The term Pro Touring describes more than just a simple trend in the car hobby; it describes cars that are purpose-built for performance, while retaining the classic looks of a muscle car. Pro Touring cars generally do not see an easy life, even though the build quality is superb in most cases. The point is to create a car that accelerates, corners, and stops better than a new performance car, without tarnishing the body styles that we all know and love.
This tech tip is from the full book: DETROIT SPEED’S HOW TO BUILD A PRO TOURING CAR.
For a comprehensive guide on this entire subject, you can visit this link: LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK HERE
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To build a Pro Touring car, you must first know what the term entails. It’s more than just slapping a set of large-diameter wheels on an old car and lowering the ride height. If it were that easy, you wouldn’t need to read a book to figure out all of the tricks to make it happen. A textbook Pro Touring car has custom front and rear suspension, as well as highly upgraded braking components, wide tires on all four corners, and lots of parts that help stiffen the chassis structure. All components play an important role in building a successful Pro Touring car; this book explains the details of each series of modifications and the results that follow.
Through the years of automotive customizing, many trends have come and gone. There was a time when muscle car enthusiasts put a set of N50-15 tires on the back of their car, bolted on a set of traction bars, and installed headers to create a custom car. It really didn’t take much thought to create a cool car, because of the lack of custom components in the automotive aftermarket.
The progression of modifications made for some interesting creations in the 1970s and early 1980s, but a new idea in the late 1980s turned the automotive aftermarket on its ear. They didn’t know what to call it but the idea involved a 1969 Camaro body and a full-on road race chassis. Big Red was its name, and it was unlike anything that had ever been built. The goal was to run 200 mph but make the body look as stock as possible. Dan and R. J. Gottlieb built the car, and the result sparked the Pro Touring movement.
Although Big Red had a huge influence on the Pro Touring movement, Mark Stielow really got it started, and did so in a car that was a little more street-friendly. You’ll see his name a few more times in this book, as he is still a strong force in the Pro Touring scene.
The early Pro Touring cars featured wide tires on all four corners and a hunkered-down stance that received lots of attention from the media, since it was a fresh, new take on a beloved body style. The automotive world had not seen this big a breakthrough since the first Pro Street car rolled out of Scott Sullivan’s shop in 1979. That particular Pro Street car took modifications that were seen only on the drag strip and blended them with a 1967 Chevy II street car. The Pro Touring style took this same blending approach, except that the object was to carve corners instead of straight-line performance.
As for the name Pro Touring, it was a term that Mark Stielow and longtime magazine editor Jeff Smith coined in the April 1998 issue of Chevy High Performance. Mark’s intention with the Pro Touring name was to refer to European touring cars and the handling capabilities that went along with them. Touring also referred to events such as the Hot Rod Power Tour, which required these modified muscle cars to run for long distances without the need for constant repairs. Mark mentioned the term, Jeff used it frequently in his magazine efforts, and the rest is history!
The mark of a good Pro Touring build is the ability to get in, fire it up, and hit the road. Generally, no extraordinary maintenance is needed, and you can enjoy the advantages of modern fuel injection, high-tech suspension, and super-wide tires.
Pro Touring cars almost always have a hunkered-down stance to lower the car’s center of gravity, thus decreasing the likelihood of body roll. This 1967 Corvette offers a perfect blend of classic style and modern performance, thanks to a late-model suspension, large Baer brakes, and LS7 power plant.
In addition to suspension modifications, most Pro Touring cars have large disc brakes on all four corners and large-diameter (usually 17-inch or larger) wheels. Wheel widths vary from 8 inches all the way up to 12 inches, depending mostly on the car’s wheel tub and frame rail configuration.
Bone-stock muscle cars have lots of cool factor but it’s rather disappointing when you expect it to handle well. Soft suspension, sloppy steering, and small brakes are the biggest obstacles to tackle. You can see this Camaro is not quite ready to hit the autocross course with its old-school Firestone Wide Oval tires.
Street/strip cars are multi-purpose builds but they don’t share the practicality of a Pro Touring build. This 1967 Chevelle is wickedly fast, yet tame on the street; still, at the end of the day, it just isn’t as easy to drive as a similarly prepared Pro Touring car.
