With the new decade came a new Camaro. Jenkins and Tryson prepped it for match racing with an aluminum 430-inch big block. He mowed down Pro Stock at the Winternationals and Gatornationals in 1970, and Strickler qualified second in Indianapolis but Bill felt that he didn’t accomplish much at all that year. He stuck by the match race circuit in 1970-71 and The Grump and Tryson developed the 494-inch bullets (mountain motors) with stroker cranks and aluminum blocks. Over in Squeaky Clean Legal Land (the NHRA) Bill continued to lobby for cubic-inch-to-weight, certain that his beloved small block represented the most efficient and economical means: small engine, light mass versus big engine, more mass and all the implications (quicker launch). In his heart of hearts, he felt infinitely confident around this engine.
The Grump moved into the dyno room and ran up huge electricity bills. Bill stayed consistent with his small-block ravings and in November of 1971, he and NHRA manager Jack Hart formed the basis for the Vega Pro Stocker. Chrysler was less than thrilled with the proclamation, something that The Grump would exploit for the next few years. In order for Bill to debut the car at the ’72 Winternationals, the following two months would become Crank Alley. Jenkins, Tryson, Dick Whitman, and Tom Kerr were ablaze, whirling in a 1,400 man-hour dervish. The Vega wasn’t the first “panel” Pro Stocker, but it was the first one purpose-built from the ground up.
Acid dipping the Vega carcass left very little structural strength in certain areas of the body, especially behind the doors and the roof section. Hardening foam was introduced to the cavities. It weighed virtually nothing, had immense surface tension, and could be applied through a tube once the medium and the catalyst were joined. Walt Weney’s S&W Race Cars (Spring City, PA) bent the tubing according to Bill, tacked it here and there, and returned the sticks to Malvern for the big finish. The motor was a 331ci tunnel-ram screamer and the car carried Bill’s pet three-link rear suspension system. Untried and untested, Jenkins Competition dragged it to Pomona and won the damn Pro Stock thing then more or less dominated the class for the next two years, much to the chagrin of Mother Mopar. One afternoon after qualifying at the ’73 Nationals, I saw The Grump in the parking lot of the Adam’s Mark hotel. He was all smiley and cackling on about “CRY-sler.”
