All About Power

• The main reason to own a 1969 Camaro Pro Street is to race in a straight line down a drag strip. Owners should consider a performance engine shop that specializes in alcohol-fueled big-block engines. For example, an Alan Johnson Performance Engineering 526-cubic-inch big-block engine employs Pro Mod-approved technology for quarter-mile National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) or eighth-mile American Drag Racing League racing. The cylinder heads and rods are billet aluminum. It can wield 2,400 horsepower. Another, more modest, version is a standard Chevy 427-cubic-inch V-8 bored to a 496 to generate 865 horsepower. It features a steel crank, 10.5-to-1 pro pistons and a 750 or 850 double pumper Holley carburetor. A slightly bored 427 can crank up to 600 horsepower using shots of nitrous oxide fuel.
  
  

Power Delivery

• Typically, Camaro Pro Streets use three-speed transmissions with a torque converter to replace the clutch. General Motors' Turbo 350 automatic also is common. The rear end is fabricated to handle the stress of the engine, with a rear gear ratio of 4.56-to-1 and a full-floating 35- or 40-spline axle.
  
  

Chassis

• Stock Camaro frames and suspension systems are not uncommon in Pro Street racers, but a Pro Mod frame with double frame rails reduces the vehicle's weight. An alternative is the chrome moly round tube four-link frame package with coil covers.
  
  

Stopping Power

• Stopping a Camaro Pro Street is just as important as moving one at 215 mph. Builders can install disc brakes with polished calipers in the front. Giant Ford drum brakes are perfectly serviceable in the rear. Twin parachutes can slow the car down until it reaches the turnoff road on the strip. The Camaro should move on 17- or 18.5-inch Hoosier slicks, with perhaps 16-inch Centerline Convo Pro wheels.
  
  

Body and Interior

• Enthusiasts who want their Camaro Pro Street for the track should forget the factory Camaro body and use an all-carbon fiber body to keep the weight off, but use a four-inch steel cowl hood to accommodate air intake. Keep the car steady with a rear spoiler. Inside should be a 10-point roll cage and a bare-bones set of gauges to keep things simple if racing is the game, or leather seats if the car is more for show and street-legal cruising. A stock 1969 Camaro dashboard also serves the driver well if the Pro Street is a show car.