This is what the average enthusiast can expect to find in his or her own garage: a first-generation Camaro scattered into a million pieces. Luckily, parts are affordable, and any gearhead with the appropriate tools can do the necessary work to make it a killer Pro Touring car.
This 1968 Pontiac Firebird is a prime example of a simple and practical Pro Touring build with its lowered ride height, Baer disc brakes, and wide rubber on all four corners. Firebirds and Trans Ams make for great Pro Touring cars because they’re distinct and the parts interchange with Camaro platforms making for an easy build.
Stock muscle cars are fairly decent when it comes to straight-line performance, but as soon as you throw them into the curves, this is the result. Body roll is the enemy with a Pro Touring build. To combat it you want to stiffen the suspension and help the camber stay more consistent through the suspension cycle.
Although a certain few cars kicked off the idea, it took quite a few years for the automotive aftermarket to catch on and start manufacturing products that made it easy for folks to turn a standard muscle car into a high-performance machine. The company that set the standard for high-quality go-fast parts is Detroit Speed (this book follows along with a complete build to show you how to build your very own Pro Touring car).
Detroit Speed builds products that are track-tested for performance and street-tested for durability, which makes the company a standout in a sea of competing manufacturers. Many of its products are bolt-in replacements for factory components, making it easy to convert your sloppy muscle car suspension into a masterpiece of precisely engineered products that really work!
Why Pro Touring?
If you’ve ever driven a stock or modified muscle car, you know they are usually a headache to drive. It’s all part of the experience of driving an old car but it certainly has its downsides when you’re sitting in traffic or perhaps carving through a mountain road. Lots of them came with manual brakes, manual steering, and temperamental transmissions that only get worse with age. They are a
bear to drive in stock form, and those characteristics are even worse when straight-line performance is the goal. Street/strip and drag cars are usually miserably loud and uncomfortable to drive. They’re super cool and serve a great purpose but if you want a car that you can really enjoy, a Pro Touring build makes the most sense.
In the grand scheme of things, you have a lot of choices when it comes to building a muscle car. Some folks like to keep things original and brag about matching numbers, low mileage, and the car’s maintenance records. If that’s what you’re into, mini-tubs, big tires, and a lowered stance may not be the answer, but that one is pretty obvious.
Drag racing guys are obviously on the other side of the fence. It’s sometimes confusing with the Pro Touring look-alikes, however. These mimic the Pro Touring look with a lower ride height and large-diameter wheels. The reality of most of these builds is that the owners simply cut the coil springs up front and install lowering blocks in the rear to achieve the right stance. This does very little to help the handling of a car but it’s certainly the cheapest way to give your car the Pro Touring look. Although this is a perfectly common practice, it’s not exactly what Pro Touring is about.
Performance
A fact that most of us want to deny is that our favorite muscle cars are quite lazy when it comes to realistic performance. Yes, it might make more than 400 hp and, yes, it might run 12s in the quarter-mile, but when you line up a stock 1969 Camaro SS against a stock Mazda Miata on an autocross course, you will likely be embarrassed. The idea of a Pro Touring build is to reduce body roll, increase traction, and reduce weight (or at least shift it around to help balance the car). The further you dip into each of those three traits, the better your car performs.
The idea of a Pro Touring build is to blend the looks of a vintage muscle car with the new technologies of today’s performance cars. You can create a greatlooking machine in the process. This 1969 Mustang is a great example. Its low stance and wheel combination provide a look that seems very natural for the car.
Although appearance is part of the equation, performance is one of the highly acclaimed characteristics of building a Pro Touring car. Kyle Tucker wheels the Detroit Speed second-generation test car through the autocross course at LS Fest in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This car is at the top of the food chain when it comes to Pro Touring.
As with any custom build, it’s easy to get carried away and end up with a full-on race car. Ken Thompson, from Mooresville, North Carolina, built this incredible Ford Falcon using every ounce of his outstanding fabrication skills. Although impressive, let’s file this one away as overkill for the average Pro Touring enthusiast.
