During the mid-60's, pony cars were hot. The Ford Mustang was selling so well the other manufacturers came out with their own version of the short trunk cars. Owners and enthusiasts started taking their pony cars to the race track making sedan racing ever more popular. SCCA began to take notice and for 1966 established a sedan class with a National Championship category. The SCCA set up Group 2 cars under FIA Appendix 2. The amateur classes were based on displacement: A - 2000cc to 5000cc; B - 1300cc to 2000cc; D - under 1000cc. The Championship series included over 50 amateur races leading to an invitational American Road Race of Champions (ARRC) for the top three sedan class finishers in each of the seven geographical divisions.

A professional series was established called The Trans-American Sedan Championship. This series of races was made up of seven professional races at different tracks across the US. The manufacturer with the most points at the end of the series would win the first ever Manufacturer's Trophy. The Trans-Am races, as it became known, ranged from 200 miles to 2,400 miles. The races ran from 2 hours to 24 hours and required pit stops for gas and tires.

Group 2 cars were divided into only two classes, over 2 litres and under 2 litres. The maximum displacement was 5 litres or 305 cid with a maximum wheelbase of 116 inches, plus eligible cars had to seat 4 people, eliminating the ‘65 Shelby GT 350s. In the beginning, the GT 350s were set up as two seaters to qualify for SCCA's Class B Production. The rear seats were removed and replaced with a fiberglass shelf. Ford wanted the Trans-Am Manufacturers Trophy. After the great success of the GT 350 fastbacks, Ford immediately turned the project over to Shelby American.

Shelby American built sixteen 1966 Group 2 Notchback Mustangs, all for sale to independents. Chuck Cantwell, GT 350 Project Engineer and Jerry Schwartz, fabricator & mechanic were given the job of developing and prepping the cars. The Mustangs were built to GT 350R specs. The main differences between the Group 2 cars and the GT 350Rs were cosmetic. The Group 2 Mustangs were required to be close to stock with steel hoods and front ends. The GT 350Rs had fiberglass hoods and front aprons, and plastic side and rear windows. The Group 2 cars used glass windows. Stock interior and four seats were also required for the Group 2 cars.

The GT 350Rs and the Group 2 Mustangs had a lot of similarities. Both cars had:
•racing type, positive locking devices on the hoods and trunks
•7"x15" American racing magnesium wheels
•lowered A-arms
•34 gallon fuel tanks with 3 /12" quick release caps and splash funnels
•trunk mounted batteries
•Stewart Warner electric fuel pumps
•six CS gauges housed in a special instrument housing -
fuel pressure, oil temp, 0-160 mph speedometer, 0-8,000 rpm tach, oil pressure, & water temp
•four point roll bar
•3" competition lap belts with shoulder harness
•18 quart radiator
•oil cooler with remote oil filter
•tube headers with 2 1/2" straight pipes dumping out just in front of the rear wheels
•"Monte Carlo" stabilizer bars to strengthen the front end
•export brace (named after the brace used on Mustangs for export)
•11.3" front disc brakes
•10"x2 1/2" wide rear drum brakes
•1"sway bar
•16" three spoke wood steering wheel
•Koni shock absorbers
•Detroit "No-Spin" rear ratcheting differential
•3.89 rear axle
•16:1 quick steering
•Borg Warner T-10 close ratio four speeds
•7.5 qt. finned cast aluminum oil pan
•over-ride traction bars
•Shelby American racing 289 cid with an aluminum hi-rise and a 715 cfm Holley carb. The engines developed over 350 horse power.

The Group 2 Mustangs were based on the Mustang GT. All Group 2 cars had the stock GT package including fog lights in the grilles. The lenses and bulbs were replaced with high intensity driving lights for better use during the night driving in some of the Trans-Am races. Most Group 2 racers came with a 1/2" rear sway bar and a Panhard rod. Some of the cars came with a fiberglass panel between the passenger compartment and the trunk allowing a spare tire to be mounted. The spare would not fit in the trunk with the larger gas tank. A spare tire was not required during racing. It is possible this option was shared with the four Group 1 race cars Shelby America sent to Europe. This a rare item to see today in restored cars. The SCCA required a metal bulkhead between the driver's compartment and the gas tank early in 1967. Any car raced during 1967 had to have the bulkhead replacing the fiberglass spare tire mount.

