Lance Tarnutzer inherited his high standards in collector cars from his father, Dick. He also inherited a lot of cars.

Dick was a well-known collector and enthusiast who, at one time, had a collection of about 250 fabulous cars, many of them convertibles. Most of the cars were displayed in the family’s automotive shrine, Dells Automobile Museum in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Sadly, a warehouse fire back in 1999 gutted the collection and claimed many of the best machines in the bunch, but a number of special cars survived.

One of those was a fabulous 1967 Camaro Indy Pace Car that Lance says was actually for sale at one time. He managed to convince his dad that the car needed to stay, and he hasn’t regretted pleading his case for one minute.

“Yeah, he actually had it up for sale for a while before he died. It was for sale and I talked him out of it. It’s too nice of a car,” laughs Tarnutzer, a resident of Lake Mills, Wis. “In the end, he was OK with it. I think he would rather have his family driving it and enjoying it than it being sold.”

Luckily, the ’67 Camaro wasn’t in the storage building that went up in flames. “It was in the museum most of the time. When we had the museum, it was in there a lot. We rotated the ’67 and the ’69, but it seemed like the ’69 everybody wanted to drive, so the ’67 sat in there more.”

Lance was along for the ride on many of his father’s purchases when he was young, but he thinks his dad was flying solo when he bought the rare ’67 back around 1980.

“This came from southern Illinois from a Chevrolet dealership. A dealer ordered the car and never sold the car. His wife drove it,” Tarnutzer recalled. “I don’t know how he found it, I’m not sure on that, but he ended up buying it … He bought a lot of cars in that ’78-’85 range. The market was down and the prices were right, and he was looking for just convertibles, and nobody else seemed to care much about convertibles at the time. Consequently, he was buying up a lot of convertibles.

“The odometer says 16,000 miles … but is that really 16,000 miles? I don’t know. It was from southern Illinois and they don’t have a lot of salt on the roads, and I wouldn’t think it got driven much in the wintertime. It’s an original car and hasn’t been restored. The 16,000 miles might be accurate.”

TAKING AIM AT THE MUSTANG

The 1967 Camaro was brand new, it was cool and, for non-Ford guys, it was a pretty sweet response to the already wildly successful Mustang. To fend off competition from Ford’s pony and Plymouth’s Barracuda, there was a seemingly constant revision of first-year Camaro options and trim choices.

Initially, the Camaro line offered a base two-door hardtop or sport coupe and a convertible. You could add Rally Sport trim (including hidden headlamps), as well as the SS 350, which added stripes around the nose, special badges and a 295-hp version of Chevy’s new 350-cid small-block V-8.

Since the 350 Camaro didn’t seem to be enough to pull many customers away from Ford’s new 390-cid Mustang or Plymouth’s 383-cid Formula S Barracuda, Chevrolet very soon added its Mark IV big-block 396 to the Camaro options list. This engine developed 325 hp in its L35 form. Additional power selections arrived when the L78 engine option was unleashed. It provided Camaro SS 396 buyers with a 375-hp option.

Chevrolet had the chance to show off its newest product at the Indy 500, where the Camaro paced the racing cars. However, marketing wasn’t what it was to become in later years, and the cars supplied were RS/SS 396 convertibles. Chevrolet employee and two-time 500 winner Mauri Rose (1947, 1948) drove the pace car, and A.J. Foyt was given the Camaro for winning the race.

Instead of offering replicas to dealers, Chevrolet built only 104 of the Camaros and let Indianapolis Motor Speedway VIPs use them during the month of May. Most of these “Indy Pace Cars” were SS 350s with Powerglide automatics. The 396s used for track purposes had the new Turbo-Hydra-Matic installed. When the race was over, the replicas were sold, as used cars, through local Indianapolis dealers.

The first-year Camaro was a big success with 220,917 produced, but it did not quite beat the Mustang. SS production for 1969 amounted to only 34,411 cars, making them rarer than those who viewed all the Chevy SS promotions realized. The Camaro would be the Indy 500 pace car again in 1969, proving how appealing to the hot Chevrolet was to Indy racing brass and the open-wheel crowd.

BACK IN CIRCULATION

Tarnutzer knows his ’67 Camaro is a true pace car edition based on the C1 paint code on the fire wall. It might have been easy to dismiss as just a “regular” RS/SS ’67 Camaro when the family first acquired the car, however, because it didn’t have the graphics on the sides.

“This was a nice original car; nice paint, nice upholstery. I think [my dad] redid the upholstery and touched the paint up. I’d say about half of the paint is original. It didn’t have the decals on it, so he had the decals made,” Tarnutzer notes. “It’s got the 350 in it, and he didn’t [rebuild] the motor. I don’t think he did anything with the drive train. The red-line tires he would have put on it… I think he did some interior work on it. I think the seats are recovered, but the rest of the interior is original.”