Even though it’s over the top in terms of the average guy’s budget and skill set, Ken Thompson’s Falcon deserves a closer look. The car features a NASCAR-style chassis and suspension, along with this awesome 278-ci Ford Indy Car engine, fit with a single turbocharger. It makes crazy horsepower and handles anything Ken can throw at it.
This tech tip is from the full book: DETROIT SPEED’S HOW TO BUILD A PRO TOURING CAR.
For a comprehensive guide on this entire subject, you can visit this link: LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK HERE
SHARE THIS ARTICLE: Please feel free to share this post on Facebook or any automotive Forums or blogs you read. You can use the social sharing buttons to the left, or copy and paste the website link: https://www.musclecardiy.com/performance/what-is-a-pro-touring-car/
If you have a car that’s already running, it’s a simple weekend project to update the front suspension, thanks to products from Detroit Speed. New tubular control arms, coil-overs, spindles, and sway bars are easy installs that might prevent you from doing a complete teardown.
The joy of building a Pro Touring car is seeing the results of your modifications. Every one makes a difference in the way the car feels and performs. Every component has a job, and it’s Detroit Speed’s goal to make them strong, efficient, and reliable.
Reducing body roll helps plant all four tires evenly. Increasing traction means you can hit the corners harder and faster. Reducing weight means that your muscle car uses its horsepower more efficiently, and the weight balance greatly affects the car’s traction and handling.
Another important aspect of any Pro Touring build is the braking system. You can have thousands of dollars’ worth of suspension underneath your vehicle but if the brakes aren’t up to the task, your lap times and overall driving experience suffers. Stopping power is worth every penny, and can make a 3,400-pound Camaro feel like a high-end sports car.
Appearance
Although the performance function of a Pro Touring car is generally the main focus, the end result is almost always a muscle car with an aggressive race-ready look that everyone loves. In this case, all of the aspects that make the car perform well also provide a great overall appearance. Detroit Speed perfected the balance of good looks and incredible performance, and the company continues to crank out products that help your muscle car look good and go fast.
Practicality
The balance of performance and practicality in the Pro Touring following is certainly noteworthy. It’s easy to be carried away, so if money is no object, you could put a 1969 Camaro skin on top of a NASCAR chassis and have the wildest setup on the block. But then you’re looking at the inconvenience of using racing slicks and exotic fuels, and trailering the car to each destination. Let’s face it: that becomes more work and less fun. That’s where balance comes in, and Detroit Speed nails it in every new line of products with components that combine race-inspired development with street-friendly driving characteristics. When you’re behind the wheel of a Pro Touring car, the drive should be comfortable but have the capability of handling harsh cornering, heavy braking, and wide-open acceleration without the limitations of sloppy stock components.
Building a Pro Touring car is not as easy as it sounds, but with the right components you can transform a sluggish muscle car into a machine that reacts quickly, does what you tell it to do, and takes you to work a few times a week if you want it to. Practical performance with classic muscle car style. Does it get any better than that?
The early days of Pro Touring were all about innovation but today’s market is much easier to get into for the average car guy. Complete suspension packages are available, and they are certainly the suggested approach; nonetheless, it’s easy to pick individual components if you’d rather take it slow with your project. Going piece by piece allows you to ease into the Pro Touring realm, without spending a big chunk of money from the get-go.
Some folks start the process with a bigger sway bar, upgraded shocks, and good brakes, but at the end of the day, most end up with the same components that are in a complete kit. You have two options: spend $1,000 at a time and slowly work your way into a car that handles well, or lay down all the cash at once and transform your lazy muscle car into a corner-carving machine in one fell swoop.
Choose Your Poison
Let’s face it, any sort of custom car build is going to cost money, and it is something that swirls around your brain until the moment it is finished. Ideas flow in and out, budgets fluctuate, and distractions get in the way but you will likely be addicted to thinking, building, and buying parts for your Pro Touring car. With all of this in mind, what type of car do you want to build?
