aRll-BEN

TUNED PORT

STROKER PART 3

4TH-BEN EXTERIOR MAKEOVER

IIEED-TO-KIIOW TECH

ROCKER OIL FILTERS o 79025 34824 4 ARMCAM RATIO THE BEST $10 INVESTMENT

A SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA PUBLICATION

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Nothing stands out on this car It looks pretty

stock until you start the engine put it in gear

and go sOlDewhere PP -Mary Pozzi

hen guys utter the phrase

Wchick car its usually meant

in some derogatory way that

implies slow or dainty But what if that

chicks car is capable of spanking your

ride at the track leaving you with a view

of quickly fading taillights-until she

laps you In that case one would have

to refer to Mary Pozzi and her 73 RS

Camaro with a bit more respect respect

thats been hard-earned You see to

underestimate Pozzi or her ride would

be a mistake of epic proportions Shes

been tearing up tracks and highways for

nearly 30 years In her 20s she met her

husband Dave at an autocross driving

school where he was an instructor Back

then a big part of her life was vintage

racing and autocrossing where she

racked up 10 National Solo titles in a

variety of cars including Camaros

70 wwwcamaroperformerscom

Mustangs and even a real-deal Cobra

before retiring in 1990 After hanging

up her helmet Pozzi got into a hobby

that was even more expensive than

cars-horses As a hobby I can tell you

that the quickest way to make a million

dollars with horses is to start out with

two million remarked Pozzi But even

during those years she never forgot her

first love and the fun of going fast

Fast-forward a few years and Pozzi

was back out at the track and itching

for a new ride Pozzi admitted Id been

thinking about buying an early Camaro

but I really didnt know much about the

different years models and body types

I didnt know an SS from a Z28 except

they were both fast Dave tossed some

Camaro books at me with instructions

to look at the pictures and read all the

info so I could figure out what I wanted

High school memories of good times

cruising in a girlfriends early secondshy

gen finally sealed the deal on what she

wanted to buy We did things with that

car that our parents never knew about

and hopefully never will What happens

in a Camaro stays in a Camaro

deadpanned Pozzi

In early 2002 Pozzi found a 73 RS

in the local Auto Trader and made

arrangements to check it out with her

husband The owner took us for a ride

in the car and then turned it over to me

with instructions to be careful because

it had a very powerful engine Dave

laughed at that as hes built engines

that displayed much more enthusiasm

under acceleration this engine was

pretty tame by comparison Pozzi said

The car was solid and the paint was

decent even though it had been done

in ghost f

keen

for

home to

on

During

was

added

a

up

Global

before

on

$5200

jackst(

guttE

ar

manual

fromll

W

thE

Nothing stands out on this car It looks pretty

stock until you start the engine put it in gear

and go sOlDewhere PP -Mary Pozzi

hen guys utter the phrase

Wchick car its usually meant

in some derogatory way that

implies slow or dainty But what if that

chicks car is capable of spanking your

ride at the track leaving you with a view

of quickly fading taillights-until she

laps you In that case one would have

to refer to Mary Pozzi and her 73 RS

Camaro with a bit more respect respect

thats been hard-earned You see to

underestimate Pozzi or her ride would

be a mistake of epic proportions Shes

been tearing up tracks and highways for

nearly 30 years In her 20s she met her

husband Dave at an autocross driving

school where he was an instructor Back

then a big part of her life was vintage

racing and autocrossing where she

racked up 10 National Solo titles in a

variety of cars including Camaros

70 wwwcamaroperformerscom

Mustangs and even a real-deal Cobra

before retiring in 1990 After hanging

up her helmet Pozzi got into a hobby

that was even more expensive than

cars-horses As a hobby I can tell you

that the quickest way to make a million

dollars with horses is to start out with

two million remarked Pozzi But even

during those years she never forgot her

first love and the fun of going fast

Fast-forward a few years and Pozzi

was back out at the track and itching

for a new ride Pozzi admitted Id been

thinking about buying an early Camaro

but I really didnt know much about the

different years models and body types

I didnt know an SS from a Z28 except

they were both fast Dave tossed some

Camaro books at me with instructions

to look at the pictures and read all the

info so I could figure out what I wanted

High school memories of good times

cruising in a girlfriends early secondshy

gen finally sealed the deal on what she

wanted to buy We did things with that

car that our parents never knew about

and hopefully never will What happens

in a Camaro stays in a Camaro

