For my money, this era of Trans-Am racing was the best racing series over any other. These were tough, hard nosed, talented drivers who would drive the tires off of their hotrods. As a kid, I would watch any Trans-Am race i could on tv.
I saw Parnelli Jones drive the tires off of his Mustang in the 1969 Trans Am race at Sears Point . . . as it may have cost him the race and Ford the championship. Jones had to make a late-race pit-stop for Firestone tires; while Donohue smoothly nursed his tires and spared himself that additional pit-stop to garner the win; though from what I read after the race, the fabric cord on one of his Goodyear tires was showing at race's end.
One trick you missed was the way Penske changed brake pads so fast. It took a little time to pry the pistons back so they could change pads so Penske added another power brake booster and plumbed it backward. Now when a brake change was planned, Donahue switched the circuit and the extra power booster sucked the pistons back instantly.
Can confirm: I worked for Team Penske in the early and mid-1990s, during his Mercedes power era. We absolutely utilized every “creative” advantage available.
I used to work directly beside Bud Moore Engineering. There was a 1970 Boss 302 Trans Am race car that sat in a field beside Buds shop. This car sat there into the mid 1980's.This mustang was really tricked out. Bud had some really smart guy's working for him. And he is really sharp himself. We had 6 Nascar teams or drivers in Spartanburg county.
Great video I grew up in the 60's and was blessed that I did. I wish you would have talked more about the engine in the Chevrolet. As a youngster I was actually on a local circle track team. What fun we had racing a Dorney Park in Allentown Pa back then. The engine that dominated during the late 60's. Was none other than the 302 Cu. In. Chevrolet. What a time to grow up in so much fun. Again thank you for the way Kool video. Note I own a 1984 Z/28 Camaro H.O. that my daughter who passed away help me pick out.
Penske had another trick up their sleave, at least for longer races where brake changes were required. Can you imagine the mechanics changing brake pads on a car that comes into pit in the middle of a race. Those brake pads and rotors are burning hot. Unlike the other teams, Penske came up with a vacuum chamber to retract the brake pucks when they changed brake pads. This substantially quickened the pad change process. During practice Penske used a low fuel tower that did not arouse any suspicion or interest. But on race day they raised the tower up to the be able to load 22 gallons in a few seconds. If I remember correctly, Donahue said that the all the fuel coming in so fast felt like a big load of bricks being loaded into the car, or something like that since the fuel from the tower came in so fast. And of course they had a big hose.
What a sneaky man. Always reading around the rules. He came to Australia and worked with Dick Johnson. Dick took him for a lap around Bathurst. Our most famous racetrack it was a great video.
Mark's car was way lighter than 2900 lbs. The #6 and #9 numbers were peel and stick. The #9 car would go for tech inspection and weigh in at 2900. They would then remove #9 and replace with #6 and present the same car again. Mark's car was around 2700 lbs.
The SCCA in those days was still run by naive gentlemen racers and their inspectors were easy marks for sharks like Penske and Donahue. The inspectors were from the days when their job was to help honest but amateur competitors get their cars to spec, not catch people whose goal was winning by any means and pulling every trick to cheat.
I saw Donohue in this car at Bryar. He beat Jones in a Boss 302 that day although Jones was making more hp . Donohue was a very fast very smooth driver. He usually didnt break the car. That helped the Penske team a great deal.
@@JK-g62 I was an SCCA Corner worker at that race and we were also hired for the Private 2 day test session earlier in the week. The Penske cars were always immaculate. Painted white inside so any leaks or problems show up immediately. They were doing instrumented testing during those sessions. They were using a 4 channel Teak Reel to reel tape deck bungee corded in the back seat area to record suspension movements. State of the art in 1969.
@tedshaw4160 wow Ted...thanks so much for sharing...thats an amazing story but yet doesnt surprise me with that team. I wasnt mich more than in my infant years then. My home track is Road Atlanta but i didnt see my first race there until the Valvoline Runoffs in 1987! I was hooked immediately. Attended a corner worker /fire safety training class...but i never corner worked at the track. I was autocrossing a Datsun Z and did some mandatory corner working at the events i raced. I wanted to drive more than iwanted to corner work...but i always respected the corner workers...dedicating their time so i could enjoy mine!
