The Camaro Club (UK)

And Penske's 68 cars were in fact the 67 ones with 68 noses on them!

Unfair Advantage by Mark D tells it all!

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Kind Regards
TopCat
Secretary
Classic Camaro Club
Member of The Association of American Car Clubs UK
Email :tboles@strathnoon.co.uk Websites: http://www.classiccamaroclubuk.com and:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdhLJtR_ZY4

Martin is right about the cars being "allegedly" Canadian. When Pontiac entered the 1968 SCCA Trans Am Racing season, they weren't allowed to run their 303 cu in engine because they had not built the mandatory minimum number of cars that was required to qualify for the production class. The team still wanted to go racing, so they simply dropped a 302 cid Chevy into their 1968 Firebird race car, claiming that some Canadian built Pontiacs used Chevrolet engines. While that statement was true, Firebirds were not built in Canada, and a 302 engine was never offered in any Canadian-built Pontiac. The team raced the 1968 season, and the SCCA never verified the claim.
If you look at the pic that Steve originally posted, you'll see that the car does indeed look like a '69 Firebird with the big swage line running down the side of the body. What is odd in the photo though is that you can also see the "6 gills" just behind the doors on the rear 1/4 panels. These were fitted to '67 - '68 cars & the '69's never had them.

As has been said, Smokey Yunick did indeed bend the rules slightly & there was a whole load of things going on that the scrutineers were not aware of. The floorpan was moved up to lower the car & it also had 2 floors, one which was as the factory intended when viewed from inside. From underneath the floor was different, to direct air around where it needed to go. The front bottom A arms were plated over as a strengthening aid, this wasn't strictly true as the plates were designed in such a way to smooth out airflow under the car.The front screen was raked back, the rear axle was a Ford 9 inch disguised to look like a Chevy 12 bolt. The front body panels were tilted downwards to aid aerodynamics, it ran thinner glass than stock. All four fenders widened, the front subframe Z'ed (to physically move the front suspension higher and lower the front of the car) the drip rails were even brought closer to the body for a tiny aerodynamic improvement. A connector to the engine oil system was extended into the car's interior, to allow the driver to add oil from a pressurized hose during pit stops. The car also had a valve fitted to the screen pillar, which when adjusted would create a vacuum which would pull brake fluid out from the brake calipers to allow ease of pad removal at the pit stops. Penske/Donohue/Sunoco Camaros also ran this system.
There's a very good book on the Penske/Donohue story called "the unfair advantage" which gives a real insight into what went on back in the day of Trans Am racing.

here's a link

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keyw ... d98rx9bz_b

Cheers...Nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!

wow I see the Camaro Untold secrets is going for over £200

I have one!

the other great book is Paul Van Valkenberg's "Chevrolet Racing?"

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chevrolet-Racin ... %3F+racing

bit like Chevrolet Racing?- not us Guv honest...........scout's honour etc..

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Kind Regards
TopCat
Secretary
Classic Camaro Club
Member of The Association of American Car Clubs UK
Email :tboles@strathnoon.co.uk Websites: http://www.classiccamaroclubuk.com and:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdhLJtR_ZY4

I've got that book too & found it had a lot of really useful information regarding the crossram intake that Martin (Sportsroof) fitted to my '69. I can't find the book at the mo, but I think I lent it to Martin when he fitted the intake to my car. Ridiculous price for a book though.....£231.94

cheers...Nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!

£10 from ebay, arrived yesterday, looks brand new Oh yes, it's a secret

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