deadpanned Pozzi

In early 2002 Pozzi found a 73 RS

in the local Auto Trader and made

arrangements to check it out with her

husband The owner took us for a ride

in the car and then turned it over to me

with instructions to be careful because

it had a very powerful engine Dave

laughed at that as hes built engines

that displayed much more enthusiasm

under acceleration this engine was

pretty tame by comparison Pozzi said

The car was solid and the paint was

decent even though it had been done

in ghost f

keen

for

home to

on

During

was

added

a

up

Global

before

in ghost flames that Pozzi wasnt too

keen on A deal was eventually struck

for $5200 and the couple drove the car

home to Salinas California where it sat

on jackstands for the next four years

During those years the entire interior

was gutted and replaced gauges were

added and the console was readied for

a manual gearbox Boxes kept showing

up from Hotchkis Baer Summit JEGs

Global West and so on It wasnt long

before they were on a first-name basis

with the UPS guy Once the engine and

transmission arrived they were able

to get the ride back on the road Pozzi

learned to live with the ghost flames

The 73 sports an unmolested ZZ383

GM crate engine that supplies the 3600shy

pound Camaro with 371 horsepower and

415 Ib-ft of torque to the rear wheels

The spent gasses exit through a set of

Hooker Super Comp 175-inch ceramicshy

coated headers and into a Walker

exhaust system fabricated by Willis

Automotive of Salinas California This

is actually the cars second exhaust

system The first one got them blackshy

flagged at Laguna Seca for exceeding

the decible limits so something a

bit tamer was needed An AFCO

radiator with Flex-a-lite fans keeps the

Camaro running cool while a 100-amp

Powermaster alternator provides plenty

of jUice to fire the MSD 6AL ignition

system Backing up the engine is a

Richmond five-speed tranny with a

MAY 2008 CAMARO PERFORMERS 71

I

ri dE

althoL

Camaroto

pc

tI

tode

20(

wit

-

machine

skill make

Pozzis

and

plans to

After all

Hayes Powergrip clutch and a Lakewood

bellhousing Out back a worked-over

GM lO-bolt posi rear with 308 gears

transfers the ponies to the pavement

By going with a simple crate engine

for motivation the couple was able to

spend more effort on the key ingredient

of a hard-turning car-the suspension

To fix the steering they installed a Sweet

power steering pump with a cooler and

an AFR fast-ratio 1271 steering box The

stock front subframe has been treated to

a host of aftermarket goodies including

Global West upper control arms and a

Hotchkis TVS system with a two-inch

drop Adjustable OAI shocks let the pair

tune for different track conditions and

Baer binders on all four corners bleed off

speed in the blink of an eye In the rear

theres a Global West CATS system with

a IS-inch drop and another pair of OAI

adjustable shocks

But it didnt stop there The front leaf

spring brackets were modified per

Herb Adams specifications to increase

72 wwwcamaroperformerscom

antisquat and Howe tall ball joints

were installed Dave designed and

fabricated an adjustable rear sway bar

using the existing Hotchkis bar For

chassis stiffening the couple added a

four-point rollbar and welded in some

Detroit Speed amp Engineering subframe

connectors G-braces help increase front

roll stiffness by almost a third and lower

control arm bushings were replaced with

Del-a-Lum units Rolling stock consists

of Vintage Wheel Works in 17x8-inch

front and 17x9S-inch rear wrapped in

sticky Kumho tires in 24S4SZR17 and

28S40ZRI7 respectively

Over time and experimentation the

car has evolved into something very

predictable and uncomplicated Pozzi

said At autocrosses and track days

people take the car for granted imd dont

expect much However when they see how

well it does its job theyre quite surprised

The interior is simple clean and

functional Corbeau Carrera seats with a

six-point harness system keep Pozzi and

her lucky passenger firmly anchored

in place Auto Meter Phantom gauges

track the strokers vitals and a Grant

Formula-G IS-inch wheel lets Pozzi

maneuver the Camaro toward the next

apex Theres a stereo but only because

it came with the car Its hard to hear

music over the engine so I dont pay

much attention to the sound system

remarked Pozzi

So what are Pozzis future plans for

the Camaro To drive the hell out of

it of course She recently won the C

Prepared Ladies SCCA Solo II Tour class

in Atwater California so we guess the

retirement was just a technicality I

competed against much better prepared

Camaros and Mustangs that were

modified to the limit of the rules This

included tube-frame cars that weighed

as little as 2600 pounds compared to my

cars 3600-pound weight They also had

engines that put out more horsepower

recalled Pozzi

But racing is about more than the

richer

back in

engine

J )

