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Hobbs Camaro (Old Drag Car)
There are stories about cars finding you and this is one of those stories. A gentleman reached to me on Facebook 3 years ago looking for a patina 1967 Camaro like Gordan Rojewski's '67. I said I did not know of any but, I was looking for a patina '69 Camaro. He said he had one and would never sell it. Well last year he sends me a message and said he wanted to sell his Camaro. I was great, can you tell me about it. He said he had the car for about 3 years and it was on old drag car.
The car was ordered new in 1969 by Vic Hobbs. He ordered a Marina Blue SS, with a 325 HP 396 CID Engine, Black Interior, 3 speed Auto, Cowl Hood, Endura Bumper, Rear Spoiler, 4.11 gears and radio delete. The car was raced since new and was never titled for the public road until 2007. I was busy racing and traveling a lot last year and though the car was cool and arranged to buy it less engine and trans, because the stock driveline was long gone and I had no need to the 496 BBC that was in it. He said no problem because it was not running anyway. We negotiated a price and he offered to deliver it to Milford, MI. I was cool. He shows up at my house and the car was super clean and as described. The he starts dragging in all the documentation on the car. All the original build sheet, deal delivery sheet, and a ton of other docs. I'm looking through the stuff and the documents and them look in the car. The ODO showed 1277 miles. I'll post some photos in the links below. |
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Steelie front runners for the old school win. Very interesting.
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Check out this mini tub job from a long time ago.
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Car sat unloved in the desert in CA for a few years. The car had the crazy paint job in 1969 then was re-painted in the 80s Marina Blue. This are photos of it when it made it to TN to the gentleman I purchased it from.
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I got the car to my shop last summer.
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Some more old photos.
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Wow, what an awesome find! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one - looks like a keeper.
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What a great piece of history. You and Charley seem to have a knack for finding the impossible. Let me know if you want it added to your website.
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What's going in this one?? Hoping to see an LT6!!
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I'm a little sad the bonkers paint isn't on the car. |
Great back story. I'd love to see this thing repainted in that old school scheme. That would look awesome on a hard core PT machine.
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No LT6 won’t fit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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That would be great! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
Cool car what's your vision with it? could use the word plan, but those change, I like the old paint from the 70's
Paint story.... My old neighbor was from Massachusetts, worked a little in FL. then retired, sells me a bunch of his old body tools, for years he did collision repair near the airport fixing rentals, In the 60/70's he did custom paint work like on the 69 in your pictures, He showed me pictures of Chevelles Road Runners, GTX's couple of others too, all with the wild candy bubble style paint jobs, cool old pics, |
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The vision on this one has been all over the place.
The first plan was a stock subframe, leaf springs and a wet sump LS7. Kind of an over the fender build, quick and cheap. I struggled with the cars history and what to do with it. I couple of the past owner did just that. I am attempting to get the rest of the cars history. It is clear it has had a lot of engines, transmission and driveshafts in it. It has had a rough life. Once we got the car to Sled Alley and really dug into the car its rough history came to light. The rust free floor pans was bent up so bad that the seat pans were bent and the transmission tunnel had a dog leg in it. After a lot of discussion with Matt at Sled Alley he convinced me the best way to get the car back straight again was a new floor pan. Crazy to cut out a rust free floor pan, but the is what we did. He convinced me it would be quicker, cheaper and better. The next area to fix was the pop rivet “Mini Tub” job. After measuring everything up it looked like to easiest and best way to fix it was just do a full DSE Quadra Link and Mini Tub inner wheel houses. The DSE lager inner wheel wheels barely filled in the old cut outs. The Quadra Line cross member fixed the old odd shock holes in the trunk. At this point is where my “Cheap over the fender build” went out the window. We were into a full build. Might as well fix it and make it the way I want. I like to take my cars to the track. I love the way my old Camaros drove and looked. I’ve always been very happy how the DSE front subframe worked. So, we swapped to the DSE sub frame. This is where the scope creep really started. Well if we are going to do a DSE chassis we should make it fully track capable. The plan as of now: Keep the patina paint but fix the chips and minor damage. The car is 99% rust free Paint the floor pans and the engine bay to look crisp and clean Stock LS7 (Z 2/8 Spec) with faker BBC valve covers. Air cleaner that connects to the stock hood – Stockish looking Stock BBC Heater Box put with Vintage Air Dry sump system Tremec t-56 Stock looking simi-Custom Dakota Digital dash Stoptech Brakes Keep the stock 12 bolt Forgeline Wheels 18X10 front and 18X12 rear ABS Recaro Seats Kind of like my last builds but a little less power to keep the BBC look under the hood. I also want to try to make it quiet. I loved Apex, Gunner, Jackass and Hellfire but they are drove me nuts on long trips. Too loud. My Blazer is old man quiet. I love it for long trips. On a side note all my old cars would not pass the sound check at my local road race track (Waterford Hills) My goal is for it to pass the sound level there. I know the drag race guys are going to hate me not keeping it a drag car, but I’m not a drag racer. We do this hobby to have fun. I’m going to build it the way I want it. I purchased the car because I loved the look of it with the patina paint, the factory endura bumper, the factory cowl hood and the rear deck spoiler. I did not really understand the history until I got it. The history is way cool but not the reason I purchased it. I’m going to fix all the cars past sins and make it better. Sorry, but I love the look of a 1969 Camaro with 275/35R18 tires on the front and 335/30R18 on the rear. I’m going to pay homage to the history of the car by keeping the engine bay looking like a BBC and the stockish dash. I like driving and tracking my cars so that is the way I’m going to build it. |
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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...00e4e84b76.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...66ba1db239.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...23fe802c6e.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d375ab6be5.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...206f75cb1b.jpg Tear down photos at Sled Alley Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
Page is up, we can change the title to whatever you want. I'll keep adding text and pics as you share them. Thanks Mark!
