Tag Archives: Chevrolet

Refrigerator White #1 – Chevrolet Camaro

Never one to rest on his laurels after winning two Trans Am championships for Chevrolet, Roger Penske and his engineer driver Mark Donohue accepted the challenge of turning the AMC Javelin into a Trans Am winner for the 1970 season, leaving Chevrolet to do a deal with Jim Hall and his Chaparral team in Texas to develop the second generation Camaro into a Trans Am challenger.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

During the 1970 season Jim employed Ed Leslie, Joe Leonard and Vic Elford to share the driving duties with himself after building and preparing three cars in the customary Chaparral Refrigerator White.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Ford recaptured the 1970 Trans Am title thanks to 5 race wins accumulated by Parnelli Jones and on from George Follmer, AMC finished the championship second with three race wins from Mark Donohue and Chevrolet third with two wins one from the American Racing Associates entry driven by Milt Minter at Donnybrook and the other at Watkins Glen by Vic Elford at the wheel of today’s featured car.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Vic only made four starts for Chaparral in the 1970 series alongside his Trans Am win at Watkins Glen he also won the Nurburgring 1000kms race with Kurt Ahrens in a works Porsche 908, Interserie (European Can Am) race at Hockenheim in the Paul Weston Racing Organisation McLaren M6B and the under 2 litre 500 km race at the Nurburging in the Escuderia Montjuich Team Chevron entered Chevron B16.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel by the Sea

Today’s featured car, seen in these photographs taken by Geoffrey Horton, is believed to be the only one of the three 1970 Chaparral Trans Am Camaros still remaining.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photographs taken at Concours on the Avenue at Carmel by the Sea a few years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Refrigerator White #1” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a FIAT 128. Don’t forget to come back now !

Changing The Numbers Around Again – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

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In 1968 Roger Penske’s Trans Am team turned up at the Sebring 12 hours with two Trans Am spec Z/28 Camaro’s one a lightweight car that had been very successful in 1967, and the other a new car that had not had a weight saving acid bath.

Mark Donohue is reported as saying the Penske Team put the heavy #15 car through tech inspection first and then went back to their garage and swapped the #15 decals for #16 decals on the heavy car and put the car through tech inspection again.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Having successfully pulled off this stunt for tech inspection Mark says the process was successfully repeated again during qualifying so that both the Penske driving crews qualified using the single lightweight car, which allegedly never went through tech inspection.

I believe Mark and Canadian Craig Fisher then drove the lightweight #15 Penske Godsall Camaro to a third place finish from 13th on the grid 6 laps behind two works prototype Porsche 907’s while the heavy #16 Penske Hilton Camaro driven by Joe Welch and Bob Johnson with Craig also taking a stint behind the wheel finished 4th from 17th on the grid 10 laps down.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, RMMR, Laguna Seca

Penske pulled off a remarkable feat and the SCCA deserved their comeuppance because as can be clearly seen from this linked period photo showing the Penske team cars bore different logo’s on the front wing panels Penske Hilton Racing for the #15 and Penske Godsall Racing for the #16 as seen in this photo.

It should also be noted that the acid dipped lightweight car can be distinguished by the absence of side marker lights which were mandated for US road vehicles in 1968 as described in paragraph six of this linked article.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

Evidence that the race numbers were swapped between the subtly different cars during the meeting is confirmed by this linked photograph from the Revs Institute showing the #15 running with Penske Godsall sponsorship on the front wing and without the side marker lights, and in this second linked photo from Car and Driver clearly showing a #16 during a pit stop with the ’68 side marker lights.

Today’s featured Camaro is believed by the owner to have been the 14th Z/28 to have been built, rolling off the assembly line on December 30th 1966 and into the Gorries Chevrolet-Olds, LTD dealership in Toronto where, the son of the GM-Euclid distributor for eastern Canada, Terry Godsall purchased it.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

The owner believes this car was raced for Terry Godsall by Craig Fisher and followed Craig to the Penske Team mid way through 1967, he also believes this is the lightweight car Craig and Mark Donohue drove to 3rd place overall and a well deserved class win at Sebring in 1968.

After Sebring the car returned to Godsall in Canada is believed to have appeared in Trans Am events up until 1972, the current owner identified the car as the much raced lightweight Camaro by an obviously acid dipped wing / fender, an unusual rear axle housing which turned out to be one of only 22 and a one off brake master cylinder that had been shipped by GM to Penske for the Penske Godsall Racing Camaro.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Concours on the Avenue, Carmel By The Sea

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s taken at Carmel by the Sea Concours on the Avenue and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion a couple of years ago, note the engine shown is not in the same car as seen at Carmel by the Sea.

