CanAm 302 question Vauxhall

[z28s4mjg]

Is anyone on this site familiar with the CanAm 302 cars that were made by Vauxhall, in South America? I have an inquiry from a friend that has been asked to build a 302 for one of these cars and we don't have a lot of information the engines other than the fact that they were 302 Chevrolets and that they appear to have been produced in the spring of 1972. Also looking for any information on the brake proportioning valves that were used on the cars.
Thanks,
Mike

[Kurt S]

They were the same engine as 69 Z's. What I haven't been able to determine is what was stamped on the engine pad.

[z28s4mjg]

Kurt,
We are also wondering about pad stamping. Some of the guys from SA say that it was DZ, Like 69 Camaro's. It looks like from the picture that they used 472 intakes with the freeze plug where the oil filler tube went on 67 and 68 Z28's. Many questions.
Mike

[PeteLeathersac]

'

I poked around a few SA sites seeking Can-Am stamping info 10 or so years back and lots of people say DZ but I never did get pictures from anyone so feel it's still inconclusive.
There's a couple brothers who both bought new ones for the street that I was always hoping to connect with but never did, try finding them as if they're still around, they'd probably know off the top of their heads.
Coolest cars ever!!!:headbang:
:beers:
~ Pete

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[PeteLeathersac]

'

Text below is from an '05 article w/ Hendrick and Jan Vos, the brothers who both bought CanAm Firenzas new in '73.
Note it mentions the 100 built engines were numbered w/ their two being #43 and #93.
Here's a link to the article itself...
http://www.cartorque.co.za/0318.htm

Best of luck w/ your quest!
:beers:
~ Pete

_____________

12/05

The advertising copywriters called it "The Little Chev". It was one of the most outrageous production cars ever built – anywhere! – and it was conceived and manufactured right here in South Africa.

The Chevrolet Firenza Can Am was the brainchild of SA saloon car champions Basil van Rooyen and Geoff Mortimer, produced in 1973 to compete on our local race tracks and rally stages.

To make it eligible for the Production Car Championship, one hundred road-going examples had to be sold.

Some 32 years later, two absolutely original examples are owned by twin brothers, Hendrik and Jan Vos, who bought the cars when they were brand new!

290 horsepower from what was essentially a factory race-level five litre Chev V8. And the cars weighed just on 1100 kilograms.

The engine that Basil van Rooyen and Geoff Mortimer specified was a Z28 motor built for competition in America, but available in road-spec in the Camaro.

Rated in metric terms at just under 220 kiloWatts, it produces power levels respectable for a five-litre V8 today.

And in a car weighing less than a modern Golf 5, the power-to-weight ratio was mind-warping.

So was the gearing. First gear is good for nearly a 130 km/h, using the four-speed Muncie gearbox. Second a 162 km/h, third over 200.

As for fourth, aah, the speedo was off the dial and climbing back right round to the zero mark again.

The benchmark car at the time was the Capri Perana V8, another SA special, built by Basil Green.

Hendrik owned a Perana until his twin brother showed up one evening with his new Can Am. Then he knew he had to have one too.

All the Can Ams were white with black bonnet detailing, personal alloy wheels and an aluminium boot spoiler made by American Racing Equipment. Apart from beefed up mechanicals, the rest was stock Firenza.

Apart from the Personal steering wheel and chunky gear knob for the Munci ‘box, the interior was stock Firenza GT. The seats, however, came from an Opel GT for some reason.

The instrumentation was also stock Firenza and hopelessly inadequate for a car that could top 230 km/h.

Acres of black plastic, vinyl upholstery and totally parts-bin switch-gear were hardly calculated to impress the Café Society.

On the other hand, the team led by Mortimer and Van Rooyen had done a thorough under-skin engineering job, given the available technology 32 years ago.

In light of all this, the asking price of R5 800 was steep. At the time the top four-cylinder Firenza GT cost just R2 700!

So the home-brewed V8 engined homologation special was more than twice as expensive as the top factory-built car.

But as the Vos twins explain, there was nothing, absolutely nothing to touch it on performance. Ferraris, Porsches, you name it, the Firenza had them for breakfast.

These cars are exactly as they were in 1973. The engines have never been opened, the paint is original and oh how healthy they sound!

To make sure that the Firenza would beat the Capri Perana, Van Rooyen ordered the very best stuff from America.

The Z28 motor has an eleven-to-one compression ratio, a beefed up crankshaft and block, big valves and ports and a high-capacity Holley carb.

The Muncie gearboxes are legendary for their strength, as are the Borg-Warner limited slip differentials.

The engine number on Hendrik’s car is number forty-three of the one-hundred built, while Jan’s is number ninety-three.

The Vos twins both worked as train drivers for 35, they both still drive Chev Can Ams, and neither are planning on selling them.