https://stielowengineering.com/mark-...ing-track-car/ |
Wow,
Thanks for sharing all those details. It sounds like it will be lots of fun when you are complete but not have to worry about the chips and door dings of a daily driver. Again you have inspired many in the community that there are many different directions to go and in the end it's all about what makes you, the owner happy. Thanks.... Dennis |
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Dennis Thanks, I have had a lot of fun doing these projects. As my wife can testify to - It is a process. Lot of small decisions that effect the final product. She is tired of hearing about it. Obviously I like the building process or I would stop doing it. At the end of the day this is supposed to be fun. Mark Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
More updates. Cleaning the bottom getting ready to remove the floor pan.
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Thanks Mark. I know you're incredibly busy, greatly appreciate you sharing your builds with us. :thumbsup:
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I’m at the Indy Motor Speedway right now watching Fast Friday getting ready for Indy 500 qualifying tomorrow. Lateral G is a good diversion from racing. Mark Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
That is interesting to see only mechanical damage from all the drag racing, but no rust...Usually quite the opposite...:goggles:
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Cool background story to this Camaro, Mark. Thanks for sharing the photos of the docs and such. Looking forward to seeing the finished Camaro when it is complete.
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Well we cut the floors out.
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I've always questioned the stability of those rear subframe rails, I would be tempted to build a better back half if I was replacing the floor. But then again I haven't heard of any issues with the previous builds.
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It definitely has some history. Looking forward to the progress and finished product! |
This is cool Mark. I’ve always loved the tech you’ve poured into your builds…I remember following QuadraDeuce as a teenager, for instance. With your Camaros (mostly) going max-effort LS builds, a TT SBC, and a couple LT’s for good measure, why not throw a GM 632 crate in this one, for “nostalgia” and all out power as well. You could dry sump it, improve the valvetrain, and make it trackable, while being just cool as crap. Torque for days, without forced induction. My next pro touring build will have the 632 and a 6 speed. I love the LS platform (I’m a mod on LS1Tech) and build quite a few of them, but the 632 is just plain tits.
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Cool find.
If it still had that crazy paint job it would have screamed out for that 632. |
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I have driven the 632 development vehicle. It is very civilized for 1000 HP. My buddy did the cal work and it idles at 850 RPM and drives nice for a 1000 HP BBC. It is a bit loud and rowdy. If you like open pipe Harley Davison motorcycle you should get a 632. You will also need a TALL hood unless you swap to a Hogan style front TB intake. Scoggin. Dickey is testing some. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
With the floor pans straightened and replaced it is time to trial fit the Detroit Speed subframe and sheet metal. Need to square things up before subframe connectors, which the car should of had back in the day.
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Hobbs Camaro (Old Drag Car)
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I’ve owned and driven a large number of Powertrains now. For pure joy of driving the best package I have ever had it is the 427 LS9 built by Brian Thompson. We have beat the crap out of that combination and it just works for track, street and cross country cruising. Not a cheap date but very good. The best bang for your buck is a stock LT4. Very good linear power. Throttle response not as good, but fantastic drivability. The 632 is pissed off. If you want to roll into the cars and coffee and have a penis measuring contest this is your clear winner. The 632 at work is very cool. My wife and neighbors are not big fans of the dual 4.5 exhaust on it need to make 1004 HP as installed. The headers are also 2 inches stepped to 2.25 BIG HEADERS. It is a Pro Street or Drag engine. That valve train and oiling system would not be happy on a autocross or a road course. For me I always like the flexibility of a blower motor. Docile idle, easy on valve train and great throttle response. Also with the blower cars you can get away with a GOOD 3 inch exhaust system. It just pisses of your neighbors but you don’t get a letter from the HOA. Any car that make over 900 hp the whole package is a challenge, if you want to track it. The fuel system is not a joke. The cooling system needs to be stout. The clutch, trans, driveshaft and diff all need a lot of extra attention. Big power is big fun and big money. I’ve been playing with them for a bit. For this car I’m starting with a 2015 Z 2/8 spec LS7. The Z2/8 program manager fixed a few critical issues with the LS7. The engine is a rock solid 525 HP in a hot rod. It should be brick reliable and very civilized. If I don’t like the 525 HP, I can yank it out and drive over to Brian Thompson’s and “fix” it. Mark |
So what car will be done first? Charley's 67 or this 69? or the 55....
With the painted firewall does that mean you are just bolting in the hyd clutch bracket? |
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Charley’s 67 will most likely be done first if it doesn’t get stuck in paint jail. Still need to weld on the clutch bracket. Paint is just basically primer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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