You might say it was destiny for Frankie Doldo to be around fast cars, after all, he grew up helping his dad modify most anything they had in the garage. “I have been surrounded by muscle cars my entire life due to my father’s passion for the sport,” Frankie explained.
“From modified street cars, to competitive drag racing, I have been involved for many years. I was always the ‘crew guy’ helping, fixing and running around to get the car ready for the next round, until it was my turn to be in the driver’s seat for the past 5 1/2 years.” A licensed mechanic and truck driver, Doldo also chose to pursue a career working with cars, engines and all things mechanical.
In the early 1990s, Frankie’s father Pat purchased an original 1984 Chevrolet Camaro
I have been surrounded by muscle cars my entire life due to my father’s passion for the sport...
Since returning to the Doldo family and undergoing a substantial overhaul, the Camaro has taken on a whole new look with the custom VFN lift-off front end with Sunoco style scoop.
With hard wheels-up launches, version 2.0 of the car has become a winning combination. Frankie won the 2019 EZ championship and along the way took every race and event win, too!
Z28 and soon after transformed it from street machine to race car. To fuel his own fascination and passion for power, Frankie immediately joined in, helping with any work on the car and working as part of his dad’s crew
on race day, but he had always dreamed of being in the driver’s seat someday. Unfortunately, his dad would sell the car, seemingly dashing that dream of piloting the Camaro. As often happens in the close knit race
The engine is based on a DRCE 2 block with ProFiler heads. The unique 3-piece intake and inline 4-hole throttle body are more than just pretty conversation pieces. Bosch injectors are tapped into the lower intake as are the nitrous oxide nozzles just below them. The combination is good for mid 7 second ETs in the ¼ and 4.79 in the 1/8th. Look close and you’ll see how the factory firewall, front frame rails, wheelwells and strut towers were incorporated into the chassis work.
The interior takes you back to the early days fast street car drags with factory floors, dash and door panels. The Camaro goes one step further with the factory tilt column and steering wheel!
community, a few years passed and the opportunity came up to buy the car back, and the Doldo’s jumped at the chance! The Camaro needed work, but being a mechanic and having all those years of hands-on experience with fast cars and horsepower, it came naturally to Frankie to be working on the Camaro again. “As all racers know, there is a lot of work, dedication and money in-
volved in restoring and building a car. Being my father’s car, it holds sentimental value to my entire family, but we were all curious to see the potential it had and went right to work.” That dream of piloting the Camaro down the dragstrip was now well within reach, and over the course of a Canadian winter (from November until April), the Doldo family, with help from friends and quality
industry contacts, rebuilt the Camaro into a solid small tire, 7-second 1/4-mile weapon.
The 3rd Gen’s body tub itself, meaning the roof, rear quarter panels, rockers and firewall remain factory OEM steel. The doors still have roll-up windows with factory glass and the factory rear hatch remains, as well. A VFN composite liftoff front-end was added with Sunoco style scoop and a custom fabricated rear wing sits out back. 7/27 Autobody is credited for laying down the slick metallic deep blue paint job.
To remain class legal back in the day (not to mention add cool factor to the build),
Jesel Engineers have combined all of the features of our Pro Aluminum Rockers with the durability of our Pro Steel Rockers. Jesel Sportsman Steel Rockers provide engine builders with the option of high strength steel rockers at an extremely affordable price and can be ordered separately or as an upgrade to certain Pro Aluminum rocker systems.
Body & Paint:
Body and paint was done by 7/27 auto body. Front nose is aftermarket fiberglass from VFN and the rear wing is custom built. Body panels including the roof, rear 1/4 panels, rockers, doors and rear hatch are OEM steel.
Chassis Type & Mods:
Full tube chassis fitted with factory front frame rails and k-member, stock floor, firewall, inner fenders and upper strut mounts.
Suspension:
Front suspension is aftermarket custom lower control arms and Racecraft upper strut mounts with Strange single adjustable struts. Rear suspension is custom 4-link with Santhuff coilover shocks.