The 16 Group 2 Mustangs were painted white with black interiors. All cars were sold to independent teams. Shelby did not run a Group 2 Trans-Am team in 1966. Only one car was completed in time for the Trans-Am race at Sebring in 1966. Three were to be available. The first car went to Cooper, Clark & Associates. They paid $6,414 for the first Group 2 car in a bidding war. Later Group 2 Mustang sold for $5,500.

Shelby prepared cars placed in five out the remaining six races. Independent teams drove non-Shelby Group 2 Mustangs to wins at Mid-America Raceway, the Virginia 400 and second at Briar 250. Ford and Chrysler fought for the lead in points up to the last two races. At Green Valley, Brad Booker and John McComb driving a Shelby Group 2 Mustang beat out the "Team Starfish" Barracudas and Group 44 Dodge Darts to win, tying the standings at 37 each for Chrysler and Ford.

The last race of the season was at the Riverside Track in California. Shelby sent Jerry Titus to drive a Shelby Group 2 Mustang. During the qualifying on Saturday, Titus set a track lap record of 1:41.9 at an average of 91.854 miles per hour to earn the number one spot for the race on Sunday. The race started with a LeMans type start. Titus flooded his Mustang, leaving him next to last to start. A later broken oil filter cost him almost two laps while it was being replaced. Titus fought his way through the 34 cars to finish first, 48 seconds ahead of the Tullis Group 44 Dodge Dart. Mustang and Ford won the first Trans-Am Manufacturers Trophy.

Source of information: SAAC Shelby American, issue #50 from an article written by Bill Hanlon

The 1968 Shelby Trans-Am Efforts

After winning the Manufacturers Trophy in 1966 & 1967, the Ford team had some stronger competition for 1968. Chevrolet was about to get involved in a very big way. Vince Piggins at Chevrolet saw the great potential for sales of Camaros by racing in the Trans Am series. He committed to SCCA that Chevrolet would support the series.

Piggins personally took charge of the Z-28 project. The first Z-28s were powered with the proven 283 cid. Chevy's production engine was a 327, but it exceeded the maximum displacement allowed at 305 cid. Piggins came up with the idea of putting a 283 crank in a 327 block. The resulting 4x3 bore and stoke yielded 302.4 cid, a 13 cid advantage over the Ford 289, as much as 25 horse power. Roger Penske was enlisted to champion the Z-28 Camaros. The Z-28s won the last two races of the 67 season.

The 302 Camaros had a clear horse power advantage over the Mustangs. The ports and valves in the Ford 289 heads were too small to produce the horsepower needed. The best head available was the HiPo heads with small valves and ports. The new Ford 302 would be ideal for Trans-Am racing since it was under the 305 cid limit of class limit, but the HiPo heads would be even more restrictive on the longer stoke of the 302. Ford started a crash development program to fix the problem at Ford Engine and Development during 1967. This effort would lead to development of the Boss 302 in 1969. It was also during this development time that the infamous Ford "tunnel port head" came about. There was a pull out the stops effort to maximize the flow of the heads. The Ford engineers developed a brand new head with straight intake ports and the pushrod tubes running through the port. In the past the ports would twist around the pushrods. The intake valves were a huge 2.12" compared to 1.77" for the 289. The exhaust valves were 1.54" versus 1.44". Each port feed an individual cylinder. On paper this combination of the head design with the new 4 bolt main 302 looked unbeatable.

