04-03-2012, 04:02 PM | #1 |
Why is Z/28 more heralded that the SS?
Just curious why everyone on the board is always so excited about the z/28 over the SS? I'll explain why I'm asking...maybe it's performance related or I'm just not well educated enough in the differences between Z/28 and SS.
I owned a 1997 Z/28 that was a badass ride. However, the SS was the upgrade to the z/28. This was true for all 4th gen Camaros right? You would see the z/28 everywhere but the SS was far more rare and more expensive with beefed up performance parts. Then the 5th GEN came out and all the V8s are called an SS whether it's a 1SS or a 2SS based on the options you want. Performance is the same. Yet there is no z/28 (yet). Why did GM/Chevy not just call the standard V8 Camaro a z/28 and instead just went with SS? This confuses most of my friends and family who think I really splurged to get the SS when the z/28 was always the more affordable of the V8 Camaro. They don't realize there is no z/28 for the 5th GEN. Anyway, just thought I'd ask the experts here, because I honestly don't know. I do realize that in the 1st GEN there was the V6 and the V8 SS and the z/28 wasn't introduced until '69? Maybe that's why the 5th gen is SS since it's the re-birth? There were no SS in the 3rd gen right? I owned a 1986 Berlinetta back in the high school days. LOL. 2.8L baby!! Thanks to this site, I found the '86 Berlinetta was actually quite rare |
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04-03-2012, 04:03 PM | #2 |
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Exactly...I've wondered the same thing!
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04-03-2012, 04:10 PM | #3 |
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What Z28?
There were a few in 67 and maybe 600 or so in 68. Back in 1969 when they were not too scarce, there was no a/c, no power steering, no automatic transmission, they had a rock crusher transmission, 4.11 gears and posi and a little bitch of a 302 motor that could scream with a Holley carb, aluminum intake and 2.02/1.60 heads with 11 to 1 compression. There was nothing else like it. You can't duplicate that today, it's like a sequel to a great movie that does not cut it. I still remember the feeling I had when I saw my first one. You old guys know what I am talking about.
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04-03-2012, 04:40 PM | #4 |
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Oh wow where to begin? Sorry, but I'm gonna let Clyde and Lowdown handle this. (I'm in a read more than respond mood today)
I'll leave you with these 2 thoughts; 1. the SS designation has been used on many models, however the Z28 belongs only to Camaro, like the Z06 to the Vette. 2. The 5Gen was modeled after the 1Gen or the Camaro's beginnings. The Z28 entered in the 1967 model year as a street-able race car. |
04-03-2012, 05:00 PM | #5 |
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Well, it obvious that GM has played the SS and Z/28 game a number of times over the 5 generations. How about really stirring the pot with the IROC in Gen 3. It boils down to there is only one Chevrolet to ever carry the Z/28 name, that being the Camaro. There was the feeble attempt of giving it's weak sister the Cavalier the Z/24 name. But since 1961 the SS name has been doned and tainted on many unworthy models.
You can bet the next Z/28 will have a different engine than the SS and never be used on another model.
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04-03-2012, 05:03 PM | #6 |
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I like my SS. Z/28 was my favorite in the second gen'.
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04-03-2012, 05:19 PM | #7 |
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It will be a track star. IMO it should be a 1LE+LS7+6/4 Brakes(MRC optional)+HW Hood, Aero and Design Cues.
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04-03-2012, 05:54 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
Clyde Last edited by wildpaws; 04-03-2012 at 06:38 PM. |
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04-03-2012, 06:21 PM | #9 |
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There was a limit of 305 cubic inches in the class it was designed for that was being dominated by the Boss 302 Mustang. The z/28 changed all that.
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04-03-2012, 06:23 PM | #10 |
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04-03-2012, 06:30 PM | #11 |
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Wasn't there a 302 Tunnel Port in 1968 before the Boss 302?
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04-03-2012, 06:30 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
Clyde |
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04-03-2012, 06:35 PM | #13 |
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Yes there was and it was a dismal failure as far as engines go. It was this lack of sucess with the tunnel port that led to the design of the Boss 302 engine. Various racing engineers from the Ford teams have said that after the tunnel port engine, Ford teams went to Chevrolet dealers and purchased Z/28 crate engines to disassemble and see what made them tick and why they ran so well. In some respects the Boss 302 was a blatant rip off of the Z/28 motor.
Clyde |
04-03-2012, 06:43 PM | #14 |
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Yes OP. The Z28 was first created to participate in the very popular at the time Trans Am series. A track halo car if you will. Chevy got the press with the Z28 and was winning the races after 1967. Ford did not catch up until 1970 in the series. That is where the rep comes from.
The SS was used on a number of cars, some good, some not so. Chevy misused the Z28 cache in later years. So it is the history that gives the Z28 its status. Z28 = Track animal.
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