Yeah, thats right Nick, he was quoted as saying the 396 big block produced 520 horses. Does seem a bit of a coincidence doesn't it.
Yeah, thats right Nick, he was quoted as saying the 396 big block produced 520 horses. Does seem a bit of a coincidence doesn't it.
Nick-
You had a question about the 520 horsepower from a 396 and I can tell you that it was very easy to exceed that with just a single Holley and if you used a dual setup you can expect close to 700!
Ron Ogilvie
(watching from the sidelines)
Hi Ron nice to hear from you
They are impressive numbers for the 396, would that be running the L89 spec alloy heads? It would also be interesting to know what compression ratio they were capable of running. I also imagine the drivetrains of the day struggled to handle that kind of output.
Those TRANSAM 302 engines the more I read up on them sound like an absolute weapon, I'm surprised Terry didn't at least try one at some stage, I would have thought they would have suited the Australian race tracks quiet well.
Something else I've wanted to ask you to Ron, was Bill Tomas Race Cars just a performance and fabrication business or did it actually go racing with its own race teams?
To get the higher HP you must use aftermarket (Mondello; Dart; etc) heads that are marched to the camshaft and intake. People spend hours and hours trying new ideas and making sure that all passages are smooth have a perfect transition from intake to head. The Pro stock boys today are getting 1200 HP from 500 cu in engines.Quote:
Originally Posted by nick_tassie
BTRC was a performance/fabrication shop that also produced the Cheetah race car. When the Nickey deal came along we doubled the size of the shop just to accommodate the parts and performance business that came with the Nickey name. We were also the center for General Motors performance cars that were given to writers so the could do stories on the various different cars before the were available in the dealers. We also prepared the GM cars for the Mobil Gar Economy run and schooled the drivers in how to drive and get the best gas mileage available.I also was part of a team that sawed a 1960 Corvair in half and mounted it on wheels so it could be taken into a courtroom.
But to answer your question we prepped cars for other people. Bill Thomas had his name on only a few cars including the one that Jim Baker & I raced for 2 years.
Ron
Ah the Convair story, I was reading about that recently in the story of the development of the Camaro, it is very interesting how the market of a car that was selling very well crashed so badly after the safety issues, it was related to the rear suspension and vehicle roll overs from memory.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rondonrus
Speaking of the Nickey deal, another question that was raised at one point about Uncle Terrys race car is would it be concidered as a "Nickey Car". Although we now know it wasn't an orginal big block car, it was purchased from Nickey Chevrolet and it did get the Bill Thomas upgrades all be with the 396 and not the 427. Its a question that I would be interested in your thoughts, I imagine there were other examples of customer road cars built by BTRC, are these considered "Nickey Cars".
It would be great to hear more about your racing story as well at some point.
Nick
You would have to ask Stefano Bimbi (aka Nickey Chicago) about that...............He is the only person that can determine if a car was purchased as a Nickey car or from BTRC directly.
Hi Nick,
We were going through the Bob Jane photo 'Vault' and found these photo's of the Terry Allan Camaro.
Attachment 12106Attachment 12107Attachment 12108
_________________________
Bob Jane Racing Heritage
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BobJaneOfficial
Web: http://www.bobjaneracingheritage.com
Wow, those are amazing!
Great photo's BJRH, cheers for sharing them. Uncle Terry certainly had the big chev cranked up in the second picture, the left rear looks like its just hanging on. From reading some of the old RCN race articles there was a fair bit of picture 3 going on in the early days (67) when the car was red with the Z28 stripes.
It would be interesting to ask Bob if he can recall racing against Terry and the Camaro
Boy that thing must have been a handful with that big block motor and those skinny wheels he was forced to run the first couple of years. Note the photo in the middle, where he is battling Jim McKeown's Cortina. The Cortina looks like its tyres are as wide as those on the Camaro!
Nick, you have Gerard Richards to thank for this. This is a Jack Inwood photo, from Gerards own personal collection which he has kindly scanned and emailed to me for posting here. Its the first colour photo I've seen of the car in blue. I have to say it looks stunning!
Attachment 12361
Wow Gerard thank you very much for going to the trouble of doing this, what an outstanding shot..... I was quietly hoping to one day see a colour photo of the car in the blue spec and I agree with you Steve it does look awesome. This has settled my thoughts on how we might do the tribute car.
Am I right in saying this is at Bay Park NZ, the wooden fencing seems familiar, also guessing 69 as the year? The Terry Marshall photo has the big front spoiler fitted and running No 1, the flares are also bigger in that photo.
Steve if you were ever going to do one of your amazing paintings of this car, thats the shot.
Nick, that appears to be from Terrys first NZ visit, at Easter 1970. The Terry Marshall black and white photo shown earlier in this thread is from his second visit, at the big Labour Weekend event in October 1970 when the car had mechanical failure very early in the weekend. And yep, you're correct, its Bay Park, exiting the hairpin, which was the only right hand turn on the track. That was a popular spot for photographers, as the cars would tend get sideways exiting.
