READY TO RUMBLE – Kyosho Fazer Mk2 1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28

In 1964, Ford released an industry-changing vehicle in the Ford Mustang. The introduction of the first-ever pony car was the opening salvo in what eventually became the muscle car wars. GM responded with a release of its own pony called the Camaro in 1967. Life in the automotive industry—and the streets—has never been the same since. These two arch-nemeses have gone on to go head-to-head virtually everywhere, from showroom floors to drag strips, street races, parking lot car meets, and even in endless online debates.

As the pony wars heated up, so did the performance potential of the Camaro. In a game of one-upsmanship, GM decided to offer the 1967 model year Camaro in an optional Z/28 trim, which came equipped with a high performance package including an upgraded yet street-legal engine that was modified using off-the-shelf factory racing components. The Z/28 Special Performance Package also came with a heavy duty radiator, quick steering, 15×6 wheels, 7.35×15 nylon red stripe tires, four-speed Muncie M21 close-ratio manual transmission, special springs and shocks, 3.73:1 rear axle and special racing stripe graphics on the hood and rear decklid.

Z/28

Unfortunately, the Camaro Z/28 sold only moderately well in 1967 and 1968 in part due to underwhelming promotion from Chevrolet’s marketing team. It wasn’t until 1969 that the Z/28 really came into its own. After two years of promotion through car shows, competitive racing and magazine articles, Chevy finally started espousing the virtues of the Z/28 package in full.

For 1969, the Camaro Z/28 received engine improvements as well as some body enhancements and an 8,000-rpm tachometer with 6,500-rpm redline, among other upgrades. Kyosho now offers an authentic-looking reproduction of the 1969 Z/28 in 1/10 scale through its Fazer Mk2 Readyset kit. The “Readyset” configuration is Kyosho’s name for its fully ready to run RC car. All it needs is a battery pack (6-cell NiMH or 2SP) and four AAs for the transmitter.

The Kyosho Camaro’s styling is remarkable for an RC car. This is understandable when you realize that Kyosho is also a respected name in the world of die cast replicas, so its safe to say that its designers have a keen understanding of the importance of the little details in capturing the authentic look of a classic car. One look at it and you’ll see that this Kyosho Fazer Mk2 chassis based muscle car goes well beyond the typical semi-scale shell slapped onto a stock touring car chassis.

A TOUGH CHASSIS

The Fazer Mk2 tub chassis is built to take a beating, with sealed gears plus braces and reinforcements to protect all the steering and driveline components. The Mk2 has added an upper deck plate over the front part of the chassis, giving extra protection to the steering servo and receiver as well as increasing stiffness. The Mk2 also features a belt-mount for the battery, which gives additional flexibility for a variety of battery pack configurations.

TUNED SUSPENSION

The Camaro is a basher at heart, so Kyosho tuned the suspension for stability over a variety of on-road surfaces. The Mk2 switches to a new double A-arm front end with revised bump steer and scrub radius settings to give reliable steering and suspension actuation over the slightly rougher and less grippy surfaces that this car will spend most of its life on.
The setup also utilizes increased parts interchangeability between front and rear to simplify maintenance. While the suspension arms are fixed-length, there are a couple different mounting locations for the dampers, and the plastic-body shocks themselves are fluid-filled and feature anodized aluminum caps, making them re-buildable and giving the car a bit of tunability.

MUSCULAR MOTIVATION

Providing the muscle for this muscle car is Kyosho’s 14-turn G-series stock brushed motor. Designated the G14L, the 550-class motor is set into a clever fixed-gear mesh motor mount. The stock gear set has a 32T pinion to go with the 68T spur gear for a final ratio of 6.54:1, but Kyosho offers a total of nine pinion gear options ranging from 29 to 37T so you can gear your Z/28 for your particular preference of strong launches or top-end speed.
The speed control is Kyosho’s Speed House 60A waterproof ESC, which sees duty in a variety of both on- and off-road vehicles, so it is well-sealed and can handle 2-3S LiPo or 6-8-cell NiMH packs. Ours was run primarily on Kyosho’s own 2200mAh 7.2V NiMH pack, but some extra performance can be had with higher cell counts.

REALISTIC BODY

It’s clear that the biggest selling point for this car will be its classic muscle car looks. Kyosho calls it an “Ultra Scale Body,” and key to capturing the look of the ’69 Z/28 are separate front and rear chrome bumpers as well as door-mounted side mirrors. The little extras like the flared wheel arches, the Z/28 emblem on the grille, and the nicely applied chrome tape strips on the window surrounds push this body over the top in the looks department. The headlights even have realistic chrome bezels and translucent lenses so they’re ready for a light kit if you ever want to install one.

TAKING A SPIN

The Fazer Mk2 has been a rock-solid performer for years now. Kyosho’s on-road basher workhorse is a well-loved chassis and the one that comes with this Camaro is no different. It’s a pleasure to drive and especially a delight to look at as it cruises by at either slow or high speeds. The motor provided us plenty of power and its steering was predictable. In short, it’s a fun car to drive.

Kyosho Fazer MK2 1960 CHEVY CAMARO z/28 Vehicle Specs

P/N: 34418T2
MSRP: $239.99
kyoshoamerica.com
Height: 6.57 in. (167mm)
Length: 18.15 in. (461mm)
Width: 8.27 in. (210mm)
Wheelbase: 10.24 in. (260mm)
Scale: 1/10
Weight: 3 lbs., 10 oz. (1650g)
Chassis: FZ02 composite plastic tub
Suspension: Composite fixed-length double A-arm (front)
Lower H-arm with upper link (rear)
Shocks: Plastic body with aluminum caps, oil-filled (rebuildable)
Drivetrain: Shaft-driven 4WD, ball bearing equipped
Differential: Metal bevel gear, sealed
Driveshafts: Heavy duty plastic dogbones
Body: 1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28
Wheels: Vintage-look chromed plastic
Tires: Vintage tall-sidewall treaded, 2.5-in. diameter,
1.1-in. width (64×27.7mm)
Transmitter: Kyosho Syncro KT-231P+ 2.4GHz
Speed Control: Kyosho Speed House 60A waterproof ESC
Motor: Kyosho 550 G14L brushed motor
Servo: Kyosho KS202W -04W waterproof steering servo

FINAL WORD

With its unquestionable good looks and Kyosho’s emphasis on performance and durability, we think the Fazer Mk2 Camaro Z/28 should hold up well to basher duty. Hopefully the endless bash sessions won’t be too hard on the body though, because the Kyosho ’69 Camaro Z/28 is one model that’s worth keeping pristine.

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Text by Jerry Tsai and RCCA Staff
Images by Jerry Tsai