The camaro came out in 1967 to do battle against the mustang, which already had a head start by being introduced in 1964, as a spring off from the falcon, it was basically just a falcon with a new look, but the idea to upgrade a platform that they already had was pure genius, laying that aside, let’s talk about the camaro, when it came out Chevrolet was looking for the perfect combination to beat down the mustang, and they hit the nail on the head, a lot of the top Chevrolet dealers took the camaro under their wing, and really made it show it’s potential in the muscle car world.
The Z/28 camaro was brought out to do battle on the “SCCA” circuit or sports car club of America, and it was going to set some records during it’s time in the SCCA, the camaro’s arch enemy on the street and the track, has always been the mustang. The SCCA’S Trans Am series has especially magnified that rivalry, Ford took the championship in 1967 and 1970, Chevy dominated in 1968 and 1969, the driver for Chevrolet Mark Donohue had a stellar racing career, that included 29 career Trans Am victories, 3 championships, and a victory in the 1972 Indianapolis 500, he died in an on track accident in 1975.
The 302 cubic inch engine was added to Chevrolet’s line up, to meet the rules of the SCCA Trans Am series, which stated that your engine could be no larger then 305 cubic inches, the 302 became a mainstay for the Z/28 camaro, which had an option for a 350 CID engine, but the 302 had made a name for itself, in the collector circles, it’s the most sought after engine for the Z/28, a 302 with the cross ram option is worth a lot more cash the a standard 302 with a single four bar manifold, and when you add options like the JL8 four wheel disc brakes the price jumps to incredible proportions.
Then the high production Chevrolet dealers like Yenko Chevrolet, Bladwin Chevrolet, and Nicky Chevrolet would get a hold of these cars and turn them in to a monster, Yenko would create a beast called the “sYc” or Super Yenko Camaro, this car was set to amazing things on the drag strip, Yenko Chevrolet would contract Dick Herrel to drive this beast “Tricky Dick Herrel” as he was known by the racing world, Dick would power this car to a standing quarter mile time of 11.904 @ 115 MPH.
Standing 1/4 Mile Time* 11.904 @ 115 MPH0-60 Performance* 3.8 Seconds0-100* 8.9 SecondsEngine* 427 CID 425 HPPrice* $3,895Transmission* Muncie M-22 Rock Crusher 4 Speed
The sYc camaro would spawn the worlds fastest quarter mile car for that time era, this car was called the COPO 9560 or the ZL1 camaro, this car would come from the factory with an all aluminum 427 CID engine that was factory rated at 425 HP, but the car was consistently running 11.05’s. That means that you've got about 534.68 HP at the rear wheels, and about 695.08 HP at the flywheel, these were documented quarter mile runs, so I’m not just blowing up the truth, The ZL1 Camaro would prove to be an amazing race car, not to mention, it was still a street car also, in street dress Dick Herrel would achieve 1/4 mile times of 11.05 and in full race mode, with the headers uncorked and slicks added he would achieve a 10.35 1/4 mile time on his first run.
So for all of you Chevrolet nay Sayers, there you go.
Tell me of another car that can boast those numbers from the factory.
I've been in the automotive business for about 20 or 25 years, I have worked in all facets of the industry, from parts to restoration, all different makes and models, I just want to keep people interested in the old cars because it's where my heart is.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Atkin