Trans Am, SCCA, IMSA was, still is my favorite form of motor racing. The Penske / Donahue combo is legendary. Appreciate the education. Note that one of the Penske Camaros & Javelins went to the University Of Pittsburgh Race Team. Driven by Bridgeville PA's Bob Fryer, and wrenched on by Joe DVorchek of Monroeville PA. 🇺🇸🏁👍🏾
Thanks for showing Mark Donohue's book The Unfair Advantage -- highly recommended. It's organized around about a dozen of the major cars he drove and helped develop.
I remember seeing that Penske car at the Trans Am races at the famed Riverside Raceway in Riverside, California in the mid-late 60’s & 70’s…saw all the greats race, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, George Follmer, Mark Donahue, David Hobbs & others….Mark Donahue won the 69 race in the Penske Sunoco Chevy, I never forget seeing that race, I was 11 years old and thought I was a big shot walking around in the pits with my dad & older brothers, good times indeed! 🏁🤙🏼
As far as racing memories go , it doesn't get any better than that ( in my opinion anyway) . I was five in 1969 , and in a part of New Zealand that didn't even have a race track .🙂👍
@@barrycuda3769thanks man I appreciate that, my first race ever was at Riverside Raceway in 1965, as a 7 year old, it was a NASCAR Winston Cup race called the Winston Western 500 also know as the Motor Trend 500 won by Dan Gurney, my dad loved racing and I was lucky enough to attend numerous different types of racing at Riverside & Ontario Motor Speedway throughout the years here in Southern California in the mid 60’s to the mid 80’s
Great content. I was waiting for the story of how they applied vacuum to the master cylinder reservior to retract the caliper pistons for quick brake pad swaps.
Kar Kraft built 7 special Boss 302 Mustangs. 3 went to Shelby, 3 to Bud Moore. The 7th one was given a young bloke named Allan Moffat for free to race in Australia. All 7 cars originally had a 50mm wedge cut from the front to reduce the frontal area. The 6 that remained in America had to be converted back to original when the rule makers figured it out. Moffats car was already in Australia so was never changed back. Moffats car lives on today in a collection in Qld.
There was a very good article in Australian Muscle Car re the Moffatt 69 Mustang. The droop mose, the convertible sill panels and many other cheats and non standard components. Interestingly that car came to Oz with a tunnel port 302. And got the Boss engine very soon after. I have read that he car was very well balanced as it came, thyey put the Cleveland from the 'Super Falcon' in it and it was slower. Because of the Clevelands weight. I heard Alan say that the Clevo was way too heavy,, yet alot of the weight in a Cleveland lump is those heads. About 29 kilo each. I doubt the weight difference was more than a 100lb max.
@@ldnwholesale8552 I had that same Australian Muscle Car magazine, it was a great detailed article, with lots of good photos. It would still be in my magazine collection , but I panel and painted a red '69 Fastback for someone, and lent it to him because I thought he'd be interested in it. When I asked him if he was finished with it , and wanted it back, he said, " oh I looked at it, and then I threw it in the bin". 😡
@@thetaillightshow There's a video on UA-cam of a Trans Am race in America, in which Moffat is racing a Mercury Cougar . Also , I learned a while back that he was part of Colin Chapman's Lotus Indy car team , but just as a general helper, which led to him getting hold of a Lotus Cortina , and racing it.
The Zed28 is all I ever heard it called until we got American cable tv. It’s just the English language after all. You Americans speak a kind of dialect I guess.
If the opportunity presents itself, read Unfair Advantage, this book tells so much, not just about Penske's operation, but about the Trans Am in general -- as well as the later years of the Can Am Challenge series. An EXCELLENT read!
That was a marvelously organized and written book! I was impressed that Donohue didn't sugar-coat the issues there were in his racing career. I found the chapter on the Ferrari 512M most amusing, as it hinted that Ferrari was their own worse enemy when it came to fielding competitive sports cars at that time.