The first Trans-Am race was the Daytona 24 hour endurance race. This was the first time that the Trans-Am cars were included in the primary event. Trans-Am races were held prior to the main endurance races in 1967. The Mustangs dominated the Group 2 race. Jerry Titus and Ronnie Bucknam finished 64 laps ahead of the nearest Group 2 car, Mark Donohue's Penske Camaro. In fact, the Titus/Bucknam Mustang finished third overall just behind three Porsche 907 prototypes. It was a great showing for Ford, the Shelby Team and the Trans-Am cars. Half of the 30 cars that finished the race were Trans-Am cars. But Daytona wasn't the beginning of Ford's 1968 success, it was the end.

In order to win races, you have to finish them. The tunnel port engines just didn't have lasting power. Engine failure after engine failure kept the Mustangs from finishing the races. Penske's Camaros dominated the 1968 Trans-Am racing. Mark Donahue, driving a Z-28 won eight consecutive Trans-Am races, beginning with the second race, the 12 Hours of Sebring late in March 1968. Donahue actually won a total of 10 out of 13 races in the series. As for the Shelby team, the only races they won were the 24 Hours of Daytona in February, 1968, and Horst Kwech won at Riverside in car #17 in the next to last race of the season. The Manufacturers Trophy was already sowed up by Chevrolet.

The eventual blame for the Mustang's poor showing was laid on the "tunnel port" engines. The engine had a bad oiling problem at the top end of the rpms. Many engines came apart during the season. The Shelby Team even asked Ford to let them go back to the 289's, but Ford wanted the 302's to win, which they didn't. The "tunnel port" quickly faded away after the 1968 season. The Donohue Camaro was awesome on the track. The Penske team got more horsepower from the Chevy 302 than the Mustangs and flat outran them. As the season matured, so did the Camaro team. But with the Ford team's bad luck, it didn't take much effort to win the season. Chevrolet finished the season with 105 points to Ford's 63.

Before the '68 season was over, Ford was already working on a new block design, the 351, for the 1970 production runs. The 351 heads had huge canted intake and exhaust valves and ports. Someone decided to try those heads on the 302 block. With some slight modifications to water passages, the heads fit on the tunnel port block.

The Boss 302 and The Disappointing 1969 Season

The old Mustang body wasn't as streamlined as the new Camaros, Javelins or the Barracudas. Just in time for the racing season, Ford introduced a new Mustang and a new engine in 1969. The '69 Mustang body was completely redesigned to make the car more aerodynamic. The previous body styles were far too boxy to slice through the air. Many of the previous Shelby Mustang features were incorporated in the new design including a rear spoiler. But the shape of the body was secondary to the new secret weapon under the hood. During the disappointing '68 season, the teams raced a special tunnel port 302. The heads were impressive but the engine was a problem. The Shelby team went through 30 Ford supplied engines during the 1968 racing season. Ford wouldn't let the Shelby team go back to the proven 289. The new Ford 351 head was scheduled for '70. This new head design, made in Cleveland, had large staggered valves and huge ports.

Ford had Shelby Racing test engines with different heads at the end of 1968 to see what combination worked best. They tested the tunnel port 302 and the Engine and Foundry 302 (later known as the Boss 302, the 302 block with 351 heads.), and the Gurney-Eagle 302. The Gurney-Eagle proved to be the better engine, but Bill Gay, Chief Engine Engineer, prevailed saying the Cleveland heads were factory production and would be a lot cheaper than the exotic Gurney-Eagle ones for racing and street use. Gay said they were going to do it, it will work, and we'll make it work.

