Author Topic: FIA homologation : 1st gen Camaro in Trans-Am and International racing 1968-72  (Read 50786 times)

Jon Mello

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The ride height doesn't look that bad. I've seen people re-arch their springs, which is a tidier way to go, and others who have used lowering blocks. As long as the blocks are not excessively tall, there should be no issues.

It seems that if you have to run against cars that are racing on slicks, there shouldn't be a problem with them letting you run with aftermarket calipers like the kind offered back in the early '70s (Girlings, Hurst-Airheart, etc). This was legal in Trans-Am beginning in the 1970 season.
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eb911

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Thanks for the info, Jon. Unfortunately the only brake calipers that are homologated are the Delco Morraine.

eb911

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It seems that if you have to run against cars that are racing on slicks, there shouldn't be a problem with them letting you run with aftermarket calipers like the kind offered back in the early '70s (Girlings, Hurst-Airheart, etc). This was legal in Trans-Am beginning in the 1970 season.

Jon,
what type of Girling calipers where used back in 1970 ? Would you have any period picture of these calipers, preferably in international racing (I might ask too much, I know :-) )


Jon Mello

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While not on a Camaro chassis, here are some Girling (917 style) brake caliper photos from the Stanford "Revs Digital Library" as seen on the Autodynamics Challenger at Bridgehampton, in 1970:

Rear brake set up from side: https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/gn113mc0166
Rear brake caliper from behind: https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/hp246qh7302
Front brake set up from side: https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/qs588pr4184
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eb911

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Well, our Heritage Touring Cup championship is over. The last race took place last week-end on the fabulous circuit Paul Ricard (Le Castellet) on the french Riviera.

The Camaro was very difficult in practice, lots of understeer, on the fastest track of the season with big braking and very slow corners following huge straights.
Our mechanics (thanks Pascal) did setup the front end for the qualifying, and it was a whole different story. The car did handle much better and we qualified 7th. On the long straight the V8 power was a delight, making of our car the fastest in acceleration, but remember we were one of the oldest on the grid, and therefore braking and chassis were far from what our competitors on BMW CSL grpup 2 and 635 group A had to deal with !

After an epic race, battling to keep our place, lots of mistakes and rewarding driving, we finally finished 6th O.A. In what I thought was the last lap, an ex.24 hours of Spa BMW 635 Csi (less powerfull but much more agile) put some pressure on me and finally passed on the last corner. Thank to the V8 I managed to pass him again just before the finish line. But I did not realized that there was no chequered flag ! There was in fact another lap to go and the BMW passed me again finishing 5th.

Last but not least we had the pleasure to earn we were 2nd on the performance index (calculated taking into account parameters such as year of the car, displacement, ...). So we won our first trophy !

Few pictures to follow. We have learned a lot of the car and can't wait to battle again next year. The Camaro is a pure delight to drive.

eb911

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Warm lap and first lap

eb911

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On the slowest corner of the track, just before the pit straight, we had to get down to 1st gear, hence some sliding issue (Well is that an issue ?)

eb911

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Nice track, nice scenery

eb911

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Last ones

eb911

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Camaro Art !

cook_dw

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Great photos!!!

Jon Mello

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Thanks for the update, Eric. I'm glad to hear that you are delighted with your Camaro and it seems to be doing very well. It sounds like you have learned a lot this year as far as getting it setup and how it likes to be driven. Hopefully next year will be even more enjoyable and the finishing positions hopefully higher. The photos are really nice. Thanks for posting them.

I was curious, what do your competitors think about having to race against your old American V8 car?
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eb911

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I was curious, what do your competitors think about having to race against your old American V8 car?
I did not have any direct comments but as usual they might think an american car is heavy and  not sophisticated so that it does not handle and brake. We have been very pleased about the handling ourselves even if braking is still the weak point. That said the leading cars in our championship are untouchable, particularly the ex.works Ford Capri GAA with quad cam 3.4  v6 Cosworth with 440 HP for 970 Kg. The fastest BMW are also untouchable, you can really feel the difference in terms of handling and braking. But we feel with we still have a margin of improvement both on the car and on the driving, so we hope to climb a little in the classification next year. But a 6th O.A and 2nd in performance index is already an achievement for us for the first year.

Jon Mello

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Yes, your accomplishments this year with the car were very good. You had many problems to sort out early on but it sounds like you have dealt with most of them. Congratulations on your fine result and best of luck next year.
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eb911

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Many thanks. I will keep you posted when the 2015 season begins.

 

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