My pleasure Nick, I recall reading this thread earlier and hearing that there had been no sighted image of your fathers Camaro, in blue. Just got a:) scanner recently, so pleased to help. It is great "Jack Inwood" image and I can imagine sighting it, has been the decider for you recreate your replica in the same colours!Quote:
Originally Posted by nick_tassie
Cool shot here from the Bob Jane Racing Heritage of Terry Allan being chased by Jim McKeown's Porsche. Allan would have sold the Camaro not long after this photo was taken.
Attachment 16508
Nice one Steve, I'm trying to work out where this is, initially I thought it may have been the Touring Car round at Symmons Plains in 71 where the Camaro had starter motor and overheating problems. Thought it might be taken from what is now the the final corner, but the crowd in the background aren't in a normal viewing spot at least that I've ever seen before and seem to be looking the other way (backs to this part of the race track). Ideas anyone?Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Holmes
Looks like Calder ,Spectators on end of back straight ,cars going into Tin Shed....If so the space behind spectators is now covered in house roof lines ..Thats progress for ya
Cheers
Lynds
Yep, I agree with you Lynds, I'd say Calder. I think its the short straight section just prior to the final corner, before sweeping back on to the front straight. Not sure if this pic is from the same event, but I think this might be from the same section of track, as Bryan Thomson chases Jim McKeown and Brian Foley.
Attachment 16719
I found this fantastic colour photo of the Camaro in the blue spec on an Adelaide Raceway Facebook page tonight.
Attachment 25526
Nick- Grady Thomson raced my Monaro with Terrys Camaro at Baypark 1970 , and I was there and remember the car.
I got some excellent pics of it from Bruce McLaren Trust. While going through the folder of pics, I know there were a lot of unpublished pics .There are probably some of Terrys car there. You have to go there , physically go through the folders to find them, then order them.
Jan is very helpfull.
Thanks John, a good suggestion to follow up on when we do eventually take a holiday over in NZ. The one thing I'm very pleased with is some of the fantastic photo's that have surfaced of the car since we started this thread many months ago. Not quite the luck yet in finding out what happened to the car but its been an interesting journey in discovering where the it came from and its racing history.Quote:
Originally Posted by John McKechnie
I just love the car in this spec, this is how we will one day build the tribute car. The more detail photos we can find the better so looking into the McLaren Trust will be a must.
Oh wow, great find! Man that car looks so staunch in this guise!Quote:
Originally Posted by nick_tassie
I posted a photo of the Camaro on our Facebook page yesterday, and a couple of people commented they thought it had been destroyed by fire in the late 1970s when owned by Mike Gore.
SteveQuote:
Originally Posted by Steve Holmes
I just spoke to Wayne Mahnken who worked on the car when Terry owned it.
He doesnt recall Mike Gore owning it nor any fire stories for what its worth....the enigma continues
Thanks Ellis, thats great info, and a bit of a relief to learn. Hopefully this means the car is still out there, somewhere.
This is an interesting new lead well worth looking into further. After speaking with Ian (Facebook poster) directly today he seems to recall reading something about the Mike Gore/Camaro/Fire link in the late 70's possibly in Auto Action. Ian indicated Mike Gore started racing in Sydney under the MRG Racing banner before moving to Qld so he was in the region where the Camaro was last known to be (Parramatta). I have only been able to find photo evidence today of Mike Gore racing a Mustang, Monaro and Ford Anglia, but hell who knows, maybe he did end up with the Camaro. I'll chase it up further and see where it leads.
If anyone has access to an archive of 70's Auto Action Mag's dig them out and see what you can find for MRG Racing and Mike Gore, sometime from 75-80. Ian was sure that Gore had 2 race cars destroyed by fire at some point, one may have been the Camaro.
One can only hope not.
The search continues.........
Nick- Keep looking mate.
Only took me 43 years to find my Monaro that raced against Terrys Camaro at Bay Park in 1970.
.I had been told that the car had been written off in the late 70s, it was,then it got lost.
Now look at it on Team Cambridge Monaro thread- worth every day digging deep.
Just never give up.
Cheers John
Certainly will never give up or fail to chase up every lead until I know its fate good or bad, I owe it to Uncle Terry. Just need that next little lead after Barry Wearing, someone out there knows who he sold it to and where it ended up. I've been close a few times now, always an exciting ride.
43 years wow that puts these last 4 years totally into perspective, such a great story. I'll check it out for sure.
I thought I would share some photos of what started this whole journey and lead to the unknown Barry Wearing link to Terry's camaro. I first got interested in an article in Australian Muscle Car on an ex drag racing 1967 Camaro called Captain Rats, the current owner had sent in an article and photo seeking information on its drag racing history. Knowing the camaro may have been sold to a drag racer after Lakis Manticas I wondered if this car could be it. A day searching for the contact details of the owner left me shocked that the car was actually in my home state of Tasmania - small world at times. A conversation with the owner increased my interest as the car was originally red and raced out of Parramatta Sydney, again linkage to Manticas. The car was at the time being restored back to a road car, all the heavily modified floor and quarter panels having being removed but luckily still kept. It was a strong lead and one worth checking out so a drive to Hobart was setup to view the car and the removed panels.