The Mustangs raced during the '69 season were shipped from the factory as 4-speed 351 Fastbacks, not as Bosses. A change in the SCCA rules allowed the fastback body to be raced, prior to this only the notchback coupes could be used. (When Shelby got the Mustang sanctioned for racing he did it with Fastbacks with no back seats, therefore coupes had to be raced since the rules required a back seat in the production cars.) The race cars were started in late '68, even though production cars weren't scheduled until April '69. Seven Mustangs were ordered from Dearborn, stripped with no paint, on December 3, 1968. A month later they were shipped. They were sold to Ford Administrative Services for $2,411 each. The prototype Trans-Am Mustangs were originally 428 Mach 1's, but these seven were basic 351 4 barrel fastbacks with 4 speeds. One car went to Kar Kraft. Three went to Shelby American and the last three went to Bud Moore. (The Moore team raced Mercury Cougars in 67 & 68 but the Cougars were dropped for 1969.) The cars were all stripped and rebuilt to the specifications used on the prototype Trans-Am Mustang at Kar Kraft. All special parts came from Kar Kraft. Interestingly enough, the car built at Kar Kraft was shipped completed to Smokey Yunick. Yunick was an old friend of Bunkie Knudsen, current president of Ford, from his GM days. The car was even painted in Smokey's colors, black with gold trim. That car never was run in the Trans-Am races.

It took the Shelby team six weeks to take their cars apart and rebuild them to Trans Am specs. Each car cost about $20,000. The car's weight was restricted to 2,900 pounds. The stock Boss 302's weighed in at 3,250 pounds. The distribution of the weight of the cars was shuffled around so that they were 50/50 front and rear. The interiors were removed completely, although the dash pad was saved and reinstalled. The windows were all replaced with lighter glass. The windows had to work, so the regulators were fabricated from aluminum to replace the heavy cast factory units. A mandatory roll cage was installed to stiffen the body. The factory seats were replaced with one racing bucket seat. A metal bulkhead was installed to separate the cockpit and the driver from the fuel tank in the trunk. A safety harness secured the driver in place. The Shelby team replaced the stock Ford shifter with a Hurst four speed, the Moore cars used the stock shifter.

The suspension of the Trans-Am Mustangs was pure race car. Trans-Am rules prohibited moving the suspension mounting points, so the roll cage was welded directly to the car suspension mounting points for strength. The cars were aligned perfectly to the computer specifications developed by Kar Kraft for the production Boss 302's. The A arms were replaced with heavy duty Boss 429 pieces using alloy bushings instead of the stock rubber. The 11.96 inch disc brakes from Lincoln Continental replaced the stock front discs. The stock rear brakes were modified and replaced with larger 11.3 inch discs. Thicker front stabilizer bars were used. Different front bars were used depending on the track and the conditions. Heavy duty forged spindles, racing coil springs and leaf springs were installed. The leaf springs had a Watts linkage added that restricted the side to side movement, allowing the spring to move vertically only. Traction bars were welded in above the leaf springs. Adjustable Koni shocks were put at all four corners. The mounting points were moved slightly for better control, contrary to Trans-Am rules. Single or twin radiators mounted just in front of the both sides of the rear axle used the cool air under the car on the rear end differential fluid. The modifications dropped the car about 3 inches from the stock height. A front spoiler hung under the front of the car with scoops just above to channel air to the front disc brakes. The 1969 cars did not use the rear spoiler. The Trans-Am Mustangs did not have the fake cut out "scoops" in the rear quarter panels like the production cars did. The early Trans-Am cars had two quick fill gas caps installed on either side of the trunk lid, later cars has a single cap above the lid. The doors had to open and latch, but they were held in place with click pins instead of the stock door latches. Twelve inch Goodyear racing tires were mounted on 15"x18" American Racing or British Mini-lite mags

The Trans-Am engines were provided by Ford's Engine and Foundry group. They were blue printed and balanced, race ready when shipped to Shelby Racing and Bud Moore. Every racing part was heavy duty to stand the rigors of the upcoming season. In the beginning a Cross Boss intake manifold was planned, similar to Chevy's Cross Ram intake. It had two huge 1250 cfm Holley carbs mounted in the front and rear on opposite sides. The size of the intake interfered with the distributor placement so a wider timing chain cover was made with an extension on the cam to reach the relocated distributor. But when the Holley carbs were finally available, the manifold runners were too long for power in the 5000-6000 rpm range. A single plane manifold was built with shorter runners. The intake had a runner for each of the Holley carbs eight barrels, one for each cylinder. The distributor was still in the way so a special off-set distributor was made. Since all parts used in racing had to be available as production parts, the Cross Boss intake was produced even though it wasn't used in the races. The valve cover breathers were stock Cleveland 351 valve covers that emptied into a collector to keep oil from blowing out on the track. The racing engines had over $6,000 of parts in them, a lot of money in 1969. But these special parts took the 290 horse power stock engine to a reliable 470 hp at 9,000 rpm.

