Camaro Stuff
Usually when a person mentions the words power, style or fast, they are synonymous with the word Camaro. The mighty Camaro was feared at any dragstrip or on the street. Although the Camaro was a terror at the dragstrip, it was also a terror at the gas station. Unfortunately that would be part of the Camaro's undoing. The big block Chevy had an atrocious appetite for fuel as it is, combine that with low gears (4.10:1 gears were not uncommon) for better acceleration and the handicap of lack of overdrive transmissions, and the big block Chevy really used the fuel.

Unfortunately the Camaro's reign of white smoking terror was brought short as Chevrolet (along with every other auto manufacturer) had to gear up for compatibility with newly required low-lead fuels. Year by year the emissions ruler got stricter, and the once mighty Camaro got weaker. It had to be transformed from an electrifying machine of acceleration to a dull fuel-efficient machine of modern society. But no matter how weak the Camaro became it still had its popularity. Even if the Camaro became quite frail it was utterly simple to improve upon. After '72 the only motor available was the respected small block Chevy. Although the small block is just that, small it had plenty of room in which it could grow to meet the expectations of mind warping speed and acceleration.

The Camaro has seen four different style changes, which are divided into generations, or "gens" for short. The first generation was from '67-'69, the second generation was from '70-'81, the third generation was from '82-'92 and the fourth generation was from '93- 03. The 3rd and 4th gen Camaros had some advantages over the 1st and 2nd gen models. Albeit the 3rd and 4th gen models have some advantages they also had a few disadvantages, like weak differentials and transmissions. But the biggest snare for the Camaro had to be the onboard computer that controlled many of the functions of the car. The computer, or better referred to as an "E.C.U.", controlled all the functions of the engine and even some operations of the transmission. Even though the computer can run a self-diagnosis and aide in making the engine more fuel efficient, it created an element of complication for the Camaro.

The First Generation
Do you like a car with racy good looks; enough juice to white smoke the hides off even the widest tires? How about a car that can execute a 12 second ¼ mile pass and a list of luxury options as long as your arm? If you answered yes to any of these questions you might want to look into the purchase of a Camaro. First introduced in September 26th of 1966 (it was the '67 model, just offered in the fall of '66) and had engine options from granny six whangers to a not so granny 12 second capable 396s, making the Camaro an immediate hit. Place the potent 396 between the fenders of any car, and you had a car that demanded respect wherever it went, place the 396 between the fenders of a Camaro, and you still had a car that demanded respect, but you also had a ride that the competition feared.

The Camaro set the standard for the pony car, but not just with the 396. Any Camaro with a small block also got plenty respect. The Z/28 got the super high winding 302. Sure that's small and may sound wimpy, but the 302 powered Z/28 was quite compelling and was red hot in the sales department. With the right parts the 302 could achieve 8000 RPM, even more and in '68 the Z/28 earned Chevrolet the Trans Am title, now call the 302 small and puny.

If a 396 wasn't enough an all aluminum 427 big block could be had by the Z-l1 order option. Chevy's 427 was a motor that was feared in anything, but in a Camaro, the competition would quake in their loafers. The 427 inspired Camaro was guaranteed to swing a ¼ mile pass at 11.5 seconds, and still be tractable enough for daily driving, add a set of racing slicks and you'll go faster yet. Only problem with this wicked ride was you had to have two things, 1) a wad of money (just shy of 5 grand for the base model, nearly twice that of a regular Camaro, a wad at the time anyway) 2) a connection, you had to know someone who was a big wheel to get an inside line on one of these bad-boys. Which is why the 427 powered Camaro is so rare. Today a Z-l1 Camaro can be worth upwards of ,000, about 10 times what they cost new. All together, in the first three years of production, the Camaro line sold nearly 700,000 units. Plainly and simply the Camaro changed the world of all kinds of racing and general hot rodding, which makes it a very desirable car to have.

One reason that the first (and second) gen Camaros are so popular with the "go faster" crowd is that they are the archetype of simplicity. Any motor that GM had would fit in between the Camaro's fenders with plenty of room to spare. The wiring and engine were extremely simple so the average Joe could work on them with basic hand tools. Plus they are pretty light. With its simplicity, style, weight and practically never ending supply of cheap aftermarket speed parts, the Camaro makes the perfect platform for everything from a daily driver to a full out race car.

The Second Generation
The second gen was first introduced in 1970 (1970 ½ to be precise) and enjoyed a run of 11 years (70-81). It was a completely redesigned Camaro from top to bottom. With a still stylish body and arm-long list of power and luxury options, the Camaro was still just as popular. The [new] Camaro isn't quite as popular today as the first gen Camaros. It was a bit heavier and a tiny bit less powerful, meaning that it wasn't quite as potent as the first gens, but they could still move. Quite well. Still just as simple and just as stylish, the second gen still makes a perfect foundation for a hotrod.

The 396 was still an option in the second gen, along with a long list of small blocks. The somewhat new small block 350 was pretty much standard, but big blocks were still the motor to have. One of those motors was the big block 454. The brutally powerful 454 could be an option if the right box was checked. Though not quite as legendary as the 427, a 454-powered car was not at all a car to mess with. The 454 was plainly and simply a mean motor. With enough torque to propel anything as if it were flung from a slingshot, and enough horsepower to keep you moving, the 454 was just plain mean.

