« Reply #41 on: February 03, 2016, 02:42:55 PM »
This thread prompted me to go looking for a photo of a '67 Camaro that was ran by Jack Cooley (of Louisiana) during those days; prior to the '67 Camaro, Jack ran a lightweight 409 '62 Chevy. Jack is now in his 80's (he was still living a couple of years ago when I spoke to him on the phone), and is in the Drag Racing Hall of Fame, along with the racer he sold the Camaro to in 1971 (Paul Vanderley). In the summer of '71 I purchased the 302 engine from that '67 and put it in a Henry J. In the Camaro running 'stock class', Jack ran it to 11.67 sec quarter times (on a then-11.71 national record). Dropped the clutch at 10,300 rpm off the line and shifted it at 9800 rpms! 
Dropping a clutch at over 10K and shifting at almost 10K! Dang! Back then I knew of no one who could run that amount of RPM. Wonder what type of tach was used to read 10,000 rpm's?
?? Is that first hand knowledge or what he said?
Well, *I* wasn't driving it, but that is what Paul Vanderley told me when I purchased that engine from him... both Paul and Jack Cooley are members of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame now, and I never knew Paul to lie to me. (After getting that engine into my car, and hearing how it revved, I believed the numbers. The engine was *instantly* at whatever rpm the accelerator pedal told it to go to... sent adrenaline thru my body just hearing it... AND put a smile on my face..
« Last Edit: February 03, 2016, 04:32:38 PM by 69Z28-RS »
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69 Corvette, '60 Corvette, '72 Corvette
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72 El Camino, '55-'56-'57 Nomads, '55-'57 B/A Sedan
