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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.
Attachment 44719
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
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.
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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.
Attachment 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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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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Have you looked at Grant Steering Wheels Steve ?. I think Kirby Seats also sold those cushion centres for the steering wheels as well.
Steve Im sure I have one of those foam covered steering wheels in my garage . I will measure it and get back to youQuote:
Originally Posted by Steve Holmes
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spgeti
Thanks! I would love to know.Quote:
Originally Posted by car mad
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 lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Steve Holmes
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by car mad
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?Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul B
Sorry no, its solid PVC grip, guess it is from 1970s.
Cheers
Thanks anyway Paul, I appreciate the gesture.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul B
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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Steve- should that be a 010 block ?
Yes John, sorry, typo, or brain fade.....Quote:
Originally Posted by John McKechnie
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.
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.