Can I ask a question? 9:54 I’m looking for more pictures of those cars especially the Javelin but I can’t find anything. Even after entering your source
Would like to see a video on Smokey's Trans Am Camaro too. I think Vic Edelbrock owned it last time I heard. Smokey was another that did some sneaky stuff.
You can tell that the Penske's vinyl top was added because it's not a halo-style. The factory top didn't reach the drip rails, and extended to under the rear window. Penske either used '67-'68 vinyls, or the '69 Firebird vinyl. Of all '67-'69 F bodies, only the '69 Camaro had that halo vinyl, as seen @4:33. That #13 white Firebird @11:10 looks to be a '69, but it has the '67-'68 front bumper and grills, as well as a Firebird 400 hood, rather than the Trans Am hood. I'd love to see these races in 4K...
Vinyl tops !. Ugh, I’d forgotten all about them. Truly one of the dumbest ideas in automotive history as they got wet and trapped the moisture between the top and the roof, which then rusted.
It’s not an “unfair advantage” if every team did it too. Almost every one of these items mentioned were all tricks shared by all the teams. It would have been better titled, “Tips and Tricks Racers Use To Get Around the Rules”.
Having a 1969 Z/28 in 1969 and on the street with 4.88 gear, well as Dinah said, see the USA from behind my Chevrolet! Never get away with that racing now.
Spring of 69, cruising through Azars drive in and guy in new 69 Z dog whistles my 68 Z. We go out on the bypass where I beat him 3 out of three. He's got 456's, can't believe it when I tell him I'm running 538's and Headers by Ed. Pretty sure the aluminum flywheel helped too, since we were running from a rolling start. 😱😱
@6or18 oh hell yea, you got it. Thing is the LS motors would eat the old small blocks alive. I have a LS7 in my Vette, but I'd love to have it destroked in a Camaro with a Muncie behind it. The original no lift shift transmission.
I tend to suspect that the “droopy nose” was a matter of replacing the subframe / body isolation bushings, four of which are under the body and two at the radiator support, and would allow pitching the subframe in relation to the body, and enhance overall chassis stiffness for eliminating the compliance of the factory rubber bushings, by substituting solid bushings of select thickness / height. I believe they may have also redrilled the rear leaf spring front eye mounting hole approximately a inch higher to improve / reduce the anti-dive and squat.
Iv'e also heard they used Porsche disc brakes, at least on the front ( were they allowed rear discs ? ) , that might have been only on their prior Camaros ? . Apparently , when asked about the vinyl roof , Penske said it was for less drag , like the dimples on a golf ball , it probably was just to cover up the suspect roof , but his explanation does make sense also.
Pretty sure the 917 discs being in the parts catalog was with the AMC Javalins and not with the Camaros. But yeah, Penske in those days were straight up racing outlaws. :)
You missed the part where if it had a factory part number it could be used on the car, a friend told me there was a Chevy part number for the disk brakes from a 917 Porsche in the book
Penske / Donahue / Chevy. A bit of creative engineering and rule book interpretation = success. I’d bet there weren’t any long distance calls to a fellow named Yunick in Daytona Bch. Yeah, if you believe that, there IS a tooth fairy!
Mark Donahue's book 'The unfair advantage' is a MUST read for anyone interested in the period racing and just racing in general. LOTS of thought went into everything they did and their creativity is to be marveled at. What a great time to be alive where the rule book was viewed as something to work around as much as possible....if it didn't say you couldn't do something....green light to do it. NASCAR is famous for men like Smokey Yunick who also worked around the rules as much as possible....but he had nothing on Donahue and Penske.
The plenum dividers for that crossram dual quad DZ302 intake come to mind. The few factory units that still exist, aren't modified like "da Smoke" had 'em done up. Supposedly, to this day. The race modified ones have stayed hidden in private collections. Those are quite possibly the most desirable historical artifacts from the heyday of TransAm racing. Priceless.
