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Old 06-21-2011, 03:24 PM   #62
wildpaws

 
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Drives: 1999 Blazer
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 1,228
Quote:
Originally Posted by Q-ship View Post
Not exactly 100% true. Yes the Z/28 was the best handling package Camaro from the factory. BUT the Z/28 was a parts bin car, it was the best handling selected pieces from the Camaro option list and put into a package. All the pieces for the suspension could be option on to any Camaro in 1967 - 1969, so yes you could build a SS350 Camaro that on street would have run the wheels off a Z/28, the 350 had torque the 302 could not match in stock form. A prepped Z/28 would kill an SS350 Camaro but off the showroom floor a SS350 could be option to hurt the Z. Big Block ZL1 would have had too much torque to control in handling with the tires available, the iron block 396 and 427 was just too damn nose heavy to even come close to a Z/28 even with the same suspension.
Having been there back in the day, I can assure you that I never saw a SS350 Camaro that could "run the wheels off a Z/28"!! I'm not talking about "you could build" or "prepped", I'm talking about how almost all of them came from the factory. How many people ever ordered a '67-'69 SS with anything but the basic suspension package? You also seem to forget that while the SS350 came with 14" wheels and tires, the Z/28 came with 15" but still sat lower than the SS versions. And the SS 350 engine had hydraulic lifters with a 5,500 RPM redline, the Z/28 302 had solid lifters with a 6,500-7,000 RPM redline. SS 350 was rated at 295HP (300HP in '69) at 4,800 RPM and 380 lb./ft. torque at 3,200 RPM, Z/28 302 was rated 290HP at 5,800 RPM and 290 lb./ft. torque at 4,200 RPM, higher RPMs gave much better figures than the factory ratings for the Z/28 302, 350HP at 6,700 RPM and 333 lb./ft. torque at 4,400RPM. What you often saw was a SS350 getting the jump off the line only to lose to the Z/28 farther down the road once the Z/28 was staying within it's optimal RPM range. And again, most SS Camaros back then did not have anything "extra" ordered in the suspension components and a quick cruise through the "twisties" would confirm that. I totally agree with your conclusions about the iron block 396 and 427 engines being too nose heavy, conclusions about ZL1 handling back then are subject to speculation as most of them were bought as 1320 stormers and nothing else. In the end, I believe we need to focus on what GM might give us if and when they build a new Z/28.
Clyde
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