Pro Touring builds generally consist of a car from the muscle car era, meaning a midsize car built between 1964 and 1972. This isn’t always the case, as some owners like to step outside the box in an effort to create a wild combination from an unlikely source. Sometimes it comes down to a lifelong desire to own a particular car; perhaps, it’s a car that you owned in high school, or a car that your father or other family member owned, or simply something you’ve always wanted. Everyone has different tastes, so the Pro Touring movement is full of diverse combinations, built from a wide variety of platforms. GM vehicles certainly win the battle of most popular in the Pro Touring hobby because of parts availability and the fact that General Motors made a bunch of really cool cars during the muscle car era.
GM Cars
Camaros are undoubtedly the most popular platform in the Pro Touring hobby because they are easily attainable, they have tons of aftermarket product support, and they’re just plain cool. First-generation Camaros (1967–1969) and third-generation Novas (1968–1974) share very similar suspension designs, so the immense popularity of the Camaro naturally trickles down to the Nova, because of the parts interchange. Before 1968, the Nova (commonly known as the Chevy II) featured a totally different platform, and the cars were much smaller.
From 1962 to 1967, Chevy IIs were affordable compact cars, with an optional V-8 engine beginning in 1964, making these lightweight cars very popular with folks who like to go fast. The 1962–1967 Chevy II market is hotter than ever, and you can still pick one up at a reasonable price and expect the same great product support as with the later-model Nova platform.
It’s easy to have tunnel vision when dealing with Pro Touring builds because you see so many midsize GM cars in the show field. Camaros, Novas, and Chevelles are quite common but don’t be discouraged if you prefer another brand or even some peculiar designs. There is almost always a way to make an old car handle like a new one. Some people like to give full-size cars, including station wagons, the Pro Touring look and feel, which is perfectly cool in the eyes of any car guy. Who wouldn’t love to see a big, heavy car out there holding its own in a sea of Camaros?
Ford Cars
Ford offered a number of great choices for performance in the 1960s and 1970s, so if you’re a lover of the Blue Oval, you have plenty of options. Mustang is the prime choice, thanks to its lightweight unibody construction, good weight distribution, and vast aftermarket product support. You can also consider a compact cruiser, such as a Ford Falcon, step up to the midsize Fairlane, or go large with the Galaxie.
High-tech Pro Touring parts are not always available for every make and model but you’d be surprised at the product innovations in the past decade. Ford folks don’t quite have it as easy as the GM crowd when it comes to easy suspension swaps and parts availability but it won’t take long to catch up. In fact, Detroit Speed recently introduced its line of Mustang Aluma-Frame and QUADRALink suspension systems to fit 19641 ⁄2–1970 Mustangs. Find out more on page 49.
Mopar Cars
What about the Mopar guys? You know there are lots of them out there, so why are there so few Mopars in the Pro Touring world? It all comes down to a suspension design that isn’t conducive to road racing or autocross racing. Lots of Mopar muscle cars had torsion-bar front suspension and leaf-spring rear suspension; it’s a suitable design for some forms of racing but it just doesn’t provide the same advantages as a generic coil-spring independent front suspension.
Coil springs and adjustable shocks provide much more adjustability than torsion bars, and Mopar’s front suspension geometry isn’t exactly ideal for a Pro Touring build. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to make a Mopar handle; it just means it costs a little more money and takes more time.
In most cases, the answer to these odd suspension configurations is to replace the entire setup with a more common design, such as a standard coil-spring front suspension. Detroit Speed’s solution is called the X-Gen subframe, which can be adapted to many applications, from street rods to muscle cars. It’s a generic 2 x 4–inch frame that ties into the existing front frame rails and features a race-proven front suspension geometry. It’s available in 53.5- and 59.5-inch track widths to fit a wide range of vehicles, and provide big-time handling improvements.
End Results
Through the years, the Pro Touring movement has seen a number of wild combinations with one-off parts and head-turning looks. The Pro Touring bug has bitten a lot of gearheads around the world as evidenced by everything from pickup trucks with trick suspension to unassuming classic cars from the 1950s. Some folks are even taking traditional-style hot rods from the 1930s and making them into all-out handling machines with wide rubber, big brakes, and serious suspension setups. Thinking outside the box (or as Hot Rod magazine used to say “Dare to be Different”) is a great option for folks who want to stand out from the crowd.
