuff, and currently owns a beautiful 1937 Chevy coupe drag car which he has raced since the 1980s.

42570

42571

One of the many people who have provided me such great advice on this project is Chad Raynal. Chad races a beautiful 1969 Camaro which has SCCA Trans-Am history, and as a result, runs with the Historic Trans-Am group. Chad’s Camaro, like several others in Historic Trans-Am, uses an M21. It was fitted with an M21 when new, and raced with an M21 in period. Chad has raced the car for over 15 years and has used the same M21 throughout that time, with a couple of rebuilds having taken place along the way.

Recently I met and chatted to Jack Nazer, who won the New Zealand Saloon Car Championship in 1976 and 1977. We spoke about his incredible Chevy V8 powered Vauxhall Victor ‘Miss Victorious’. I was astounded to learn Jack raced the Victor fitted with a Muscle M21, and it held up great, despite the car having 600hp, and being fitted with slicks.

[Bruce302]

Steve, The M21 is a good box and you can make them plenty strong. I had one built for my Firebird with steel mid plate, roller first gear and hook sliders. They are fine if not abused, like any box.

M22 gear sets are cheap and easy to fit if you do want to go that route.

Bruce.

[Kiwiboss]

Shame the boot spoiler is fitted backwards...on the black mustang

No its not........Dale M

[Jac Mac]

Just needs to be adjusted nose down a big bit!

[Steve Holmes]

Steve, The M21 is a good box and you can make them plenty strong. I had one built for my Firebird with steel mid plate, roller first gear and hook sliders. They are fine if not abused, like any box.

M22 gear sets are cheap and easy to fit if you do want to go that route.

Bruce.

Thanks Bruce, who did the work?

[Bruce302]

Derek Price at Performance Transmissions in Pukekohe, [URL="http://www.performancetransmissions.co.nz/index/[/URL]

[Steve Holmes]

Rear End:

The best production Chevy rear end for competition use in period was the 12 bolt. Light and strong, it coped well with the rigours of competition use. This is what was fitted to all Trans-Am Camaros.

It makes sense for me to fit either a Chevy 12 bolt or Chevy 10 bolt to my car. I’d spoken about this quite a lot to Ian Woodward, and he recommended a 10 bolt, which he uses on most of the Chevy and Pontiac Australian Trans-Am cars he builds. He likes the fact they’re light and really strong with the right parts installed. However, as much as I’d love to fit a Chevy 10 bolt, and it would just bolt right up, it probably isn’t the best option for me in the long term.

I’ve only ever seen one grainy photo showing the rear end of Craig Fisher’s Firebird, and this car was fitted with a Pontiac 10 bolt. This, despite the car starting life as a Camaro. Despite Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile etc all being General Motors brands, they were still operating largely as single entities in the 1960s, using their own engines, rear ends, and other parts, even if they shared the same basic platform for their various models. So while the early Firebirds were really just Camaros with a few sheet metal changes, underneath they had different engines and rear ends.

42860
Photo courtesy CRG forum.

Further confirmation that the Fisher car used a Pontiac rear end is that the FIA Homologation Sheet for the model in 1968 depicts a Pontiac 10 bolt. In addition, my good buddy Bruce Thompson who owns the T/G Racing factory 1969 Firebird later raced by Rod Coppins in New Zealand, confirmed this to be the case, telling me the SCCA told Terry Godsall in 1968 that he would need to fit a Pontiac rear end to his car if he wanted to race a Firebird in the Trans-Am series.

I’d love to run a Chevy 10 bolt in my car. The Historic Muscle Car rules allow it. Hell, there are even Camaros racing in HMC with Ford 9 inch rear ends. So if all I ever did was race the car in HMC, a Chevy rear end would be fine. And who knows, maybe an FIA inspector wouldn’t even notice the difference between a Chevy 10 bolt and Pontiac 10 bolt. Maybe they’d just count the number of bolts on the housing and give me the thumbs-up. Maybe they wouldn’t even bother doing that. But the FIA homologation sheet for my car shows a Pontiac 10 bolt, and I don’t want to be in the position where I get caught out and have to build an entirely new rear end because I took a punt on the Chevy unit slipping under the radar.

Bruce Thompson has been a massive help in this area. Of all the Firebirds built to contest the Trans-Am series in 1968 and 1969, his is the only one to have survived still fitted with its original rear end. In fact, its believed the only other Firebird that raced in the Trans-Am in 1968 and ’69 to have survived is the Jon Ward built car raced by Jerry Titus in the last T/A event of 1968, and which Titus and Ward drove to their impressive 3rd outright in the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours. But this car went to Mexico in 1969, and raced there for many, many years. It evolved and evolved, and continued racing hard well into the 1980s, and was heavily chopped about. And as such, it was stripped of most of the parts it was built with. Its now back in the US, but really only the shell is original. So this car doesn’t provide the all-important clues that Bruce’s does.

The rear end in Bruce’s Firebird is a 10 bolt Pontiac, and it’s a heavily customized piece of artwork built by T/G Racing. It features a box fitted to the cover for increased oil capacity, the centre section from a full-size Pontiac (Bonneville etc) with 12 bolt ring gear and 31 spline axles. The outer wheel bearings have an inner race so they don’t run directly on the axle shaft. There is just so much work that went into this piece. And nobody other than the T/G Racing mechanics, and the odd nosey competitor, got to see it. Luckily its survived, and Bruce has preserved it perfectly for us all to enjoy.

42861

I hope Bruce adds some more detail on this awesome piece of kit.

As for my car, I haven’t yet researched what components are available for the Pontiac 10 bolt. Frustratingly, parts are not interchangeable between the Chevy and Pontiac items. I have plenty of time to look further into this.

[richiev8]

Rear End:

The best production Chevy rear end for competition use in period was the 12 bolt. Light and strong, it coped well with the rigours of competition use. This is what was fitted to all Trans-Am Camaros.

It makes sense for me to fit either a Chevy 12 bolt or Chevy 10 bolt to my car. I’d spoken about this quite a lot to Ian Woodward, and he recommended a 10 bolt, which he uses on most of the Chevy and Pontiac Australian Trans-Am cars he builds. He likes the fact they’re light and really strong with the right parts installed. However, as much as I’d love to fit a Chevy 10 bolt, and it would just bolt right up, it probably isn’t the best option for me in the long term.

I’ve only ever seen one grainy photo showing the rear end of Craig Fisher’s Firebird, and this car was fitted with a Pontiac 10 bolt. This, despite the car starting life as a Camaro. Despite Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile etc all being General Motors brands, they were still operating largely as single entities in the 1960s, using their own engines, rear ends, and other parts, even if they shared the same basic platform for their various models. So while the early Firebirds were really just Camaros with a few sheet metal changes, underneath they had different engines and rear ends.

42860
Photo courtesy CRG forum.

Further confirmation that the Fisher car used a Pontiac rear end is that the FIA Homologation Sheet for the model in 1968 depicts a Pontiac 10 bolt. In addition, my good buddy Bruce Thompson who owns the T/G Racing factory 1969 Firebird later raced by Rod Coppins in New Zealand, confirmed this to be the case, telling me the SCCA told Terry Godsall in 1968 that he would need to fit a Pontiac rear end to his car if he wanted to race a Firebird in the Trans-Am series.

I’d love to run a Chevy 10 bolt in my car. The Historic Muscle Car rules allow it. Hell, there are even Camaros racing in HMC with Ford 9 inch rear ends. So if all I ever did was race the car in HMC, a Chevy rear end would be fine. And who knows, maybe an FIA inspector wouldn’t even notice the difference between a Chevy 10 bolt and Pontiac 10 bolt. Maybe they’d just count the number of bolts on the housing and give me the thumbs-up. Maybe they wouldn’t even bother doing that. But the FIA homologation sheet for my car shows a Pontiac 10 bolt, and I don’t want to be in the position where I get caught out and have to build an entirely new rear end because I took a punt on the Chevy unit slipping under the radar.