Engine: 500 cubic inch DRCE 2 iron block with ProFiler heads and Jesel valvetrain. Bryant crank, Diamond pistons and MGP connecting rods custom billet intake
Induction & Fuel: Custom billet 3-piece intake, O-ring sealed all around, Bosch fuel injectors, Switzer throttle body.
Power Adder: Direct port nitrous oxide single stage dry system using Speedtech nitrous solenoids.
Electronics: MSD ignition, Big Stuff 3. Wired by Speedwire Systems and has a Braille battery. Racepak datalogger and IQ3 dash.
Transmission & Converter: 2 speed Powerglide from Cameron’s Torque Converter Services.
Rear Differential:
Braced 9-inch housing with aluminum center section and Strange axles.
Brakes: The rear brakes are Strange 4 piston calipers with drilled rotors and front single piston with slotted rotors.
Tires & wheels: Weld magnum wheels all around. Fronts are spindle mount with 25.5x4 tire. The rears are 15x14 double beadlocks with Mickey Thompson 29.5x10.5W ET Drag tires.
Best ET & MPH: 4:79 at 150 in the 1/8 mile and 7.49 at 193mph in the quarter mile all at 2,950 pounds on the 29x10.5W tire.
Thanks To:
I would personally like to thank my father for everything, for exposing me to racing at a young age where I gained a great deal of interest from the start. I would also like to thank my family for their ongoing support.
I would like thank Rob Zarcone for tuning my car, Tony Starkey for lining me up and helping me in the pits, and L.E Chassis for helping get the car down the track, pin straight every pass.
I would also like to thank the following: 7/27 Autobody for the body and paint, Speedwire Systems for the wiring, Sandro Barberio for the engine, Cameron’s Torque Converters for the trans, Driveteck for the driveshaft, and Zex Racing for the rear gears.
the full tube chassis that was fabricated for the Camaro was worked in with the factory front frame rails and k-member along with the stock floor, firewall, inner fenders and upper strut mounts. From there, aftermarket lower control arms were used with Racecraft upper strut mounts and Strange single adjustable struts. Out back, a 9-inch rearend hangs from a custom 4-link coilover setup.
The interior is like stepping back in time with the factory floor, dash and door panels intact along with the factory tilt steering column and steering wheel. The race portion of the build includes a pair of Sparco race seats – the passenger side holding the nitrous bottle and the driver’s equipped with Impact belts and surrounded by extensive cage work. Doldo is fed all pertinent information via the dash
From left to right: Chris, Sandro Barberio, Pat Doldo, Frankie Doldo, Tony Starkey and Rob Zarcone.
mounted Racepak IQ3 digital dash panel and shifts gears using a Hurst billet pistol grip shifter.
Power comes from a 500-inch big block based around a DRCE 2 iron block. A Bryant crank, MGP connecting rods and Diamond pistons rotate inside the block, while a pair of ProFiler heads with Jesel rockers were studded in place and a custom fabricated 3-piece o-ringed intake is topped by a unique billet 4-hole inline throttle body. A Big Stuff 3 controls the EFI system and a 2-speed Powerglide from Cameron’s Torque Converter Services backs up the
juiced big block.
The combination is tuned by Rob Zarcone, while engine servicing duties are in the hands of Sandro Barberio. On the 29x10.5W tire at a fairly hefty 2,950 pounds, the Camaro has run a best of 4.79 at 150mph in the 1/8th and 7.49 at 193 in the long haul. Nowadays, though, Doldo competes in mostly 1/8th-mile classes including EZ Street. In fact, he took the 2019 Canada Heads Up EZ Street Championship, winning every event and round of competition that year to top it off!
Some people believe that if you set something free and it returns, it was meant to be yours. So if you believe in fate, then from the very first time Frankie Doldo set eyes on his dad’s new 1984 Z28, he was meant to end up in the driver’s seat of it!
