We’re taking it back to the era of bellbottoms and disco music with two high-performance General Motors muscle machines, heading out to the drag strip for a race between a 1970 Chevy Camaro Z/28 and 1972 Pontiac GTO.
The video in question clocks in at about 4-and-a-half minutes, the video comes to us from the Cars And Zebras YouTube channel. However, this particular video doesn’t include the usual Cars And Zebras humor – rather, it simply gets down to business with the specs, followed by racing action around the three-minute-mark.
Let’s begin by diving into the specs, starting with the 1970 Chevy Camaro Z/28. Covered in white paint with two big racing stripes running down the spine, this Chevy Camaro looks the part of a classic GM machine. Under the hood, we find a 350 cubic-inch V8 rated at 360 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. Highlights for the powerplant include a forged crank, forged rods, and forged pistons, as well as solid lifters, an aluminum intake manifold, a Holley carb, and four-bolt mains. This particular example was fitted with a Turbo 400 three-speed automatic, feeding a set of upgraded 4.10 gears. Weight with driver is estimated at 3,716 pounds.
In the other lane, we find a 1972 Pontiac GTO, draped in a gorgeous shade of cerulean blue. Making it move is the range-topping 455 H.O. engine, which features a range of upgrades, such as rounded exhaust ports, an aluminum intake manifold, a new cam, and a compression ratio of 8.4:1. Put it all together, and output is rated at 300 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. This particular example is also fitted with a four-speed manual transmission, which feeds 3.55 gears in the rear. Weight is a bit stout, estimated at 3,950 pounds with the driver onboard.
So then, which of these GM machines will walk away the winner – the Chevy Camaro, or the Pontiac GTO? Hit play to see for yourself:
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Comments
That GTO was a real “slug”!
The 72 GTO on the Track is not the one pictured in the Pit area. You can tell by the Spoiler. The 72 GTO in the Pit area runs 14.2xx
Wouldn’t it make more sense to race a ’70 Camaro against a’70 GTO. BY 1972 all Detroit Iron had no performance left.
I owned one of these 72 455-HO 4-speed GTO’s back in 1990 and the biggest problem is the weight with all that torque along with the 4-speed on those repo bias ply tires! If it were an automatic, it would be a closer race for sure. I ran mine on slicks and was in the mid 13’s @ 102 MPH, but also broke a motor mount in the process and had to carefully drive home 110 miles! You’re correct Randy, with 2 points less compression, these “smog” engines couldn’t keep up as easily. Also, great catch Tony on the track vs pit car…I wouldn’t have thought, with only 310 made, there would be two 455-HO in the same color on the premises! This brought back many good memories for me!