Three decades on and the Vos boys are still waking up the neighborhood. Like they say, twins have an almost telepathic communication.

.

[z28s4mjg]

Deck Stamping
I received pictures of two CanAm 302 deck stampings, along with VIN's which happen to be 50 numbers apart. Wonder if it is the two cars in the article about the Vos brothers? I forwarded them to Kurt S as I am not proficient at posting pictures here yet, so we should have available here soon. The are both stamped DZ and from the Flint plant. Thnaks for the great story.

[ZLP955]

Also very interested to see the block casting number and cast date, as well as the assembly date - surprised if Flint was stamping DZ suffixes in the 72-73 timeframe, but would also be surprised if they had 100 stamped at the time of original 1969 MY production left over.....

[PeteLeathersac]

'

Fifty#'s apart sure sounds like the Vos' cars, looking forward to the stamping pics!
Below is one of the original Can-Am 302 decals also a great action shot.
Again, coolest cars ever!:headbang:
:beers:
~ Pete


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[ZLP955]

That's a great shot! They really squeezed some rubber into those rear wheelhouses.....
Interesting to see how both of the Vos cars, representing mid and late production within the 100-car run, have the rectangular headlights. I'm wondering if the few cars I've seen with the twin round headlights are either replicas built from a 'standard' Firenza, or if they are Can-Am cars, must've had the front grille and lights modified at some point? Or was there an appearance option available?

[StriperSS]

https://images53.fotki.com/v1657/photos/1/1413244/6874968/3-vi.png
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9c/2c/cd/9c2ccd0ab97f7dd430d351255e80e2db.jpg
https://images.cdn.circlesix.co/image/2/1200/700/5/uploads/posts/2018/09/eb15af45799e8a2297411ef76318e861.jpg

[Kurt S]

Here's the pictures from Mike.
They look like typical early 70's stampings.

[ZLP955]

Thanks Mike and Kurt. Would be great to know the casting numbers and dates to see how close they are to assembly date. Also wonder about the Muncie transmissions used; presumably the 661 main case?

[PeteLeathersac]

'

Off the charts awesome also exciting as I've been looking for original 302 Firenza stampings for years!
Cool to finally confirm the DZ Suffix also Flint engine build but like ZLP, I'm looking forward to castings/dates.
Specs as DZ may have been what Van Rooyen/Mortimer knew they wanted/asked for but strange GM used the suffix again and not just for a different application than '69 Camaro but especially if engines built 72/73?:hmmm:
As to the deck VIN stampings, although tough chance of finding one of these blocks loose on this side of the world, good learn it's not some rebuilder or other after stamp also have original examples to compare with.
Keep it coming, anything/everything about these cars is Super Cool!
:beers:
~ Pete

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[ban617]

If they had VINs on them could they have been an original DZ engine that was pulled for warranty & rebuilt at the factory & sold that way ?

[Kurt S]

Off the charts awesome also exciting as I've been looking for original 302 Firenza stampings for years!

Yes, kudos to Mike for locating the pictures.


If they had VINs on them could they have been an original DZ engine that was pulled for warranty & rebuilt at the factory & sold that way ?
The factory never rebuilt engines.....

[z28s4mjg]

Thanks Kurt for getting the pictures posted. I have summarized all of the questions about:
Block casting dates and numbers
Transmission date and numbers
Distributors and intake numbers.
Trying to get all of this from a contact in South Africa.

I have received word that heads were 492 straight plug castings.

Mike

[BCreekDave]

Thanks Kurt for getting the pictures posted. I have summarized all of the questions about:
Block casting dates and numbers
Transmission date and numbers
Distributors and intake numbers.
Trying to get all of this from a contact in South Africa.

I have received word that heads were 492 straight plug castings.

Mike

Info on the dizzy:
https://nastyz28.com/threads/1112019-dist.144801/page-4#post-3106905

[z28s4mjg]

Thanks for posting the distributor information. It is interesting to know that they used the 1112003 distributor in the CanAm cars, There has been so much discussion about the use of the 2003 distributor over the years...

[Kurt S]

Nice find.
That is what I expected. The bill of materials included the 2003 distributor on late 302's, so I expected it would be used on these engines too.
The 2003 had the RFI shielding in it.

[z28s4mjg]

Okay,
I know it’s been a long time since there were any posts on this thread. Maybe someone new has appeared that knows about these cars.. Does anyone know anything about the shifters, linkage and mounting brackets were used on these cars?
Thanks,
Mike

[jl8z28]

I sold a balancer to a guy for one of these cars in south Africa not to long ago

[z28s4mjg]

Do you remember his name or have any contact information?
Thanks

[Kurt S]

IIRC, there's a forum about these cars....