Bruce Thompson has been a massive help in this area. Of all the Firebirds built to contest the Trans-Am series in 1968 and 1969, his is the only one to have survived still fitted with its original rear end. In fact, its believed the only other Firebird that raced in the Trans-Am in 1968 and ’69 to have survived is the Jon Ward built car raced by Jerry Titus in the last T/A event of 1968, and which Titus and Ward drove to their impressive 3rd outright in the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours. But this car went to Mexico in 1969, and raced there for many, many years. It evolved and evolved, and continued racing hard well into the 1980s, and was heavily chopped about. And as such, it was stripped of most of the parts it was built with. Its now back in the US, but really only the shell is original. So this car doesn’t provide the all-important clues that Bruce’s does.

The rear end in Bruce’s Firebird is a 10 bolt Pontiac, and it’s a heavily customized piece of artwork built by T/G Racing. It features a box fitted to the cover for increased oil capacity, the centre section from a full-size Pontiac (Bonneville etc) with 12 bolt ring gear and 31 spline axles. The outer wheel bearings have an inner race so they don’t run directly on the axle shaft. There is just so much work that went into this piece. And nobody other than the T/G Racing mechanics, and the odd nosey competitor, got to see it. Luckily its survived, and Bruce has preserved it perfectly for us all to enjoy.

42861

I hope Bruce adds some more detail on this awesome piece of kit.

As for my car, I haven’t yet researched what components are available for the Pontiac 10 bolt. Frustratingly, parts are not interchangeable between the Chevy and Pontiac items. I have plenty of time to look further into this.

Does it need to have the correct internals?, perhaps you could modify to accept GM 10 bolt, some of the later units were 8.5 inch

[Steve Holmes]

No it doesn't need to have the correct internals Richie. This is pretty much free. I don't know how different the Pontiac and Chevy housings are. But this would be the ideal for me if it wasn't too difficult or expensive to do.

[Steve Holmes]

Suspension:

Front and rear suspension on Appendix K cars must be period correct. What that means is that all locator/traction bars must be the same as used in period. If none were used, then that also needs to be the case on historic cars. So too, the shock absorber canister must be of the same material as that used in period, and the shocks must be of the same type as used in period.

In 1968, most Trans-Am teams opted for the Koni double-adjustable shock absorbers. These used a steel canister. Today, similar shocks are not being reproduced, although originals can be found, but usually need to be rebuilt, and are expensive.

For me, I’ve just ordered some new Koni Classic shocks. They're far from the ultimate, but they're cheap at approx. US$115 – 130 each.

43135

43136

Springs on race cars are a bit of an art-form. Many years ago I purchased an excellent book written by Mark Donohue, called The Unfair Advantage. In it, Donohue discusses every car he raced during his career, including the Penske Camaros during 1967, ’68, and ’69. In 1967, the team had no idea what spring rates to use when they built their very first Camaro, as they had no experience with this very new car. So Donohue took a punt, and opted for extremely stiff 1200 pound springs in the front, and 400 pound springs in the rear.

These proved massively stiff, and the car bounced and lurched alarmingly and was extremely difficult to drive on every track other than Daytona, where on the steep banking the suspension compressed under heavy load and actually performed extremely well. Eventually, with help from GM engineers, the team trialled 550 pound front and 180 rears, with immediate improvements. They ultimately settled on a slightly stiffer package, but their findings still relate today, because in historic racing we’re still using the same type suspension, same size wheels, and the same cross-ply tyres. There is no sense in reinventing the wheel.

I’ve asked a few people far more intelligent and knowledgeable than myself what spring rates I should use, and got a fairly broad set of answers. Part of the ideal package comes down to driver preference. I think only my own driving style will ultimately produce the right set-up for me, but to start with, for the front I’ll purchase a set of Moog springs and shorten them to get the desired ride height. It was Chad Raynal who suggested the Moog springs. He no longer uses them, but did so for many years. He gave me the part number, which is #6041. I looked these up and discovered they’re rear springs for full-size GM passenger cars, such as Chevy Impala station wagon. I queried Chad about this, and he confirmed it to be correct. In fact, Chevy racing legend Dick Guldstrand used to sell these exact same springs to first gen Chevy racers. This is real old-school stuff, which I love. Once cut down, they’ll provide a spring rate of around 625 - 650 lbs/inch.

By the way, Chad has been an amazing help to me throughout, and, like Jon Mello, is unbelievably knowledgeable on this subject. However, he didn’t want to be acknowledged for his help, and is way too modest. But I didn’t want his contributions to be overlooked.

As for rear springs, I got a brand new pair of leaf springs from Ian Woodward. I believe these are about 200 lbs/inch, basically whatever Woody thinks is correct. His cars run hard and fast, and whatever he says, will work for me. Woody runs Fataz Performance Engines in Queensland, and builds some wicked road and race engines, as well as incredibly fast and well developed race cars. Many of the cars that contest the Australian Trans-Am series were built by Woody. Check out his website here: http://www.fataz.com.au/

[Steve Holmes]

Brakes:

OK, this is an area of the car that has confounded me, and which I’m only just beginning to understand. However, it was important for me to fully understand the brake packages available to Camaro racers in period, because as per the engine and gearbox, Trans-Am rules required the use of production car and/or homologated brakes. Standard fare on 1967 Camaros was the J50/J52 brake package, which would not cope with the rigours of road racing competition. The standard J52 brake package consisted of 11 inch rotors at the front and drums at the rear, and with Trans-Am races being anywhere from 4 to 24 hours in duration, obviously weren’t going to cut the mustard.

Anyone who has tried to research anything to do with the history of the first generation Trans-Am racing Camaros and the Z28 road cars that were used to homologate parts for the race cars, will be familiar with the GM factory codes for the brakes packages; RPO J56 and RPO JL8. But as I’ve come to learn from reading countless Camaro and GM forums, not many people actually understand what the codes mean. Its these brake packages and what they entail that has confounded me. But I’m finally getting a grasp of it, which is important because the brakes on my car have to be correct. I can’t just go and bolt on a set of 6-pot Willwoods and be done with it. No way. My brakes have to be what the Trans-Am racers used in period.

GM engineers worked closely with Penske, who were essentially guinea pigs, trying to make the Camaro package work in racing conditions. Like many areas on the Camaro, the brakes were a constant evolution, receiving ongoing tweaks, particularly in 1967 and ’68. Like other areas on the car, GM engineers had to find solutions that were cheap, but effective. In the early Trans-Am races in 1967, the Camaro brake problems were multiple. As the Camaro got more powerful and began to handle better, the brakes were its Achilles heel, and had usually given up long before the chequered flag fell.

The disc/drum J56 package was released specifically for the Z28 Trans-Am Camaro for its planned racing debut at Daytona in February 1967. RPO J56 utilises Corvette 4-pot calipers up front with Pryoceram heat insulators on each of the four pistons, and twin cotter pins for better retention. Standard Camaro 11 inch rotors were used, while at the rear, metallic linings from heavy duty drums were used, and included metallic shoes, special shoe springs to cope with the higher temperatures, and metallic drums in which the surface was ground to a finer finish than standard. But the package evolved constantly throughout 1967 as its various weaknesses were revealed.

Jon Mello, who owns Z28 Camaro number 1, best describes J56:

"RPO J56 was released for the Z-28 from the start of production on December 29, 1966. This was the standard 11" disc brake caliper and rotor with heat insulators on the front brake pistons. The rear brakes for that package were the standard rear drums with metallic linings and the surface finish of the drums was slightly different to allow the metallic shoes to "bed in" better. There were different springs used for the metallic rear brake shoes than in standard issue rear drums. The upgraded HD J56 package for '67 for racers, which may also have been available right away through the parts department, had the standard 11" front caliper machined to allow the fitment of the Corvette 11.75" metallic J56 pads that were made on special Inconel material and were bent in an L-shape at the top to prevent warping. They were retained by two cotter pins (one at each end of the pad) so the caliper was machined to eliminate the single pin stock boss on the top and two holes were drilled for the cotter pins. There were no rear discs for the '67 season by anybody. 1968 was the first year”.

