skinny z

I had just gotten out of drag racing (the 1st time around) when this car appeared. I hadn't realized how great it really was.
5 National Championships. One of the most successful Pro Stock cars ever.
It makes me feel better to own a 3rd gen Camaro. Sometimes, as owners, we suffer put down and such but I can pull up this history proudly.
Please excuse the poor quality pictures. I copied them out a Car Craft archive magazine with my digital camera. I'm sure there are much better photos available.

mr396

I Loved that Camaro in the day. And I think Lee Shepherd had a little something to do with It.

skinny z

I would be be remiss if I didn't credit Shepherd with being one of the best drivers of his time. I guess, the best actually with not only the national championships but numerous national event wins as well No. 1 qualifier many times before his death in 85.
Just as important were his innovative cylinder heads and how they gave the RMRE team a horsepower advantage over the rest of the field.
Amazing stuff really when you put it all into perspective.

mr396

Well said and I couldn't agree more.

cosmick

Greatest? In this case, it's a fine opinion for you, but not a fact for everyone. For me, the greatest was the T/A that Lingenfelter took past 300 MPH.

skinny z

From the Lingenfelter Story at Lingenfelter Engineering.com:
"In 1989, John moved on to help set another record, this time at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Lingenfelter built a 355 CID Chevy V8 engine for the SE Racecraft 1989 Firebird Trans Am. This twin-turbocharged, fuel- injected small block produced 1,400 hp and had six nitrous bottles for intercooler cooling only, not for induction. The car’s driver, Gary Eaker, tried to break the 300 mph barrier the Trans Am but after several attempts fell short of the goal. He did, however, still hit an amazing 298 mph, which set the record for full-body sedans at the time."

No denying that it was also an excellent example of the 3rd gen platform.
It's low drag coefficient has made it a natural for the land speed and open road event crowd.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

I think everybody can agree that it is nice seeing Pro Stock cars that still looked like real cars.

cosmick

For a speed to be official you have to repeat it, I think in the opposite direction, and I think in a certain amount of time. So the 300+ pass may have been a one-time fluke helped by a tail wind.
Anyway, there are different accomplishments we can all point to with pride.

skinny z

All true.
On a similar note, it's good to see the 3rd gen represented at the more grass roots level too. Check out mw66nova's thread at the Yellow Bullet MD event.
Plenty of 3rd gens to go around.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/orga...s-updates.html

navy02ws6

I'd have to go with either a '92 Firehawk or '89 TTA for the simple reason that they had the most power with a full factory warranty.

LeonardS

I would say the greatest 3rd Gen Ever, is the one that each of us has in our own garage!! We own them and they are paid for, and we can look at them every day.....would could be greater than that?

skinny z

I agree with both of you. Nothing like a factory warranty (I can't recall the last time one of my cars actually had one) and a car paid for (except for the credit card bills for all the speed parts).

Regarding the RMRE 3rd gen, I was kind of angling for that iconic example from which all of our drag racing 3rd gens came from. Pro Stock used to be just that. The best factory appearing racers on the planet. Everything else just fell in behind. With the Reher-Morrison Camaro being a 5 time National Champion (2 NHRA and 3 IHRA), it was the best.
Kind of makes want to stuff a 500 cubic inch big block between the fenders of my coupe.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

No love for the Polly Motorsports TransAm? Probably the fastest street legal TransAm in the world. Faster to 300km/h than a Bugati Veyron, just 12.2 seconds. And this thing is a road race car, not a drag car.

http://www.pollymotorsport.no

skinny z

Wow!

KMK454

Bump with a recent article and some great new pictures:

http://www.hotrod.com/features/histo...era-pro-stock/

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Good stuff right there.

skinny z

Seems to me I had that article somewhere before. Great story. All of it.
The cylinder head work blows my mind.

skinny z

Not to take away from the RMS Camaro (still my personal best 3rd gen ever) however I revisited the Polly Motorsports website.
Why isn't that TransAm here participating in drag week? It would put a helluva dent in the competition. Probably comfortable to drive too.