An article on the event talks about the 1967....
"1967 Chevrolet Camaro Trans Am Racer
OWNER: PATRICK S. RYAN
AMELIA AWARD – TEAM PENSKE SUNOCO
The SCCA’s Trans-American Sedan Championship, best known as simply “the Trans-Am,” began in 1966 as a venue for compact American and imported “sedans,” though this really meant coupes. Ford won the first year’s championship in the over-2.0-liter class with the Mustang and repeated the feat for the 1967 season. Chevy got in the mix that year, and Team Penske’s Sunoco-sponsored Camaros won three of the 12 races with Mark Donohue driving. Owner Pat Ryan already owned the second of the two 1967 Penske Camaros and years later located the first one in Austria, after searching on-and-off for 25 years.
“It was pretty beat up, but it was all there,” says Mackay, whose shop recently spent seven months restoring the historic racecar.
Before Mackay got it, Ryan had turned the car over to Rick Parent, his fabricator and wrench mechanic, to begin work on the car. Parent got the project started, even going as far as recreating the steering wheel, before Mackay’s team finished the job.
“Rick did an outstanding job, and we took it from there,” says Mackay. “Rick guided us throughout the restoration.”
Mackay began his work by digging further into research on the Camaro.
“This car started as the second production Z/28 off the line, and we traced its VIN right back to Penske Chevrolet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” he tells Hagerty. “There was so much forensic evidence for this car,” says Mackay. “One telltale sign was reinforcements on the windshield and back window. We could see those in photos from the Trans Am days and from when the car raced in Europe years later.”
The unique handmade dash and gauge panel provided more clues.
“We have a photo of Mark Donohue sitting in the ’67, looking out the passenger side window,” says Mackay. “You can see the same hand-made dash and gauges in photos of this car. Those had never been changed after 50-plus years. The car still had its original rollbar and some suspension pieces. It was incredible.”
Incredible, too, was that as the restored car was being prepped for shipment to Amelia Island, a carburetor fire nearly nixed its debut. Mackay quickly extinguished the two-foot flames with his jacket, but there was some underhood damage, and he suffered second-degree burns on his hands.
His hands stinging, Mackay called Ryan to deliver the bad news. The owner reviewed photos that Mackay sent and gave the go-ahead to expedite repairs to still make the concours in time.
“It was a Saturday night, and I called my guys back in,” says Mackay. “We worked through the night and then the next few days and nights and got the car finished late Wednesday afternoon and put it on the truck for Amelia Island that night. You could never tell there had ever been a fire. Thanks to Reliable Transportation, we got the car to Amelia Island by Saturday in time for a photo shoot with other Penske cars. I really have a great team here, and I’m thankful for Pat Ryan’s understanding and his confidence in us. I also can’t say enough good things about Amelia Island Concours Chairman Bill Warner for working with us on this.”
While Penske was admiring the car, Warner told him about the fire and “rescue.”
“Roger just had a big smile on his face,” recalls Mackay."
Read the article here:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/restoring-team-penske-history-one-race-car-at-a-time/