[Steve Holmes]

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For 1968, Chevrolet released the JL8 brake package, which again used the heavy duty Corvette 4-pot calipers, but this time on both front and rear. In addition, larger 11.75 inch Corvette rotors were also adopted. Interestingly, the JL8 package was not made available on production vehicles in 1968. However, Chevrolet did include them in their assembly manual, providing part numbers so racers could put together their own package. Virtually everything in the JL8 package was available over the GM parts counter. Much of it came from the Corvette. A specific caliper bracket was also used, along with a disc brake spindle and drum brake hub.

For 1969, the JL8 brake package was made available for a brief period from February to May, and only on Camaros. The customer had to specifically tick the option when ordering their new Camaro, otherwise they’d receive the standard 2-pot brakes that were the only other option in 1969. Only 206 customers ordered the JL8 package.

For historic racing, the JL8 brake package is accepted on any first gen Camaro. Although only 206 sets were produced originally, Corvette 4-pot calipers and 11.75 inch rotors are readily available, both new and used, and the rest of the parts required can also be purchased. You just have to know what you’re looking for.

For my car, Steve Elliott very generously donated the Corvette 4-pot calipers from his 1968 Camaro. This car is actually an SCCA A/Sedan built racer that was first converted for competition back in the mid-1970s. Steve imported the Camaro into New Zealand, and after a couple of seasons, decided to upgrade his brakes to Willwood. In return for this very kind gesture I gave Steve four of the big black and white Australian Muscle Car art prints I was selling as Roaring Season fund raisers back in 2016, to show my appreciation.

From speaking with Eric Broutin, who races a 1967 Camaro in European historic events, the FIA inspectors like to see the correct Delco-Morraine lettering on the calipers, which mine don’t have. Hopefully this won’t be held against me, as they are exactly the same.

Eric also suggested I contact Lance Smith in the US about purchasing cryo treated rotors. He said they perform much better on his car, and last well also. The FIA rules require I use the correct dimension 1-piece rotors, and they can’t be drilled or slotted. They don’t necessarily have to be original production rotors, but they have to look the same, be made of the same material, and be of the same dimensions.

The special mounting brackets are available through Heartbeat City Camaro, and are US$495 for a pair, which isn’t cheap. But I need them, so will have to bite the bullet: http://www.heartbeatcitycamaro.com/store/product/12219/Camaro-Caliper-mounting-brkts-JL-8-1969/

[John McKechnie]

Steve- Grahame Williams who was sold with the Camaro to Rod Coppins ,gave me the 2 rear disc mounting brackets that they were going to use to fit the Delco Moraine discs to the rear axle of the Team Cambridge Monaro- same set up as on the sister car Camaro, Still unused with the factory part number. He had kept them since 1969, Alas, they will not be fitted to the Monaro, currently an excellent sentimental paperweight.
Scotty bought over for me 2 sets of new original one piece style and dimension 11.75 Corvette rotors and Delco Moraine 4 pot calipers, I have used one set on my Monaro- as thats what it was originally built with.
He still has the other set and they have the writing on them

[Steve Holmes]

John, you just became my new best friend! I will send you an email.

[Bruce302]

John, you just became my new best friend! I will send you an email.

The Pontiac rear axle flange is different from the Chev one Steve, You may need a pair of the unobtanium versions.

I know a guy who may be able to provide patterns.

Bruce.

[Steve Holmes]

Huh, why is nothing ever simple! What does your car have Bruce? I assume T/G made something in their shop?

[John McKechnie]

If too many things were the same, where would the fun be for us rivet counters?
Viva la difference !!!!!!!

[Bruce302]

Huh, why is nothing ever simple! What does your car have Bruce? I assume T/G made something in their shop?

My car has rear caliper mount brackets whittled down from a big ass blocks of steel, with Pontiac 'D' (prototype) part numbers.
I will take some pics.

Bruce

[Bruce302]

43853

There is a bit of surface rust pitting on one, but this is what they look like. They use the Ford type bearing capture and have no C clip like the factory GM rear ends. The 4 bolts where they attach to the flange are different from the Chev bolt pattern.

Bruce.

[Steve Holmes]

If too many things were the same, where would the fun be for us rivet counters?
Viva la difference !!!!!!!

Very true John. I have to remind myself sometimes that no matter what challenges I face, they pale in significance compared to what you had to go through in restoring the Monaro.

[Steve Holmes]

43853

There is a bit of surface rust pitting on one, but this is what they look like. They use the Ford type bearing capture and have no C clip like the factory GM rear ends. The 4 bolts where they attach to the flange are different from the Chev bolt pattern.

Bruce.

Thanks Bruce, these are fascinating. These are some bloody big clumps of metal.

I note the Jon Ward/Jerry Titus Firebird is being correctly rebuilt, including the switching of rear end from Camaro to Firebird. I assume they'll face the same problems?

[Bruce302]

Thanks Bruce, these are fascinating. These are some bloody big clumps of metal.

I note the Jon Ward/Jerry Titus Firebird is being correctly rebuilt, including the switching of rear end from Camaro to Firebird. I assume they'll face the same problems?

Last I saw, a couple of weeks back, the Ward/Titus Firebird was for sale and still in need of the correct restoration. Who ever does the final correct detail work will need these types of mounts. As far as I know the ones on my car are the only ones known to exist.

[Oldfart]

I can't really see those posing too great an issue with CNC and someone who can draw this readily. I happen to know someone who does his stuff all day every day for XKSS, D types and similar. :)

[Bruce302]

I can't really see those posing too great an issue with CNC and someone who can draw this readily. I happen to know someone who does his stuff all day every day for XKSS, D types and similar. :)

Can you PM me please. we can get this project started.

Bruce.

[Oldfart]

Done Bruce

[Bruce302]

Thanks Rhys.

[Steve Holmes]

Chassis:

Its common to see cars in New Zealand historic racing fitted with tractions bars. These are a pair of tubular bars that link the rear axle housing with the bodyshell. They attach to the axle housing at one end, and run forward of the axle and attach to the underside of the car at the other end. What these do is to basically tie the rear axle to the rest of the car to prevent axle hop and other undesirable behaviour under racing conditions.

However, in the Trans-Am series, most cars didn’t use this set-up. They weren’t allowed to. They had to use what was on the production car. In 1967, the Camaro teams suffered massively from axle hop. They tried various methods for overcoming this, and Chevrolet even made available a radius rod on the Camaro as a preventative measure. This was a single tubular bar that attached to the bottom of the passenger side rear axle and ran forward and attached to the vehicles underside. But it didn’t work. In fact, after persevering with the factory radius rod for much of the season, Penske racing found the car actually behaved better when they removed it.

One option a few teams tried was to fit traction bars from the Pontiac Firebird to their Camaros. In 1967, Pontiac Firebirds fitted with posi-traction had a pair of hefty box-section bars, much like the traction bars described above. Some Camaro teams in 1967 tried adding a Firebird traction bar on the drivers side, and retaining the factory radius rod on the passenger side, as can be seen from this original 1967 Trans-Am Camaro. Note the difference between the two bars in the photo.

43872

However, GM engineers eventually came up with a fix for the problem, which was actually really simple. Beginning with 1968 Camaro and Firebird models, they staggering the rear shocks, mounting one behind the axle, and one in front of it. In 1967, both Camaros and Firebirds had both rear shocks mounted in front of the axle. The staggered set-up all but eliminated the axle hop. The below photo is of the John Ware 1968 Trans-Am Camaro. Note that it doesn't have any traction bars, but that the shocks are now staggered, unlike those in the photo above.

43873

This was something I discovered after buying my car, and if I’d known, I likely would have tried to find a 1968 Firebird instead, as these also came with staggered rear shocks. But as you've probably gathered by now, I'm a bit of a slow learner. So I’ll need to convert my rear shock set-up to 1968 guise. I won’t run any traction bars. If the staggered shock set-up works, being able to do without traction bars will help keep the weight down.

Despite General Motors being a massive conglomerate, the Camaro Trans-Am race program was run on a shoestring by a small group of dedicated Chevrolet engineers who loved racing. And they came up with ingenious ways to retain manufacturing costs. One of these was to make the Camaro rear sway bar the exact same configuration as the front. The only difference being the diameter.