Chevrolet cheated like mad. Taking two cars to every race they would set out a tent, then bring in car number 5. That car would go through tech and come back while car number 6 was brought under the tent. They would then swap numbers on the two cars send car 5 back through tech with number 6’s decal on it. It would pass tech while the real car number 6, wearing number 5’s badge never got inspected. It was several hundred pounds underweight and who know what other tricks they had under the hood. Theyfinally got caught cheating and once caught they started losing, bad. Chevy pulled their support from Trans Am and moved elsewhere.
What about the Rumor that the Chevy Corvette JL8 4 Wheel Disc Brakes Penske used on these Z28 Race Cars were Secretly Cast Titanium Copies of the Corvette 4 Piston L88 Race and later Corvette CANAM Cars 2 Pin Calipers and the Titanium Rotors were Ceramic Coated Fabricated Copies of the Corvette Rotors to save weight with the Heat Resistant Ceramic Coating on the Rotor Applied by a NASA Aerospace Contractor?
For my money, this era of Trans-Am racing was the best racing series over any other. These were tough, hard nosed, talented drivers who would drive the tires off of their hotrods. As a kid, I would watch any Trans-Am race i could on tv.
Yeah true drivers lol
Shitty brakes etc
No worries
I saw Parnelli Jones drive the tires off of his Mustang in the 1969 Trans Am race at Sears Point . . . as it may have cost him the race and Ford the championship.
Jones had to make a late-race pit-stop for Firestone tires; while Donohue smoothly nursed his tires and spared himself that additional pit-stop to garner the win; though from what I read after the race, the fabric cord on one of his Goodyear tires was showing at race's end.
One trick you missed was the way Penske changed brake pads so fast. It took a little time to pry the pistons back so they could change pads so Penske added another power brake booster and plumbed it backward. Now when a brake change was planned, Donahue switched the circuit and the extra power booster sucked the pistons back instantly.
Fascinating! Brilliant innovations!
I remember reading about that, apparently they had the competition mystified for a while.
Can confirm: I worked for Team Penske in the early and mid-1990s, during his Mercedes power era. We absolutely utilized every “creative” advantage available.
Nice review of Penske's cars. When he made the switch to AMC, I recall him saying "All pony cars are created equal."
I used to work directly beside Bud Moore Engineering. There was a 1970 Boss 302 Trans Am race car that sat in a field beside Buds shop. This car sat there into the mid 1980's.This mustang was really tricked out. Bud had some really smart guy's working for him. And he is really sharp himself. We had 6 Nascar teams or drivers in Spartanburg county.
Great video I grew up in the 60's and was blessed that I did.
I wish you would have talked more about the engine in the Chevrolet.
As a youngster I was actually on a local circle track team. What fun we had racing a Dorney Park in Allentown Pa back then. The engine that dominated during the late 60's. Was none other than the 302 Cu. In. Chevrolet. What a time to grow up in so much fun. Again thank you for the way Kool video.
Note I own a 1984 Z/28 Camaro H.O. that my daughter who passed away help me pick out.
Sorry for your loss bro!
Awesome. Next to the 917 K, the 69 Z/28 Trans Am car is my all time favorite.
@ you should know about the. Vacuum
chambers. They used them to reset the calipers
For new brake pads. Speedy replacement.
Brilliance!!
What "Stock Car" racing should be. Glad I got to live through this era of car racing!
Penske had another trick up their sleave, at least for longer races where brake changes were required. Can you imagine the mechanics changing brake pads on a car that comes into pit in the middle of a race. Those brake pads and rotors are burning hot. Unlike the other teams, Penske came up with a vacuum chamber to retract the brake pucks when they changed brake pads. This substantially quickened the pad change process.
During practice Penske used a low fuel tower that did not arouse any suspicion or interest. But on race day they raised the tower up to the be able to load 22 gallons in a few seconds. If I remember correctly, Donahue said that the all the fuel coming in so fast felt like a big load of bricks being loaded into the car, or something like that since the fuel from the tower came in so fast. And of course they had a big hose.
Whoa!! that’s brilliant!
What a sneaky man. Always reading around the rules. He came to Australia and worked with Dick Johnson. Dick took him for a lap around Bathurst. Our most famous racetrack it was a great video.
