Rob Potters first Camaro?..ex-Transam ex ASCAR?

[Jeff Barley]

What car were you building Al?.. Did we race ?

[Al Weyman]

Tigerbill do you have a website or web space? If so upload your picture to that resizing it to a max of 600pixels or so in the widest direction, then put a link to where the picky is and it will get displayed. I think the govner here will do it for you if you ask nicely, if not email it to me and I will do it for you no problem, especially if it is camaro stuff as I own 3 myself. Look in my profile for email address.

[Jeremy Jackson]

Originally Posted by Jeff Barley

I'd forgotten the shunt... How soon after was Spa Jeremy?.. I wonder if it was a different camaro?

The week after. Brands race was Saturday, and Spa practice started Thurs evening, but don't know when scrutineering would have been..

Well, I must admit that Spa photo doesn't look like the usual one to me... Autosport's report said the car was rebuilt, and a 5 litre used instead of the 5.7, so I always assumed they used the usual car, but that's the first photo I've seen of it.

[Al Weyman]

If you mean me Jeff we have met, I was at the meeting you called at Brooklands a few years ago with a old mate, the dreaded Ellis Bergman who showed a few of the big cars the way home at Brands at one of your meetings running on Falken road tyres, came third I think against some mpressive machinerey. I have a 1970 I am just finishing refettling, one of the original Penske racing IROC cars originally imported by Brian Rice and my Mk 3 IROC saloon racer as seen in my pcky. I started the Modified Production Saloon car championship in 89 with another guy you probably know Mr Brian Sheridan after meeting after we were both sidelined at Oulton Park when running in the Road Saloons, now I am sure you must know him .

[Jeff Barley]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Jackson

The week after. Brands race was Saturday, and Spa practice started Thurs evening, but don't know when scrutineering would have been..

Well, I must admit that Spa photo doesn't look like the usual one to me... Autosport's report said the car was rebuilt, and a 5 litre used instead of the 5.7, so I always assumed they used the usual car, but that's the first photo I've seen of it.

Same here Jeremy.. Its obviously a 67.. but I have a growing feeling that we may be talking about two different cars.. unless the damage was repaired so quickly that they painted the car "black" to mask the repairs.. To proove I'm chatting without the benefit of my camaro notes I'm going to make what is probably a really dumb statment here.. But wasn't the Wiggens Teap car a '68 Camaro?.. Now embariss me and I'll go and hide..

[Steve Holmes]

I remember a Top Gear episode a few years back where Tiff Needell drove Hal Danbys big block Corvette at a HARA race at Donington. He interviewed Dennis Leech who said he'd paid sixty quid for his '67 Camaro as a pile of junk, then put sixty thousand pounds worth of parts in it! It was fast, and won that day. It sat really low, and Dennis was sitting nearly in the back seat, which was popular then in the BTCC cars, but nobody was doing that in historic racing. Great to know the car still exists.

Which class do the American V8s compete in now in the UK?

The Roly Nix car was sturring too. I read somewhere it ran a Donovan block? Don't know how correct that was.

Pete Hall also raced a nice blue '67, and Dennis Clark had a red '67.

[Jeff Barley]

Oh Jeez.. Ellis Bergman.. Oh my goodness... mmm..

Well I'm afraid that I have to make a confession.. I owned the other IROC that Sheriden imported.. kept it for ages and desperatly wanted to do somthing with it.. I recall that it was the sister car to your car (wasn't yours red at one point?).. please don't ask me what I did with it, but its probably now a Honda..

I don't think I ever spoke with Brian Sheriden (?) but was trying to track him down because of the Ascar connection..did speak with a few of the other guys though but names escape me for the moment..

[Jeremy Jackson]

Don't worry, it was a '68 Penske car that Peter Reinhardt brought to Europe in 1969, (wasn't it... I don't wan't to be embarrassed...)

[Jeff Barley]

Originally Posted by Steve Holmes

I remember a Top Gear episode a few years back where Tiff Needell drove Hal Danbys big block Corvette at a HARA race at Donington. He interviewed Dennis Leech who said he'd paid sixty quid for his '67 Camaro as a pile of junk, then put sixty thousand pounds worth of parts in it! It was fast, and won that day. It sat really low, and Dennis was sitting nearly in the back seat, which was popular then in the BTCC cars, but nobody was doing that in historic racing. Great to know the car still exists.