I’ve asked a couple of people their opinions on swaybay thickness, and have understandibly had a range of answers, from 25.5 – 27mm front, and 16 – 18mm rear. What I’ll do is purchase off-the-shelf swaybars, from Summit Racing or similar, that are as close to these numbers as I can get. That’ll help keep costs down. I do feel that areas such as swaybar thicknesses, and how they affect the behaviour of the car, making it an oversteering, understeering, or neutral car, is somewhat of an individual preference. Maybe some trial and error required.

Most teams in period used a Watts-link, as do most in historic racing. I’ll likely have a watts-link made, or may just purchase a Fays 2, which is an over-the-counter bolt-in system that costs US$695. That is, assuming it’ll fit the Firebird rear end.

[Oldfart]

I suspect in the best methods of cost cutting that both brackets are off the production line for the same side, so that one turned around became the "opposite" handed one. ie the right hand one for a front mount becomes a backward one on the left?

[Steve Holmes]

I suspect in the best methods of cost cutting that both brackets are off the production line for the same side, so that one turned around became the "opposite" handed one. ie the right hand one for a front mount becomes a backward one on the left?

You could well be right Rhys!

[Paul B]

That sounds right, I heard of some H-M set ups that used the same RH spring carrier used on LH to stagger shocks.
Just need to check the staggered LH shock clearance to the diff housing while trying to fit to OEM shock top mount.

[928]

I suspect in the best methods of cost cutting that both brackets are off the production line for the same side, so that one turned around became the "opposite" handed one. ie the right hand one for a front mount becomes a backward one on the left?
and the top mount is?

[Paul B]

Hi Steve,
Any more progress on the car?

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Paul I'm still only at the parts collecting and research stage.

[Steve Holmes]

Wheels and Tyres:

Wheels:

I don’t want to sound too much like an anorak by making this statement. But choosing the right wheels is hugely important for the look of any historic race car. In fact, I’d go as far as to say the decisions made in this area can make or break the look of the whole project.

The 1960s were a time of massive progress in motor racing. And that was no more the case than in the SCCA Trans-Am series. The Trans-Am quickly grew to become a massively successful and competitive series that was followed throughout the world, and whose influences were global. This wasn’t just a championship in which there was a manufacturer war between Ford, Chevrolet, etc. There were battles going on right throughout, including a tyre war between Goodyear and Firestone, a war between the oil brands, and even a war between the various specialist wheel manufacturers.

The first two years of the SCCA Trans-Am series were actually run to FIA Group 2 touring car regulations. It was only from 1968 that the SCCA started writing its own regulations. From 1968, the maximum wheel width allowed was 8 inches.

The Trans-Am series was very specific when it came to wheel choices, and wheel designs can be pin-pointed to certain years. So too, the various makes and model of car can be tied directly to the wheel styles that were the most popular choice for each year. The first season of the Trans-Am was 1966, and many cars were fitted with steel wheels, or factory alloys. However, for the really serious teams, ie, those with plenty of money, they could go to specialist companies such as American Racing, who produced their beautiful 5-spoke wheel commonly referred to today as the Torq Thrust.

In 1966, American Racing were a small cottage industry company, and produced wheels to order, usually with the customers name hand-punched into the centre of the wheel. And it was all pretty organic. I saw a great example of this a few years ago when visiting Nigel MacDonald, who owns the former Frank Bryant/Red Dawson 1967 Shelby Mustang. Nigel has managed to track down three of the original magnesium American Racing wheels that were ordered for his car when new. On one of the wheel centres, they’d made a spelling mistake when punching in name Frank Bryan Racing, misspelling Bryan with Byran.

44188

44187

[John McKechnie]

From 1968, the maximum wheel width allowed was 8 inches.

When Terry Allen brought his Camaro with 396 rat motor to Bay Park in 1970, his wheels were 12 inch front and back.

[Steve Holmes]

From 1968, the maximum wheel width allowed was 8 inches.

When Terry Allen brought his Camaro with 396 rat motor to Bay Park in 1970, his wheels were 12 inch front and back.

They would have been 10 inches John, that was the maximum allowed under Improved Production rules.

[John McKechnie]

Steve, I can only quote direct from Motorman magazine that covered this event.May 1970 page 12

Allans iridescent blue Camaro sitting on Minilites and 12 inch Goodyears all around, disc brakes on all four wheels and a 390 cu in "rat" Chevvy engine on 58mm side draught Webers..........

[Steve Holmes]

Steve, I can only quote direct from Motorman magazine that covered this event.May 1970 page 12

Allans iridescent blue Camaro sitting on Minilites and 12 inch Goodyears all around, disc brakes on all four wheels and a 390 cu in "rat" Chevvy engine on 58mm side draught Webers..........

Yes I have that issue too. I assume they were referring to the width of the Goodyears, which bulge out quite a bit from the rims.

44198

[John McKechnie]

I am quite happy to accept that I didnt check the article to see if the wheels were 12 inch.
Serious bulge though-2 inches.
Car suspension is set high, so clearance was OK
doesnt look like anyone now could do it in HMC-
3.13 Tyres: Only tyres for legal road use in New Zealand may be used. (ie.
approved road tyres having 1.5 mm minimum tread depth across 75% of the
width of the tyre and around the entire circumference at the tyre, Drag Race DOT
Tyres not allowed, nor is the practice of skimming the tyres. Aspect ratio is
restricted to 50% minimum. Non DOT Goodyear Blue Streak 15” G7 Period
Vintage Race Tyres, along with 15” Hoosier TD’s and HOTD’s are allowed. Non
DOT Period 15” Vintage Race Tyres in Goodyear Blue Streak G7 up to 6.00X15
Front and 7.00X15 Rear, along with Hoosier 15” HOTD’s up to 25.5X8.5 Front
and 26.5X9.5 Rear and TD’s up to P225/60D15 Front and P245/60D15 Rear are
allowed.
Looks like I am not the only one not watching the Test rugby.....

[Steve Holmes]

I think the HMC tyre size rule is the same as they use in Historic Trans-Am. Historic Trans-Am caters to the original cars that raced during the 1966 - 1972 era, but obviously the earlier cars originally wore much narrower tyres than those in the later years. The HTA rule is set at a sort of middle-ground so the earlier cars aren't so disadvantaged, as they couldn't fit the much fatter rubber.

The theory in period was that although there was a maximum 8 inch wheel width rule, there was no rule on tyre width, so the wider the tyre, the more rubber making contact with the road, the more grip the car had.

I'd guess that the Historic Trans-Am tyre size falls at around the size of the tyres being used in the 1968 season. By 1969, the tyres had really got fat, and bulged way out from the rim. The below photos are a good example of the differences between what was being used on the Penske Camaros in 1969, and the same car as raced in Historic Trans-Am. You can see how much less bulge there is in the tyre wall on the car as it races today.

44211

44212

[Steve Holmes]

Wheels and Tyres continued:

American Racing wheels were made from magnesium, and were extremely light. The company eventually began producing them in aluminium, for people to fit to their road cars, but most of the racers used the magnesium examples.

44213

American Racing 5-spoke wheels continued their popularity in 1967, and 1968, despite there being increased competition from other brands. Throughout both 1967 and 1968, virtually every team used American Racing Torq Thrust 5-spoke wheels.

For 1969, American Racing released their new 200-S wheel design, commonly referred to as the ‘daisy’ wheel because of the shape of its five spokes. The alloy version of the 200-S is shown above. Once again, most of the factory teams opted for this wheel, simply because it was the latest and greatest from American Racing. However, the 200-S suffered some early failures, and while American Racing quickly got to work upgrading it to a more durable 6-spoke design, by this stage many teams had switched to the new 8-spoke magnesium Minilite wheel, which remained the most popular choice for years to come.

I found this image on a model car site showing the Torq Thrust (right) and Minilite wheels, and the design differences.

