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Thread: Build Thread: Dave Sturrocks HMC 1967 Camaro

  1. #1

    Build Thread: Dave Sturrocks HMC 1967 Camaro

    As many Roaring Season members will know, a new historic racing category for New Zealand is Historic Muscle Cars. This class was created to celebrate the history of big-banger large capacity sedans that raced in the late 1970s and early '70s in the New Zealand Saloon Car Championship, plus the Australian Improved Production Championship, Group C, the American Trans-Am Championship, and the British Saloon Car Championship during the Group 5 and Group 2 era.

    HMC has been created for genuine car enthusiasts, not ego-maniacs who think they're Lewis Hamilton waiting to be discovered. There is no emphasis on race wins, race winners are not celebrated, rather building and enjoying exciting old big-bore sedans with like-minded enthusiasts is what the category was created for. You can't remove the competitive aspect from people, but with the main focus of HMC being on making the cars themselves the central focus point of the class, it means car owners can go out and create cars that they themselves want to own and enjoy, not necessarily the car that provides them the greatest chance of success on the track.

    There are several existing race cars currently being converted to HMC specs, several cars being built, and even a couple that have been purchased from the US, and imported to NZ specifically for HMC! Over the coming months more cars will be appearing.

    An early convert to HMC was Dave Sturrock. Dave bought a 1967 Camaro back in 2011 that had been a race car in NZ since the early 2000s, initially in the South Island, but more recently in the North. Its had had a couple of crashes, and when Dave purchased it, he decided to tear it down and start again.

    The goal is to build a nice looking, well presented car, that does great skids! Exactly what HMC was created for.

    The Camaro will run a small block Chevy, topped with Crower mechanical fuel-injection! This will be pretty cool, and is allowed under the HMC rules, as certain period engine modifications are allowed, mechanical fuel-injection being one of these, which was used on some cars in Australia, including Pete Geoghegans 'Super Falcon, Bob Janes HQ Monaro, and Malcolm Ramsays HQ Kingswood.

    Dave purchased a set of Minilight wheels, 9" wide in front, 10" wide in the back, wrapped in Goodyear Bluestreak tyres. This first photo shows the car with the motor pulled, front sheet metal removed, and the Minilites fitted. Rollcage has also been installed here.

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  2. #2
    More fabrication work photos.

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  3. #3
    I know Dave is much further along than in those pictures Steve. He's still talking about making it for Denny Hulme and as he's say's, once painted its just a kitset to put back together.

    Dale M

  4. #4
    Sorry for the size of these, this is just how Dave supplied them. The good thing about US muscle cars is that so much of the sheetmetal is re-stamped. No such luxuries for owners of Aussie cars.

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  5. #5
    Wheel openings yet to be reworked in these pics to allow for the tyres.

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  8. #8
    Semi-Pro Racer kiwi285's Avatar
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    Another fantastic looking car for the series. Great work Dave.

  9. #9
    This photo shows the fuel-injection system. Looks tough! This is what HMC is about, popping the hood and showing off a bit of bling.

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  10. #10
    Fabrication work all done, its off to the paint shop, which brings us up to date, more or less. Quite what colour it'll be is a closely guarded secret that only Dave and his painter know. Or maybe he still hasn't decided yet! Anyway, will update again soon.

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  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Holmes View Post
    This photo shows the fuel-injection system. Looks tough! This is what HMC is about, popping the hood and showing off a bit of bling.

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    Damn, how can i top that, Fuel Injection!!! just have to leave my bonnet closed

    Dale M

  12. #12
    Yeah I don't know about that Dale, its hard to beat a set of Webers!

  13. #13
    Semi-Pro Racer kiwi285's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Holmes View Post
    Yeah I don't know about that Dale, its hard to beat a set of Webers!
    I agree - a set of horny carbs sitting on a big manifold beats a few tubes connected to the intake trumpets anyday.

  14. #14
    Whether its mechanical fuel-injection or multi-carbs, its all pretty horny to me. Both set-ups are fairly pricey and a bit tricky to set-up, so I have a lot of respect for anyone going down either of these paths. I don't know much about Crower, is it quite similar to Hilborn? But its a very nice old-school set-up. Dave has to run very short trumpets, due to him having to use the original cowl hood. But its definitely some nice eye-candy.

  15. #15
    More updates on Dave's Camaro. Its currently at the painters, getting the final body prep done. Its also getting the last of that hideous yellow paint removed.

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  16. #16
    With paint removed, the rear quarters and wheel openings are showing signs of a couple of pretty hoary looking repairs.

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    After some hammer work and a bit of welding, things are looking better.

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  17. #17
    Looking much nicer!

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    Check for clearance, by chucking a fat Minilite and Goodyear tyre up underneath.

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  18. #18
    Nearly ready to start applying primer to the outer shell.

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  20. #20
    Looks like a damn V8 SuperCar, where's he racing it again? LOL

    Dale M

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