Looking Back At Jim Hall’s Chaparral Racing Camaro

It carried the colors for Chevrolet in the year that SCCA’s Trans-American Challenge Series featured no fewer than six factory-backed race teams, and was constructed in the same shops that turned out the Chevy-powered (and engineered) Chaparrals that dominated U.S road racing during the 1960s.

After Roger Penske took AMC’s big-bucks offer for 1970, Chevrolet called on Jim Hall’s race shop to build and race the new 1970 Camaro in SCCA’s Trans Am Series. Here’s the car that Hall raced that season, restored and vintage-race-ready.

After Roger Penske went to AMC in 1970, Chevrolet called on Jim Hall’s race shop to build and race the new 1970 Camaro in SCCA’s Trans Am Series. Photos courtesy of The Canepa Collection.

“It” is the 1970 Chaparral Camaro, and this is the only surviving example of the three that were built.

When the 1969 SCCA Trans American Challenge Series (Trans Am) was winding up, Chevy lovers had reason to be optimistic for the coming year. The Penske team displayed dominance in 1969, and the Camaros of Mark Donahue and Peter Revson not only ran up front all year and won the season championship, but also led the way in innovations such as a dry-break refueling rig, quick-change disc brake pads, and other innovations that led to quicker times on the track, and less time in the pits.

Bad News For 1970

But, before the 1969 calendar year had ended, Penske accepted an offer (some say as much as $3 million over five years) from American Motors, to turn their Javelin from an also-ran into a winner. With Penske — and drivers Donahue and Revson — gone, that meant Chevrolet needed a new team if they wanted the new-for-1970 Camaro to dominate the road courses.

Note how the Fisher Body-made fender flares blend in with the second-gen F-Body’s styling, especially in back. “Tall” rear spoiler was actually a Pontiac creation, which wasn’t a regular-production Camaro item until 1971.

The Fisher Body-made fender flares blend in with the second-gen F-body’s styling, especially in back. The tall rear spoiler was actually a Pontiac creation, which wasn’t a regular-production Camaro item until 1971.

Two legendary builders with deep ties to Chevrolet were considered. First was Smokey Yunick in Daytona Beach, whose race-ready Chevys had challenged common thinking about race car construction. Further west, the Chaparral cars from Jim Hall’s shop in Midland, Texas had built a reputation as innovative, state-of-the-art machines, that could not only run up front in the top sports car races, but also beat them.

Jim Hall’s business office on race day in 1970, which he later shared with Vic Alford. Fiberglass dash panel holds vital gauges, Hurst shifter shifts race-built Borg-Warner T-10.

With just six months between Penske’s signing with AMC and the first 1970 Trans Am race at Laguna Seca in April of that year, the decision was made to go with Hall for 1970. Thus, the three Chaparral Camaros were born. One would be raced by Jim Hall (the No. 1 Camaro), the second was driven by Ed Leslie (the No. 2 car), with the third held in reserve as a spare.

As subtle as…Note the “Chaparral” logo just above the grille, and the Lexan front spoiler, using sponsor General Electric’s then-new engineered material.

Note the “Chaparral” logo just above the grille, and the Lexan front spoiler.

It’s not as though Hall and Chaparral Racing started from scratch. There was plenty of data that Chevrolet generated with the Penske cars on the Trans Am Series’ road courses, as well as at the GM Proving Grounds in Milford, Michigan. Plus, one of the former Penske Camaros was provided to Hall as a test mule. According to David Tom, author of The Cars of Trans-Am Racing 1966-1972, and the gentleman that restored the No. 1  car, “Hall’s team needed all the information they could get. The newly-designed Camaro was so different from the first generation, that the engineering challenges were akin to starting from scratch.”

Hall also had an ace up his sleeve when it came to testing — his private facility in Midland. This facility contained not only Chaparral Racing’s engine, fabrication, and engineered-materials shops, but it also had a 1.99-mile road course and an adjacent skid pad to use any time they wanted.

“Chevrolet had also failed to homologate the newly-designed angle-plug heads. Although they did sneak them in a few times, their development was incomplete.” – David Tom, car restorer

Building A Race Winner

When it came to the design of the cars, the Chaparral Camaros’ front fenders and rear quarter-panels wore fender flares made by Fisher Body using new stamping dies made of kirksite plastic that formed the thin-gauge steel used to make the fender flares. Those new steel pieces were then were pop-riveted over the stock sheetmetal, and then smoothed over before painting.

The new race cars got aerodynamic help thanks to wind-tunnel modeling and test-track sessions, coordinated with the Chevy Product Promotion Engineering office. This testing resulted in a flexible front spoiler made of a new material from one of Hall’s sponsors — Lexan. In back, the new Camaro’s production “short” spoiler proved lacking when it came to generating downforce — which the new Pontiac Firebird’s taller rear spoiler did very well. Thanks to Vince Piggins’ influence within GM, that spoiler eventually became a Camaro factory option — first through the COPO ordering system, then it became RPO D80 for 1971.

Some die hard Chevy lovers would like to call this the “Fords’-eye view”. If Jim Hall had more than just six months to build this car for the 1970 SCCA Trans Am season, it may well have been! Note fuel filler located just above license-plate provision in taillight panel.

Some die-hard Chevy lovers would like to call this the “Fords-eye view.” If Jim Hall had more than just six months to build this car for the 1970 SCCA Trans Am season, it may well have been!

