The Joysey's 1971 Chevy Camaro Z28

Meet the winningest Chevy in the NMCA/Comp Cams EZ Street class of heads-up street car racing. The dudes are Bill Joysey behind the wrenches and his son Bob behind the wheel.

Their battlewagon is a '71 Camaro Z28 set on kill. The target? Gary Rohe and his seemingly untouchable '80 Mustang. It's more than a Chevy versus Ford rivalry-it's big-block versus small-block, heavyweight versus lightweight, and show car versus beater.

The Joyseys play the crystal-clean, fat-motor-powered end of the game, and the 440-inch Rat dictates a hefty minimum weight of 3,740 pounds thanks to EZ Street's 8.5-pounds-per-cube rule. With lanky Bobby bound by Simpson into the JAZ seats, you're looking at 3,800 pounds worth of 9.22-second, 147-mph heave-ho. That's honkin'. Scary, even.

The Joyseys 1971 Chevy Camaro Z28 Working In The Pits

What's spookier is that bottom 9s may not be enough to score Mr. Gasket's $4,000 for the EZ Street Champion. That dang light blue Mustang has seen high 8s at 150 mph, so what's a poor Chevy to do? "Throw more tune-up in it and work a little strategy in qualifying. I don't really want to, but I may have to." That was the word from Pops Joysey just a few days before NMCA Memphis, the mecca of street car racing. The points battle with Gary is tight, with the Camaro landing in the winner's circle at three out of the last nine races. Rohe won the other six, but even with two more chances (Memphis and Atlanta), a World Championship seems unlikely for the Chevy.

Even if the big win isn't in the cards, the Bill and Bob show still deserves critical acclaim. They've Raided the nitrous bugs, set some records, shown up at every single race, and won the Car Craft Quick 8 Shootout at the St. Louis event. Good enough? They don't guess so. Word in the pits is that the chunky F-body may get garaged next season in favor of a smaller car that can take advantage of the weight break offered by a small-cube Mouse motor. We're thinking early Nova, or maybe an '80s-vintage Malibu. One thing's fer sure though: They'll be back.

Underhood is the 440ci big Chevy built by Bill Joysey and carved by A&A Machine Shop. The Bow Tie block houses a steel crank and Eagle rods with Bill Miller pistons squeezing 14.0:1 into World Products Merlin heads ported by A&A. The induction is an old Dart single-plane with a Barry Grant Silver Claw carb, and the spray is fed by an NOS Big Shot plate breathed on by Bill. He claims the cam is a "mild" 0.666-lift Comp Cams flat-tappet unit. Ignition is all MSD, and since this photo was shot, the Stef's pan-evac system has been swapped for a Moroso setup. The trans is a Phil's Transmissions TH400 with a Coan 'brake and 4,200-rpm converter. Many thanks also go to Ram-chargers.
Underhood is the 440ci big Chevy built by Bill Joysey and carved by A&A Machine Shop. The
No one in their right mind paints a race car jet black and then tries to keep it this clean. No one said Bobby was in his right mind. He handled the paint and body work himself and even clearcoated and buffed most of the underside. His motocross experience trained him to tear the car down and clean every cranny after each race. The 'glass hood is a 5-inch cowl from VFN and the car jerks the front Center Lines when the 30x13.50 Mickey Thompson ET Streets wrinkle. The rear tires get replaced every 12 or so passes.
No one in their right mind paints a race car jet black and then tries to keep it this clea

The Moser 9-inch is loaded with 4.11:1 Precision Gears and a spool. Those are twin Barry Grant pumps, and the familiar red shocks are adjustable Konis. Bill raves about the Cal-Trac bars that provide traction. The springs are custom-built with an extra leaf, a bit of de-arching in the front segment, and some extra arch in the rear. Most of the chassis parts, including the home-installed rollcage, came from Chassis Engineering.
The Moser 9-inch is loaded with 4.11:1 Precision Gears and a spool. Those are twin Barry G
Extra weight includes a pair of batteries in the trunk, a stock gas tank filled with 17 gallons of race juice, and an NHRA-legal ballast box where the rear seat used to be. The nitrous bottle lets loose as many as four pounds per pass.
Extra weight includes a pair of batteries in the trunk, a stock gas tank filled with 17 ga