penske era camaros?

[vanzuuk1]

I have a question about the early trans am camaros, no yes or no answer but I wanted to know thoughts on the subject.

If a car is built and set up like one of the early t/a camaros, is it a handful or a fun car to drive on the track?Would an early camaro with a proper cage and a basic suspension upgrade work as well as some of the trick coilover/subframe setups?

I know it depends a lot how either system is setup and aligned. My guess is that a well done low tech car might work better than a car with hi tech parts thrown at it.

I went to a vintage event and the cars seemed to work well with stock appearing suspension parts, just got me wondering about all the trick parts.

Dave pozzi, I would love to see your thoughts on this. (and photos of your red 69)

thanks.

Ps by lotech I mean a cage, g mod, shocks and springs, and a few tweaks.

[TonyHuntimer]

I was out at Leguana Seca last weekend and saw a few first gen Camaros tearing up the track. It was kind of funny, since one of the guys was out having fun with his 69 Camaro with stock control arms and without the Guldstrand mod. Aparently the guy is not interested in doing the mod or putting aftermarket control arms in the slightest bit. I was told that he didn't want to upgrade because it was his "street car." :pat:

I could only think that he could be having even more fun if he would spend a few hundred bucks on a set of control arms to decrease positive camber and increase positive caster (over what the stock suspension provides with a huge stack of alignment shims). He already had slicks and obviously had some money to burn.

Then I thought...Maybe he's one of those guys who doesn't want incorrect ERA parts on his car. Then why not at least do the Guldstarnd mod? You could do that without it being obvious to the untrained eye.

Anyway... just my opinion. He was having fun and that's what counts in the end.

Getting back to your question... A first gen with a few lowbuck mods would be fun at the track. :)

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[vanzuuk1]

Thanks Tony. any photos?

Post them on your site if you get a chance.

[David Pozzi]

There were several guys running that event in early Camaros and Mustangs and having lots of fun. There will allways be someone quicker with more money and more mods, it's the same with drag racing. You just need to cover the basics and go have fun. These open track events do not allow wheel to wheel racing, they have passing zones on the straightaways and no corner passing, they allow passengers too!

If you build a vintage - legal car you can probably run it at some smaller vintage races, just not with the vintage Trans-Am group, they are all high dollar original TA racers with pre-74 TA history.
Here's my friend's car:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2005/09/geo_side-1.jpg

Below are some from an older track event at Laguna Seca.

[Steve Chryssos]

Would an early camaro with a proper cage and a basic suspension upgrade work as well as some of the trick coilover/subframe setups? Ps by lotech I mean a cage, g mod, shocks and springs, and a few tweaks.

A roll cage goes a long way towards improving handling and consistency. By stiffening up the chassis, the suspension is free to do its job rather than also having to compensate for erratic chassis movement.

[vanzuuk1]

I was thinking about a track day car, not entering any events.

I saw the Monterey event on speed last night but I conked out bfore the t/a cars. I did see Dave Pozzi out there having a ball.

[TonyHuntimer]

Hey guys,

I posted some pics that I took last weekend at Leguna Seca on my NEW!! page.

Here's one of many:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2005/09/legunaseca6566flaredmustang-1.jpg

Enjoy!

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[vanzuuk1]

Oh that car is cool. thanks I will check out your site again.

[JLM]

I'm definitely a believe that a stock suspension equipped TA style car can be both fun and competitive to run at a track event. Obvioulsy there are going to be some upgrades you'll want to do. Better springs, shocks, the G-mod etc.

A lot of how quick a car is around the course is dependant directly on the skill of the driver. What good is 10K in suspension mods going to do for a driver that can't even use the stock suspension to it's potential?

If you have a budget on suspension and you use some low buck parts, then maybe you can spend the rest of the money on driver training to get the most out of your setup.

That' my opinion anyway.

[Mean 69]

A lot of how quick a car is around the course is dependant directly on the skill of the driver. What good is 10K in suspension mods going to do for a driver that can't even use the stock suspension to it's potential?

I understand what you are saying, but this is where the good non-stock "systems" come into play (and that doesn't mean throwing a set of QA1's on the car, front springs from one company, leafs from another not matched to the fronts, etc, and proclaiming victory). Early cars, especially on early tires are NOT easy to drive fast. The guys that run the historic T/A cars in general are very good drivers, for those cars, they have a lot of seat time in them. Contemporary tires, with a well set up suspension system that is designed to work as a package, will make a huge difference in the handling over a stock suspended car.


If you have a budget on suspension and you use some low buck parts, then maybe you can spend the rest of the money on driver training to get the most out of your setup.

I couldn't agree more, provided the budget parts are the "right" budget parts. Driver education and experience are a certain way to improve lap times, without question. :drive1:

Mark

[JLM]

Mark I agree with you 100%. I think regardless of what componants are on teh car it's all about balance. In my opinion after researching like crazy on this board, speaking with a few very knowldegable members etc. that it would be next to impossible to build a properly setup suspension with the off-the shelf parts that you can find in the aftermarket.

Sure they'll help to a certain extent, but as you mention they are likely going to be miss-matched which limits their total potential.

No doubt there is definitely a place for high end hot rod parts for your suspension. I think more so if you are an experianced driver. If you have little to no experiance spending lots of money on those parts may be less effective then spending money on lower buck items that are proper to the setup as well as some good ol' fashioned driver training and seat time.

Of course there is something to be said for doing things once however.

[ACEFOOTER]

Camaro front susp pict from 05 Historics