For Scarlett - This ’67 big block nitrous Camaro has made lasting memories for Bruce Kennedy

This ’67 big block nitrous C

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Camaro has made lasting memories for Bruce Kennedy Story by Eddie Maloney

Photos By Willie Sheffield

(Track photos by Laurie Barnett) www.rpmmag.com

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n the mid 1970’s, Kinston, NC native Bruce Kennedy was driving a used four door 1975 Ford Granada to high school that was provided by his parents. Kennedy was fortunate he only had to buy the fuel, which he paid for by cutting grass and working in the tobacco fields during summer.

The rural eastern North Carolina farms and country roads were flat and wide, and there were few houses and little traffic in those days and unknown to his parents, Bruce got plenty of practice drifting on those back roads. “The car was nice, but not really cool enough for attracting girls!” Kennedy said with a chuckle.

By 1978, Bruce was a business major in college and making more money working part time. He would soon approach his dad about buying a beautiful light blue Type LT Camaro he had seen on a car lot while commuting to classes. In short, he wasn’t able trade the Granada and that meant he would have to purchase the Camaro on his own, which he couldn’t do.

A disappointed Kennedy was forced to drive by the car every day, admiring those front and rear spoilers, the rally wheels and white letter tires. He eventually got up the nerve to go into a bank and apply for his first car loan and soon after Bruce was happy to be driving the Camaro.

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The look of the RS/SS first gen Camaro has become iconic in the world of muscle cars.

Chris and Trish Biro

The sumped fuel tank is visible from the rear and you can just make out the AFCO shocks and Calvert suspension. www.rpmmag.com

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After all, not only did the Camaro looks and style beat the Granada hands down, but it was far better for dating and school, too!

It’s no secret that second-generation Camaros were built with new government constraints for fuel economy, safety, and emissions and while Bruce loved the car, the 1976 350 engine was down on power and the car itself was heavy, with long doors and the beefy front and rear bumpers. Still though, with headers and some tweaking it felt fast, at least compared to the Granada. Kennedy found out the truth after his first few test and tune Saturdays at the local Kinston Drag Strip, though, “It seemed like every Ford, Mopar, and Chevy streetcar could outrun the Camaro, and they did, often!” He said.

Bruce began working on Saturdays while in college at K & S High Performance, the only speed shop in Kinston NC. That job was a great opportunity to learn about cars and drag racing.

The store was named for its two founders, the “K” was for Kenny Koonce Sr, who campaigned a 1969 NHRA A/SA Camaro 427 engine/turbo 400 in Stock Eliminator. The “S” was for Stan Welsh, who ran a Ford Pinto Station Wagon “The Hobby Horse” in NHRA Stock Eliminator.

In 1982, with college behind him, the goal of buying a lighter car with more power became a

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Minimal changes to the factory interi aside from the cage and shifter t

ior are intentional, there are few.

The Holley Terminator X box is fastened to the glove box door and invisible when it’s closed.

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reality and Bruce began the search

If you had told for a first-generation Camaro. He found a ’67 and decided to go have Bruce ahead of time a look, not knowing the color of the car. Now, if you had told Bruce that he was going ahead of time that he was going to buy a yellow Camaro, he would have laughed, but when the car to buy a yellow cover was lifted off this Butternut Camaro, he would Yellow RS/SS Camaro, he instantly knew he was going to buy it. It was a factory big block car with the corhave laughed responding black tail pan and the

lone square factory traction bar still intact on the passenger side of the 12-bolt rear end. To top it off, the car had the black nose stripe and a black vinyl roof.

The car didn’t have an engine or transmission and the price “rolling” (back in 1982) was 2,000 bucks.

When word got out to Kennedy’s buddies they thought he was crazy to pay “that much” for a rolling chassis. “It was a sizable sum back then, but those guys hadn’t seen the continued on page 36

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hen Bruce met Scarlett Jernigan in the late 70’s, it was an instant match and a bond never to be broken.

Scarlett was a car girl and supported Bruce every step of the way throughout his career. They said their vows in 1983 and then in 1988, their son Forrest was born. She struggled with Auto-immune diseases her whole adult life, but always made the best of it. Scarlett had trouble keeping her weight on and was in and out of the hospital quite often in 2011 and 2012. At the end of August of 2012, Scarlett went back in the hospital like so many times before. This time, though, she had an infection that

doctors could not identify or stop; she was 51 years old.

“Heaven gained a Scarlett Angel that day,” Bruce said somberly. Forrest named their little racing operation “Scarlett Fever Racing”. It was a fitting tribute to his mother, and a way to keep her memory alive.

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car yet either,” said Kennedy.

A turbo 400 transmission, then a 427 engine were sourced and rumor had it that the engine was out of a well-known Nova race car named “The Deputy Dog”. Soon, with the help of several friends, the ’67 was under power once again. “It was a beast to drive with more than enough torque and power, in addition to having power steering and smooth riding radial tires. The car got way more than its fair share of looks on the road and during occasional trips to area drag strips,” Bruce explained. “And it was pretty cool to outrun all the people who had pounded on the blue Camaro in the past.”

A 60-0ver 427 stuffed with a Callies forged 4.25 stroke crankshaft, Manley H-beam 6.385 long rods and JE pistons provide a total of 496ci.

