Todco and McConnell Racing, Canadian Trans-Am racers

[Jon Mello]

Since we have recently had Ken Ulrich from the Todco Racing team (and later, Roy Woods' ARA team) recently join our forum, I thought it would be good to start a new thread topic which discussed the cars which ran under the Todco and McConnell Racing banners.

Todco was the racing team started by John Todds and Craig Fisher was the driver for the team when they started the '69 Trans-Am season at the Wolverine Trans-Am. The car they started the season with was white with a black hood and trunk, then in mid-season Fisher appears in a silver Camaro Z/28 with black stripes. At the end of the season, Fisher is driving a dark blue Camaro with red wheels and a red roll cage.

Ken, can you tell us a little bit about what you did while working for Todco and can you fill us in on the car or cars that you used during the 1969 season?


Photo by Ron Lathrop

[kgu]

I started out by hanging around Todco in the Spring of 1968 because a buddy of mine was working there. John Todds got some sponsorship money to build a 67 or 68  Camaro to compete in local club races at Tremblant. When he found out I could weld I ended up spending evenings and weekends growing 1 1/2" tubing together and learning alot about HP cars and why John was so well known locally. The car did well that season and Don Duncan bought it at the end of the year When John McConnell stepped in with big enough money to run a professional team  in 1969. And that's when it all started to come together. Although both of these photos are # 7 they are 2 different cars. The fender flairs are different and the blue car has a roll bar which leans forward at top. White car first raced at Sebring, blue car some time mid season.

[Jon Mello]

Ken, thanks for that information. It's interesting that you replaced the white '69 Camaro in mid-season.
Was this due to an accident, the addition of Derek Johnson to the team, or some other reason?

Can you tell me about the car seen in the photo below? This photo is from a Todco article in the 1971
Mt Tremblant program, which is all in French. The english translation for the caption is roughly as follows:
John Todds puts a finishing touch to one of the cars of his racing stable before it heads out on the track.
Cleanliness was always synonymous with success for this very professional race team.  


Courtesy of Frank Dihartce

[kgu]

It was because of the addition of Derik to the team. This chassis is first 69 that we built and started out white. Fenders on this car were cut and welded for clearance. 2nd chassis (#7) fenders were stretched for clearance instead of cutting them.

[kgu]

Sorry, this photo is of 1st chassis with # 7 on it because Craig was driving and liked this number. When 2nd chassis was built #7 went onto it and 1st. chassis became Derik's car. In this set of photos, photo #1 and photo #3 are the same car with Craig driving in photo #1 (early in season) and Derik as driver in photo #3. Photo #2 (red wheels) is chassis #2 and is the car I prefered, driven by Craig and shows Dwight, our engine builder checking the plugs, and John Todds (white shirt on left in background). 

[Jon Mello]

Hi Ken. Thanks for the information on those cars. I got an message from Yves St Jean from the www.autocourse.ca website and
he wanted to know if you could shed some further light on the Todco cars listed below --- who they were sold to and what may have
become of them. I'm not sure if you have that knowledge but those of us who like the history aspect of these cars would find that
interesting. Thanks for any insight.


1) 1967 Camaro= Built by Todco from a used car. Owned by Duchesne's Auto, raced by Derek Johnson in '68. Sold to Don Duncan. He raced it in '71 GP3r = WHERE DID IT GO?
2) 1969 Camaro= #7 from Snyder Chev built by Todco Racing and raced at Sebring and Michigan in early '69, color scheme was white and black.
                         #93 from Snyder Chev. Raced by Derek Johnson in mid '69 as a blue car, 6th place at Watkins Glen '69. Raced by Jacques Duval in '70 Mt Tremblant T/A race
                         and by Craig Fisher at '70 Watkins Glen T/A, then sold to Jean Guy Roy for the complete 72 T/A season = (OK on this one)
3) 1969 Camaro= #7 from Snyder Chev built by Todco silver with black stripes for 69 St Jovite T/A where Craig Fisher finished 4th at '69 Watkins Glen, later blue #7 at Kent '69 = WHERE DID IT GO?
4) 1970 Firebird = #93 race in T/A at '70 St Jovite and Watkins Glen race = WHERE DID IT GO?
5) 1969 Firebird = #7 Titus-built car run under McConnell Racing with Craig Fisher in early '69 = WHERE DID IT GO?
6) 1971 Camaro = #93 and #86 run by Dick Brown, owned by Duncan = Historic Trans-Am, now owned by Kerry Hoctor = (OK on this one)

[kdh54]

Hello all, i was just sent a link to this forum by my friend and fellow Historic Trans-Am racer Chad Reynal.  I own the 1970 Todco Racing and Don Duncan camaro.  I am always looking for more info on my car.  Ken, I am curious as to what you remember about the car.  I have talked to Dick Brown and Don Duncan but there recollections are not very detailed. What I was told was that the car was bought used, perhaps a demonstrator from Nurse Chevrolet in Canada.  It was a silver 1970 Z-28 RS.  What I would love to know is where and who thought of the 1971 color scheme.  I only have few pictures from the 71 season and they are not very good.  Also, Ken were you involved at all with Donnie Duncans campaign for the car in the 72 season?  Thanks for any and all help.  I will do my best to get Dick Brown and Don Duncan to subscribe to the CRG forum.  Jon, Dick Brown would be an excellant interview I believe as well as Don Duncan.  There are some great stories regarding parts aquisitions from Penske racing suppliers.  Both of these guys are around and more than willing to share some stories and history about Trans-A racing and the cars they were involved with.  I look forward to enjoying this site.