44214

The Minilite wheel is hard to beat for pure sex-appeal, but in the Trans-Am series, a 1967/68 model car, such as mine, wouldn’t have worn Minilites when it was new, because the Minilite hadn’t yet made its entrance into the series. It only arrived in 1969. So while pre-1969 cars may have raced during the 1969 and later seasons fitted with Minilites, these were by now outdated cars. Below is the Penske Camaro raced by Mark Donohue from the Continental Divide round of the 1968 Trans-Am series. When new, this car was fitted with American Racing Torq Thrust wheels.

44215

At the end of the 1968 season, this car was sold, and the team built two new 1969 Camaros. But Penske bought this car back in 1969, when they became paranoid rival Ford teams may sacrifice one of their cars to eliminate Donohue, who was running away with the championship. Once back in the Penske fold, the year-old Camaro was updated with new engine, and fitted with 8-spoke Minilite wheels, as the team were now using on their latest 1969 Camaros. The Camaro spent the rest of its active career fitted with Minilites, as seen in the below mid-1970s photo when owned by Bruce Belcher, but when it was eventually purchased and restored back to its 1968 guise by Tom McIntyre, it was also refitted once more with 5-spoke Torq Thrust wheels.

44216

[Paul B]

What a find with the 3 magnesium American Racing rims. They will look very cool

[Steve Holmes]

What a find with the 3 magnesium American Racing rims. They will look very cool

He will only use them as keep-sakes Paul. Magnesium becomes brittle over time so they can't really be used for anything other than display items. But neat to reunite the car with 3 of its original wheels.

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
With all the rules and regulations perhaps you could get the "All Comers " class going where anything goes and you see cars like this;
44256

or this.
44257

44258

All the best, you are doing a fabulous job in so many areas.
We are proud of you.
Sincerely,
Ken

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Ken, many thanks, I really appreciate that. I I appreciate the support you and others have provided me.

I'm already involved in a group in NZ called Historic Muscle Cars and Historic Saloon Cars. Interestingly, the reason we created these groups was because classic and historic racing in NZ had pretty much taken on an allcomer-style flavour, with no regulations and no policing. We actually wanted to introduce rules to create some stability, and provide car owners a better return on their investment, as the ongoing costs that come with technology creep are mostly wiped out. Someone could spend a million dollars building an HMC car, but the rules are created in such a way to really won't be much faster, if at all, to a $50,000 car.

Thats the difference between NZ and other countries, such as the US where you are. The US have introduced stability, and for the most part kept technology out of historic racing. But I can see that there are probably people in the US and other countries who feel hemmed in by having tight regulations and would instead love a free-for-all allcomer group. However, what we wanted when we created HMC/HSC was to have tight regulations, because its something we've never had in NZ. I guess its a case of the grass always being greener on the other side.

[khyndart in CA]

Steve,
That was a well written reply to something I should have stayed away from, thank you, but when I went to racing at Pukekohe the fields looked like this; Jan 4 1969. NZGP. Pukekohe.
The Open Race for Saloon Cars would bring the crowd to its feet.
There certainly was a variety of cars. Note the Anglia of Bryan Marshall had a 997 cc engine and Neil Doyle also had an Anglia with a 5463 c.c. Corvette engine in it ! Allcomers Included indeed !

44271

It shows how long I have been away from NZ racing !
(Ken H)
I will say no more.

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Ken, I love the entry list. Outstanding! By 1969 the NZ Saloon Championship was open to Group 5 cars, and the allcomers had been ousted, but clearly allcomer all-in races still took place, and were still very popular. I think in many cases allcomer races were held at prominent events because there were often international teams competing that didn't fit the NZ rules.

I always enjoy your posts Ken, keep them coming.

[Grant Ellwood]

Steve,
With all the rules and regulations perhaps you could get the "All Comers " class going where anything goes and you see cars like this;
44256

or this.
44257



44258

All the best, you are doing a fabulous job in so many areas.
We are proud of you.
Sincerely,
Ken

Hi Ken, do you have any info about the V12 powered car in this post?

[Paul B]

That's a yes from me too, If there is some more info, That is so unique. Split window Morrie with a v12........ Morr-guar??
Cheers

[khyndart in CA]

Sorry to disappoint you Paul and Grant but I was looking for some Garth Souness Morrari engine shots and came across this Moggy Jag pix. I did not mean to get this thread off track too far but I grew up with All-Comers / Unlimited saloons and it is still in my veins !
44306

I did find this USA Jalopy Journal 2007 site had some interesting comments and photos etc.
H.A.M.B. "Hokey Assed Message Board"

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/new-zealand-all-comer-saloons.163607/



(Ken H )

[Steve Holmes]

Wheels and Tyres continued:

Its popular these days to fit cars of 1965/66/67 vintage with Minilite wheels, and many of the cars competing throughout the world in historic racing are fitted with these wheels. And they look great. But for period accuracy, these cars should wear either factory steel wheels or Torq Thrust wheels because the Minilite was still a few years away when these cars were new.

So too, there are numerous 1967 and ’68 Camaros in historic racing which are fitted with Minilites. But these cars wouldn’t have worn these wheels when new. They would have had Torq Thrust wheels. That’s not to say there weren’t 1967 and ’68 Camaros that raced in period with Minilite wheels. Its just that they would have been two or three years old when fitted with this style of wheel. Meanwhile, a 1969/70 Mustang, 2nd gen Camaro, etc is a better fit for Minilite or American Racing 200-S daisy wheels than Torq Thrusts, as these were the in-thing by 1969. All the factory Trans-Am teams used Minilites in 1969, while both the factory Mustangs and Firebirds started out wearing daisy wheels. Sounds kind of lame, I know, but for an anorak, having the right wheel to match the car is important.

Of course, there are exceptions when it comes to original cars. Many privateer teams competing in SCCA A/Sedan and Trans-Am races had older equipment, either cars purchased second hand from factory teams, or self-built cars, often using a wrecked or older road car as the basis. So it was common to see guys racing 1967/68 Camaros and Mustangs fitted with Minilite wheels in 1969, 1970 etc. And in the cases where these cars still exist, they’re usually restored correctly, as raced in period. So too, cars like Bob Janes 1969 Camaro that won the 1971 and ’72 ATCCs, this car was built in 1970. It never wore anything other than Minilites.

However, for a car like mine being built from scratch as a replica of a semi-factory team car, I think its best to fit the latest style of wheel that was available and popular when that make/model was new. After all, the goal here is to make my car as accurate as possible to the original Craig Fisher Firebird.

44328

[Steve Holmes]

For my car to look right, only the American Racing 5-spoke Torq Thrust wheel will do. However, American Racing of today are not American Racing of the 1960s. These days they’re a conglomerate who produces a huge number of wheels for an almost endless number of applications, including people movers and SUVs. So too, the 5-spoke wheel of the 1960s is no longer being produced. The closest in the current American Racing line-up is the Torq Thrust D. But the Torq Thrust D has a number of subtle differences to the original 5-spoke items of the ‘60s, with much more rounded spokes. Its no longer made from magnesium either, but that’s not a problem for a broken-arse pauper like me!

For those looking for a wheel that closely resembles the original 5-spoke American Racing wheel of the 1960s, there aren’t many options. Back in the 1980s, Phil Schmidt Engineering produced a beautiful looking wheel from alloy that was virtually identical to the original American Racing 5-spoke wheels. But Phil Schmidt sold his company some years ago, and this particular wheel is no longer being produced.

44624

Vintage Engineering produce a gorgeous looking series of magnesium wheels for various racing applications, including an accurate replica of the 1960s American Racing 5-spoke. However, these wheels are expensive, at approx. US$1000 per wheel, which is way out of my league. As much as I’d love to order a set, being way down in New Zealand, I’d really need to also order a couple of spares, so I’d be all-in at US$6000, or approx NZ$10000. I just can’t afford that.

44625

So I’ll go with the American Racing Torq Thrust D wheels, which while not completely accurate to the originals, are still a great looking wheel, and are affordable and readily available.