The cars are beyond awesome . no wonder everyone was so inspired.
Mark's car was way lighter than 2900 lbs. The #6 and #9 numbers were peel and stick. The #9 car would go for tech inspection and weigh in at 2900. They would then remove #9 and replace with #6 and present the same car again. Mark's car was around 2700 lbs.
WOW,, with that HP 😮 fast car,,
But they all had to be doing it😁
The SCCA in those days was still run by naive gentlemen racers and their inspectors were easy marks for sharks like Penske and Donahue. The inspectors were from the days when their job was to help honest but amateur competitors get their cars to spec, not catch people whose goal was winning by any means and pulling every trick to cheat.
The Trans Am racing was the best of racing. if you get a chance to see vintage racing, it is the BEST
I saw Donohue in this car at Bryar. He beat Jones in a Boss 302 that day although Jones was making more hp .
Donohue was a very fast very smooth driver. He usually didnt break the car. That helped the Penske team a great deal.
Not only was he a incredible driver...he was also an engineer and knew alot about what he was doing from the inside
@@JK-g62 I was an SCCA Corner worker at that race and we were also hired for the Private 2 day test session earlier in the week. The Penske cars were always immaculate. Painted white inside so any leaks or problems show up immediately. They were doing instrumented testing during those sessions. They were using a 4 channel Teak Reel to reel tape deck bungee corded in the back seat area to record suspension movements. State of the art in 1969.
@tedshaw4160 wow Ted...thanks so much for sharing...thats an amazing story but yet doesnt surprise me with that team. I wasnt mich more than in my infant years then. My home track is Road Atlanta but i didnt see my first race there until the Valvoline Runoffs in 1987! I was hooked immediately. Attended a corner worker /fire safety training class...but i never corner worked at the track. I was autocrossing a Datsun Z and did some mandatory corner working at the events i raced. I wanted to drive more than iwanted to corner work...but i always respected the corner workers...dedicating their time so i could enjoy mine!
Trans Am, SCCA, IMSA was, still is my favorite form of motor racing. The Penske / Donahue combo is legendary. Appreciate the education. Note that one of the Penske Camaros & Javelins went to the University Of Pittsburgh Race Team. Driven by Bridgeville PA's Bob Fryer, and wrenched on by Joe DVorchek of Monroeville PA. 🇺🇸🏁👍🏾
Thanks for showing Mark Donohue's book The Unfair Advantage -- highly recommended. It's organized around about a dozen of the major cars he drove and helped develop.
I agree Bob
It was great racing, which translated to some very cool street cars. The 66 season was so different, little 273 powered Darts and Barracudas.
Well said!
I remember seeing that Penske car at the Trans Am races at the famed Riverside Raceway in Riverside, California in the mid-late 60’s & 70’s…saw all the greats race, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, George Follmer, Mark Donahue, David Hobbs & others….Mark Donahue won the 69 race in the Penske Sunoco Chevy, I never forget seeing that race, I was 11 years old and thought I was a big shot walking around in the pits with my dad & older brothers, good times indeed! 🏁🤙🏼
As far as racing memories go , it doesn't get any better than that ( in my opinion anyway) . I was five in 1969 , and in a part of New Zealand that didn't even have a race track .🙂👍
@@barrycuda3769thanks man I appreciate that, my first race ever was at Riverside Raceway in 1965, as a 7 year old, it was a NASCAR Winston Cup race called the Winston Western 500 also know as the Motor Trend 500 won by Dan Gurney, my dad loved racing and I was lucky enough to attend numerous different types of racing at Riverside & Ontario Motor Speedway throughout the years here in Southern California in the mid 60’s to the mid 80’s
I used to work near David Hobbs Honda and I got to meet him and his family a few times. Very nice folks!
At Donnybrooke now Brainerd International Raceway
Thanks! One of my favorite years of Trans Am racing and, definitely, my favorite car.
The Blue Boss at 2 min, 49sec is stunning. Stance, wheels, color. The Penske Cheat Code Cars looked great and were brilliant as well.