Regards
Kerry Hoctor

[kdh54]

Please note:  Chads last name is spelled icorrectly in my post.  It is Chad Raynal....sorry Chad.

Kerry Hoctor

[kgu]

To the best of my memory, this was so long ago, 67 Camaro belonging to Don Duncan flipped end over end and Don probably has some info if was restorable.I know he has photos.  69 Camero first silver then dark blue with red wheels and sloped rollbar went airborn and landed hard and twistd rollcage. Removed from shop so I could begin 70 Firsbird chassis fabrication. 70 Firebird was a beautiful car but no power because of engine rules. Soon it magically became a 70 Z28 and even better looking than before. All seams wer cut of extra metal and rewelded by tig. When I came back to Mtl. from my year at RWR car belonged to Don Duncan but I was too buisy to be involved even though Don and I remained good friends for several years. Red wheeled 69 Camaro had a distintive rool bar hoop because of its angle. I hope it still around - i was my favorite.

[kgu]

The 70 Firebird was brand spanking new with almost 0 miles. I was told it was from 1St shippment to Canada. It was new.

[kdh54]

WOW!  So Ken,  what I am understanding is after all these years is that I am the proud owner of a FIREBIRD not a Camaro.  That certainly answers the question as to what happened to the Firebird.  Do you think Don Duncan was aware that his car started life as a Firebird?  Were the vehicle ID #'s removed to hide it's real identity at tech inspection.  I am thinking that the #93 was Derek Johnsons favorite number since it showed up on his cars.  Are Jonn Todds or Derek Johnson still with us?  Ken, do you reside in Canada? 

[kgu]

The 1970 Firebird was white when delivered so look for traces of original paint top inside of trunk. When converted there was some question of a slight difference in a body line detail between a Firebird and Camaro but I really don't know if SCCA knew or cared. Don Duncan worked out of Todco so he was there everyday and was a good friend of mine. Derek probably still lives in or around Montreal and knows alot more about John McConnell than than I do. We were issued # 92 or #92 at Sebring 1969 and yes Derek seemed to like #9, #92, and #93. John Todds lived in Montreal quite close to me actually and I spoke to him one or two times per year but he seems to have dissapeared last year. I hope he is ok, I know he has had serious back problems since Todco days. John could answer any and all of your questions, he remembers every detail of every car and every race  starting with 1969 in great detail.
I would really enjoy seeing detail photos of your car Kerry if possible and please tell me if you find any traces of original paint.
                                             Ken Ulrich

[Jon Mello]

Kerry,

I'm glad that you found your way here to the forum and we look forward to learning more about your car. It is a great asset to have Ken Ulrich join us here as well. You are right that Dick Brown would make a great interview and I have emailed him on numerous occasions. I have thought of doing an interview and just need to set aside some time to get that done. Easier said than done.

[oldtransamdriver]

Hi Ken, glad you have joined us.  Always good to hear from someone who was involved.

I have the official results from the 69 Sebring 12 hr.  The Todco entry was listed as a white #93 camaro (does not give the year) and was driven by Serge Adam (they have Adams) and Craig Fisher - credited with 174 laps and 30th o/a (4th in the Touring class).  Rick Stevens and I finished 25th o/a and 3rd in the Touring class - did 180 laps and were 2 laps behind the Bruce Behrens  #17 camaro with Vince Gimondo and John Tremblay driving - they were 22nd o/a.  Class winners were the (Freeport) Bahama Racing team #94 camaro of Norberto Mastrandea and Robert Ormes.  The camaros were all in the 2-5 L Touring class with the exception of the Yenko and Grossman camaro who were GT class winners and 10th o/a.  Somewhere I have the entry list which would list the years of the cars.

I have the Sebring program as well as the poster, official results, lap chart book for all competitors, newspaper clippings etc.

Would sure love to go back there one more time to have a look.

Robert Barg
 

[Jon Mello]

Ken,

Can you tell us some of the fabrication stuff that you did to the bodies of the Todco race cars, including the subframes and suspension? For the '68 season, apparently the body seams could not be fully welded as evidenced by the stitch welding shown in the photo below of the first '68 Penske Camaro, taken while it was being constructed.


Photo by Ron Fournier

Were you allowed more leeway and/or were you doing any "rule bending" by the time you were building cars in '69 and later?

[oldtransamdriver]

Back to the 69 Sebring race - according to the Canadian "Track and Traffic" report, the Fisher/Adam Todco camaro barely made the starting line-up.  A last minute decision to enter meant they missed all the practice sessions and only arrived shortly before the start of the race - were scrutineered and allowed to run.  It was the first time out for the car. They had to replace a rear end near the end of the race and finished 30th.

Amazing that they were even allowed to start - must have "pulled some strings".

Robert Barg

[OCTARD]

A couple newspaper pieces on the 1971 TODCO efforts to be driven by Dick Brown.

[kgu]

Actually the only thing we did was relocate the upper A arm bolt holes.