I got my wheels from Ian Woodward. Woody emailed me about getting some Monster Race Wear t-shirts done for his business, and I said rather than you pay for the tees, get me a set of used Torq Thrust wheels. American Racing are one of the sponsors of Australian Trans-Am. This he duly did, and brought them with him when the eight Australian Trans-Am cars came to race with HMC at Hampton Downs earlier this year.

I asked Woody to get me four 15 x 8 wheels, which is the correct size for a Trans-Am car. For some reason he got me two 8 inch and two 7 inch wheels. Having spoken to a couple of people running 7’s on the front of their cars, they reckon they provide excellent turn-in. However, I'd prefer to have 8 inch wheels on the front. I’m now thinking I might have to get a pair of 8.5 wheels for the rear, as the off-set is better, and provides a little more space within the inner guards for the fat tyres we run. So I have a few options there to consider. Once again, this was a really generous contribution from a good friend trying to help me out.

44626

[Paul B]

The still will look cool on the car Steve.

[Steve Holmes]

The still will look cool on the car Steve.

Yes I agree Paul, they will. But as you've highlighted with your Falcon, its the little details that make all the difference.

[Steve Holmes]

As a side-note, I'd really like to thank Ken Hyndman for sending me this beautiful book. Ken tracked down a copy, which is no longer being printed, and shipped it to me. It ended up making a few unplanned detours, but Ken persisted and it eventually found its way to me. Thanks Ken, I really love the book and really appreciate the gesture.

44719

[khyndart in CA]

Thank you Steve,
I can verify it is the same book I sent as I see the tape in the bottom right corner.
This book went across the United States twice as the US postal tried to figure out NZ from NY !
It also spent time in NZ customs before it was released so I guess everyone there had a good read of it also, Steve..
Also hope you are able to check that Firebird site that seems to cover a lot of interesting items.
Cheers,
Ken

[Steve Holmes]

Tyres:

Back in the late 1960s when the SCCA Trans-Am series was in full swing, there was a tyre war going on between Goodyear and Firestone. And tyres made a huge difference to performance. Each company was constantly one-upping the other with new, stickier offerings. The Trans-Am was one of the biggest road racing championships in the world at the time, and success, be it car manufacturers, oil companies, engine builders, teams, or tyre manufacturers, was hugely important.

By todays standards, these tyres were pretty slippery old things, and really offered little grip. If you look at old Trans-Am videos you’ll see how much the cars moved around. They were four-wheel-drifting much of the time, and crossed up out of corners. It was part of what made racing so exciting.

The Goodyear tyre was called the Bluestreak, and featured small white embossed lettering as well as a thin blue stripe running around the circumference of the tyre. The Firestone was called the Indy, and featured a gold stripe. These were sexy tyres.

44890

44891

44892
Photos courtesy Camaro Research Group

Back in the late 1960s and very early ‘70s, racing tyres, like road tyres, were of a cross-ply, or bias-ply design. They also had tread on them. It wasn’t until the early 1970s that radials and slicks began appearing in motorsport. That said, these cross-plies were proper racing tyres, the best money could buy, and the best the manufacturers could muster.

Impressively, both the Goodyear Bluestreak and Firestone Indy are still in production today, and have changed little in their design since the late 1960s. The rubber quality is better, and they do offer a little more grip. But they’re essentially the same tyres, manufactured to the same design and with the same tread pattern. The reason they’re still in production is very simple. Its because of the huge worldwide participation in historic racing. Such is the worldwide demand for correct historic racing tyres, these massive companies are still producing them. And the reason there is such demand is because the FIA, SCCA, CAMS etc etc, require period correct tyres in historic car racing, just as they do other aspects of cars be period correct.

Todays Goodyear Bluestreak looks a little different to that of the late 1960s. The white lettering is now much larger, applied with a stencil, while the neat little blue stripe is gone. Its too bad really, these tyres just looked so good in period. The tyres Goodyear produce now look outwardly similar to those they manufactured in the early 1970s, in that the blue stripe was gone and the lettering was much larger.

44893

The Firestone Indy, however, is aesthetically an exact replica of that manufactured in period, including the small lettering and gold stripe. However, these tyres are now much more expensive than the Goodyears, produced in much smaller numbers, and are used mostly by people restoring historic race cars that are used for display purposes only. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set on a car actually being raced.

44894

[Steve Holmes]

Tyres continued:

With the worldwide growth in historic racing being what it is, a third manufacturer has also come to the party; Hoosier. Hoosier didn’t have a presence in high profile road racing in the 1960s, but they’ve cleverly tapped into the large historic racing market, and produce a nice cross-ply tyre that is significantly cheaper than the Goodyear Bluestreak. And as such, the Hoosier is in widestread use by historic racers around the world. At first glance, the Hoosier looks relatively similar to the Goodyear, but the tread is slightly different, and the side walls are more rounded.

One of the requirements of Historic Muscle Cars is that the V8s be on the correct 15 inch diameter wheels, and also be fitted with period correct cross-ply tyres. When HMC was first started, most teams used the Goodyear Bluestreak, but when the guys from Australian Trans-Am visited for the first time, they were all racing on the Hoosiers, and the majority of HMC teams have since followed suit. Its really only guys like Nigel MacDonald, with the ex-Red Dawson Shelby Mustang, who have kept using the Goodyears. And this is only to be period correct. The main reason for the switch to Hoosiers is the cost. But Cardwells in Auckland also supply these tyres, so availability is another strong point. With the Goodyears, Dale Mathers was buying vast stocks of lightly used tyres and selling them on to HMC teams, but this obviously wasn’t an ideal situation for him. He isn’t a tyre supplier.

44895

For me, I’ll probably end up using the Hoosiers, but initially I’ll build the Firebird around a set of Goodyears. The reason for this is, the Goodyears have a more squared side wall, so its better to get all my clearances with these tyres during the build phase. The Hoosiers aren’t accepted everywhere, so there may come a time when I take the car to Europe and find I have to race on Goodyears. I don’t want to suddenly strike clearance problems.

I was hoping to just get a set of used Goodyears, but couldn’t find a complete set. Nigel MacDonald had a pair of used fronts off the Red Dawson Mustang which he kindly donated to me. Dale Mathers had a pair of rears which only have one heat cycle on them, which I purchased. As the rears are so good, I’ll purchase a set of fronts when it comes time to actually race the car, and these will be my first racing tyres. The Goodyear tyre sizes are 6.00-15 front and 7.00-15 rear.

Its amazing to think that when we first started HMC, a number of classic/historic racing event promoters didn’t want us racing on the cross-ply tyres, because they stipulate that cars must be on DOT road tyres, and the cross-plies all state they’re for racing purposes only. This is true, but they were for racing purposes only back in the 1960s. They’re not a modern slick radial. Despite the Hoosier and Goodyear tyres being widely accepted, and often demanded, throughout the world, a small group of HMC cars were prevented from racing at an event a few years ago because of their tyres. New Zealand really does have some catching up to do. However, with some careful education, these period correct tyres are now widely accepted in NZ and we’re now even seeing several small capacity Historic Saloon Cars being fitted with them, which of course is also correct for these cars.

These big tyres make the cars rock and roll through the turns, they break traction easily, and they look fantastic. Furthermore, they’re extremely durable. A set will easily last a season, and generally run out of grip before they run out of tread.

Who would have thought I could ramble on for so long about such an uninteresting subject as tyres! Truth is, there is no point building a period correct historic race car if you’re not going to fit period correct tyres.

[Steve Holmes]

Interior:

The interior of my car will have to be a bit of a compromise, as I’ll be building the car for both Appendix K and HMC/HSC, and it needs to be legal in both. Trans-Am cars had a gutted out interior. They had nothing, just a single drivers seat, and very basic dash. Some cars retained the factory dash, others just had a basic dash cluster. Trans-Am cars weren’t required to have side windows, nor window winders, arm rests etc. But these are all required in HMC. So I’ll need to fit them. This will add weight to my underpowered car, but I don’t have a choice.

Below is a photo of the Gagnon Springs Camaro that became Craig Fisher's Firebird. You can see it does have the door cards and handles, but the dash is a flat sheet of aluminium, while the gauge cluster is an alloy box.