Even if it didn’t have the pace car lettering, the RS/SS goodies — hidden headlamps, sports package, nose stripes, trunk rack — made the beautiful white convertible one of the classiest pony/muscle cars on the road.

“I think the hidden headlights really clean up the whole front end,” Tarnutzer says. “They were nice-looking cars, and the white-and-blue colors, it just stands out really nice. And with the decals, it’s right on.”

Tarnutzer and his son, Lance, Jr., are both car lovers to the end, and both have quite a few “pride and joy” cars that they treasure in the fleet they share. The rare ’67 Camaro is right near the top of the list for both of them, and they’ve made it a point in the past year to get it running as good as it looks so it can get out and be seen more often.

“My son just got it running recently, and we had the transmission professionally rebuilt. My son-in-law is a mechanic and he put the transmission in it and all that, and that was last summer. And now we’ve driven it a little bit this year. Lance took it to three or four car shows this summer,” says Tarnutzer. “For a car that really hasn’t been driven much and has sat a lot, it runs really good. It starts right up. And that’s how it runs … It drives really nice. It’s got bias-ply tires, and yet it doesn’t drive like it’s on bias-ply tires. So the drivability of it and the uniqueness of it, I think is what I like. And it’s got the 350, it doesn’t have a 327, so it’s got a little more horsepower so it’s a little peppier, and that’s fun, too. And it’s got the automatic and you’re supposed to have fun driving these cars, so to be able to sit back and not have to worry about shifting is pretty nice sometimes, too.”

“This gets a lot of attention, maybe more so than the ’69s, because almost every car show has one of those there. So to see the ’67s, a lot of people don’t even know they were pace cars, and it’s a pretty cool body style. It’s got the vent windows and stuff, and that’s different. You just don’t see them a lot, even at the big Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auctions, you don’t see ’67s a lot. You could easily build a tribute [pace] car, but you don’t see them, either.”

Tarnutzer figures that his Camaro has already sat idle too much during its pampered life. He plans to make sure it gets regular exercise, and he no plans to ever restore it and make it a piece of garage jewelry.

“Because we like to drive ’em, you get ’em too nice and then that presents problems… That’s [my son’s] feeling too, you get them too perfect and you can’t drive them, and then every time you get in them you worry about a stone chip or a bug in the grille,” he adds. “There’s nothing wrong with those concours cars. I’d love to own one, actually, where you just hang onto it and say, ‘Here it is’ and you roll it in and out of a trailer, but its purpose isn’t what it’s meant to be.”

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The post Car of the Week: 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Story and photos by Brian Earnest

If there is such a thing as a “sleeper” Corvette, Mark Kiel can make a pretty good case for his 1986.
Sure it’s a C4 — the “lost generation” Corvette that has not yet generated the same kind of following among enthusiasts as most of the other Corvette iterations. But spend a little time with the car, and hear guys such as Kiel extoll its virtues, and you find out it’s an easy car to love.

Not only is Kiel’s car beautiful, very well preserved and relatively rare — it’s darn quick, too. Not all 1986 Indianapolis 500 Pace Cars got the hot rod treatment right after leaving the factory, but Kiel’s car was one of a relative handful — it’s unclear exactly how many — that were fitted with a Paxton supercharger and other go-fast goodies that made for a full-blown performance ’Vette.

“It’s kind of a unique vehicle. It was made high-performance by the track firm Performance SE. It’s got a supercharger and all kinds of performance stuff on it,” notes Kiel, a resident of Dolton, Ill., while displaying his Corvette at the Iola Old Car Show. “They didn’t do it to all the cars. It just happened to be this one. They did it to some of the cars, especially the ones that went out on the track in front of the pack. This one originally had only 240 horsepower. It’s hard to peel away from the pack at 90 mph with 240 horsepower. So they modified a lot of them back then. The ’78 [Corvette] Pace Cars were modified, too, to help with their performance a little bit.”

Dolton has a handful of yellow Corvettes in his fleet, and it’s obvious he has a soft spot for his 1986 Indy Pace Car. The convertible is in fantastic original condition, shows a few clicks over 35,000 miles on the odometer and, according to Dolton, remains a blast to drive.

He had been looking for something in the C4 family, and he found more than he bargained for when he got a line on his yellow ’86 back in 2006.

“I wanted a Corvette pace car that wasn’t a 1978. That had only about 180 hp. That was really a low-performing car,” Kiel says.

The 1986 Corvette was the second fiberglass Chevrolet two-seater to pace the Indy 500 (the 1978s were the first). On race day, the track usually has 40 to 50 cars at its disposal, some of which are modified with performance goodies to get in front of the race cars during the Indy 500. Kiel’s Corvette “was a field car” used to drive dignitaries around and be in the parade — quickly, if need be.
“I wanted one of these and looked for many yeas and I finally bumped into a guy who lived in Kalamazoo, Mich., and made a deal with him and I’ve had it ever since.”