To make the roll cage, Hall’s team templates it using PVC pipe, and sent it the GM Tech Center. Engineers used computer-aided modeling to create the pieces that would be welded into a strong and lightweight safety system.

Under the hood was an engine that was all but perfected for road racing — the small-block Chevy. Despite its cast-iron block and cylinder heads, it was light enough — and strong enough — to win races. A big Holley four-barrel fed Union 76 racing gas to the 12.0:1 compression pistons. A stout Hurst-shifted Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed and a 12-bolt differential inside the “gronked” housing completed the powertrain.

At each corner, double-adjustable Koni shocks kept the ever-growing Goodyear race tires on the track, along with a production-derived front suspension (coil springs, unequal-length control arms and a 1 3/16-inch sway bar) and rear suspension (parallel leaf springs, Panhard bar and a 3/4-inch sway bar).

Minilite wheels were what all of the “big” cars ran in Trans Am in 1970—here, you see the big disc brake behind it that was part of an over-the-counter service parts package. During pit stops. Lug nuts were held on to the wheel by sponsor General Electric’s then-new GE Silicones silicone-based adhesive.

In 1970, all of the cars ran on Minilite wheels in Trans Am.

Headed For History

It was a thrash to get the new Camaros ready for the 1970 season, but they made it to the first race at Laguna Seca, on time — where they logged their first DNFs of the season. Hall’s No. 1 Camaro lasted 13 laps before its transmission failed, and Ed Leslie’s car completed 59 laps before an axle broke.

But the bad luck didn’t last long. At the second race of the season, at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park, Leslie finished second behind winner Parnelli Jones, with Hall finishing fourth. Three weeks later, at Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon, in New Hampshire, Hall finished fifth and Leslie wound up 11th.

Have you “gronked” your rearend housing lately? Slightly-bending the axle tubes resulted in positive caster that aided cornering. Note the Panhard bar mounted to crossmember between differential and fuel cell.

A double-DNF at Mid-Ohio followed with Hall running out of gas two laps from the finish, but at Bridgehampton New York, Hall scored another fourth place finish, while Leslie’s engine let go after 65 of the race’s 75 laps. Another fourth-place for the No. 1 Camaro came at Brainerd, Minnesota’s, Donnybrooke Raceway but Leslie’s car was out with a broken transmission after only two laps.

Documentation accompanying the #1 Chaparral Camaro is its SVRA log book, detailing where and when it’s seen vintage-racing action.

Documentation accompanying the No. 1 Chaparral Camaro is its SVRA log book, detailing where and when it’s seen vintage-racing action.

Jim Hall only drove for one more race that year, at Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin where he finished in fourth place. Vic Alford took over driving duties in the No 1. car for the rest of the season, though USAC-veteran Joe Leonard would also see seat time in it. The Chaparral team had its best Trans Am race of the season at Watkins Glen in mid-August, where Elford won and Leslie finished in seventh place, one lap down.

At Seattle International Raceway, both Camaros finished in the top 10, and then in the season finale at Riverside, the No. 1 car was out with a blown engine after 72 laps.

In the final SCCA Trans Am standings for 1970, Chevrolet finished third with 40 points, trailing AMC’s 59, and Ford’s 72.

Alas, the Chaparral Camaros only ran the 1970 Trans Am season, after which they were sold off and raced in other series. David Tom said, “The late start didn’t help, but the real culprit was a failure of Chaparral’s in-house engine program to take full advantage of the running-in of the engine, and then adding new heads once all of the rotating assembly was working freely.

This permitted a free-rotating assembly combined with a fresh valve assembly that permitted maximum compression, minimum friction, and maximum horsepower.” David adds, “Chevrolet had also failed to homologate the newly-designed angle-plug heads. Although they did sneak them in a few times, their development was incomplete.”

The Story Continues

Now restored, the only surviving Chaparral Camaro is for sale, via The Canepa Collection, If you’ve got the scratch to bring this F-Body home, don’t trailer queen it. It’s been a regular participant in vintage Trans Am events such as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, and the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival at Sonoma Raceway (formerly known as Infineon Raceway, at the gateway to Northern California wine country).

The only-known-surviving Chaparral Camaro looks like it did when it rolled off the trailer at Laguna Seca for its first 1970 race. Front-fender logos are for SCCA and its Trans Am Series, Valvoline motor oil, STP, Champion Spark Plugs and Union 76 gasoline. Note how far exhaust pipe is tucked into floorpan. Also note center-of-gravity (black) mark on left rocker panel, to aid the jack man on in-race tire changes.

The only known-surviving Chaparral Camaro looks like it did when it rolled off the trailer at Laguna Seca for its first 1970 race. Front fender logos are for SCCA and its Trans Am Series, Valvoline motor oil, STP, Champion Spark Plugs, and Union 76 gasoline. Note how far the exhaust pipe is tucked into floorpan. Also note the center-of-gravity (black) mark on rocker panel, to aid the jack man during in-race tire changes.

From the looks of it — and what we’ve heard over the years while walking the pits at vintage Trans Am events — it’s very likely in the condition it would have been in at the start of the 1971 season, when all the problems that cropped up during the 1970 campaign would have been solved by Hall’s shop with help from Chevrolet Engineering. This is definitely not the kind of Chevy that makes for a trailer queen, is it?

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