45001
Photo courtesy Camaro Research Group.

Below is a current photo of one of the 1968 Penske Camaros. Although the dash pad is a factory part, the rest of the dash is custom made, and very business-like.

45002

45003

The interior of my car will be a light grey, which was commonly used in most Trans-Am cars of the day, including the Fisher Firebird. Most Trans-Am cars during the late 1960s and early ‘70s had light grey interiors, and this often continued underneath. The reason for this is not clearly known. I’ve asked several people with much greater knowledge on the history of the Trans-Am series than I have, and it appears there are at least three reasons for it.

Firstly, the grey paint helped keep cabin temperatures down, compared to say, black paint. Trans-Am races were long, and while the drivers were tough as hell, the cars had no power steering, and there were no such things as cool suits.

Secondly, having light grey paint allowed any oil leaks to be more easily spotted.

Thirdly, all the factory teams, and many of the well prepared independent teams, heavily acid dipped their body shells to get weight out of the cars. Remember, race cars were only designed to last a season, if that, and longevity wasn’t important. So they acid dipped the shells to within an inch of their lives. In the case of the Autodynamics Dodge Challengers from 1970, the shells weren’t properly neutralized following the dipping, and they continued to etch. The light grey paint allowed crews to easily spot any cracking where the metal had become too thin and was breaking apart. Dodge Challenger driver Sam Posey relates how his car would actually break apart during races, and he could see the ground racing past as the shell pulled apart around him. Sounds like fun!

I haven’t decided yet who I’ll get to build the rollcage. This will happen right towards the end of the build, after most of the fabrication is complete, as the cage will need to be built around items such as the doors handles etc. One of the things I won’t be having are the A-pillar braces that are a common sight in many race car builds these days whereby there is a plate welded in the space between the vehicles inner A-pillars, and the A-pillar section of the cage. The cage needs to look period correct, just like the rest of the car, and not like something from a V8 Supercar. Besides, I’m not sure these A-pillar braces will go down too well with the FIA. I’ve never seen an Appendix K car with these bracing plates, so assume they’re not allowed.

I asked Chad Raynal what type of steering wheel the Historic Trans-Am guys like to use to create the right period correct look, and he said Superior Performance Products. They come in different shapes and sizes, but he recommended at least 14 inches, and preferably 15 inches, from the outside diameter. These wheels are no longer being produced by are offered fairly regularly on Ebay. Chad also said I’d need to get one with a foam grip, as opposed to vinyl.

Below is Chad’s wheel. I’ll need to keep an eye out on Ebay to get one for myself.

45004

[Spgeti]

Have you looked at Grant Steering Wheels Steve ?. I think Kirby Seats also sold those cushion centres for the steering wheels as well.

[car mad]

Steve Im sure I have one of those foam covered steering wheels in my garage . I will measure it and get back to you
Interior:

The interior of my car will have to be a bit of a compromise, as I’ll be building the car for both Appendix K and HMC/HSC, and it needs to be legal in both. Trans-Am cars had a gutted out interior. They had nothing, just a single drivers seat, and very basic dash. Some cars retained the factory dash, others just had a basic dash cluster. Trans-Am cars weren’t required to have side windows, nor window winders, arm rests etc. But these are all required in HMC. So I’ll need to fit them. This will add weight to my underpowered car, but I don’t have a choice.

Below is a photo of the Gagnon Springs Camaro that became Craig Fisher's Firebird. You can see it does have the door cards and handles, but the dash is a flat sheet of aluminium, while the gauge cluster is an alloy box.

45001
Photo courtesy Camaro Research Group.

Below is a current photo of one of the 1968 Penske Camaros. Although the dash pad is a factory part, the rest of the dash is custom made, and very business-like.

45002

45003

The interior of my car will be a light grey, which was commonly used in most Trans-Am cars of the day, including the Fisher Firebird. Most Trans-Am cars during the late 1960s and early ‘70s had light grey interiors, and this often continued underneath. The reason for this is not clearly known. I’ve asked several people with much greater knowledge on the history of the Trans-Am series than I have, and it appears there are at least three reasons for it.

Firstly, the grey paint helped keep cabin temperatures down, compared to say, black paint. Trans-Am races were long, and while the drivers were tough as hell, the cars had no power steering, and there were no such things as cool suits.

Secondly, having light grey paint allowed any oil leaks to be more easily spotted.

Thirdly, all the factory teams, and many of the well prepared independent teams, heavily acid dipped their body shells to get weight out of the cars. Remember, race cars were only designed to last a season, if that, and longevity wasn’t important. So they acid dipped the shells to within an inch of their lives. In the case of the Autodynamics Dodge Challengers from 1970, the shells weren’t properly neutralized following the dipping, and they continued to etch. The light grey paint allowed crews to easily spot any cracking where the metal had become too thin and was breaking apart. Dodge Challenger driver Sam Posey relates how his car would actually break apart during races, and he could see the ground racing past as the shell pulled apart around him. Sounds like fun!

I haven’t decided yet who I’ll get to build the rollcage. This will happen right towards the end of the build, after most of the fabrication is complete, as the cage will need to be built around items such as the doors handles etc. One of the things I won’t be having are the A-pillar braces that are a common sight in many race car builds these days whereby there is a plate welded in the space between the vehicles inner A-pillars, and the A-pillar section of the cage. The cage needs to look period correct, just like the rest of the car, and not like something from a V8 Supercar. Besides, I’m not sure these A-pillar braces will go down too well with the FIA. I’ve never seen an Appendix K car with these bracing plates, so assume they’re not allowed.

I asked Chad Raynal what type of steering wheel the Historic Trans-Am guys like to use to create the right period correct look, and he said Superior Performance Products. They come in different shapes and sizes, but he recommended at least 14 inches, and preferably 15 inches, from the outside diameter. These wheels are no longer being produced by are offered fairly regularly on Ebay. Chad also said I’d need to get one with a foam grip, as opposed to vinyl.

Below is Chad’s wheel. I’ll need to keep an eye out on Ebay to get one for myself.

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[Steve Holmes]

Have you looked at Grant Steering Wheels Steve ?. I think Kirby Seats also sold those cushion centres for the steering wheels as well.

Thanks Bruce, yes I figure Grant wheels will probably be my back-up plan. I love old stuff, it has a little more character than shiny new stuff.

[Steve Holmes]

Steve Im sure I have one of those foam covered steering wheels in my garage . I will measure it and get back to you

Thanks! I would love to know.

[car mad]

Thanks! I would love to know.
good after noon Steve I have checked and mine is the same make and style but is only 12 inch have photo this may work lol

[Steve Holmes]

good after noon Steve I have checked and mine is the same make and style but is only 12 inch have photo this may work lol

Hey thanks for going to all that trouble, I really appreciate it. Cool looking wheel but unfortunately too small. I've been told anything under 14 inches will make steering pretty difficult. Thanks again for doing that.

[Paul B]

Steve, I have a 14.5 inch Grant you can try to see if you like it. Same style type as above.
Its pretty old, just how you like it!

Cheers

[Steve Holmes]

Steve, I have a 14.5 inch Grant you can try to see if you like it. Same style type as above.
Its pretty old, just how you like it!

Cheers

Thanks Paul, does it have the foam grip?

[Paul B]

Sorry no, its solid PVC grip, guess it is from 1970s.
Cheers

[Steve Holmes]

Sorry no, its solid PVC grip, guess it is from 1970s.
Cheers

Thanks anyway Paul, I appreciate the gesture.

[Steve Holmes]

This showed up a couple of days ago, sent down by Shane at Segedins. A 3 inch Eagle crank. The Chevy '001' engine block has a 4 inch bore, and combined with a 3 inch crank, provides an near perfect engine size for the Trans-Am series of 302 cu.in. This combination was what the original Z28 Camaro was based around, as this model was specifically designed for the Trans-Am series.

The Trans-Am series had a 5 litre engine limit, so the serious Chevy teams bored the block slightly to bring them up to around 305 cu.in, which is just a smidgen under the 5 litre limit.

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[John McKechnie]

Steve- should that be a 010 block ?