First time I’ve seen the AMC Javelins after they were done at Penske. They look awesome in the yellow and black. They were all fantastic racing cars.
Agreed!!
Hi Steve: I just found this on UA-cam. Great to see you in video if not in person. Good luck with the book.
If you weren't cheatin, you weren't eatin. Everyone was but Penske caught the most attention
Great content. I was waiting for the story of how they applied vacuum to the master cylinder reservior to retract the caliper pistons for quick brake pad swaps.
Kar Kraft built 7 special Boss 302 Mustangs. 3 went to Shelby, 3 to Bud Moore. The 7th one was given a young bloke named Allan Moffat for free to race in Australia.
All 7 cars originally had a 50mm wedge cut from the front to reduce the frontal area. The 6 that remained in America had to be converted back to original when the rule makers figured it out. Moffats car was already in Australia so was never changed back.
Moffats car lives on today in a collection in Qld.
There was a very good article in Australian Muscle Car re the Moffatt 69 Mustang. The droop mose, the convertible sill panels and many other cheats and non standard components. Interestingly that car came to Oz with a tunnel port 302. And got the Boss engine very soon after.
I have read that he car was very well balanced as it came, thyey put the Cleveland from the 'Super Falcon' in it and it was slower. Because of the Clevelands weight.
I heard Alan say that the Clevo was way too heavy,, yet alot of the weight in a Cleveland lump is those heads. About 29 kilo each. I doubt the weight difference was more than a 100lb max.
@@ldnwholesale8552 I had that same Australian Muscle Car magazine, it was a great detailed article, with lots of good photos. It would still be in my magazine collection , but I panel and painted a red '69 Fastback for someone, and lent it to him because I thought he'd be interested in it. When I asked him if he was finished with it , and wanted it back, he said, " oh I looked at it, and then I threw it in the bin". 😡
They made one for Smokey Yunick also that was black and gold
@@thetaillightshow There's a video on UA-cam of a Trans Am race in America, in which Moffat is racing a Mercury Cougar . Also , I learned a while back that he was part of Colin Chapman's Lotus Indy car team , but just as a general helper, which led to him getting hold of a Lotus Cortina , and racing it.
@@johndoe6027 Somehow I was unaware of that Smokey Yunick '69 Mustang , I googled it, what a great looking car .
Thanks for bringing back great memories!
I saw them race just up the coast at Laguna Seca several times. I was a fan of Parnelli Jones' Boss 302, though
Great video! "Zed/28" sounds mighty strange. I don't ever wanna hear anyone complain about how we in the US of A say Jaguar again! 😁
The Zed28 is all I ever heard it called until we got American cable tv. It’s just the English language after all. You Americans speak a kind of dialect I guess.
@@blairleighton3343 It sure is, and yes we do. I love dialects. Kinda a hobby in a way.
At some time there was also the fuel filler neck to the car's tank that held a couple of gallons.
Ha!! that’s brilliant!!
No it wouldn’t 1 ft length at 6 inch diameter is roughly a gallon and a half their lines were not very long and nowhere near that diameter
If the opportunity presents itself, read Unfair Advantage, this book tells so much, not just about Penske's operation, but about the Trans Am in general -- as well as the later years of the Can Am Challenge series. An EXCELLENT read!
That was a marvelously organized and written book!
I was impressed that Donohue didn't sugar-coat the issues there were in his racing career. I found the chapter on the Ferrari 512M most amusing, as it hinted that Ferrari was their own worse enemy when it came to fielding competitive sports cars at that time.
Very interesting! Thanks for the video!😀
My next door neighbor has one of Penske’s Indy cars.
Can I ask a question? 9:54 I’m looking for more pictures of those cars especially the Javelin but I can’t find anything. Even after entering your source
legend is that the missing 2nd Camaro is in the same Mexico yard as the missing 2nd Bullitt Mustang!
Would like to see a video on Smokey's Trans Am Camaro too. I think Vic Edelbrock owned it last time I heard. Smokey was another that did some sneaky stuff.
Now that is history!