I

ri dE

althoL

Camaroto

pc

tI

tode

20(

wit

-

machine

skill make

Pozzis

and

plans to

After all

Hayes Powergrip clutch and a Lakewood

bellhousing Out back a worked-over

GM lO-bolt posi rear with 308 gears

transfers the ponies to the pavement

By going with a simple crate engine

for motivation the couple was able to

spend more effort on the key ingredient

of a hard-turning car-the suspension

To fix the steering they installed a Sweet

power steering pump with a cooler and

an AFR fast-ratio 1271 steering box The

stock front subframe has been treated to

a host of aftermarket goodies including

Global West upper control arms and a

Hotchkis TVS system with a two-inch

drop Adjustable OAI shocks let the pair

tune for different track conditions and

Baer binders on all four corners bleed off

speed in the blink of an eye In the rear

theres a Global West CATS system with

a IS-inch drop and another pair of OAI

adjustable shocks

But it didnt stop there The front leaf

spring brackets were modified per

Herb Adams specifications to increase

72 wwwcamaroperformerscom

antisquat and Howe tall ball joints

were installed Dave designed and

fabricated an adjustable rear sway bar

using the existing Hotchkis bar For

chassis stiffening the couple added a

four-point rollbar and welded in some

Detroit Speed amp Engineering subframe

connectors G-braces help increase front

roll stiffness by almost a third and lower

control arm bushings were replaced with

Del-a-Lum units Rolling stock consists

of Vintage Wheel Works in 17x8-inch

front and 17x9S-inch rear wrapped in

sticky Kumho tires in 24S4SZR17 and

28S40ZRI7 respectively

Over time and experimentation the

car has evolved into something very

predictable and uncomplicated Pozzi

said At autocrosses and track days

people take the car for granted imd dont

expect much However when they see how

well it does its job theyre quite surprised

The interior is simple clean and

functional Corbeau Carrera seats with a

six-point harness system keep Pozzi and

her lucky passenger firmly anchored

in place Auto Meter Phantom gauges

track the strokers vitals and a Grant

Formula-G IS-inch wheel lets Pozzi

maneuver the Camaro toward the next

apex Theres a stereo but only because

it came with the car Its hard to hear

music over the engine so I dont pay

much attention to the sound system

remarked Pozzi

So what are Pozzis future plans for

the Camaro To drive the hell out of

it of course She recently won the C

Prepared Ladies SCCA Solo II Tour class

in Atwater California so we guess the

retirement was just a technicality I

competed against much better prepared

Camaros and Mustangs that were

modified to the limit of the rules This

included tube-frame cars that weighed

as little as 2600 pounds compared to my

cars 3600-pound weight They also had

engines that put out more horsepower

recalled Pozzi

But racing is about more than the

richer

back in

engine

J )

73

machine Its a place where driver

skill makes all the difference Besides

Pozzis ride is still a streetcar at heart

and although shell keep upgrading the

Camaro to stay competitive she has no

plans to part with her flamed second-gen

After all the aftermarket is quite a bit

richer today for second-gens than it was

back in 2002 Pozzi said Perhaps an LS7

engine with a six-speed trans a three-

or four-link rear suspension fiberglass

hood Ford nine-inch rear mini-tubs for

wider tires or possibly headers that have

more ground clearance Anything that

reduces weight and gains performance

would be entertained

If you think its hard to keep up with

Pozzi and her Camaro now just wait bull

TECH BOX

OWNER Mary Pozzi Salinas Calnomia

VEHICLE 1973 Camaro

REAR WHEEl DYNO

371 hp 5300 rpm and 415 Ib-ft 5300 rpm

WEIGHT 3600 pounds without driver

ENGINE

TYPE 383 Stroker-ZZ383

BLOCK Iron

COMPRESSION RATIO 971

BORE 400 inches

STROKE 380 inches

OILING Canton 8-quart pan

ROTATING ASSEMBLY GMPp forged

CYlINOER HEADS GMPP aluminum fast bum

CAMSHAFT 509428-inch lift and 2221230 degrees

duration 050 inch

INTAKE Edelbrock dual-plane RPM Air-Gap

CARBURETOR Barry Grant Speed Demon 750 cfm

IGNITION MSD 6AL

EXHAUST Hooker Super Comp 175-inch headers

Walker mufflers

FUEl TANK Ricks stainless steel 18 gallon

DRIVETRAIN

TRANSMiSSION Richmond 5-speed

CLUTCH Hayes Powergrip-organic

SHIFTER Hurst

REAR AxLE GM 10-bolt with Posi and 308 gears

Assembled by David Pozzi

CHASSIS

FRONT SUSPENSION OEM spindles Global West tubular

UCAs GM LCAs with Del-a-Lum bushings

FRONT SPRINGS Hotchkis springs two-inch drop

REAR SUSPENSION Global West CAT5 system with

15-inch drop

SHOCKS QAl adjustable

CHASSIS STIFFENING Detroit Speed and Engineering

subframe connectors

BRAKES Baer 13-inch Track system front and 12-inch

Touring system rear

WHEELS amp TIRES

WHEELS Vintage Wheel Works 17x95 rear (55-inch bs)

17x8 front (45-inch bs)

TIRES 28540ZR17 rear and 24545ZR17 rear Kumho

Ecsta MX

MAY 2008 CAMARO PERFORMERS