5thgen69camaro

No. Z28's started out as a SCCA racer entry in 67 with a 350 bore and a 283 crank to meet the displacement limitations of SCCA rules. It was a race car. The SS was a street car that started out only offering a 350 in Sept of 66 and later the 396 in Nov of 66. Z28 was just the option code of that year for the SCCA racer and had no other identification other than the racing stripes. It was so popular it was later badged in 68 with the option code. It should have been the 1LE of the 4th gen by definition. In the first gen it had an optional cross ram dual 4BBL carbs. That put it top dog(in terms of road racing) under the ZL1 Camaro which was limited production.

1969
Z28 Special Front /Rear susp
302 V8 (displacement limited by SCCA)
Optional Crossram
Required 4 spd manual
Heavy duty radiator
Temp controled fan
Quick steering

SS Suspension and trim
350 V8 optional 396(which made the car front heavy)
floor mounted 3 spd
Power disc front brakes
Special hood
Dual exhausts with bright tips
Hood insulation

SS and Z28 was not combined till 4th Gen Neither were top dog 1st gen. That crown went to ZL1 Neither SS or Z28 were top dog in 4th gen either. Again that was the limited ZL1 GMMP.

Did I mention the poll is FLAWED??? Ive owned two F bodies and neither were SS or Z28. I voted that I owned a firebired(though I never have because I didnt want to prove that Z28 owners were voting for their own...

Sixer-Bird

I owned a WS.6 and I think the Z28 should go back to its roots. Let the SS be the mainstream performance car, and the Z28 be the radical one.

Z284ever

I owned a '70 SS, (Camaro, that is). L48, no gauges other than speedo, fuel and idiot lights...non-posi....14" wheels with hubcaps............all I kept thinking was how awesome it would be if I had a Z/28.

JoeliusZ28

um no, the Z28 had its own SEPERATE engine back in the 1st gen. Therefore thats more than just a 1LE version of an existing model.

wrong. see first generation camaro.

no, it hasnt always been that way... the only people that are going to be confused are the vehicularly ignorant people who are only familiar with 4th gens

Z28s and SSs used to be DIFFERENT models, with DIFFERENT engines and DIFFERENT suspension. Back then you couldnt make a Z28 or an SS clone by swapping a hood, spoiler, and 3 or 4 suspension peices... nor was there reason too, because one was not necessarily viewed as superior to the other, they simply served different purposes

i would never boycott a new camaro over a badge, i just tend to fight for making things the way they should be

5thgen69camaro

You do understand the 1st gen Z28 couldnt be more than 305ci in order to compete in SCCA rules? That means it couldnt use the 350, and using the 283 would be stupid. No engine fit the bill at that time. so destroking a 350(or really any small block with 4" bore there were quite a few) with a 283 crank gave you the 302. In 1970 SCCA rules relaxed a bit and permitted destroking larger engines. Thats why the Z28 went to the 350.

8 1LE's were built in 1988 for SCCA

111 1LE in 1989 built for SCCA gave you

engine oil cooler
4 wheel disc brakes
dual converter exhaust
p245/50ZR 16 tires
305 with 5spd or 350 with auto
145mph speedo 5500 rpm redline tach

AND when ordered without air you also got the following

aluminum drive shaft
big front Corvette brakes adapted to fit the Camaro
front fuel tank baffels
specific front and rear shock absorbers
different jounce bumpers
fog light delete, for better weight and air to radiator flow

That sounds ALOT like the Z28's of 69 that were built for SCCA racing

1969
Z28 Special Front /Rear susp
302 V8 (displacement limited by SCCA)
Optional Crossram
Required 4 spd manual
Heavy duty radiator
Temp controled fan
Quick steering
15X7 wheels
E70X15 white letter tires

Edited to site the Camaro White book as my reference. Just about everything is straight from it.

danno02SS

I voted Z-28 but only because there could only be one top-dog in your poll. Ideally I would like to see a Z/28 be equivalent to a 1LE and the SS have the biggest displacement engine GM has to offer (1/4mi king).