I love those old Trans Am cars. I'd love to have a street legal version with a race engine
Penske /Donohue was the class of the field from 67 through 69. I watched them race at Kent Pacific Raceways 67 -70 they only lost the 70 race.
The Moody Mustangs were the 'most dipped' when I saw them race
looked like they were made of newspaper.
You can tell that the Penske's vinyl top was added because it's not a halo-style. The factory top didn't reach the drip rails, and extended to under the rear window. Penske either used '67-'68 vinyls, or the '69 Firebird vinyl. Of all '67-'69 F bodies, only the '69 Camaro had that halo vinyl, as seen @4:33.
That #13 white Firebird @11:10 looks to be a '69, but it has the '67-'68 front bumper and grills, as well as a Firebird 400 hood, rather than the Trans Am hood.
I'd love to see these races in 4K...
the big engine change for chevrolet was the change to the large mains journal crank 67 was basically a 283 crank small journal both forged steel
in 68 chevy went large journal
Ive seen the camero at Watkins Glenn vintage race in the fall.
I'm from UK and it's Zee 28, just like the DRZee
Vinyl tops !. Ugh, I’d forgotten all about them. Truly one of the dumbest ideas in automotive history as they got wet and trapped the moisture between the top and the roof, which then rusted.
It’s not an “unfair advantage” if every team did it too. Almost every one of these items mentioned were all tricks shared by all the teams. It would have been better titled, “Tips and Tricks Racers Use To Get Around the Rules”.
8:34 I didn't know an AMX pace car was used. Spiffy!
Having a 1969 Z/28 in 1969 and on the street with 4.88 gear, well as Dinah said, see the USA from behind my Chevrolet! Never get away with that racing now.
Spring of 69, cruising through Azars drive in and guy in new 69 Z dog whistles my 68 Z. We go out on the bypass where I beat him 3 out of three. He's got 456's, can't believe it when I tell him I'm running 538's and Headers by Ed. Pretty sure the aluminum flywheel helped too, since we were running from a rolling start. 😱😱
@6or18 oh hell yea, you got it. Thing is the LS motors would eat the old small blocks alive. I have a LS7 in my Vette, but I'd love to have it destroked in a Camaro with a Muncie behind it. The original no lift shift transmission.
GOOD VIDEO. Wasn't there a lead lined helmet story to make the weight during weigh in?
I think someone did that in NASCAR (Waltrip?)
I think it was a Nascar radio
🏁 Great vid!! 🏁 👍
And they stuck a basketball inside the petrol tank for homologation, then took it out and had more space for petrol!
It's the stupid rules imposed by the racing groups that have ruined motor racing in the US.
I tend to suspect that the “droopy nose” was a matter of replacing the subframe / body isolation bushings, four of which are under the body and two at the radiator support, and would allow pitching the subframe in relation to the body, and enhance overall chassis stiffness for eliminating the compliance of the factory rubber bushings, by substituting solid bushings of select thickness / height.
I believe they may have also redrilled the rear leaf spring front eye mounting hole approximately a inch higher to improve / reduce the anti-dive and squat.
Thanks
Makes a change to hear the truth in this world of A.I bullsheet.....thx
First rule of motor racing.
It's only cheating if you get caught...
Iv'e also heard they used Porsche disc brakes, at least on the front ( were they allowed rear discs ? ) , that might have been only on their prior Camaros ? . Apparently , when asked about the vinyl roof , Penske said it was for less drag , like the dimples on a golf ball , it probably was just to cover up the suspect roof , but his explanation does make sense also.
I heard the same from a friend, there was a Chevy part number for the disk brakes from the 917 Porsche so it was legal to use them
@@dusty7264no need the front disc calipers are huge and powerful already I have them on my 68
Pretty sure the 917 discs being in the parts catalog was with the AMC Javalins and not with the Camaros.
But yeah, Penske in those days were straight up racing outlaws. :)
That was not a photo of a Challenger T/A.
You missed the part where if it had a factory part number it could be used on the car, a friend told me there was a Chevy part number for the disk brakes from a 917 Porsche in the book
Don't forget all the Porsche parts on the first gtu Mazda rx7
When did Penske buy the Indiana Motor Speedway? I thought he owned Michigan International Speedway.