[Steve Holmes]

Steve- should that be a 010 block ?

Yes John, sorry, typo, or brain fade.....

[Bruce302]

Looks nice Steve, it will all be coming together very soon, you have a great collection of parts.
I will have those rear caliper mounts for you soon.

B.

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Bruce, thanks heaps. Means a lot coming from you. After much to-ing and fro-ing, I've decided to fit a Chevy 10 bolt, after speaking with Ian Woodward. He is building it for me in Queensland.

[Steve Holmes]

Awesome photo I found on the interweb of the Jerry Titus/Jon Ward Firebird at the 1969 Daytona 24 Hour event. Impressively, this car finished 3rd outright behind a pair of Lola T70 MkIII's. Looking at the state of the Firebirds nose, I'd guess this was post-race, with the lads enjoying a much-needed cigarette. That looks to be Titus on left of picture.

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[Bruce302]

That was a great race for the Ward Titus car with T/G backing. They had to stop during the race to change the whole rear end.
That car like most took a real beating over that 24 hours.

Bruce.

[Steve Holmes]

My wife Helen and I are heading over to Europe for 2 months from early December, so I've not been spending much money on the Firebird lately as a result.

However, I have made a couple of recent purchases. First up is a radiator. Its an aftermarket copper/brass item that is essentially an improved version of the original. I'm a bit weird when it comes to radiators in historic race cars. I often see a cool looking period engine bay that has been spoiled by the site of a shiny silver modern alloy radiator. I know why people use these; they're really efficient and they're lighter than an original copper/brass item. But in my opinion the radiator should look period correct too.

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Alloy radiators began appearing in the Trans-Am series by as early as 1968, and maybe even earlier still. Many of the better prepared Camaro teams in 1968 ditched the original factory radiator for an alloy Corvette radiator. The Corvette radiator was painted black, so it didn't look out of place.

The shiny silver alloy radiators became more common in the Trans-Am series in 1969, and several cars were fitted with these, including the Mustangs and Firebirds.

I asked my buddy Chad what radiators the Historic Trans-Am Camaro teams use and he said many use the DeWitts alloy Corvette radiator which is a really nice replica of the original. These look fantastic, but they're also very expensive at US$999, so although I'll likely stump up for one in time, initially I'll use the copper/brass item which will cope just fine with the piddly amount of horsepower I'll have.

This is the DeWitts item: https://www.dewitts.com/products/1965-1972-restoration-radiator

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[Bruce302]

That's nice Steve, I had an ali one in the Firebird but that is out now and I'm back to the original brass/copper one, and yes it weighs a ton.

Bruce.

[Neville Milne]

Steve, I'm not convinced that ally rads ARE the be all and end all of cooling syst problems. They LOOK good and probably are a tad lighter, but is that weight saving all that important in most cars?....I doubt it !!. My own experience with a well-worked SB Ford in a Sunbeam Tiger has been that a well-designed copper matrixed rad. is quite effective........part inspired by the owner of a rad. shop who advised me that he could build OR supply an ally unit, OR, recore my existing unit with a modern and well designed copper core. Pricing was somewhat similar in all cases. I went for the copper recore and was very glad I did. I have never had heating problems and the unit LOOKS rock stock

[Steve Holmes]

That's nice Steve, I had an ali one in the Firebird but that is out now and I'm back to the original brass/copper one, and yes it weighs a ton.

Bruce.

Thanks Bruce, yeah its a little heavier for sure. Re your Firebird, you've restored it to its 1973 guise when it won the NZ championship. But even in 1969 the T/G cars had silver alloy radiators didn't they? Either way, if you have a silver alloy or copper/brass item, its still period correct for your car.

[Steve Holmes]

Steve, I'm not convinced that ally rads ARE the be all and end all of cooling syst problems. They LOOK good and probably are a tad lighter, but is that weight saving all that important in most cars?....I doubt it !!. My own experience with a well-worked SB Ford in a Sunbeam Tiger has been that a well-designed copper matrixed rad. is quite effective........part inspired by the owner of a rad. shop who advised me that he could build OR supply an ally unit, OR, recore my existing unit with a modern and well designed copper core. Pricing was somewhat similar in all cases. I went for the copper recore and was very glad I did. I have never had heating problems and the unit LOOKS rock stock

Hi Neville, thanks so much, thats an awesome post! The copper/brass radiator is definitely a little heavier, but without having an alloy piece to compare I couldn't say how much heavier it is. But I totally agree with you, the copper/brass item should work just fine. Its what many teams still used in period, and their races were several hours long. Plus, it looks correct in the engine bay.

[Steve Holmes]

This is the engine bay of the Craig Fisher Firebird that my car will be a replica of. You can see it appears to retain the original style radiator. Some teams, notably Penske, were using the alloy Corvette rad in 1968.

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Ron Lathrop photo.

This is the Rusty Jowett independent Camaro that contested the 1968 Trans-Am. It too appears to have a factory Camaro rad.

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Ron Lathrop photo.

[Steve Holmes]

These are the two 1968 Penske Camaros as they look today. Both use the DeWitts Corvette alloy radiator, as both used a Corvette radiator in 1968.

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[Bruce302]

I had a quick lesson at Laguna Seca in a car park about radiators from Peter Economoff, a guy who is passionate about radiators and cooling, he is a very interesting guy. (right Ken?)

http://i67.tinypic.com/2ujkvty.jpg

The radiator shown was no good for a restoration as the date code stamp had some corrosion over it. Otherwise it was perfect, every fin like new.

If he wasn't so far away (SoCal) he would be rebuilding mine .

B.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, that is cool Bruce!

[Steve Holmes]

This is my other recent purchase. I already have one set of 'camel hump' heads for the Firebird. These were kindly donated by Tony Garmey, for no other reason than he gets a lot of enjoyment from The Roaring Season, and he wanted to help the build.

The heads Tony donated are the original camel hump/fuelie heads, casting number 3782461. These were originally produced from 1961 - 1966 and were the performance option for the sbc. From there, Chevy produced various similar heads over the next decade or so, including 462, 291, 040, 186, 041, and 492. Not all have the double hump casting in the ends (hence the name camel hump), but they are for the most part all pretty similar. I would assume also that any of these would be accepted by an FIA inspector.

Anyway, these heads are 50 years old. They're pretty hard to find in good shape. Also, if I suffer a failure and one or both are damaged, I can't just jump on the internet and order a new pair like I could with modern heads. So its not a bad idea to have a spare set.

Recently a set of 461 heads came up for sale on Trademe, and were said to have been crack tested and ported. At $1500 they weren't cheap, but they came with a set of un-used Crane Cams roller rockers, so I bit the bullet and purchased them.

I'll likely use these as my primary heads (they'll still require some work) and take my time building the set Tony gifted me.

My thanks goes to Dave Graham and Bruce Dyer for the delivery service. Really appreciate it guys!

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[Steve Holmes]

Whats interesting here is that the SCCA Additional Optional Equipment form for the Pontiac Firebird in 1968 includes roller rockers (Cylinder Head Optional Rocker Assy). To the best of my knowledge roller rockers didn't appear in the Trans-Am until around 1970/71.

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This form I got from the Camaro Research Group forum.

[Steve Holmes]

Always one for a new anorak fact, I recently discovered the shade of grey applied to the interior, underside, firewall, boot, and sub-frame on the Team Penske Trans-Am Camaros during the late 1960s. Its simply called Light Gray, and is a 1966 General Motors exterior colour used mostly on their trucks and other commercial vehicles. The colour code is: 32374.

Incidentally, this was the exact same colour used by Traco on their race engines during this same period.

How does this relate to The Roaring Season Firebird? The original Craig Fisher Firebird was believed to be a 1967 Penske Camaro, updated to 1968 Pontiac Firebird sheet metal. Albeit, the Godsall/Fisher team used Bartz engines, which were painted dark blue.

Thanks to members of the Camaro Research Group for this great info.

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[Steve Holmes]

I'm saddened to hear of the passing of Craig Fisher, who has inspired the build of this car. RIP.

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