07 Oct Rear-view mirror: Muscle cars

Some interesting historic images from FMM’s and the Mike & Wendy Monk photo archives, some with a story, others without. This month a reminder of a couple of SA’s very own muscle cars that set the scene alight in the early-1970s…

In the early 1970s, South Africa’s Modified Saloon Car Championship was brim-full of exciting machines, in particular the Basil Green Ford Capri Peranas. Amongst the local driving heroes taking part in the series was Basil van Rooyen, who in 1972 decided the that the Ford’s dominance needed some competition, so went to General Motors and persuaded the company to develop a V8 version of the two-door Chev Firenza.

None other than Geoff Mortimer was engaged to head up the project. The Chev Camaro Z28 5,0-ltre V8 was shoe-horned into the Firenza, along with a Muncie 4-speed gearbox driving through a locally-developed rear axle arrangement.

When ’The Little Chev’ made its debut at Kyalami in January 1973, it won first time out with Smiling Basil at the wheel, although he did not better the circuit’s lap record he set up in the Perana. That came later… To meet homologation rules, 106 CanAm Firenzas were built – 100 for general sale and six for racing/rallying – and they took over as the dominant force in local racing until the global fuel crisis curtailed motor sport activity at the end of 1973.