Which class do the American V8s compete in now in the UK?

The Roly Nix car was sturring too. I read somewhere it ran a Donovan block? Don't know how correct that was.

Pete Hall also raced a nice blue '67, and Dennis Clark had a red '67.

Hal Danby was (and is!) a lovely guy... worst thing he did was to drop a big block in his vette cos he was convinced that was the only way to beat Aiden Mills-Thomas's Cobra.. I don't think he did, but I had the small block "Linenfelter" motor for my Maroon Camaro..

Pete hall was quick..very quick.. car always immaculate, and Dennis the same.. Knew Dennis quite well..hope he's still around? .. Had a great mechanic but names gone.. must be getting old..

[Jeff Barley]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Jackson

Don't worry, it was a '68 Penske car that Peter Reinhardt brought to Europe in 1969, (wasn't it... I don't wan't to be embarrassed...)

Phew !!.. Yes it was... So who's car is Sanger racing at Spa??

FYI.. The camaro that Reinhardt imported HAD been finished in the US (Despite what the mags say)..it was actually driven by Sam Posey in at least one T/A race, but I don't recall where..

FYI I have an original Penske cowl induction hood that came off that car.. still has the Wiggens Teap Paperchase decals with lots of "red" and "Penske Blue paint".. You can still make out the "CAB" number plate decal...looks nice on my garage wall!!!

[glyn parham]

Wow, what a lot of information I have found out after reading this thread!
I too have been puzzled about Terry Sangers Camaro at Spa in 1972, but the 5 litre engine is surely not too much of a mystery, it was probably used for longevity rather than risk the bigger, more "fragile" unit.
Hopefully I will get back up into the attic by the weekend to look out race reports etc and add more info to this fascinating thread.
BTW, what happened to the 1970 Camaros', of Pierpoint (sold to Martin Thomas?) and Prophet (owned by Pierre du Plessis)?
Glyn

[Jeremy Jackson]

Glyn,

Wasn't doubting the engine change, just the fact that it doesn't look like the same car!!

[Steve Holmes]

Was the Reinhardt car the Penske lightweight car of 1967? Posey raced this car, with '68 sheetwork updates, for most of '68. He kept one of the Penske cars as part of his driving deal. Purchased it off Penske at seasons end, and GM bought it back in 1970 to stick in a museum.

The lightweight car still had the '67 quarter windows for the first couple of races in '68.

[Al Weyman]

Jeff my car is car #11, it s now a horrible red orange colour but stripping through layers of paint it was originally beige, I actually have a bit of video footage of the car on a crash video where Mario Andretti looses it in the black car annd takes out half the field. The other car #10 I believe is owned by a member here thatorangething (named after the old car I think) so presumably they both ended up orangey red. When you had the car did it have the steel rear quarters on it?

[Jeff Barley]

I honestly don't remember..The car was in a terrible shape.. I want to say that the rear fenders were off the car.. I did identify who the IROC driver was, and when I get home I'll check what I have and let you know!

[Jeff Barley]

I didn't know that it ended up in a museum (?) but the Reinhardt camaro is definitly not the "Lightweight".. You're right that it ran with quater lights for the first part of '68.. There is the famous incident of race numbers being swopped at one of the races with the "heavier" team car being put through "tech" twice because the Lightweight would have failed the weight test.. Hee Hee!!

[Steve Holmes]

Someone may correct me on this, but my understanding is Penske built two '67s, and one '68? The first '67 is that which Donohue campaigned for much of that season before he built the lightweight car. That car was updated to '68 sheetmetal at seasons end, and a new car also built for the 68 season.

Sam Posey did a deal with Penske whereby he would pay Penske four grand per race to drive the second Camaro, and then buy one of the two team cars at the end of the season. This he did, but he didn't race it in 1969. Then Penske came back to him and asked to buy it back as GM wanted a Camaro race car to put in their museum.

So which car did Posey end up with? And were there three '67/68 Penske Camaros built, or was there a fourth?

[Camaroz]

Hi All,

Jeff thanks for the PM. Looking forward to catching up with Norris.

