In Search of the Elusive Black Panther - Continued
Story Contributor: Bob & Lorraine Simonen
Edited by: ClassicCar.com
VISIT THE CAMARO PORTAL


Already known in racing and rally circles with their work on the Corvette, Gorries’s geared up to modify a limited number of Camaros into Black Panthers, giving the Camaro some real street muscle. Modifications such as heavy-duty front coils, rear leaf stiffeners, tubular shocks, 10” front disc brakes, power assist brakes and steering, 500 magnum wheels and low profile Uniroyal 8.55 X 14 tubeless tires were added to the dealer-modified cars. Brake balancing valves and other small tuning points remarkably improved the handling and the drivability of the standard production car.

All Gorries Black Panther Camaros were of course painted black, with a painted gold band around the nose. The Black Panther nameplate was fixed to the forefront of each fender and on the rear deck lid. A gold stripe was added along the bodyline above the rocker panel area and a Gold pin stripe was added just below the upper side bodyline.

The Panther’s came with a deluxe Gold interior and any of the regular factory options a customer might desire. This first Panther out of the Gorries shop was equipped with the “007” James Bond panel as a bit of a joke. Simply enough, a console was added in place of the glove box lid between the seats. The console featured a row of six or eight toggle switches labeled, Seat Ejector, Machine Guns, Smoke Ejectors, etc. What began as a joke later turned out later to be a customer demanded option that even the most reserved customers opted for.

Gorries offered both the 327 and 427 V-8 engine options for their Panthers. The 327 offering was the 275HP L30 engine, at 10:1 compression and made 355FT pounds of torque at 3,200 RPM. The optional blueprinted 427 - 435HP, ZL1 engine with its neck snapping 460FT pounds of torque at 4,000 RPM put some real teeth in the Panthers. At 12:1 compression, the ZL1 engine with its large 925 CFM 4-barrel carburetor proved to be a formal opponent for the Shelby GT-500 Mustangs, which carried the 428 big-block Ford engine, but only developed 355HP in 1967.

 Continued