Photo: Hawks Motorsports (edited by autoevolution)
When you're a former NASCAR driver, and you've officially hung up the helmet and the boots, what do you do from there? We suppose you could start up your own racing team and usually have it fail within the first few years because you sure ain't the Petty Family. Or you could join the broadcast booth and sit on your high horse, explaining how you'd have done it so much better if you were behind the wheel instead. But if you're NASCAR Xfinity Series mainstay Jason Keller, you go back to your roots.
The roots, of course, are classic cars with big power, the way every red-blooded American kid was ingratiated into the hobby. But with a few race wins and a little money, Jason Keller got to build his ultimate '85 IROC-Z Camaro. With the help of his buddies at Hawks Motorsports in Easley, South Carolina, what was once a cool-looking but not all that impressive American sports car becomes the street beast its fans and supporters always knew it could be.
In its day, the '85 Camaro IROC-Z sported a 302-cubic-inch (5.0-L) Chevy V8 that, while not the healthiest engine around thanks to archaic emission mitigation hardware, was at least one of the most eye-catching sports cars of the mid-80s when it was new. The thing is, American OEMs have finally figured out how to make big power while still meeting EPA restrictions. That's why the 6.2-liter supercharged LSA V8 out of a late model Camaro ZL1 or Cadillac CTS V is such a welcome addition to the engine bay in this Camaro.
But to get from the 302 to the mighty LS, it took enough tender, loving care to fill a scrapbook. Starting with a full drivetrain strip-down, custom engine mounts were fabricated to accommodate the added heft of the larger, far more modern V8 engine. With a Tremec Magnum six-speed manual gearbox paired with a twin-disk clutch and old-fashioned rear-wheel-drive, this is a driver's car in every sense of the term. I.e., not the kind of car you can drive like an idiot without maiming yourself if you don't know what you're doing.
With a beefier ported supercharger, this LSA's jetting in the neighborhood of 800 horsepower. What does that translate to over the quarter mile? Well, it's safe to say this IROC-Z is making straight Hellcat Redeye numbers, so expect performance to be roughly similar. With a custom 8.8-inch rear end made in-house by Hawks Motorsports, this car can do launch after gnarly launch without the back end of the car exploding after a while. All the while, a 3.5-inch stainless steel exhaust lets it roar like a restomod should. Congrats to Jason Keller and the Hawks Motorsports team for owning the coolest IROC-Z restomod we've seen in years.
In its day, the '85 Camaro IROC-Z sported a 302-cubic-inch (5.0-L) Chevy V8 that, while not the healthiest engine around thanks to archaic emission mitigation hardware, was at least one of the most eye-catching sports cars of the mid-80s when it was new. The thing is, American OEMs have finally figured out how to make big power while still meeting EPA restrictions. That's why the 6.2-liter supercharged LSA V8 out of a late model Camaro ZL1 or Cadillac CTS V is such a welcome addition to the engine bay in this Camaro.
But to get from the 302 to the mighty LS, it took enough tender, loving care to fill a scrapbook. Starting with a full drivetrain strip-down, custom engine mounts were fabricated to accommodate the added heft of the larger, far more modern V8 engine. With a Tremec Magnum six-speed manual gearbox paired with a twin-disk clutch and old-fashioned rear-wheel-drive, this is a driver's car in every sense of the term. I.e., not the kind of car you can drive like an idiot without maiming yourself if you don't know what you're doing.
With a beefier ported supercharger, this LSA's jetting in the neighborhood of 800 horsepower. What does that translate to over the quarter mile? Well, it's safe to say this IROC-Z is making straight Hellcat Redeye numbers, so expect performance to be roughly similar. With a custom 8.8-inch rear end made in-house by Hawks Motorsports, this car can do launch after gnarly launch without the back end of the car exploding after a while. All the while, a 3.5-inch stainless steel exhaust lets it roar like a restomod should. Congrats to Jason Keller and the Hawks Motorsports team for owning the coolest IROC-Z restomod we've seen in years.
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