14 years old. No driver’s license. Just a permission slip from his mother...and a race car.
Jim Glass has been racing since he was a kid, and his 1967 Camaro has a remarkable Trans-Am history. Originally raced by Jocko Maggiacomo, the car has now returned to the track with Glass, who has entered it at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen for 25 years.
Petrolicious tells the story beautifully.
The Trans Am era in the late 60s and early 70s produced some very cool cars. Camaro Z28, Boss 302, AAR Cuda, Boss Cougar. There were some other ones too. I owned a Boss 302 for about 6 years back in the early 90s. Original car with the engine in pieces. Sold it to a buddy for 4500 bucks so I could pay my mortgage and he's been throwing money in it ever since. Might be the smartest thing I ever did.
Looked like this. Just not as nice. All the rust was hidden underneath.
I’ve been seeing that Jocko’s car run at Lime Rock for many years. Always fun watching the Trans Am cars. They’re a bit like bulls in a china shop but the noise is spectacular.
That’s some great old footage from Lime Rock too.
The Javelins that were running in Trans-Am were pretty cool.
100%. Shawn, I did not realize they made 100 Trans AM Javelins. Learn something new every day!!!
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/1970-amc-trans-am-javelin/
Went to HS with a kid that had a 401 four speed Javelin? I think that was what the engine was. It was considered a big block by us. He was the outlier in a sea of Chevelle's, Camaros and GTOs. We had a few Mopars but they were less in number. No Hemi cars.
So 100 were distributed to 2300 dealerships. All were painted red/white/blue with 390 four-speed, Go Package with 3.91 gears, adjustable spoiler, gauge package, five-spoke mags, nifty two-spoke steering wheel, and more. But they were a publicity stunt? Not designed for homologation I guess.
"By the late Sixties, SCCA’s Trans-Am rules regarding the topic were in constant flux and, truth be told, not completely consistent from one car, or even car part, to the next. The reality was that the new Trans-Am Javelin, assembled from the SST, was an effort by AMC to promote its commitment to the race series while generating interest at the dealership."
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/1970-amc-trans-am-javelin/
A.J., there is a registry for those Javelin Trans Ams with a bunch of info:
http://www.tajavelin.com/photos_docs.html
I found a Trans Am Javelin that sold last year at Mecum Dallas for 115k. Real money. Looks like a nice car.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/1096729/1970-amc-javelin-sst-trans-am-edition/
The Historic Trans Am site has all of the cars that are running in the series and gives their provenance.
https://www.historictransam.com/
Well, I just learned that the Falcon, Nova and Dart were part of the series.
I’ve always been a fan of the ex-Dan Gurney cougar. It’s just a great looking car.
Always thought the Cougar was a better looking coupe design than the Mustang.