The all-new C4 Corvettes arrived as completely new machines for the 1984 model year, following a model year where no new ’Vettes were officially built. Production issues held up the new model and the design team struggled to iron out all the bugs that came with launching a radically different car.
The wait was finally over when the new generation of ’Vettes began showing up in the spring of 1983. Tweaks and improvements continued in the years that followed, and for 1986 the big news was the addition of the first ragtop Corvette since 1975 and a new standard computerized anti-lock braking system (ABS).

Styled like the Corvette convertible that would serve as the 1986 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, the new convertible went on sale late in the model year. The actual Indianapolis 500 Pace Car was Yellow, differing from showroom models only in its special track lights. Chevrolet considered its “Indy Pace Car” to be synonymous with “open top,” so all convertibles were considered Indy Pace Car models. Special decals were packed in the car, but not installed. The ’86 Corvette was the first street-legal vehicle to pace the 500-mile race since the 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car. Instead of a conversion by an outside company, as had become the practice for most 1980s ragtops, Corvette’s convertible was built by Chevrolet right alongside the coupe. Problems with cracking of the new aluminum cylinder heads meant the first 1986 models had old cast-iron heads. The difficulties were soon remedied. It was estimated that the new anti-theft system would require half an hour’s work to overcome, which would dissuade thieves who are typically in a hurry. A total of 6,242 Corvettes had removable roof panels installed and 12,821 came with the Z51 performance handling package. Only 6,835 Corvettes carried the MM4 four-speed manual transmission.

“In these years they had an interesting transmission with the 4+3,” Kiel noted. “It’s got an electronic overdrive so you’ve got a four-speed, and you can go into overdrive in second, third or fourth gear, so you really have a second transmission.”

The new ABS arrangement was based on a Bosch ABS II design. During hard braking, the system detected any wheel that was about to lock up, then altered braking pressure, in a pulsating action, to prevent lock up from happening. Drivers could feel the pulses in the pedal. This safety innovation helped the driver to maintain traction and keep the car under directional control without skidding, even on slick and slippery surfaces. Corvette’s engine was the same 350-cid (5.7-liter) 230-hp tuned-port-injected V-8 as 1985, but with centrally positioned copper-core spark plugs. New aluminum cylinder heads had sintered metal valve seats and increased intake port flow, plus a higher (9.5:1) compression ratio. The engine had an aluminum intake manifold with tuned runners, magnesium rocker covers and an outside air-induction system.

The beefy Paxton supercharger mounted on the port side of the engine nearly doubles the power output of Kiel’s Indy Corvette — he estimates the horsepower rating about 450. The “Performance SE” decals below the Indy 500 decals on the front fenders advertise that the car is not a standard issue 1986 model. It’s one of the reasons Kiel likes the car, but certainly not the main reason.
“’86 was the first really well done C4 car, which I think is why they picked it as a pace car. A lot of people like it, but a lot of people don’t like the design of the car. It’s got a full electronic dash with no analogue gauges. It’s all electronic. Everything works on the car. It’s got cruise control, air conditioning. It’s got the works. They bought them loaded and it’s a great car to drive.”

Other than routine maintenance, Kiel’s convertible has had no work done to it in its 29 years. The cloth tops still looks great and folds up neatly. The paint is more than presentable, and the interior reflects the few miles the car has traveled.

“I’m very careful with it. We just drive it in parades and special events, or if we just want to take the old car out cruising,” he says. “And I have a 1986 plate on it and in Michigan where I keep the car, they say you can’t take them out for everyday driving with that kind of plate on them.”

It’s possible that the C4 styling will never help those cars rival their older and younger siblings when it comes to collectibity and popularity among Corvette lovers, but Kiel is certain of one thing: the C4 cars are a screaming deal these days.

“Right now the best bargain Corvette to buy out there is a C4. They reached their lows a few years ago, but you can buy them for $5,000 or $6,000 — not the convertibles, but the hardtop automatics,” he says. “And they are a great car for a guy who wants to get into the Corvette hobby. They are inexpensive. They take regular gas, 87 octane. They are not high-performance, but the handling is great.

“And, hey, it’s a Corvette!”

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Show us your wheels!

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The post Car of the Week: 1986 Corvette convertible appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Story and photos by Brian Earnest

Ken and Pat Swenty really had only one thing in mind when they bought a car from their son-in-law, Doug Kuchinski. “We just wanted an ice cream car,” Patricia laughed. “Now we can’t even do that.”

“Nope, no ice cream anymore,” Ken concurred. “I had ice cream last night and I dribbled some! We don’t want that [in the car.]”