[kgu]

A small Canadian race team going to their first big race, I don't know if there were any strings to pull. Most of the us still lived with our parents.
                                                                          Ken

[kdh54]

Hello all
Hey Ken,  this is pretty exciting finding so much about my car.  Of course I am really trying to find out just what I have.  A Camaro or a Firebird.  I have left a message for Don but have yet to hear back.  I tried as might have others to reach Todd  but I just get a busy signal.  I am wondering Ken who did the paint work for Todco and if not, might this be another source of information.  Chad and I were noticing the striking similarities of the roll bar pictured on all three cars.  Most notably the tab connecting the roll bar to the passenger side A pillar.  Since you were the welder at Todco was this just your signature style of welding?  The tub on this car is pretty rough now and has no vin #'s left.  Is there something on the car, maybe the roll bar that you would recognize?  Keep in mind the car went through some radical modifications for Trans-Am and IMSA in 73-75.  Thanks again to all for bringing this part of Trans-Am history to light.

Kerry Hoctor

[Jon Mello]

Courtesy of Chad (OCTARD)



Dick Brown translates the more pertinent points of the article for us...
"WITH JOHN TODDS
IT'S A NEW START FOR DICK BROWN
    
After multiple successes in last season while driving the Export A sponsored Camaro , Dick was looking for a new sponsor as McDonald
Tobacco has pulled out due to some CASC regulations/ban about tobacco co's sponsoring car racing.
 
Dick spent the better part of the winter season knocking on doors , and while getting a good response from Canadian sponsors due to his
glorious track record, many were questioning the value of sponsoring a Canadian car in the  American T/A series .
 
We were trying to obtain $75,000 to race a Bud Moore Mustang as the #2 team car to Parnelli Jones for the upcoming 1971 season and
were short by approx $25,000.00.  The then prevailing economic context prevented success....  Dick really worked hard at it but in the
end it was not meant to happen.
 
Dick then got a call from John Todds who asked him to drive the new Camaro he was building for 1971, Todco has been associated with
members of the prominent McConnell family of David and John over the years who were sponsoring Derek Johnson (note: and also Craig
Fisher) as a driver before being beaten regularly by Dick's impressive driving ability throughout the season, 10 races, 4 wins 2 second place
finishes and a 11th place in the Watkins Glen T/A.
 
Dick is now looking at a new beginning with a new team, the first race being the Limerock T/A and perhaps all the other ones depending
on how things go, money wise. Surely a minimum of all of the Canadian and the North/ Eastern U.S. races are targeted, and perhaps the
Quebec championship depending on the competition and the money involved."

[kgu]

Hello Kerry,
    First of all, thank you for noticing. John Todds and I put alot of thought and time into the design of the structure of the roll cage. I sometimes bent two or three main hoops before I was satisfied with the fit. We realized that the more contact it made with the car above and beyond what was required by the rules the stiffer the chassis would be. I would probably recognize all my welds as those cars were mine and only mine during fabrication. lol  I loved going to work seven days a week then. I welded the first cars by torch and switched to tig sometime during 1969 season after Roy Woods invited us to use his shop and equipment during the west coast road trip. Todds then bought me a tig machine so all later cars have smaller weld bead (tig) from then on.     
                                                                                                                Ken

[Jon Mello]

Ken and Kerry, I really appreciate you guys discussing the car here on the forum as it gives us all an opportunity to learn more about the cars and this racing team. Thanks!

[kdh54]

Ken

In my last post I wondered if you recalled the person who was responsible for painting the cars.  This could be an important tool in identifying the cars. Also, am I to infer that the roll cages you built were similar in the later model cars.  The tab you used to connect the cage to the body that I identified in the picture would not be so unique as to say they are the same car?  Thanks Ken

Jon
Ken asked me to send him some pictures of the car.  Would you prefer that I contact Ken directly or go ahead and post them to this site


Thank you Jon for all you do to make this site available!

[kgu]

We had an old Polish body man named Joe who always said the word "Gourva", sic on loan to us for the first couple of years who did all the fenders and paint. The "rainbow paint job on the '71 was designed by a friend of JT and nis name is Paul somthing. We all hated it at first but some grew to like it. I must have photos of it somewhere if no one else does. I have spoken to Don Duncan today and he said he had heard that John Todds had passed away. R.I.P. John
                                               Ken

[Jon Mello]

Thanks for the compliment, Kerry. Normally, I prefer to post the vintage pics instead of current photos but in light of this thread and the original fabricator participating, it would be a good time to see some photos of your car. If you do have some vintage pics also, please post them as well.

[kdh54]

Hi Ken

I have been caught up at work and have not made it to the garage to photo the car.  I should be able to next weekend.  You mentioned in an earlier post you might have some pictures of the car.  If you could please look around for me I would really appreciate that.  I have no pictures of the cars engine compartment or interior.  Anything would be usefull.  Do you know if John Todds kept any records/photos of his cars.  Perhaps we could get in touch with his family.
Thanks again Ken

ps
I did talk to Don Duncan the other day and he remembers very clearly going to Nurse Chevrolet in Toronto and trading his 68 Corvette for a 1970 Z-28.  He does not remember the color though.

[oldtransamdriver]

I'm curious to know if Don Duncan is related to Doug Duncan, the race car builder.

Robert Barg

[Jon Mello]

I don't know the answer to that Robert, but I will ask.

Here is a picture of Dick Brown's Camaro taken at Bryar Motorsport Park in 1971. Mark Donohue really loved the paint scheme on this
car and thought it was the most beautiful paint scheme he had seen up to that time. It was the beginning of some of the wilder paint
jobs that came into fashion in the 1970s, but it only lasted one year like this before being repainted a solid dark (Sunoco) blue for '72.