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The EFI system also include dash to monitor all vitals an It has been fastened to the st disturb the fac

es the new Holley 6.86 Pro nd change tunes on the fly. teering column so as not to ctory interior.

A new OEM style fuel tank has been sumped to ensure proper fuel delivery to the big block under acceleration.

A factory 12-bolt diff has been beefed up with 30 Spline Moser axles, C-Clip Eliminators and 4.11 gears. An anti-roll bar, adjustable Afco rear shocks and Calvert CalTrac bars with their Split Mono-Leaf springs can also be seen here.. www.rpmmag.com

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Forrest & Bruce Kennedy’s 1967 Street/Strip Camaro RS/SS

Chassis:

Stock 1967 GM Chassis with subframe connectors. 10-point 8.50 cert roll cage

Engine:

1969 model 427 BBC, 60 overbore JE Pistons and a Callies 4.25 stroke crankshaft, for a total of 496ci.

JE pistons, Manley H-beam 6.385 long rods, Pump Gas Camshaft designed by Dema Elgin.

Patriot Performance 320cc aluminum heads.

Transmission:

Reid Case Powerglide with 1.69 gear set by Jeff Dobbins Racing.

Suspension:

Viking Performance front shocks, Afco Racing rear shocks with Calvert Racing Traction Bars and Split Mono-Leaf springs.

12 Bolt rear end with 4.11 ratio gear along with 30 Spline Moser Axles and C-Clip Eliminators.

TRZ Anti-roll bar installed by Brazzel Performance Fabrication.

Body:

1967 SS/RS Camaro, Factory 396-325 car.

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Wheels/Tires:

Front 15 x 3.5-inch Weld Draglite with Moroso Front Runners, rear: 15 x 10Weld Draglites with ET Street Tires, ET Drag Slicks, and ET Pro Radials depending on class/surface.

Classes/Events:

1995-1998 NMCA EZ Street Participant, Two runner-up finishes.

2019 to date, heads up shootouts and streetcar shootouts at local NC drag strips

Special Thanks: Engine:

Scott Sublet PIG motorsports

EFI:

Holley EFI Devin Vanderhoof HCR Innovations. The Car is tuned by Paul Powell.

Chassis:

Jason Brazzell, Brazzell Performance Fabrication.

Crew:

Bruce Kennedy, Forrest Kennedy, Krystal Kennedy, Kenny Barker, Heidi Barker, Roger Tucker, Josh Holloman, Landon Schertzinger, John Dougherty (LS Nasty).

THIS IS THE REAL DEAL

The RS/SS packages included the black nose stripe, badges and, of course, those iconic (albeit sometimes a pain it the butt) hideaway headlights.

The engine is completely controlled by a Holley EFI Terminator X system sourced from Devin Vanderhoof at HCR innovations.

Tucked inside the tiny first Gen Camaro trunk is the battery and nitrous bottle.

A coil near plug setup, 210lb injectors and a Nitrous Oxide Systems dry Fogger system were also installed during the most recent mods by the father and son team. www.rpmmag.com

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NOT JUST FOR DECORA

Watch Kennedy’s Camaro make a killer wheels-up pass here

Forrest Kennedy figures the Camaro is now good to drive to the track at full weight and click off low 5-second 1/8thmile ETs and cruise home afterwards.

This clean, virtually unmolested rare muscle car sees plenty of track time.

One of our favorite parts of Bruce’s Camaro is its classic look with modern flare. For over 40 years, he has vowed to always keep it uncut and street legal, and be able to rip offrespectable runs at the weekend drags.

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ATION

With its stock SS hood and steel GM rally wheels the Camaro was a stock-looking sleeper, and once two extra rally rims and new slicks were procured, most of the race cars didn’t care to line up beside the yellow Camaro. Life was good for Bruce, and was about to get even better.

Scarlett Jernigan was a car girl wheeling a Ford Maverick in high school in the mid to late 70s when Bruce met her on the cruise circuit in Kinston. Together, they soon cruised and raced the ’67, Scarlett was competitive in nature and fully supported upgrades to the Camaro. By the time the couple were married in September of 1983, Scarlett was driving her own 1974 Camaro dawned in a

yellow that was darker than the ’67.

With married life, careers and starting a family fully underway, the Camaro would sometimes have to take a backseat, but during a time when many of their friends were selling their muscle cars, Scarlett and Bruce would still occasionally drive theirs.

By the mid-nineties, racing organizations for street cars like the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) were popping up and this renewed the couple’s interest in the Camaro. The Easy Street class seemed to fit the car best, but it was heavy and underpowered to be competitive. Car guy and friend, Todd Jackson, stepped into to help wrench, and once nitrous oxide was added, the Camaro was closer to the pack and even took a few run-

ner-up finishes. But, as this type of racing grew in popularity, so did the amount of money it would take to stay with the front runners, and vowing to never cut the Camaro, Bruce retired it in the 90s with a 9.97 at 136mph ¼-mile time slip.

Fast forward many years and the couple’s son, Forrest, would eventually start building his own hot rod and once completed, the father and son duo would turn their attention back to the ’67. Still looking every bit a “sleeper”, don’t take Old Yeller lightly; “We feel the car has the potential to be driven to the track and click off low 5-second 1/8th-mile passes,” tells Forrest. “And that’s weighing in at 3700 pounds with driver and all of its factory components, including the heater and radio.” Now that’s a sleeper!

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