Thanks for joining me on this “Changing The Numbers Around Again” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for FIAT Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS I hope you will join me in wishing Geoffrey Best Wishes and a Happy Birthday today !

’69 Spoiler – Chevrolet Camaro Z/28

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No sooner had Chevrolet announced the arrival of it’s Camaro model in 1967 to compete against Ford’s Mustang than racers in the USA were lining up to challenge the Mustang’s hegemony in the Trans Am series with the 302 cui / 5 litre Z/28 variant like the example seen here at a Silverstone Classic Press Day a couple of years ago.

Among those racing Z/28’s in 1967 way Bobby Brown whom records show raced a Penske Z/28 with George Wintersteen and Joe Welch in the 1967 Daytona 24 hours where they qualified 22nd but retired.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Bobby also raced a Robert Chevrolet entered Z/28 in the 1967 Sebring 4 Hour race in which he finished 6th from 9th on the grid.

Records show Bobby racing a Z/28 on two further occasions at Lime Rock in 1967 winning his class in a SCCA event in mid May.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Today’s featured car is believed to have been raced by Bobby in 1967 before being shipped to the UK in 1968 where Malcolm Wayne drove it in the British Saloon Car Championship the following season Mike Kearon did likewise.

In 1970 the car went to Bill Davis Racing where it was part of a two car stable that included a Z/28 built from scratch that was driven by Roy Pierrepont.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

Adrian Chambers acquired the car in 1971 for his SCA Freight team that was joined midway through the season by Australian Frank Gardner who won two British Saloon Car Championship races with it.

Frank also raced the car in a couple of rounds of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft 1972 finishing a best 2nd at Diepholz.

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Silverstone Classic Test Day,

After it was replaced in the SCA team by a second generation Camaro Frank had today’s featured car sent first to New Zealand and then to Australia where he raced it into 1973.

John Pollard appears to have been responsible for fitting the larger ’69 spec rear spoiler in preparation for his entry into Australian Super Sedan races somewhere around 1976.

Thanks for joining me on this “’69 Spoiler” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Good Bonuses – Harrier Chevrolet #001-2

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In 1953 Terry Sanger, an apprentice with the Bristol Engine Company company division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company was persuaded to defer making his debut in a Ford van in favour spending a day marshalling at Castle Combe.

Harrier, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

After racing a variety of motorcycles and cars Terry took over a car built by Terry Drury fitted a Ford V8, Jaguar gearbox and axle with a set of enormous wheels to a Mk1 Ford Cortina known as a “Fraud Cortina” with which he won the BRSCC Redex Saloon Car Championship in 1967.

Harrier, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

In 1969 Terry Sanger converted a 1966 BRM P83 H16 Formula One car to carry another Ford V8 which he entered in the Guards F5000 championship and with which he started a heat from pole position at Zandvoort and finished a season best 5th at Brands Hatch.

Harrier, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

Attracted by the good bonuses given by component suppliers during the 1970 season Terry built up a Harrier F5000 chassis of his own design which ran on it’s debut at Mallory Park ending up in the lake after a collision with Kieth Holland in the 2nd heat.

Harrier, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

Terry then built today’s featured Harrier #100-2 with a longer wheel base and ran it in four races, with a Chevrolet V8 motor, at the end of the 1971 season, but struggled to qualify the car in the top 10 and finished a season best 7th at Brands Hatch.

For the last two full seasons of his career Terry focused on driving a Group 2 Chevrolet Camaro and retired from driving after a couple of unsuccessful outings with a F5000 Lola T300 in 1973.

Thanks for joining me on this “Good Bonuses” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at a Dakar Truck. Don’t forget to come back now !

Go Turbo Or Not – Lola T711 Chevrolet #HU2

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For the 1985 season General Motors ordered two new Lola chassis to compete in the IMSA GTP series against Porsche, Nissan, Mazda and the Jaguar endorsed Group44 XJR5 GTP entries.

The first chassis T710 HU1, better known as the Corvette GTP, was powered by a turbocharged 3.4 litre / 207 cui V6 and was run by Hendricks Motorsports in 1985 and 1986 winning the 1986 Road Atlanta 500 Kilometres with Sarel van der Merve and Doc Bundy at the wheel.

The second car the T711 #HU2 was powered by a normally aspirated 366cui / 6 litre V8 said to produce 800hp, which was considered insufficient to compete against the Porsches Nissans and Jaguars.

