Oldsmobiles being tested by the magazine. There, the car
“annihilated two sets of spider gears in one day, thereby prevent-
ing the HRM team of Don Evans (driver), Jim McFarland
(mechanic), and John Thawley (beer chaser) from evaluating the
Thomas’ ‘396,’” McFarland recalled. Bill Jenkins was there that
day, too, putting his Chevy II through its paces pre-Winternats,
with an eye on the “editors-cum-racers,” as both Jenkins and
the HRM team would run in SS/C.
As luck would have it, the Camaro and Jenkins were
paired in the first round of eliminations at Pomona. Jenkins
must have been concerned about what he saw at Irwindale,
because “with one yellow light still showing on the Tree,
Jenkins red-lighted,” said McFarland. He immediately
withdrew the Camaro, as the guys never figured their “for
exposure only” entry would actually be competitive.
Competitive it was, and for good reason. Just before the
March Meet a couple weeks after Pomona, McFarland
“commandeered a P&G meter and used it to pump our 396.
It was actually a 490 incher—hey, Thomas didn’t name his
kit cars ‘Cheetahs’ for nothing.” With extra weight in the
car and entered in the A/MP class at Famoso, Evans made
an 11.84-second run at 119.86 mph “on his first full pass,”
said McFarland.
“We retired the car from competition on the spot,” he
would say later. Soon after, the Camaro’s much-modified
350 would be put back in, and the car would be sent
around to more aftermarket companies for further parts
prototyping. In all, 16 companies used the car to develop
parts for the Camaro.
As times changed and new concerns put pressure on
the performance industry, the Camaro—still in McFarland’s
capable hands—would serve as a testbed to illustrate the
industry’s ability to build powerful, yet clean-burning and
fuel efficient engines. That, though, is another story for
another time.ASK OUR HOLLEY EXPERTS:
866-464-6553 | http://www.holley.com
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