After skimming this thread and realizing it becam yet another pissing match, I really hope for the following:

RS entry-level V8 (5.3L) with available AWD
SS manly V8 (6.4L)
Z/28 mid-level V8 (6.0L), 1LE suspension, hardtop only

JakeRobb

I believe that the poll results now indicate that my theory was correct. Slightly more than 50% of respondents believe that the model they own should be top dog.

Roughly two thirds of those who actually own a Z28 or SS believe that their model should be top dog. Of the remaining third, the overwhelming majority wants SS to be top dog.

I apologize for the missing options in the poll, but I think the point has been made. Thanks everyone for voting!

jg95z28

Actually the Z28 was going to have a 283 until Vince Piggins suggested using a 283 crank in the 327. (Not the 350, but its the same bore, so no big difference.)

"Estes was quite impressed with the performance of this 283-engined vehicle," recalls Piggins, "and as I explained to him what we planned to do to capture the Trans-Am championship and to produce a good performance image for the Camaro, it didn't take much convincing for Pete to see what I was aiming toward.

"The only thing. . ." continues Vince, "while we were driving the car, I mentioned that we'd put the 283 into it because we'd built that size engine before. But I suggested when we got back to the starting pad that it might be a lot better to take the 327 block and put the 283 crank into it, giving us a 4 x 3 bore and stroke. That would put displacement at 302.4 cid, just under the SCCA's 305 limit.

http://www.67z28.com/history.htm

toegead93

Let me settle all of this bickering for everybody. Let's just make the ZL1 top dog and call it a day

jg95z28

Actually shows more than that. It also shows that Z28 owners are more open minded.

An equal number of people, both SS and Z28 owners, believe SS should be top dog. However a very small minority of SS owners believe Z28 should be top dog. What does this say? I'm not going to go into psychology or semantics here, but I think it shows a lot about one's personality.

Had an SS option been available in 1995, would I have purchased one? Perhaps. However, I did purchase the top dog Camaro of 1995, a Z28. To say that an overwhelming majority of the others want SS as top dog only shows that an overwhelming majority of the others on this website believe this. For the most part this site is made up of younger enthusiasts who tend to modify their vehicles for performance. As such, most of them would more than likely be SS owners. Your poll actually shows nothing really. The small sampling is not enough to make a determination, nor is accurate by more than +/- 10 %.

The bottom line is yes, SS owners will say SS and Z28 owners will say Z28. However what difference does it make when the decision has already been made?

jg95z28

Then you may as well call it Z06, since the ZL1 was originally a Corvette option.

5thgen69camaro

With all due respect I dont think it shows anything. Reason being, either youve owned an SS or a Z28 or you havent owned a Camaro at all. I almost voted I owned a Z28 and wanted a Z because the alternative was I never owned an Fbody. I wasnt about to check that since Ive owned two. Im sure plenty of people checked they owned SS or Z28 because they wanted that as top dog because they felt that was the best choice given...

thought I said that but youre right as well. 327, 350 same bore

There is a thought. That would be consistant tie them together and more in line with historically what they are and would allow the Z28 to go back to its roots in the way 1LE replaced it. SS could be a slightly tammer street version heavily optioned with Auto available... ZL1 Camaro, Z06 Camaro... Hmmm I think the Z28 has already been decided on though which is fine with me. I definately want to see Z28 go back to the car everyone wishes they had and to be reconed with on a road course. I just would like it to be obtainable. BTW, how good are super chargers on a road course?

Lt1 and Ls1

Well since chevrolet has to tag the name SS on all there vehicles now, I hope the z28 is the top dog

Ron78Z&01SS

I didn't fit into any of the choices so I didn't vote.

I've owned 4 Z28's (still have 2 of them) and one SS. The fastest one was the SS, but that was the only F-Body I had with an LS1, so no surprise there.

I agree with what others have said on this thread about the "SS" designation has become watered down and lost its name impact (for lack of a better term) as GM GM has an "SS" option on damn near everything now no matter how anemic it is.

I think the "top" Camaro should be the Z28 just because that designation is specific to the Camaro and cant be confused with anything else.

................but then again, "ZL1" does have a nice ring to it!!

jg95z28

Also what some here are failing to recall is that the ZL1 was always a big and bad aluminum big block. Most recently it was a 454 cid limited edition crate motor.

Unless they plan on placing an aluminum big block in production Corvettes and Camaros, the name should stay retired.