Lola T711, Paul Stubber, Silverstone Classic,

After GM decided to go the turbocharged route Lew Price’s Lee Racing acquired the car direct from Lola in time to enter it for the 1985 Daytona 24 Race.

Lew was joined by Carson Baird, Billy Hagan, Terry Labonte in the cockpit, but despite qualifying 13th #HU2 retired with a broken gearbox.

During the remainder of 1985 the cars best result was a 7th place finish for Carson and Chip Mead from 20th on the grid in the Miami 3 Hour race.

Lola T711, Paul Stubber, Silverstone Classic,

Lew took #HU2 back to Daytona in 1986 and with Jim Mullen and Matt Whetstine on the driving strength qualified 19th only to retire from the 24 hour race with suspension failure.

The car made two more appearances in 1986 retiring after an accident with Lew at the wheel from the Miami Grand Prix and retiring from the Sebring 12 Hours, where Lew, Jim and Carson qualified 10th, when the car caught fire.

Australian Paul Stubber seen at the wheel of the car, restored by Damax Engineering, in these photographs taken at Silverstone Classic is the cars fourth owner.

Thanks for joining me on this “Go Turbo Or Not” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

2016 Bucket List – Autosport International

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Every year for the past couple of seasons I have come away from the Autosport International with a few new additions to my bucket list of new things to try before the season is out, if I make it to one or two I am usually happy here are six things I’ll be looking out for in the season ahead.

Ford Fusion, Autosport International, Birmingham NEC,

In 2003/4 my passion for motorsport was reignited after a decades abstinence when I started reading articles by veteran NASCAR writer Jerry Bonkowski.

By 2009 when I visited Talladega Superspeedway I was as hooked as I had been back in the 1970’s when I first discovered it.

I’m under no illusions that having the privilege to drive a non emergency ambulance up to 450 miles in a ten hour day is any kind of training to drive a 500 hp Cup car but top of my bucket list for 2016 is to shell out £150 for a couple of laps in the Ford Fusion above at a Rockingham Performance Driving Day.

Chevrolet Camaro, Autosport International, Birmingham NEC,

Sadly to date the only drag track I have visited is Shakespeare County Raceway which is due to close this year, so as well as making a final visit to Shakey I also hope to make it to Santa Pod where I have been informed the big boys like Andy Robinson go to play.

Andy drives the Pro Mod Chevrolet Camaro above which will reach 239.05 mph from rest in less than six seconds !

Winnebago Tour, Autosport International, Birmingham NEC,

I do not have a licence to drive anything as big as the £249,999 Winnebago Tour® nor the financial credentials to drive one to the end of my street, but I am planing on visiting the 2017 Rolex 24 Hours with a school friend and I have been informed the best way to spectate is to park an RV in the infield.

So if anyone reading this has room for two well bred and groomed Europeans in their RV at the 2017 Rolex 24 Hours please chime in below ?

March Chevrolet 717, Autosport International, Birmingham NEC,

One of the new features of this years Silverstone Classic will be a race for Can Am cars like the March Chevrolet 717 seen above, at the end of the 1980’s these cars were a regular site in historic events and it will be great to see a full field of them for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Sin R1 GT Cup, Autosport International, Birmingham NEC,

A couple of years ago Sin launched their R1 model at the Autosport International this year I hope to so one racing in either the British GT Championship, GT Cup, or if it is legible in the Britcar series.

Ford Focus WRC, Autosport International, Birmingham NEC,

Finally I have been wanting to go and see a rally cross event ever since Ford took a four wheel drive Ford Capri to Croft for Roger Clark to drive in 1969, it has always looked like great sport on TV so maybe this year I’ll finally get to a Rally Cross event, one I will be looking out for is Guy Martin’s debut in the Ford Focus WRC owned by Ollie O’Donovan and prepared by Tony Brady Motorsport seen above which will be at a date towards the end of the British Rally Cross Championship.

Watch this space to see if I achieve any of the above and chime in with your bucket list for 2016 below.

Thanks for joining me on this “2016 Bucket List” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another Daytona 24 Hour challenger. Don’t forget to come back now !

Super Bug – Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle

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After successfully racing super saloons that included a race winning Jaguar powered Ford 105E Anglia called “Janglia”, a championship winning Gurney Weslake V8 powered Boss Ford Capri and championship winning 6 litre / 366 cui Capri Mick Hill turned his attention briefly to racing a Formula 5000 March in 1975.