Shelby recruited Peter Revson & Horst Kwech to drive his blue with white stripes Mustangs. Bud Moore's drivers were Parnelli Jones & George Follmer. A seventh car was shipped to Kar Kraft for Smokey Yurick but it was never raced. The Shelby American drivers were Revson in the #1 car and Kwech in the #2 car. Moore's cars were painted red and black with a white roof, hood and side stripes and numbers. Moore's cars were driven by Follmer in the #16 car and Jones in the #15 car.

The stakes were high in 1969. It was manufacturer against manufacturer. Winning was going to require more sophisticated methods. The Shelby cars were wind tunnel tested and prepped further by Shelby's veteran team. And the Shelby team was going to run its own Boss engines this year! Lots of other new ideas were used like front air dams, wider tires & fender flares and rear wing-spoilers.

On the track, the Boss 302 Mustangs were simply awesome. The first race at Michigan International Speedway, Irish Hills, Michigan, was won by Parnelli Jones driving for the Moore team. The win was originally given to Mark Donahue in a Camaro with Jones in 4th. The Ford team protested and the SCCA realized that Jones' laps had been undercounted and a couple of hours after the race Parnelli was given the win. The Jones' Mustang was the only one that finished. Revson got stuck in the mud after running off the track. Follmer lost his clutch and Kwech crashed his car into a spectator's car, killing the spectator.

The 2nd race, held at Lime Rock, Connecticut, on Memorial Day was won by Sam Posey in a Shelby Mustang. That was the Shelby team's only victory during the 1969 season. Three of the drivers skipped this race to drive at the Indy 500 race. Posey was driving Revson's car #1, John Cannon piloted the #16 car of Follmer and Parnelli's #15 Mustang was driven by Swede Savage. Kwech dropped out after 19 laps with brake problems after leading the race. Posey took the lead and stayed there. The race was between Posey and Savage. Posey broke a valve near the end of the race, slowing him down. Swede put forth a huge effort to catch him, but cut a tire on debris from the track, and came in second.

In June at Mid-Ohio even though the Mustangs ran a good race, the Bucknum Camaro slipped by finishing just ahead of the Jones' Mustang. All the Mustangs finished. Follmer was third, Revson came in second and Kwech was 10th.

At Bridgehampton, New York, Penske put Donahue in the Bucknum Camaro after his engine blew while warming it up. Even though Donahue had to start at the rear of the race since he did not qualify in the car, he fought his way to challenge the Mustangs. Follmer and Jones fought for first place for 29 laps. Jones went in for fuel leaving room for Donahue and Jerry Titus in a Chevy powered Firebird. Follmer won, Revson came in 5th. Jones went out with a broken shifter, a wiring fire and a flat tire. Kwech lost his transmission.

Following Lime Rock the Shelby Team was plagued with problems. Horst Kwech wrapped his Boss around one of the few trees on the Donnybrooke course in Brainerd, Michigan, in July, after running a great race. (Follmer's car went out in an accident in that race as well). Parnelli Jones won at Brainerd, his fourth win out of the last five races, and Revson came in 3rd. Donahue blew the engine in his Camaro. The Ford Boss Mustangs held 42 points to Chevy's 30, the Pontiac team at 13 and the AMC cars had 8.

The sixth race at Loudon, New Hampshire, was Donahue's second win of the season. Jones gave him a run for first but went out with an overheated engine. Kwech's engine broke early in the race. Revson came in third and Follmer fourth. The Mustangs had a six point advantage over the Camaros.

