[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2018 issue of Grassroots Motorsports.]
Blame Canada. Back in the mid-1980s, Camaras and Firebirds came off the production line with brakes that were not quite up to snuff for track use. According to John Heinricy, Chevrolet’s product engineering manager at the time, IMSA and SCCA showroom stock racers just had to deal with it.
At least, they did until GM of Canada organized the Player’s Challenge series, a spec program featuring the Camaro IROC-Z and Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am. This program didn’t have to be bound by deficiencies in factory equipment, so the organizers eventually requested a favour, more brakes, please.
Aftermarket brakes would have been expensive, Heinricy says, so GM engineers looked for a parts bin solution. The Chevy Caprice, specifically the wagons as well as sedans fitted with the police package, featured 12-inch front rotors that would fit. The Corvette would donate its aluminum, dual-piston calipers.
Simply adding the brakes as an option package wasn’t possible, though, since that would involve other departments. “I needed an option that wouldn’t show up on the ordering form,” Heinricy explains. “And I’m scheming on how to make this happen.”
A GM processing code would be the answer. Order the right options, and the big brakes would automatically be added. That now legendary designation, 1LE, was chosen simply because it was available.
The 1LE package would also come with a baffled gas tank, aluminum driveshaft, stronger transmission mount and stiffer rear suspension bushings. To aid cooling, the fog lights were deleted. The package couldn’t be paired with a convertible or T-tops, and it would include race-valved Delco dampers. “Totally developed on the race track,” Heinricy adds.
Purchasing one of these track-ready Camaros required three steps:
These steps triggered a phone call from Heinricy: Did the buyer know that he or she was ordering a truly track-tuned Camaro?
The 1LE package was initially available for 1988, and only four were sold that year. As word spread, the sales numbers tracked upward, reaching 705 for 1992–the final model year for the third-generation Camaro. Firebird Trans-Ams could also be ordered with the 1LE package.
As hoped, the 1LE dominated the day’s professional and amateur motorsports ranks, and today we’re seeing surviving street cars starting at around $20,000. The 1LE designation eventually moved out of the shadows, too, and today can be found attached to the Camaro’s most track-worthy option packages.
Joe Aquilante owns and manages Phoenix Performance, a professional racing and prep shop. Back in the day, he ran more than 60 SCCA Showroom Stock GT races in his own Camaro 1LE, winning some 40 percent of them.
In their day, these cars were extremely competitive in SCCA–both road racing and autocross. But as these cars have aged, their weaknesses have become more obvious.
These cars have two major weak points: the transmission and the differential. The car came with a BorgWarner transmission from the factory, and fifth gear is very weak. An aftermarket transmission like a T-56 is a nice upgrade here. The differentials are undersized, wear out quickly, and are prone to slipping. Again, there are many aftermarket upgrades available here, including units made by Strange and Moser.
A torque arm runs between the transmission and differential. The bracket that fixes the bar to the transmission can experience some stress damage over time. It’s worth looking for cracks if you’re shopping for a car, and it’s also worth keeping an eye on the bracket as an owner.
The engines in these cars are not tunable with the stock ECM. Modifying the PROM in the ECM is possible, but few people know how to do it. Instead, the car can be very roughly tuned by adjusting the fuel regulator by 1 or 2 psi.
The 1LE is prone to axle hop. There are a few different things that could cause this, so it’s hard to pinpoint the issue.
The 1LE needs a much bigger radiator to run at length on track.
If you want to pick a Camaro for track use, I would actually suggest not trying to develop a 1LE. These cars dominated SCCA road racing at the time, but big advances have made later versions much more suitable for track driving. The next generation of Camaro saw a redesigned suspension that handles a road course much better than a 1LE. It’s just not worth the time and money when you could buy an F-body Camaro that is much more adept on track–and still competitive in SCCA today.
A buddy of mine had one of those. It was a '91 5.7 liter, and had a 5-speed installed, but it was bona-fide. It was pretty beat down, though, and he sold it for a few grand to someone who beat it even harder. :(
The GM Motorsport/Players Motorsports cars from 1988 or 1989 until 1992 were designated with option code: R7U with the 1LE Package. The Series cars, R7U, had select blueprinted and Sealed 305 engines with 5 speed manual transmissions only. A few small other changes above the 1LE were part of the package. I bought a 1991 R7U-1LE car new from Applewood Chevrolet.
Used to see these for sale all the time. If I recall they seemed to bottom out around $10k and stayed there for a long time.
Saw this one looking for something else
Camaras?
so the organizers eventually requested a favour,
I saw what you did there Dave
Suprf1y said:so the organizers eventually requested a favour,
I saw what you did there Dave
Yay, someone noticed.
The 1LE package was a great setup in it's day by GM.
Around 1999 or 2000, you could still order a Firebird Formula with the 1LE package. A/C was included, but if you wanted you could still get crank windows and no t tops. I came very close to ordering one, but not close enough. You could also add SLP exhaust and air intake on the factory checkbox also - from the now retired Pontiac brand.
That's Ron Fellows car in the cover shot & have seen that car run dozens of races . His brother Rob dabbled in racing a bit, but didn't go on to do great things like Ron did for GM in Corvettes. I have one of Robs pieces of Corvette artwork & an autographed hat from Ron from the winning Corvette at the 24 Hours of LeMans. Both really classy guys.Ron is nw part owner of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, aka Mosport to us older guys.
In 1988, I went to work for Joe Varde’s Firestone Firehawk team. They ran two IROC-Z’s and two Trans-Am’s to start the seasons first three races. GM then decided after the Watkins Glen 24hr race that they wanted Chevy to win the SCCA Escort Endurance series, and Pontiac to win the IMSA series. So, we took a pre-production 1989 GTA 350 w/automatic theft recovery that Pontiac gave us, and turned it into a 1988 Trans-Am 305 w/5spd, and went on to win the championship that year. There were more than a few 1LE cars running Escort and Firehawk in those days.
We had developed a way to make quick pad changes on those cars. We had quick disconnect dry-break couplers on the brake lines, and would replace the whole caliper with new pads already in it for longer races. We even made a rear end change at the Glen race in under 20 mins.
Awesome pieces of Canadian racing history and amazingly fun cars to drive.
They have been having reunions at the new Area 27 Motorsports park in Oliver, B.C. with many original drivers, crew members, and large Players car counts in attendance. The track was built, designed and is managed by original Players series drivers.
I am currently the caretaker of this ‘91 R7U. I actively track the car and continue to maintain its originality as much as I can. 
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