Dick Brown Collection

[Jon Mello]

The Todco team in their Montreal shop circa 1969.
(L to R) Team owner John Todds, Peter Darlington, Ken Ulrich, Derek Johnson, Bill McLennan, and Ken Hall.

Ken Ulrich Collection

This photo may have been taken at Westwood (British Columbia) in 1969 and, if so, then it's Serge Adams driving. Apparently, Serge used to
tape an old chewed up cigar to the roll cage in front of him while he was driving, which drove John Todds crazy. That may be the Mustang of
John Hall behind the Camaro, as he used the number 82.

Ken Ulrich Collection

To keep things straight, the blue car #7 above and the #93 white car directly above are both the same car but at different times during the season. It was white first.

[OCTARD]

The Todco team in their Montreal shop circa 1969. (L to R) Team owner John Todds, Peter Darlington, Ken Ulrich, Derek Johnson, Bill McLennan, and Ken Hall.

Ken Ulrich Collection

That is one of the coolest period Trans-Am photos, ever!  A great looking car, in a clean shop, with very sharp team outfits.   

Thanks, Ken. 

[oldtransamdriver]

Very sorry to hear of John Todds passing.  I did speak to him on the ph. several years ago and we talked about the old T/A days.  He gave me a run-down of the cars he was involved with and I remember trying to write it down as we spoke.  May have passed this info on to Jon?

Loved that photo also of all the guys standing around the car.

Will I see this car at the Sonoma Festival this year?  Looks like there is another trip being plannned again

Robert Barg

[69Z28freak]

Question for Ken. Around 1979 I met a guy in Pointe Claire, West Montreal who was driving a 1967 Camaro that was painted Penske Blue with a Black vinyl top and hand stretched fender flares. The car also had a from bench seat, a modified 1970 LT1 motor, Cowl Plenum, 4 core rad, and Z28 painted on the fenders. He said his car was a race car, but at the time I did not know what Trans Am was. I was just really impressed with the car as I have never seen anything like it. Any chance this was a Todco car? It was a Penske tribute from what I recall, but had to have been local. Only ever sw it the one time. It also had the yellow Mini-Lite wheels.

[Sixteen Grand Sedan #56]

Is that a Rosewood steering wheel I see on the wall

[Jon Mello]

Robert B,

Yes, it's really a shame that John Todds has passed on as I'm sure he could fill us in on details that Ken could not. I don't remember you providing me any of the details from your phone call with JT so if you don't mind searching for your old notes, that would be greatly appreciated. To the best of my knowledge, the blue #7 above has not been found and thus won't be at the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival this year. I hope it's still out there and turns up someday.

[kgu]

Hello 69Z28FREAK,
         I believe the '67 you are speaking of was my own Camaro that I sold about that time to someone who was working for Don Duncan. The flaired fenders, bench seat,  vinyl top, and plenum sort of give it away. It had a front clip on it from Smokey's salt flat car which I bought from JT. Engine was rebuilt '67 350 with ported heads and used '40 cam from Sebring engine. Lowered all around with big sway bar and Todco decals on vent windows. I saw it with Z28 on front fenders but not on car the 8 years I owned it.
                                                                                              Ken

[kgu]

Jon,
   The photo of the '69 with the 6 crew members is the one that was first raced at Sebring and wore #93 most of its early life and is not the missing car.
                                                                                        Ken

[Jon Mello]

Thanks for that info, Ken. I don't know who owns it however. Can you fill us in? I'd love to see it someday.

Do you have any photos of your street Camaro? I'd be happy to post them for you if you do. Sounds pretty cool.

[KenCalgary]

69 Camaro first silver then dark blue with red wheels and sloped rollbar went airborn and landed hard and twistd rollcage.

Ken, was it the '69 Camaro that Parnelli Jones bumped off the track?  I remember a photo of Derek sitting in the car, hands on the wheel, but only air under the car.

[69Z28freak]

Hello 69Z28FREAK,
         I believe the '67 you are speaking of was my own Camaro that I sold about that time to someone who was working for Don Duncan. The flaired fenders, bench seat,  vinyl top, and plenum sort of give it away. It had a front clip on it from Smokey's salt flat car which I bought from JT. Engine was rebuilt '67 350 with ported heads and used '40 cam from Sebring engine. Lowered all around with big sway bar and Todco decals on vent windows. I saw it with Z28 on front fenders but not on car the 8 years I owned it.
                                                                                              Ken

Wow Ken that is incredible that  32 years later I find the original owner of my al time favorite dream car. I would love to get more info from you and talk about that time period. I had a 1970 Z 28 that I bought in 1979 and had the motor built by a shop called Race Engine Specialties in St. Laurent. Are you familiar wuth that shop? What is the chance you have any pictures of that car.

[KenCalgary]

Here is a photo of a TODCO business card, in its blue plastic holder, that John Todds used for the business. I've had it for all these many years since I had a lot of fun enjoying the races and the extracurricular activities.

[Jon Mello]

More info and pictures courtesy of Ken Ulrich...

On the grid early installing driving lights prior to the start of the '69 Sebring 12-Hour race.