First I needed to try to connect the Barry Wearing Captain Rats car to Lakis Manticas, phone call to him wasn't helpful, not interested in talking. What I did manage was tracking down Barry Wearing in person, that's a whole story in its-self. Great news Barry confirmed that Captain Rats was brought from Lakis, he even had a photo in the album to send through to me.
Damn I think I've found Uncle Terry's car, now off to Hobart to try and buy it.
Attachment 36952Attachment 36953Attachment 36954
These are some photos of the parts cut out of Captain Rats, first thing was real clear the yellow paint of Captain Rats is unmistakeable under the black top coat the drag car had been painted in later life. The original red car colour was also very clear under the yellow and in the inner panels and roof. No doubt this car was an original red 67 left hand drive Camaro and very definitely the ex Barry Wearing car. But was it Terry's car, as the photos reveal it had a roll cage, front and rear points were still in the floor, but they were pretty crudely fabricated and welded in, not what I expected. The doors had been severely lightened and same with the chassis rails and other internal panels. The rear boot lid was fibreglass and the rear guards had been heavily cut and modified. The only concerning issue at the time was I couldn't see any evidence of the dark blue and white paint colours that should be under the yellow and over the red. Look as I might I couldn't find it, why would Barry remove those colours to paint a drag car. The other interesting issue was the rear guards although modified they didn't have the signs of flaring as unmistakable as Terry's, the fronts could have been replaced but the rears had no evidence of flaring. Something isn't right here......
The owner was smart enough to work out what I was looking for, so the purchase price jumped three fold, can't blame him for that I guess. Still I needed to to do some more research before doing the deal. Incredibly on the drive home I got a call from Barry, his wife had reminded him that he had 2 camaros..!! It appears he also brought a road going red 67 from a US Embassy guy in Canberra, he remembered driving it home after his wife had mentioned it. This car became Captain Rats hence the missing blue and white paint. As for Terry's car all Barry can think of is that it as it was a heavily modified circuit racer turning it into a drag racer for his needs would have been excessively expensive, so he thinks it was sold off to an unknown buyer.
Oh so close but it didn't quiet fit right.
Thanks for the update Nick and the amazing images of Captain Rat. This has really been a fascinating story to follow. I hope that car is still out there.
Its been a while but timely for an update, no luck on finding the Camaro up to now but I have done some chasing up of the last lead with some chat about the Camaro being in the hands of Sydney circuit racer Mike Gore. The late Mike Gore isn't reachable to speak with unfortunately however I did get to contact his son Craig Gore, the one and only of WPS V8 team ownership. When I asked Craig if he recalled if his father owned a Camaro he said he can remember when he was very young being picked up from school in a white car with a roll cage. Interesting, when I sent him the photo of the car he said yes that was the car! He doesn't have any photos that can substansiate the claim and can't confirm if the car was crashed and burnt out. So can anyone on the site recall this, did Mike Gore ever have a 67 Camaro and race it somewhere around Sydney in the mid to late 70's, did it end up being burnt out after a crash at a race meeting? Hope not but maybe thats why it can't be found. Cheers, Nick
hi Nick, I had a gentleman recently give me some pix that he took at Baypark when Terry came over here the first time..1970 ..he was racing against my Monaro. They are not fantastically clear, but they were of the event.Please pm me with your email address and I will scan and send them to you.
Hi All, must be time for an update. Some may recall there was some chat that Mike Gore may have ended up with the Camaro after Barry Wearing and the car was burnt out after a crash. I have followed up on this lead which took some time unfortunately, Mike Gore has long passed away so first port of call was his son Craig. Craig was a bit vague on this but did say he could recall being picked up from school in a white car with a roll cage!! I sincerely doubt it was the Terry Allan Camaro but you never know. Checked lots of online info and couldn't confirm the Mike Gore link, I next arranged for some research into old RCN and AutoAction mags and still nothing about Mike Gore running a Camaro and it getting burnt out. Just recently online I had a discussion with Mike Gore's mechanic, he had been with him all the years he raced in NSW. He clearly indicated Mike never had or raced a Chev Camaro. So another dead end on this one, at least the good news is the car didn't get burnt out after a crash, at least not with Mike Gore driving. The search continues......
Nick, my father Lionel Caines raced the Camaro, I remember it as a kid, any idea where I might find this car mate?
Hey chops133 when I was looking into the car your father raced it was last known to be under a canvas tarp in the yard of a house somewhere near Parramatta Sydney. The guy I was talking to about it remembered seeing it under the tarp with the castrol racing signage and big drag wheels. He couldn't remember the guys name who had it but he was an older guy who spent a lot of time wandering around swap meets and car shows. He was said to have had lots of cars hidden away in the back of his house. Sorry but that's all I know.