Because of this, racers look for every possible advantage–even ones found outside of the engine compartment. Most of those cars are maxed out power-wise by the rule book. After all, horsepower has become cheap and easy to get. And wheel alignments–well, those are for keeping your tiresfrom wearing out, not adding performance.įor some racers (a good example is an NHRA Stock Eliminator competitor), finding performance by adding more and more power isn’t usually an option. Not only did he buy the engine from Gill, but also a Lenco SC1 three-speed automatic with a Neal Chance 4000 stall speed converter and a manual aluminum valve body.For most racers and enthusiasts, a wheel alignment is something that you seldom ponder, especially when it comes to performance. The top end wears a set of CFE 18-degree aluminum cylinder heads, a custom grind Crower cam, all topped off by a Braswell Dominator 1250 cfm carburetor mounted on a custom billet aluminum intake by Bruce Wolford. Overall, it is a stout package that consists of a Bryant forged crank, 5/16-inch chromoly pushrods, and Diamond 12.5:1 aluminum pistons on the bottom end. Since street use was the new flavor, the 632 was taken to Brian Roche Racing to dial it down a few notches for some street civility on pump gas. Tony's buddy Gill asked if he would be interested in buying one of his 632-cubic-inch all aluminum motors from Fulton Competition Race Engines, and that made perfect sense to him. The rear is fitted with 35-spline axles, 4.11 gears, and a spool, all attached to Strange springs, adjustable shocks, 11-inch slotted rotors, and double piston calipers. Out back, Strange hardware was also used extensively. Since the double-frame chromoly chassis was race inspired, up front he decided to have an all-Strange affair with 1.5-inch drop spindles, springs, adjustable shocks, 11.25-inch slotted rotors, and double-piston calipers. On the way home, he realized that he needed to have a shop closer to him to continue the work. I told him that I wasn't leaving without my car, and the excuse given was that he didn't have all the parts and it would take him a week even if he did." Tony ended up spending eight days there and having parts sent next day delivery to get the car to the point that it would roll onto his trailer. "We drove 12 hours to find out that the car was still not done. "I asked my buddy Jimmy 'Dino' Dawes if he would go with me to get it," he states. With numerous trips taken to check on the progress, and every excuse imaginable given by the shop's owner as to why it wasn't any closer to completion, things finally came to a boil. For the next ten years the car sat there. Everything was going according to the plan at that point so he shipped the Camaro off to a shop in Tennessee to have a new Pro Mod chassis built. That exposure led Tony to the decision to build an all-out race car, but for that he knew that a change under the hood was in order, so he ordered a 615-cubic-inch all-aluminum mill from Fulton Competition Race Engines. He notes, "I told him I'm serious about buying the car, and this is what I am willing to pay for it without the engine." The back and forth negotiations went on for a few days until he showed him a decent pile of cash. The guy told him that he hadn't thought about it but if the price was right, everything was for sale. A little detective work was involved in tracking the owner down, but he eventually found him and showed up at his doorstep to ask if it was for sale. "A buddy called me and said that he had just seen one the nicest 1969 Camaros he had ever seen and thought it was for sale," Tony recalls. As is often the case with most intense things, it all came down to something as simple as a phone call from a friend that made the difference. That desire set off an intense search at local car shows, newspapers, and countless trips chasing down leads on possible candidates. He was particularly enamored with 1969 Camaros to the point that finding one became a goal. The look and power of those cars was something that he liked. At that point in time Tony was also beginning to make frequent trip to the racetrack to check out what was running there.
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