2021 he bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Penske / Donahue / Chevy. A bit of creative engineering and rule book interpretation = success. I’d bet there weren’t any long distance calls to a fellow named Yunick in Daytona Bch. Yeah, if you believe that, there IS a tooth fairy!
Mark Donahue's book 'The unfair advantage' is a MUST read for anyone interested in the period racing and just racing in general. LOTS of thought went into everything they did and their creativity is to be marveled at. What a great time to be alive where the rule book was viewed as something to work around as much as possible....if it didn't say you couldn't do something....green light to do it. NASCAR is famous for men like Smokey Yunick who also worked around the rules as much as possible....but he had nothing on Donahue and Penske.
Simply untrue. Smokey Yunick was in a class by himself with respect to circumventing rules
Why not end with a few comments about what happened in 1970 season?
That looks like BIR just before point 2
Smokey Yunick's, Best Damn Garage. Engineered many of the rule pushing mods to alot of the Camaros.
Smokey.....it's not cheating, it's rules interpreration.
The plenum dividers for that crossram dual quad DZ302 intake come to mind. The few factory units that still exist, aren't modified like "da Smoke" had 'em done up. Supposedly, to this day. The race modified ones have stayed hidden in private collections. Those are quite possibly the most desirable historical artifacts from the heyday of TransAm racing. Priceless.
And quick change brakes.
Chevrolet cheated like mad. Taking two cars to every race they would set out a tent, then bring in car number 5. That car would go through tech and come back while car number 6 was brought under the tent. They would then swap numbers on the two cars send car 5 back through tech with number 6’s decal on it. It would pass tech while the real car number 6, wearing number 5’s badge never got inspected. It was several hundred pounds underweight and who know what other tricks they had under the hood. Theyfinally got caught cheating and once caught they started losing, bad. Chevy pulled their support from Trans Am and moved elsewhere.
02:38 Who is the woman in the photo?
Who is the woman in the photo?
A vinyl top Camaro is lighter and much thinner then normal tops. I own one and replaced the vinyl myself it’s very thin.
What about the Rumor that the Chevy Corvette JL8 4 Wheel Disc Brakes Penske used on these Z28 Race Cars were Secretly Cast Titanium Copies of the Corvette 4 Piston L88 Race and later Corvette CANAM Cars 2 Pin Calipers and the Titanium Rotors were Ceramic Coated Fabricated Copies of the Corvette Rotors to save weight with the Heat Resistant Ceramic Coating on the Rotor Applied by a NASA Aerospace Contractor?
I wonder what that lone surviving Camaro is worth?
Why am I hearing snoring?
Cheating to win... They ALL should be soooo proud...
If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying…
Just before point 4 looks like BIR
Only WE know about the Z and American cars.
👍👍
Wrong 200 miles or 2 hrs, which still required refueling
Ford won the championship in ‘70. Competition is good for everyone.
ORIENTED!
clever thinking = unfair advantage
Meet-tahl
And TRACO engines
The Camaro was going to be a Panther.
So they cheated
Yes. As one grows older, many will find out those 'winners' were losers.
Too much you, not enough cars. Sorry.
🥝✔️
The music junked another video 👎👎👎👎💩💩😬
So in to the story, didn't hear any music.
Did. U. Put. The. Chevy. On. A. Dino. Joe. ?
The pace car shot looks like turn 2 ar BIR, if so that corner was crewed .y Nord Stern members and would have included are parents and Jim Hayek
Gee, if you only knew what you were talking about.
You forgot about the dominating AMC Javelins.
C'mon fella - it's ZED here in Australia and zee in unhinged dictatorships.
Of course general motors cheated. That's the only way they ever win races.
Yea. J0e. U. Know. 4. A. Fact. That. The. Ford. Had. More. Hp. Than. The. Chevys. Did. You. Put. The. Musk. Rat. On. A. Dino. ?
Saw many Trans Am races at Road America - I remember seeing Bobby Rahall driving a Corvette in the Trans Am series