John Todds and I went to Smokey's shop after the [March]'69 Sebring race for a meeting and he took us to lunch at his local hangout. When we went back to his shop he told me to go inside and meet his guys and I saw the 15/16 scale model cheater Chevelle he built for Grand National. Smokey sold Todds everything he had left in the way of chassis and parts [Smokey was hired by Bunkie Knudsen to work on Ford's racing program for '69]. My street Camaro had a complete Smokey front clip on it from a Bonneville car. It had a BENCH front seat in it which also went into my car. I have never seen another 1st. gen. Camaro with a bench seat. The whole rest of the car sat out back of Todco with roll bar and gold and black paint all the time I worked there. I was just a kid but he [Smokey] took the time to answer my questions and I will always remember and respect him for that.


The entrance to Smokey's shop.



Crushed stuff sitting outside.



Serge Adam, Ken Ulrich and Craig Fisher pose next to Smokey's Nascar Torino Talledega.



John Todds checking the Torino out.



The Sebring Todco Camaro switched to the #7 for the Wolverine Trans-Am in May '69 with Craig Fisher doing all the driving.

[Jon Mello]

More pictures courtesy of Ken Ulrich. Many thanks to Ken for sharing these photos with us!

The other thing driver Derek Johnson was good at. Car owner and sponsor John McConnell sitting on the hood. This may be at Mosport.



Refueling pitstop for the second (later) '69 team car. The fuel filler held 4-5 more gallons extra besides the 22-gal fuel cell.

[Jon Mello]

An original Todco patch.


Ken Ulrich Collection

[OCTARD]

Really great stuff.  Thanks for sharing, Ken.  And Jon, thanks for all the time to manipulate and post these treasures.

Ken, can you tell us why your team tried such different roll cage designs in the various '69 TODCO Camaros?
 
-Chad

[69Z28freak]

Hey Ken any word on the questions in my last post?

[kgu]

Re: Question from 69Z28freak
        I do not know that shop but have not been involved with race cars for quite sometime so can not help you there. I will forward some photos of my street Camaro as it looked while I owned it. Lowered all around, big swaybars, 350ci, 2 bolt mains, big valves, ported, headers, '40 cam, Todco decals on vent windows, front seat only, white vinyl roof, flared fenders, ram air, and large lettering between tail lights.  "A.M.F."  (Adios Mother F-----)

[Jon Mello]

As promised, here are photos of Ken's Camaro. These were taken as he was heading West to join the Roy Woods Racing team.


Ken Ulrich photo


Ken Ulrich photo

[69Z28freak]

Thanks Jon great pictures. That is the car. Keep those pictures coming. They are excellent.

[Jon Mello]

Pictures of Kerry Hoctor's 2nd-gen Camaro as raced by Dick Brown for Todco racing.

Kerry says... "Hopefully something in these photos will help Ken remember more about the car.  The obvious addition to the car was the additional roll bar structure added for the 73 season.  I am curious though if Ken remembers the jack pads or if they were added later in the car's life.  The sheet metal floors are something else I wonder about. Did Todco put them in or were they added later as well?"

1) RH rear trunk floor area.


2) Main hoop of roll cage.


3) Passenger seat floor area.


4) Trunk floor area.


5) Center area of main rollbar hoop.


6) Jack pad under rocker panel area.


7) Looking down at driver's side door bars.


Rear interior area.


9) A look through the windshield.


10) Driver's side firewall area.


11) Passenger side frame and firewall area.


12) Roll bar to roof.


13) Behind driver's seat.


14) Driver's side footwell and rocker area

[kgu]

Hi Kerry,
    Thanks for the photos of your race car, I have not seen this car for almost 40 years but I recognize the original roll cage structure and especially the forward leaning roll bar and my tig welds. That is my work for sure. It looks like the later structure added was done with mig or stick welding and not my work. Photo #5 of the center area of rollbar hoop is a good example of differences between tig welds and other welding added lated to the structure. I  did not do the sheetmetal on the floor that is there now, we did not cut the floor anywhere except the trunk to put in the fuel cell.  I do not at this moment remember the jack pads but maybe will after reviewing your photos. I thank you again for your post.
          Ken

[69Z28freak]

Hi Kerry,
    Thanks for the photos of your race car, I have not seen this car for almost 40 years but I recognize the original roll cage structure and especially the forward leaning roll bar and my tig welds. That is my work for sure. It looks like the later structure added was done with mig or stick welding and not my work. Photo #5 of the center area of rollbar hoop is a good example of differences between tig welds and other welding added lated to the structure. I  did not do the sheetmetal on the floor that is there now, we did not cut the floor anywhere except the trunk to put in the fuel cell.  I do not at this moment remember the jack pads but maybe will after reviewing your photos. I thank you again for your post.
          Ken

Hi Ken do you have any other pictures or info on your old car. Do you know who the guy you sold it to was. Did I mention that it had Z28 painted on the front fenders. When I saw the car it had the same wheels but the tires were very wide for the time I recall. The car got a repaint and swaped vinyl top. Would love any other info you have on the car.

[oldtransamdriver]

I have located the info that John Todds (is it Todd or Todds?) gave me over the phone around the year 2000.  If I have listed it correctly, here is what he gave me -

- 67 Camaro - driven by Derek Johnson - later sold to builder Don Duncan
- 69 Camaro (2 cars) - driven by Derek Johnson and Craig Fisher
- 70 Firebird - driven by both Fisher and Johnson - later sold to Tiny Lund
- 71 Camaro - driven by Dick Brown - later sold to Don Duncan
- 71 Camaro - driven by J Duval on BFG tires

One 69 Camaro was sold to a Hugh Dixon in Toronto (CASC member)

He gave me some ph.#'s for Duncan and Dick Brown, also for Peter Baselice - east coast vintage racer who had the 71 Duncan Camaro (Canadian Sunoco car) at that time.

