Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This combines two of my favorite things-muscle cars and pop culture. This is the Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels special edition. I especially dig the alloys that look like the toy wheels, and the red line tires.

The Camaro From Canonsburg

Yenko Camaro, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Among the famous muscle car dealerships of the sixties, Yenko Chevrolet, from Canonsburg, PA, looms large. Racing driver and Chevy dealer Don Yenko started his car modifying career in the early sixties, after having been impressed enough with the Corvair to get it approved for SCCA road racing. He marketed the final product as the Yenko Stinger, and customers could order one up in different states of tune, from mild to wild.

This was merely a tune-up for the main event, though. When GM introduced it's Camaro pony car, the biggest engine available was the 396. Since there's no substitute for cubic inches, Yenko and his crew developed a transplant, shoehorning in the 427 in Corvette L-72 spec, along with suspension and drivetrain modifications to handle the Camaro's newfound power.

The new Yenko Super Car was a success, to the point that Yenko was eventually able to order new Camaros with the 427 already installed. Using GM's Central Office Production Order (COPO) system, Yenko was able to perform the same trick with the Chevelle and Nova as well-legendary hot rods all.

Don Yenko eventually got out of the modification business, increasingly stringent EPA regulations making it harder to sell such heavily modified cars. By the early 80's he'd sold the dealership as well, but not before selling one last scorcher, the Turbo Z Camaro.

This one's a '68, I believe.

Grumpy's Toy

Grumpy's Toy, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

With a no-nonsense attitude, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins was well known as a Mopar engine builder before starting his own Chevrolet team in the sixties. Running in the popular Super Stock classes, his "Grumpy's Toy" racers were always well presented and quick.

This is a well-done replica of "Grumpy's Toy IV", a Chevrolet Camaro.

Sunoco Camaro

Sunoco, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Possibly better known by the general public for a truck rental firm, Roger "The Captain" Penske has run one of the most successful racing teams since the early sixties. The Penske team has run in all manner of classes, including the Trans-Am, Can-Am, Indycar racing, NASCAR, and Formula One. Usually running top line talent, the Penske team was always a threat to win.

This Camaro is one of the team's iconic Sunoco team cars, from the Trans-Am Championship. This is a former Mark Donohue car, a genuine T/A car, and as such is nearly priceless. It was a privilege to be able to watch this piece of history hammer around the track again, and to be able to shoot it up close.