But the race that did in the Ford effort was at Ste. Jovite, Canada in August, 1969.The Mustangs did a tremendous job during the 3 hours of the Le Mans Circuit Trans Am that warm day in Canada. Jones, Follmer and Doanhue fought for the lead until the ninth lap. Jones' shift linkage jammed taking him out of the race. But the worst happened in Lap 14. Follmer's Boss blew an engine and spewed oil all over the track causing him to hit a guard rail. He had just gotten out of the car when a Mini plowed into his Mustang. Kwech slid into the fence pinning a marshal, breaking his arm. Revson hit the mess at speed jumping one car and landing on the hood of a Firebird. Three Mustangs were involved as well as a lot of the other cars in the race. The Mustangs weren't damaged that badly in the pileup. But after the tow trucks were finished, so were the cars. A tow truck driver looped a steel cable around the roof of Kwech's Mustang to lift it over the guardrail, doing serious damage to the car. All three Mustangs were all but destroyed. Donahue managed to miss the accident and went on to win the race. Camaro now lead the series, 49 to 46.

All the Mustangs were taken back to Detroit to salvage what was left. A couple of Boss racers were assembled from the wrecks of the three Bosses in the week between races. They were raced but not successfully. The welded and pieced together bodies just couldn't perform like the original ones.

At Watkins Glenn, only three Mustangs made it to the track. Kwech's car was out of the race. Jones took the lead early in the only original Boss but lost it with a bad tire. Donahue took the lead. Both Donahue and Jones were black flagged for passing under a caution flag, and both had to see the track steward. Donahue got there first and got back on the track while Jones was still getting his lecture. Jones never caught up. It was Donahue's third straight win. Follmer and Revson did not finish. The Camaro team now had 58 points to the Mustang's 52.

In August , at Laguna Seca in California, Dan Gurney replaced Horst Kwech in one of the Shelby cars. Ford felt Kwech wasn't the right driver. He had only finished one race. Gurney brought his own mechanics, but it didn't make any difference. Jones and Follmer traded first place until the sixth lap when Jones went out of the race with rear axle problems. Follmer lead until a brake line broke. Donahue won his fourth race. Gurney came in third, Revson was fourth. The Penske Camaro team now had 67 points to the Ford team's 56. After that race Gurney complained that the Shelby team wasn't getting the best parts, that they were going to Moore instead. But Lew Spencer said the Shelby team's problems came from the loss of Chuck Cantwell to the Penske team. Cantwell had been the Shelby team's suspension man. Spencer felt that without Cantwell, the Moore team was ahead of the Shelby team.

At Kent, Washington, the Ford team needed to take first and second to catch the Camaro team. Ford rented the track prior to the race to try and sort out the problems with the cars. During the race, Parnelli Jones' held the lead for the first 74 laps. Donahue blew his Camaro's engine. It was looking good for the Ford team. Jones pitted with a stuck safety valve in his fuel tank. Bucknum took the lead in the Camaro. Jones got back in the race and gave it another valiant effort. During the last lap, he blew a tire and crossed the finish line with sparks flying, coming in second to Bucknum. Revson finished in fourth and Dan Gurney came in tenth. Follmer had an accident in lap 129, almost at the end of the 135 lap race. Five straight wins for the Camaro team gave them 72 points to Ford's 62.

The September race at Sears Point in Sonoma, California, gave the Penske team another chance to out perform the Ford team. Revson was out of the race with carb problems. The Jones's pit team was a lot slower than Donahue's. Even though Jones lead most of the race, Donahue's team had his Camaro back on the track much faster. Donahue's team did his three pit stops faster than Jones's team did his two. In the final seven laps. Jones was driving like a wild man, sliding around corners, locking up his brakes, and speed shifting in the straight aways.

