Which first gen. Camaro was top dog?

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by b4z

let's not forget about gearing.
The Z28 had 4.11s, which was part of the reason it performed as well as it did.
If you went with a 396/375 you could probably go down to 3.45s and still have similiar or better performance------and not be tachin' at 4000rpms on the highway.
I had a '87 IROC TPI 5 spd. It would run the 1/4 at about 15.1 secs which is not too far off what the Z28 would do, except the '69 Z was trapping at about 11 mph faster!
The biggest negative of the '60s perfomance cars was their tire technology.
Put some modern performance or drag radials on the '60s cars and you will see times commensurate with their bhp.
The second biggest negative is the obvious lack of overdrive transmissions.
If I had my choice for a first gen I'd go small block in the 350cu. range built to around 350hp and run 3.45 gears.
I don't think the first gen Z28 was a great daily driver. Just way too much gear.

Go back and read Camaro history, 4.11 was NOT the standard rear ratio for Z/28s, they came standard with 3.73 rear gears. You could OPTIONALLY install 4.10 (NOT 4.11), 4.56, or 4.88 as has been stated earlier in this thread. The '69 Z/28 I bought new in '69 had a 3.73 rear gear, I drove comfortably on the highway at around 3k RPM.
Clyde

[b4z]

Originally Posted by wildpaws

Go back and read Camaro history, 4.11 was NOT the standard rear ratio for Z/28s, they came standard with 3.73 rear gears. You could OPTIONALLY install 4.10 (NOT 4.11), 4.56, or 4.88 as has been stated earlier in this thread. The '69 Z/28 I bought new in '69 had a 3.73 rear gear, I drove comfortably on the highway at around 3k RPM.
Clyde

My bad on the 4.11s. Almost all the Z28s I've seen tested and going back into the late 70s when I got into cars had 4.10s.

I guess one of the negatives on the BB cars was that not only was their and extra 200lbs on the front end which did bad things for handling, but the front to rear weight distribution change gave the BB cars less traction.

[f5journal]

Great read Clyde et al

My two "back in the day"

'69 had 3:73...did a calculated 146 MPH one time
'68 had 4:10...much faster car general purpose wise..felt lighter and engine seemed a bit more radical (no reason that I know of)

My obvious vote...Z-28

[wildpaws]

f5journal, my favorite out of the first gen. has always been the '69. I like your '69, looks like you had the "plain jane" hood just as I did, I think it drew a little less attention (but not much, those big, wide "stereo" stripes drew enough attention on their own. Mine did have the Endura color matched front bumper and I really liked the way that looked.
Clyde

[f5journal]

Originally Posted by wildpaws

f5journal, my favorite out of the first gen. has always been the '69. I like your '69, looks like you had the "plain jane" hood just as I did, I think it drew a little less attention (but not much, those big, wide "stereo" stripes drew enough attention on their own. Mine did have the Endura color matched front bumper and I really liked the way that looked.
Clyde

Yep...mine was even console delete. Had the tuxedo interior...white seats and door panels with black dash, carpet and headliner..last seen in NC

'68 was trimmed out similar but had the console..I added the hood in the picture obviously. Neither were deluxe interior or the more chrome models...last seen Knoxville TN Delmar Haynes collection

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by f5journal

Yep...mine was even console delete. Had the tuxedo interior...white seats and door panels with black dash, carpet and headliner..last seen in NC

'68 was trimmed out similar but had the console..I added the hood in the picture obviously. Neither were deluxe interior or the more chrome models...last seen Knoxville TN Delmar Haynes collection

Yep, my '69 was Rallye Green with black stripes with that same white/black interior. I grew to hate that interior, it was really nice looking when clean, but awful to keep clean. I well remember when getting it ready for a weekend and jumping in and out of the car while adjusting valves, setting and calibrating the dual point distributor, etc., you can imagine how dirty it got then. You'd have to spend a couple of hours cleaning the interior after tune up time was done!
Clyde

[LOWDOWN]

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

My '68 "Zed" was a LeMans Blue-Black Stripe/Black bucket/M21/G80-4.10/U63/non-spoilered Bank repo, bought "right"...with "302" emblems on the front fenders.

The current issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines features a Corvette Bronze '68 Zee that, other than color, is EXACTLY the same as the LeMans Blue version I had, 4.10s, "un-spoiled" and all.

http://www.hemmings.com/store/curren...e.html?pub=MUS

Wildpaws, the only thing I found, back then, that really cleaned white vinyl interiors was FANTASTIC...which was fantastic!