Robert Barg

[Jon Mello]

Great info, Robert! Thank you for posting that.

It is John Todds, not John Todd.

Here's a photo of Dick Brown in the '71 Camaro in the pits at Watkins Glen, 1972.

Dick Brown Collection

[DLXSX240]

I thought the current owner of the car would get a kick out of this picture. I race and paint Trans Am race cars on Forza 4 (Xbox). I paint them as close to the real car as possible with what i have to work with. You only get basic shapes , numbers, letters ect.. Then you strech and layer them to get what you want. I know the wheels aren't correct, but it's the closest ones in the game to the real thing. I tryed to recrate the pit stop photo that Jon posted. The photos on this site was a huge help to build this car. Thank you for all of your time and hard work on your research and sharing it. And if anyone would like to do some very true to it roots trans am racing on Xbox hit me up ( AlphaTide ).

Jon I hope it was ok to post on this thread. I saw the current owner of the car was on here and I really wanted him to see the car. Also people can compair it with the photo you posted and see it was pretty well executed. I hope it's worthy of being on the forum. If not I will not post anymore.  I have more pictures of the car if anyone would like to see them. Just let me know.
Thanks,
Justin

[Jon Mello]

Justin, I don't want this to become a forum for Xbox and Forza 4 because there already are forums for those kinds of things but what you did here is fine as it relates to this particular car that Kerry now owns and he and Dick Brown might enjoy seeing it.

[DLXSX240]

Thanks Jon. And no I don't want to litter up the forum with the Forza replica Trans Am cars. Like I said before I couldn't pass up the chance for the current owner and maybe even the original driver to see may recreation of the car.  So thanks for understanding.

[DLXSX240]

To Kerry and Ken I hope this helps on your question about what color the car started life as. This is a picture I found while doing research on the car for the recreation I did. I'm guessing gas must have got on it and bubbled it up and flaked off. This could the factory color or it could have been the copper color from the 1971 paint job. I wouldn't think they would have repainted the inside of the deck lid anyways, but who knows. Or could have damaged the original lid and used replacement lid.

[kgu]

I believe the car was yellow.
                                    Ken

[normal]

Here is a recent picture of Ken 's car as of last year.The car is being stripped and rebuilt for the track (Vintage trans-am)All of the original front sheet metal that Ken had from
Smokey is still intact and on the car.
Check at this link.
http://www.burn-out.ca/sites/default/files/images/IMG_0925_0.mini%20galerie%2075x75.jpg

Norm

[Jon Mello]

Thanks for the link and letting us know about the current state of the car. Some larger photos of the car can be seen here...

http://www.burn-out.ca/content/chevrolet-camaro-ss-1967-par-ksp-productions-0?size=grand

[69Z28freak]

Here is a recent picture of Ken 's car as of last year.The car is being stripped and rebuilt for the track (Vintage trans-am)All of the original front sheet metal that Ken had from
Smokey is still intact and on the car.
Check at this link.
http://www.burn-out.ca/sites/default/files/images/IMG_0925_0.mini%20galerie%2075x75.jpg

Norm

Wow what a great history on this car. I still can't believe it was the same car I saw back in the late 70's. Very cool.

[Jon Mello]

photo: Dwight Brainerd Collection

In the words of Ken Ulrich...

     "The Camaro (in the photo above) is the first Todco road race car. Derek Johnson is driving. It was built in 1968 and was dark green and yellow. It was bought as a used car by John Todds already in those colors when acquired. I do not remember it being a Z car or being a repaint. The first race it was in was after many all nighters and before it even had a wheel alignment. I was not an employee of Todco when this all began but hung around there lunch hours and after hours from my normal job as a draftsman. My best friend Peter Darlington, and Lee Michelson were the mechanics at Todco which was a HP garage working on muscle cars and club race cars at that time. Dwight Brainerd was a customer and friend of John, as were Derek Johnson and Ken Hall.

     JT wanted to beat Gagnon Spring in club races and I think things just started to fall into place when the Camaro became available. Derek needed a ride, John had some young guys like me hanging around helping for free just to be involved, and JT was talented and ambitious.

     I started extending my lunch hours everyday at Todco to weld the roll cage in the Camaro and getting to my real job late every afternoon until they fired me. I went back to Todco to get advice on telling my parents about what happened and JT hired me.

     Don Duncan purchased this car from JT and raced it in club races.  It was rolled end over end in '69 or '70, repaired elsewhere, and sold."

[Trans Åm]

Found pictures just now of what is my favorite (favourite?) looking T/A car ever in use, love the color scheme. But could never find any pictures. "Roll bar leans forward at top" in Ken Ulrichs words in the second post or so.

I think they are the same car


https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/js599pf0649

https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/qs405qy4216

[1109RWHP]

[1109RWHP]

[Trans Åm]

Thank you for doing that, I actually forgot you could go to another page and use that image link. I'll do that from now on.

[1109RWHP]

When you hit "reply" and the dialogue box appears click on the icon second from the top all the way to the left. If you hover over it is reads "insert image". Just copy/paste the picture you want to post in the middle of the brackets and hit post.