Glyn, when my car (1967 Camaro) ran in Europe (Germany) in 1972 it to was fitted with a 5 litre, something to do with the German (and maybe Belgium) rules that didn't recognise the 5.7 in the first gen cars.

Steve, for what I believe to be the full story on the 'lightweight' car, try the following;

http://www.ashcom.homestead.com/LightweightCamaro.html

Cheers.

[Al Weyman]

Apparently Jeff the last IROC driver of my car was Buddy Baker the all time NASCAR record holder in a Superbird. All the cars were driven by different drivers on the day who pulled out of a hat what car they were to drive, the cars were not assigned specifcally to any one driver which was the whole basis of the Championship to ascertain who was the worlds best driver so all the cars had to be identically prepared.

So far have managed to get one of the original front spoilers made and have bought all the original fitted drysump gear including a period Mooneyes tank from ebay. All the running gear is intact, the gearbox cooler and pump are missing but I can match them with the axle cooler and I have to do a an engine but apart from the rear quarters which were non original fibre glass when I got the car (unfortunately) it is basically all there and as soon as I finish my 2nd gen car I will be back on it.

[Al Weyman]

Actually can I add to that. This particular car has probably been driven by more different famous drivers than any other car you could ever mention thus was the nature of the championship which is why I feel rightly or wrongly it deserves renovating

[tigerbill65]

Originally Posted by Steve Holmes

I remember a Top Gear episode a few years back where Tiff Needell drove Hal Danbys big block Corvette at a HARA race at Donington. He interviewed Dennis Leech who said he'd paid sixty quid for his '67 Camaro as a pile of junk, then put sixty thousand pounds worth of parts in it! It was fast, and won that day. It sat really low, and Dennis was sitting nearly in the back seat, which was popular then in the BTCC cars, but nobody was doing that in historic racing. Great to know the car still exists.

Which class do the American V8s compete in now in the UK?

The Roly Nix car was sturring too. I read somewhere it ran a Donovan block? Don't know how correct that was.

Pete Hall also raced a nice blue '67, and Dennis Clark had a red '67.

.

tiff drove the black shelby hertz mustang at donnington that day.i was in the red 67 camaro.

[tigerbill65]

Originally Posted by tigerbill65

.

tiff drove the black shelby hertz mustang at donnington that day.i was in the red 67 camaro.

dennis clarkes camaro is for sale , has been for some time now.
the ex pete halls camaro is being used by andy rouse in the heritage series.i think its his car.

[tigerbill65]

some names that were racing camaros in the ETCC.
1970.
duvignead
hoffman 6494 cc

chris tuerlinckx 6994 cc ecuri rizla car

1971.
hoffman
ivo grauls 7400cc

piro outmans
edoaurd duvinead 7000cc


marie- claude beaumont
gabriele koning 5700cc


roger lomoral
sylvain garant 7000cc

jean sage
jp hanriond

urs eberthardt
cox kocher
kolb

franz albert

1973
crabtree
jonathon buncombe 5700cc
reserch consultants

james hunt
richard lloyd
ag rivers racing ltd, z28

sanger
gardener
sca 7000cc.

[Steve Holmes]

Originally Posted by tigerbill65

.

tiff drove the black shelby hertz mustang at donnington that day.i was in the red 67 camaro.

That's right, my mistake. It was Tony Dron in the Vette, for Thoroughbred and Classic Car mag.

[Bruce302]

I have a pic of Peter Reinhart in his Camaro in Germany and it is a '67 judging by the grill and window quarter vents. It was easy to update for Brian Muir by changing those two things.
The lightweight car went to Terry Godsell in Canada after it's initial racing days, on the condition that it wasn't used (Penske is no fool) and accordingly it wasn't, despite it being said by some that the car was the basis for the Craig Fisher '68 Firebird. Again, Penske retrieved the car at a later date, like he did with the Posey car.
However, having said that, it has been suggested to me that the lightweight's body and rollcage did go seperate ways, at least for a while. I can't expand on that unfortunately as my contact, as good as he is, has gone cold.
So it has to be 3 '67 Camaro's, The Reinhart/Muir car, the lightweight, and the one wrecked in the desert while being towed by Craig Fisher and Bob Johnson, though that was rebuilt, wasn't it.