[OldScoolCamaro]

Originally Posted by f5journal

Great read Clyde et al

My two "back in the day"

'69 had 3:73...did a calculated 146 MPH one time
'68 had 4:10...much faster car general purpose wise..felt lighter and engine seemed a bit more radical (no reason that I know of)

My obvious vote...Z-28

Awesome rides and pics my friend, man those Cragar SS's were the cats meow weren't they?...I ran 4.88's on the street in my 73Z with L-60's, the ash tray would fly like a missle from the dash straight back into the rear seatback on hard 1-2 shift's...ah the memories...thanks for sharing!

[WiSSDiver]

I'm kinda partial to my 68, but not so much for the speed as the TLC I gave it over 20 years of ownership. It started as a straight 6 with 2 sp power glide and was a complete rat when I got her. My first wife thought I was nuts for buying her, but I saw in her then what you see in the pictures today. The first 10 years was the big stuff: body, engine & tranny ( 350 w/turbo 350 trans) second 10 was all the fun stuff. I maybe put 1000 miles on her in 20 years until this year and fell in love with her again. Put 2000 on this summer alone and that sparked the bug for the 2010. Now the only problem is convincing my (second) wife that it's a good idea to keep both of them.

[f5journal]

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

The current issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines features a Corvette Bronze '68 Zee that, other than color, is EXACTLY the same as the LeMans Blue version I had, 4.10s, "un-spoiled" and all.

http://www.hemmings.com/store/curren...e.html?pub=MUS

Wildpaws, the only thing I found, back then, that really cleaned white vinyl interiors was FANTASTIC...which was fantastic!

A friend and I each bought our used '68 Z's within a few months of each other back around 1979. We were pretty car savvy back then, but there was no great resource for information on the Z28's. The MO instead of DZ coded engine and the lack of Z28 emblems on some had us shaking our heads for a bit. Documentation back then was fairly likely, so we had to go on that, the tire pressure decal and general unmessed with look. A couple other simple items (aside from drivetrain items) that appear to be common to all are the dash grab bar and long push type rear bumper guards...and of course the unique rally wheels


Edit...I was trying to capture your comment about "302" emblems in the quote

[f5journal]

PS, when I sold the white '68...about a month later the buyer re-contacted me to see if I still had the original steering wheel, flat hood and manual steering box. I had replaced those with a real 69 rosewood wheel, brand new GM cowl hood and 69 Camaro power steering setup. That's the only thing I touched on the car while I had it. I had the parts and gave them to him. I think that means it went to good hands.

[LOWDOWN]

In 1968, V32 - Rear Bumper Guards were included with G31 - HD Rear Springs...which were Standard Equipment on Z/28.

"302" insignias on the front fenders seem to have been "early production"...generally replaced by "Z/28" emblems somewhere through the Model Year. I've seen a few "restified" '68-'69 Camaros with "502" emblems ("02" from the ZEE, "5" from SS350), these days...

I bought my '68 about 18 months old (Spring '69), from my Bank, for the balance of the original 36-month loan (long story)...and sold it (Summer '70) to go back to college, for exactly what I paid for it... Cheap fun!

[wildpaws]

Originally Posted by f5journal

A friend and I each bought our used '68 Z's within a few months of each other back around 1979. We were pretty car savvy back then, but there was no great resource for information on the Z28's. The MO instead of DZ coded engine and the lack of Z28 emblems on some had us shaking our heads for a bit. Documentation back then was fairly likely, so we had to go on that, the tire pressure decal and general unmessed with look. A couple other simple items (aside from drivetrain items) that appear to be common to all are the dash grab bar and long push type rear bumper guards...and of course the unique rally wheels


Edit...I was trying to capture your comment about "302" emblems in the quote

Yep, DZ coded engines were '69 only. The 302 to Z/28 emblem change took place sometime during the '68 model year, later rather than sooner if I recall. '69 Zs had four Z/28 emblems through the entire model year, one on each front fender, one on the grille, and one between the taillights. Tire pressure decal would have likely listed 15" wheels/tires as the Z came with 15" rather than the 14" found on most other Camaros back then.
Clyde

[billscamaros]

Originally Posted by MY68RS

Not a "production" car..
But it WAS produced. A 1968 Camaro Z28 Convertible....
1 of 1....

Great thread!!! This was tossed out on the first page, and nobody bit on it. So I will ...........

This is totally against anything that I've read or seen over the past forty years ...... got solid data?

"Production" and "produced" impies by Chevrolet.

A coupe modified by someone else into a convertible doesn't qualify as "production".

Proof please.