[kgu]

With reference to reply  # 63-65 : I believe that the color on #7 was the same paint formula as my street Camaro (dark metallic blue) but without the metal flake in it causing it to have a purplish hue. Someone please correct me if I am wrong about that. The rollcage, grill, and wheels were all done on the road between races with rattle can red. This car was the 2nd car Todco built in 1969 and driven by Craig Fisher.
                                    Ken Ulrich

[VINCE Z28]

Ken you said the roll bar on the 69 leans forward at the top.... something like this?

[kgu]

      The top of the roll bar is in same forward position but the legs of the Todco roll bars are straight and welded to floor close to side of car. The whole Todco roll bar leans forward and has only two bends in it.

[Jon Mello]

Here's a brief 1970 Todco press release, courtesy of Ken Ulrich.


 Ken Ulrich Collection

[Trans Åm]

Pontiac might have been a threat if they could have gotten that darn Ram Air V ironed out...


[disgruntled Pontiac fan, coming to you here...]

[Jon Mello]

Photo of (L to R) Derek Johnson, John Todds and Dwight Brainerd after a win with the original '67 Todco Camaro.


Dwight Brainerd Collection

[kgu]

     Great photo Dwight, and not one I remember ever having seen before. A lot of late nights and all nighters to build and prepare the car.  Those were great times when we started to gel as a team.   
 And "DUCHESNE",  that rings a bell, I am pretty sure he was the used car dealer where JT acquired the Camaro.

[Jon Mello]

Here are a few more photos from the Dwight Brainerd Collection.

This is the first '69 Todco Camaro.






This is the second '69 Todco Camaro






Dwight's small photo collage pays tribute to some fun, memorable years.

[VINCE Z28]

Ken has anyone told you Tommy Lechlider of NASCAR could be your brother?

[kgu]

HA-HA I love it. I don't think it's genetic, the probable answer is that he has the same taste in eyewear as Craig Fisher and I, but I am still waiting for a definitive answer from my mom.

[Jon Mello]

I got this photo from Ken Ulrich today and it clarifies some information about the last Trans-Am car built by Todco. It is one of the original ignition keys along with a tag giving some vital details on the original configuration of the car. The car that was silver with the rainbow stripe in '71 and then dark blue with Sunoco sponsorship in '72, began life as a yellow Z28 and was built at Norwood, OH.

Thank you Ken for sharing this with us.


Ken Ulrich photo

[Oldtimer]

Here's a brief 1970 Todco press release, courtesy of Ken Ulrich.


 Ken Ulrich Collection

Newcomer here, and probably late to the party, but I have this black and white picture from a Press Kit I got at the 1970 Trans Am race at Dallas International Motor Speedway.  The press release is also in the kit.



Can anyone confirm for me that the Firebird as painted blue, like the 1969 #7 shown in some of the other pictures in this thread?

I am building an 1/18 scale diecast model of the Todco Firebird, and wanted to make sure I got the paint color correct.  Here's a couple of pictures of the model in progress.





And if anyone has a better picture of the Firebird, that would be appreciated.

Thanks, in advance!

[group/7]

OK ! now that I have my head on straight, here is a photo I have in my files of the Firebird at Laguna Seca 1970.

Jon will confirm if I have correct this time.

Mike

[Oldtimer]

OK ! now that I have my head on straight, here is a photo I have in my files of the Firebird at Laguna Seca 1970.

Jon will confirm if I have correct this time.

Mike

Excellent!

Thanks so very much!

Jim

[group/7]

In my haste to correct an error in my earlier post, I erased it 

here is a photo of the Todco Camaro at Sears Point in 1969. If it's been posted before I will remove it.

[Trans Åm]

In my haste to correct an error in my earlier post, I erased it 

here is a photo of the Todco Camaro at Sears Point in 1969. If it's been posted before I will remove it.

Would you be able to get a larger or higher resolution version of this shot? Thank you very much, love this car.

[group/7]

Hello Nick, here is a link to where I found that photo of the Craig Fisher Firebird at Sears point. scroll down the page, the image is near the bottom.
If you click on the posters profile, there is an e-mail there, if he and the e-mail are still good you might be able to contact him and see if he would be willing to provide you with a better image.
He might have some other photos as well, maybe he isn't aware of this forum and would post his pics here.

http://cs.scaleautomag.com/sca/modeling_subjects/f/31/t/113979.aspx?page=2

Mike (group/7) in Canada

[Trans Åm]

I'll make sure to mention this forum to him, thanks so much Mike! Greatly appreciated.

[VINCE Z28]

Hey Ken is that you in the white shirt?

[VINCE Z28]

The pictures were taken in May 1969 at Mont-Tremblant, with Derek Johnson driving.

[Trans Åm]

Did you take those, Vince? Fantastic photos, thanks a lot!

[VINCE Z28]

 Nick, I got them off the net. Lots of pictures on autocourse.ca

[kgu]

Hi Vince, yes it is, with John Todds talking to a long time friend of his and Derek. This car is same one that was white at Sebring and usually had #93 on it.
 Post #83 is the car that Craig drove in 1969 and my personal favorite Todco racecar. It started life painted silver-grey as a true Z-28 and I wish it would turn up somewhere so it could be restored.

[VINCE Z28]

Hi Ken I know at the shop you welded things ( roll bars and such.) but when your at the race what was your duties there? Also what time spand did you work for Todco? and how long did Derek and Craig work there? Was the exterior color changes to the cars do to sponsor requirements ?

[Jon Mello]

Here are a few photos just sent to me by Ken Ulrich along with a little explanation.

"Photos from Ken Hall. Tannis is his wife and did excellent job of Todco timing. Photo on right is from 1969 but in 2 photos on left one car is has been repainted baby blue so not sure if late 1969 or early 1970.

Ken Hall refueling, John Todds to his left, Bill McLennan with extinguisher, Lee cleaning windshield.

Flag photo early configuration of Namaro corner at Mont Tremblant."

Tannis Hall added these comments...

"Here we are in 1969, Le Circuit at Mt Tremblant, 6 hour endurance, 2 cars. Fueling and tire stop…approx. 4 minutes

Kenny did the heavy lifting, Les McLennan watching and me doing manual lap timing."

[69Boss302Racer]

Le Grand-Prix Molson de Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, September 13-14, 1969
Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs

CASC Championnat Canadien Tourisme – Coupe du Maire  Race 3 / Course 3
1   16   Luc Lecompte, Qc         Shelby Cobra                      15   17m48.40s
2   34   Leon Alain, Quebec Qc      Chevrolet Camaro Z-28           15   17m53.80s
3   41   L. Donolo,                                  Elva                                      15   
4   147   C. Duchesne, Qc         Lotus 47                         15
5      61     Jean-Guy Roy, Shawinigan Qc   Chevrolet Camaro / Laurentide   15
6      12   Roger Briere, Trois-Rivieres Qc   Ford Mustang Boss 302      15


Le Grand-Prix Molson de Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, September 13-14, 1969
Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs
CASC Championnat Canadien Tourisme – Coupe du Maire  Race 5 / Course 5
 
1   34   Leon Alain, Quebec Qc         Chevrolet Camaro              15      17m53.80s
2   61   Jean-Guy Roy, Shawinigan Qc      Chevrolet Camaro / Laurentide   15      18m02.80s
3   44   Maurice Beauregard, Montreal QCc    BMC Mini Cooper S              15   
4   10   C. Duchesne, Qc                 AMC Javelin                 15
5   112   Roger Briere, Trois-Rivieres Qc      Ford Mustang Boss 302           15


Grand-Prix Molson de Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, September 27-28-29, 1971
Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs
CASC Championnat Molson – Coupe du Maire   Race 7 / Course 7
1  AS-1   188   Maurice “Mo” Carter, Toronto On   Chevrolet Camaro/Carter Chev             40      44m08.400s
2  AS-2   165   Jean-Guy Roy, Shawinigan Qc      Chevrolet Camaro /Gelinas Auto    39      44m18.300s
3  AS-3   193   Jacques Duval, Montreal Qc        Chevrolet Camaro/Todco Racing    39         
4  AS-4   41   Claude Boisvert, Qc         Ford Mustang                           37
5  AS-5   712   Roger Briere, Trois-Rivieres Qc      Ford Mustang                   37
6  AS-6   70   Marc Dancose, St-Laurent, Qc      Ford Mustang                   36
13 AS-7   34   Leon Alain, Ste-Foy Qc         Chevrolet camaro/Dynatech     35
16 AS-8   86   Dun Duncan, Montreal Qc      Chevrolet Camaro                        32
17 AS-9   62   Richard “Dick” Brown, Montreal Qc   Chevrolet Camaro/ Brown Racin     32


Grand-Prix Molson (? Labatt) de Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, September 5-6-7, 1970
Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs
CASC Championnat du Quebec Laurentide A-B-C     Race 8 / Course 8, Round 7 / Epreuve 7 (September 6, 1970)

1  C-1   62   Richard “Dick” Brown, Montreal Qc   Chevrolet Camaro/Brown Racin   30      34m06.900s
2  C-2   92   Derek Johnson, Montreal Qc      Chevrolet Camaro/McConnell R   30      34m43.500s
3  C-3   8   Francois Guertin, Ste-Pie de Bagot Qc   Chevrolet Camaro/Sanair           29   
7  C-4   61   Jean-Guy Roy, Shawinigan Qc      Chevrolet Camaro/Gelinas Auto   28      
8  C-5   93   Jean-Paul  Ositguy, Montreal Qc      Edeas-Ford                 28   
12 C-6   35   Normand Perron, St-Jerome Qc      Chevrolet Camaro              27      
25 C-7   611   Robert Roy, Montreal Qc              Lotus Super 7                 18 Dnf
28 C-8   112   Roger Briere, Trois Rivieres Qc      Ford Mustang Boss 302           15 Dnf
29 C-9   137   Dr. Luc Lecompte Qc                 Ford Shelby Cobra                        7 Dnf

[69Boss302Racer]

Good afternoon, Jon and all

Well these results were lined up, sorry for the irregular translation.

Yesterday I was watching a DVD with racing clip and narrations from the 1969 - 1971 Trans-Am series seasons.
Getting motivated again before my abbreviated season starts.
Great stuff, always fantastic hearing the roar and seeing the drifting around the corners.

Not trying to side track this thread / topic, however reaching out for any assistance in finding more history (information, narratives, photos, etc.) of my 1969 CASC race car (sorry it's a Boss 302).
The original owner / driver of my 1969 Boss 302 race car was Roger Briere, who was a very good friend of Jean-Guy Roy.
He also raced among most all the Canadian Trans-Am drivers in CASC events and other non-Trans-Am races in Canada, thus the other posted reply.
It would be wonderful to be able to discover more information about the race car, especially for demonstration at the track.

Feel free to PM me.

Thank you for your assistance,

Mark