Indeed, the Swentys’ appreciation for their 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible Indianapolis 500 Pace Car replica has grown over the years, in part because it’s just a very fine all-around automobile, and in part because it’s a far rarer machine than they ever imagined. GM built only 626 of the flashy ragtops to celebrate the Indy 500 that year, and just 358 of those were Cutlass models – the rest were 442s, which were the actual cars used for race duty on the track. Of those 358 Cutlass ragtops, a scant few — only about 60 — were propelled by the smaller 350-cid, 315-hp engine. “The rest of them had the big 455 in them,” Ken says. “These are a lot rarer, with the 350 in them.”

The Y74 Indy Pace Car option meant you got a white convertible with black stripe decals and decal stenciling for the door commemorating the race. The package also included a Hurst Dual-Gate Shifter connected to a Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 transmission; power front disc brakes, steering, brakes and windows; power trunk latch; Super Stock II wheels; Rally gauges and a few other cool goodies.

The woodgrain inserts on the dash and console gave the Cutlass Indy Pace Car interior a touch of sophistication, while the sport steering wheel, Hurst shifter, black upholstery and carpet, and pleated high-back bucket sets gave it plenty of pizazz. The car’s front end also blends class and flash. The wide Ram Air scoops are integrated into the hood and are trimmed with wide black stripes. The refined split grilled and quad headlight arrangement with Cutlass script on the front left hint that this Olds is no low-budget pavement pounder.

“It’s an eye-catcher, and it’s more than we planned for, that’s for sure,” Ken added. “It’s better than I planned, but not what I had planned.”

The original owner of Swenty’s car plunked down $5,551.01 on July 3, 1970 when he took delivery of the Cutlass. The convertible was outfitted with an AM radio, Sport steering wheel, tinted windshield, variable-ratio power steering, and Rally suspension.

The lovely convertible is reserved now for a few car shows every summer and some occasional weekend exercise, but that hasn’t always been the case. Together, the car’s four owners have rolled up more than 101,000 miles on the clock. The car was bought new by a doctor at Renner Oldsmobile, a long-running dealer in Wauwatosa, Wis. He owned the car until about 1990, when it was sold to a second owner, who did some restoration on the car, including a repaint and painted stripes that replaced the original decals.

Kunchinski bought the car from another Olds dealership in the Milwaukee, Wis., area, and his wife’s parents eventually became the fourth owners. “He wanted to build a shed and had this car and he never used it,” Ken Swenty said. “It was in his dad’s garage and I was looking for an old car. We looked and we looked and didn’t find anything we really wanted, and then my son-in-law said, ‘Well, buy mine then.’ So we did.”

The couple put a new black interior in the car and stumbled into a chance to put nicer stenciling on the doors, but otherwise haven’t had to do much with the drop-top Olds. Before the dealership closed six years ago, they were able to take the Pace Car back home to Renner Oldsmobile, where one of the employees was able to give them a copy of the original bill of sale.

Even if you didn’t pony up for the Indy Pace Car version, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was still one of the nicest midsize cars around in 1970. Aside from its much-loved 4-4-2, Oldsmobile didn’t cultivate much of a sporty car image or clientele at the time. The brand’s bread-and-butter offerings remained the Eighty-Eight, Delta Eighty-Eight, Ninety-Eight, Vista Cruiser wagon and Toronado — all of them heavyweights.

At the bottom of the Olds lineup was the relatively bare bones midsize F-85. The slightly fancier Cutlass was next in line, one step below the Cutlass Supreme, which in turn was one step down from the 4-4-2. It had been 10 years since an Oldsmobile had been chosen to lead the field at the Brickyard, and when the 4-4-2 was selected for ’70, GM opted to make the replica package available on both the 4-4-2 and its Cutlass Supreme sibling — a decision which sometimes causes confusion.

In addition to the hefty 3,614-lb. convertible, the Cutlass Supreme series included two- and four-door Holiday hardtops. Only 4,867 of the convertibles were built in all — less than half as many as either hardtop model. They carried a base price of $3,335, which made the Cutlass Supremes a couple hundred bucks steeper than similarly equipped convertibles in the Chevrolet Chevelle and Ford Torino GT, and slightly cheaper than a Pontiac GTO ragtop.

The Swentys weren’t all that well-versed on Indy Pace Car history or how unique their car is when they bought it, but it didn’t take long for them to decide on the car’s future. “Yeah, we didn’t know a lot about them at the time, but we know you don’t see them very often,” Ken laughed. “It drives real nice. It’s heavy enough if you are going down the road, it’s a perfect-riding car. In fact, it’s so nice we bought another ’70 Oldsmobile to do the ice cream runs.”

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If you’ve got an old car you love, we want to hear about it. E-mail us at oldcars@aimmedia.com

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The post Car of the Week: 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Indy 500 Pace Car appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.