The season ended with the Boss Mustangs only giving a great showing. Mark Donahue, driving his Penske Camaro, out did the Mustangs again to win the 1969 championship. But it took Donahue winning six of the last seven races to beat Parnelli Jones and the remaining Mustangs. Moore's team was faster and more dependable than the Shelby team, earning Ford's full support by the end of the season. The race wasn't just to win with the Mustangs. It was also to see who carried the Ford flag next season. The Shelby American team was out.

Ironically, Shelby American won Ford the 1966 and 1967 Trans Am Manufacturer titles before the 1970 trophy, without factory support.

1970 Trans Am Racing - Ford Finally Wins, Again

The 1970 Trans Am season was a replay of the prior year's manufacturer wars with one major exception, the Shelby Racing team pulled out of Trans Am racing totally. Trans Am racing had become the top race in the country. Attendance was way up at the races. The Ford Boss 302's and Z-28 Camaros were competing for street sales with the public.

The competition was going to be tough in 1970. Penske took his team, including Mark Donahue, to American Motors, leaving Chevy. Chrysler was back with two cars, a Plymouth Barracuda and a Dodge Challenger. Jerry Titus was back in a Firebird for Pontiac even though GM wasn't officially supporting racing. Chevy hired Jim Hall for the Camaro team.

Chrysler was serious about the '70 Trans Am series. The company was losing a lot of money and saw the Trans Am races as a way to sell more cars. Phil Remington, late of Shelby American, was hired to build the race cars at the All American Racers in Costa Mesa, CA. Chief Chrysler engineer, Pete Hutchinson, was tweaking the destroked 340 engine to 460 horse power. Dan Gurney was the lead driver. The Dodge Challenger team had an identical car to the Barracuda, except the engine was built by Keith Black and the driver was Sam Posey, who won his first Trans Am race in a Shelby Boss 302 at Lime Rock. Both cars had seen little track time prior to the series beginning.

The American Motors Javelin team looked like the team the Moore Mustangs had to beat. Chuck Cantwell, a former suspension magician at Shelby American, had joined the team the prior year. Mark Donahue was the lead driver. The engines were specially prepped by Traco.

The Chevy team was at a great disadvantage. The loss of the Penske team and a new body that wasn't scheduled for release until mid year threatened Chevy's repeat of the 1969 win in 1970. Jim Hall quickly put two Camaros together. One to be driven by him and the other driver was Ed Leslie. Even though GM was officially uninvolved in racing, the Hall Camaros were factory race cars.

Pontiac was also at a great disadvantage. GM wasn't supporting racing. The destroked 400 cid engine weighed in at 75 pounds more than the Chevy 302's. And they only had one car to race.

Ford only sponsored one team for the '70 season and that was Bud Moore's team. Ford cut back 75% on its racing budget. Ford didn't think the Shelby team could give the results based on the prior year's performance. The Bud Moore cars were 1969 Mustangs with 351 4V engines and 4-speeds. They were updated to '70 sheet metal. Kar Kraft rebuilt the cars to Trans-Am specifications and shipped them to Moore. The cars were painted yellow with black center stripes. Parnelli Jones drove car #15 and George Follmer piloted car #16.

The rules were changed in 1970. The minimum production of cars was raised from the 1,000 minimum in 1969 to 1/250th of the manufacturer’s total production in the prior year- a minimum of 2,500 cars. Rules were relaxed in other areas. More flexibility was allowed with engines, rear ends and suspension. The dual 4 barrel carbs, allowed in 1969, were restricted to a single 4 barrel. Ford developed the Autolite In-Line carb to take advantage of this rule.

Jones and Follmer drove the Trans Am Mustangs against Mark Donahue and Pete Revson in AMC Javelins; Swede Savage driving a Plymouth Barracuda; Sam Posey piloting a Dodge Challenger and Milt Minter, Vic Elford and Jim Hall in Chevy Camaros. It was a race to the finish and to the last race. Parnelli Jones beat out Mark Donahue by one point to give Ford its third Trans-Am Manufacturers' Championship.

From TheCarSource.com

Permanent Link to this Blog Post: