Messages

Jon, has the Stoddard car surfaced in the T/A vintage world?  Jerry Lagod still has their 68/69?

Robert Barg

Spotted this ad in my Nov. 9, 1974 issue of CP/Autoweek:

EX MARK DONOHUE SUNOCO CAMARO.  Legal Trans-Am and IMSA.  No time on rebuilt Traco.  Many spares. Best offer.  Sreet trades considered.  Financing available.  William Freeman. Two (805) numbers are listed.

Wonder which camaro this was? (no photo in ad)

Robert Barg

Not aluminum as far as I know - thought they were old style, but I don't have them - they are in storage with the old camaro project in Chehalis WA that we have now listed for sale.

Robert Barg

So which year car and make is Donohue sitting in?  Interesting roll cage design - no factory dash, but still has the door panels and the window winder.

Robert Barg

I have recently acquired the "Penske Authentics" GMP 1:18 scale model of this car (along with the first Warren Tope Muatang).  My intent was to paint it up in the marina blue colour we had for our 67 in 69, but not so sure this is a good idea.  My modeller friend Phil Dauphinee, had built 2 nice 67s for me but I sent one to car owner Al Richards, and had to include the other one in a sale of some memorabilia I sold to a friend

Robert Barg

Hi Steve,

I don't remember much about "cheater" wheels being used.  We were too busy to look at all the other racer wheels.  Our team used the 8 x 15 wheels, originally steel, then some Torque Thrusts.  The tire guys would have supplied the same size tire to all.

I think Timanus and company were probably too busy trying to find other "cheater" tricks.  He had his hands full with the factory guys, and probably didn't pay much attention to us privateer guys.

I have acquired a set of used Torque Thrusts that measure  15 x 8.5  Has anyone seen these before?  They were to be used on a 67 camaro T/A replica project by a friend of mine.  We have acquired a donor street car and some engine and tranny parts, but he has been taken ill and the project has been stalled, maybe for good.  The idea was to replicate just what I drove, not a fancy "modernized" vintage racer you see today.

Robert Barg

When Rick Stevens and I purchased that ex Alfie Ruys de Perez 69 camaro T/A car in 72, it had one of those Donohue Racemark seats - quite unlike anything I had seen previously and bears no resemblance to any of the above seat photos.  It was like a fg container for your body - no padding. Jon probably has a photo of one?

Robert Barg

Ok, so what is the history of this car - who built it, drove it, where did it go next, where is it now, did it turn into a Pontiac etc? 

Robert Barg

The #14 camaro shown above in the 68 Sebring race was the class winner (12 Touring 2000-5000cc) in the 69 Sebring race, the race in which Rick Stevens and I came 3rd in that class.  There were 12 cars that started in our class. We were 25th o/a.

I have no idea whatever happened to that car - don't believe it ever raced in the T/A out of Florida with the listed drivers it had at Sebring.  Perhaps Jon knows.

I still have the complete race results, program, entry list, qualifying times, several newspaper and magazine reports of the 69 Sebring race - definitely a high moment in my racing to finish that 12 hr. with a new team - lots of memories.

Robert Barg

Our humble team never had any fancy Traco or Al Bartz engines, but we did at one time have a set of headers from Jere Stahl.

I understand that in to-day's vintage race world a 302 Chevy can make almost 560 HP in an historic T/A car - seems unreal.

I wonder what those 32 Stutz cars that Al had would be worth to-day?

Robert Barg

Jon, I have that "Road Racing Detroit Style" as part of a racing tape that includes bits and pieces of amateur footage from Mosport, St. Jovite, Lime Rock, and I think Bridgehampton, and maybe some other tracks.  If I can find it, I will ship it off to you and you can "convert it". Can't remember where this came from but may have been from Robert Hayes who at one time did some research on early Firebird race cars.

I drove in that 1970 Watkins Glen T/A rain race, but oddly, can't remember racing in the rain, and I'm sure we didn't have any rain tires! That was the race where we just got on the grid at the last minute because 4 guys toasted their engines in the warmup - hard to understand why they would flog their cars that hard in the warmup. My racing ream-mate that year, Dave (Paul) Lawler, also drove in that race - his 68 camaro was put into storage and has never surfaced.  Dave passed away from cancer in the early nineties - he did 4 races in 1970 - best finish was 8th at Mid-Ohio - one of those guys who had some "raw talent".

Robert Barg

I happened to attend that race - was on my way to Laguna and Riverside for the Can-Am races and stopped in at Stardust for the Trans-Am.  My friend and I had obtained press passes from the Canadian Wheelspin News racing paper, so I had an official job (non-paying) to write  race reports  There were 5 "cameros" in the race including the winner Donohue.

Later we would head up the West coast to Vancouver and stopped in to see the Kent Trans-Am race.

I was actually on a scouting trip to see if I might like to move to CA but was too late - all the immigration rules had recently changed for Canadians.

Robert Barg

I remember Ken racing this car still in the eighties at Seattle and Westwood.  Ken was well into his "senior" years then.  It had some flared fenders at that time. Ken raced this car up and down the west coast and into the midwest.  I believe his engine builder was Everett Hatch, a well known NW engine builder for both race cars and planes.

When it came up for sale it was offered complete for about $10,000 and I was just starting to figure out it might have some "vintage racing" potential, but I was too slow off the mark.

You can find it now every year at the annual SOVREN Pacific North West Historics being raced by Bob Morton.  His son Bob jr. also has a 69 camaro T/A clone race car.

Robert Barg

Jon, is this camaro alive and well somewhere?

Robert Barg

Nice photo - have not seen any photos from this area before.  I started 21st next to the Locke/Bailey 68 Porsche 911. I look to be a bit out of position - can just see my 67 camaro with the 2 white hood stripes below the banner to the left of the V.

I shared the car that weekend with Dick Hoffman (H&H Racing) and the rear axle broke just after he took over after our fuel stop. Always enjoyed racing at Mid-Ohio.  It was only my 2nd T/A start. (I once held the D sedan lap record in 1966 - another story).

Robert Barg