Regardless of the multitude of options for build platforms, most builds are centered on the muscle car era, and that is where Detroit Speed has focused its efforts. From the earliest beginnings, Detroit Speed built components for first-generation Camaros. Since then, Kyle and Stacy Tucker have turned their business into the most popular source for Pro Touring components for many makes and models, including Camaro, Nova, Chevelle, Monte Carlo, Mustang, and Corvette.
Some folks like the midsize classics from the 1960s and 1970s, such as GM’s A-Body platform that rode beneath the Chevrolet Chevelle, Buick Skylark (GS), Oldsmobile Cutlass (442), and Pontiac Tempest (GTO). This bright red 1966 Chevelle is owned by Bob Bowe and offers a great mix of practicality and performance.
Although most of this book focuses on GM F-Body platforms, the Nova crowd needs to listen closely because nearly all early F-Body suspension components interchange with the 1968–1972 X-Body platform. This opens the door for all sorts of cool builds, including this all-out Pro Touring machine owned by Mark Turner.
The GM F-Body platform is so popular and widely available that it makes a lot of sense to build a first- or second-generation Camaro. The product support is outstanding, and you can ease your way into it with a simple set of springs and sway bars, or go all out with a custom Detroit Speed subframe kit.
It doesn’t always have to be about Camaros, Novas, and Chevelles if you’re a Chevrolet junkie. This 1970 Impala certainly gets a lot of looks with its low-down stance and large-diameter tire and wheel combination. It’s tough to make a big, heavy car handle well but it’s not impossible!
Ford platforms are a bit tricky because of the front suspension design, which involves mounting the spring and shock assembly on top of the upper control arm. This configuration does not have good geometry, and the bulky shock towers create a cramped engine bay. Ford guys generally have to get creative when it comes to getting the stance just right, but this Bobby Alloway–built Fairlane sits very low.
Ford Mustangs are a little easier to tackle, as a number of manufacturers, including Detroit Speed, offer suspension packages for most 1964–1970 Mustangs. By altering the suspension geometry, and reducing body roll, these cars can really handle well. Add a set of big brakes and sticky tires and you have a serious Pro Touring car.
For the Mopar crowd, a true Pro Touring build is not easy. Many Mopar platforms featured torsion-bar front suspension and leaf-spring rear suspension, neither of which offer great handling in stock form. You can upgrade the torsion bars for an improved spring rate but at the end of the day, the poor suspension geometry is a big part of the handling problem.
Thinking outside the box certainly grabs more attention than a standard first-generation Camaro build. This Chevy Impala station wagon isn’t the prime suspect for a Pro Touring build but there are plenty of performance parts available for this full-size platform. This car’s crusty appearance adds to the cool factor!
Pickup trucks are also on the list of unconventional Pro Touring projects. Mark Turner didn’t go all out on his green Chevy C-10 but the truck now handles much better than stock, and offers a comfortable ride. The same theories apply to the trucks: lower the center of gravity, reduce body roll, and increase traction.
Hot Rod magazine coined the phrase “Dare to be Different” a few decades ago and it has carried through to the modern era. In the Pro Touring world, this Studebaker is about as different as it gets but it shares many traits with mainstream Pro Touring cars, including a supercharged LS engine.
Many enthusiasts are resorting to four-door and station wagon designs because the two-doors are harder to find, but the real advantage to these cars is space for all of your friends. This Chevy II wagon is a perfect Pro Touring example with its LS engine swap, big disc brakes, and aftermarket suspension.
Detroit Speed leads the way in the Pro Touring market, thanks to years of engineering experience and thousands of hours of research and development, as well as rigorous testing on and off the track. All components are manufactured in the United States, and each component serves a major purpose.
Written by Tommy Lee Byrd & Kyle Tucker and republished with permission of CarTech Inc
This tech tip is from the full book: DETROIT SPEED’S HOW TO BUILD A PRO TOURING CAR.
For a comprehensive guide on this entire subject, you can visit this link: LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK HERE
SHARE THIS ARTICLE: Please feel free to share this post on Facebook or any automotive Forums or blogs you read. You can use the social sharing buttons to the left, or copy and paste the website link: https://www.musclecardiy.com/performance/what-is-a-pro-touring-car/