The itch to go fast was still popular, but not with insurance companies. Insurance rates were going through the roof due to ham-fisted people (who just thought they knew how to drive) trying to drive a car that was like a bullet. And gas was about to take a price hike, so performance now had two enemies; insurance rates and crappy high priced gas. '72 was the last year for the big block in a Camaro. Not only was '72 the last of the big blocks, a strike at the GM plant where the Camaro was produced cut production drastically, making any '72 Camaro a collectors item, especially a big block powered Camaro.

After '72 performance started to become a dirty word. People were caring less and less about how fast the car could handle the strip; instead they began to care about how well the car could do on fuel and how "clean" the exhaust could be. People had to suck it up, and accept the fact that the musclecar days of the 60s were no longer. Horsepower numbers were dwindling more and more as the years passed. The once mighty Camaro had to take some serious power cuts. Going from 375+ horsepower to about 150-200 horsepower had an impact; nevertheless the Camaro was still ever popular no matter how anemic it was. The Camaro was still one of the coolest cars on the planet.

The good news about the Camaro was that it was easy to improve upon. The small block Chevy is about the easiest and cheapest engine to build. There is a practically never-ending supply of speed parts available for the small block Chevy for very reasonable prices. The bad news is that in the Camaro's "stagnant" period it had gained quite a bit of weight. Towards the end of the second gen's run, the Camaro tipped the scale at near 4000 lbs. More bad news is that in effort to make the Camaro a little easier on the fuel they were high geared. Combine 150 horsepower with a high-geared car that weighs almost 2 tons, and you don't exactly have a recipe for a brutal speed demon.


The Third Generation
The Camaro (And firebird of course) took yet another change in design. 1982 was the first year for the new third gen Camaro. Still suffering cases of severe anemia from the crappy gas/clean air business, the Camaro was sent to Mustang eating duty with less than 150 horsepower, yet was still victorious.

In '81 GM began putting ECUs on the Camaro. The ECU, or computer as some people refer, controlled many operations of the engine and transmission. The Rochester Quadra-jet was reworked to operate by said computer. Admittedly not one of GMs better ideas, but the third gen was a testing ground of sorts so through its years so it was outfitted with quite a few ideas that were less than wise. If you had an automatic transmission it was computer operated as well.

As any new design, the third gen Camaro had its share of bugs to work out. Computers were a new frontier at that time; and the third gen was a guinea pig of sorts. The Camaro experienced three different less than great ideas in the fuel induction department. 1) The computer controlled carb. 2) TBI injection, again not the best idea. 3) Cross fire injection, just as bad or maybe worse than the new fangled Carburetor. But they finally hit a lick with TPI, or tuned port injection. By far the most versatile of the injection systems, the TPI created the best of both worlds, mileage and performance. The third gen F-body also had a pathetically weak drive train; transmissions and rear-ends that would go to pieces under more that 300 horsepower. Weak bodies that would flex and creak, seals that would leak, but despite all that the Camaro was still an icon of speed, and still selling like hotcakes.

The third gen Camaro also had its upsides as well. For starters, it could knock down
MPG with ease, handle like a stockcar and ride like a Cadillac not to mention it still had an aggressive style. The soul of a musclecar still lived on in the third gen Camaro.

The third gen Camaro was still outfitted with the versatile small block Chevy. Even though you could only get a puny 305 (until '87 when you could get either a 305 or a 350) it was still a small block and small blocks are still the cheapest and easiest engines to improve upon. As of now there is a plethora of aftermarket speed parts available for the third gen Camaro. And since the third gen Camaro is relatively cheap now, it makes the perfect foundation for a tire abuser. It can be converted to operate without the computer, or it can be made to take full advantage of the computer, either one.

The Fourth Generation
The fourth gen Camaro started its run in 1993, still a bit anemic from 80's power lag but definitely potent. The fourth gen Camaro was no longer outfitted with the small block Chevy, a new V8 rested between the fenders. The LT1 was now the power plant for the Camaro. Although not quite as cheap to build, the LT1 was still easy to improve upon. The new design was a bastard design, so to speak. Few parts from the LT1 would swap with the traditional small block Chevy, some, but not all. Even though the LT1 was different, it was still a good engine and could be made quite potent.

As the years went by, the Camaro started to gain performance for a change. And somewhere along the lines the LT1 was replaced with the LS1, yet another restyled motor that couldn't swap parts with the traditional small block Chevy. But the LS1 soon garnered its share of respect. The LS1 was a versatile engine in its own, being designed to go for speed it could be quite potent. The LS1 has the best of both worlds, having a torque curve that starts early and lasts forever, a horsepower curve that chimes in right in time for the torque to take a break and the ability to rev to 6000 RPM all while getting 25 MPG.

To this day the Camaro remains as the icon of speed, so why is it that the people in Charge at GM are putting the Camaro on hiatus? Dealers just can't move the Camaros, so to speak. The Camaro just isn't selling. The SUV market is robbing Camaro purchasers and the Mustang is selling about twice fold what the Camaro is. Perhaps it's the fact the Ford has a very aggressive advertising and marketing campaign. Perhaps being one of the cheapest cars to build has been part of the Camaro's undoing. Think about it a brand new Z28 will run well over ,000. Why spend that on a new Camaro when you can buy a Z from the 70s, dump -15 thousand into it and end up with a car that will perform just as well as a new Camaro and get the same 25-MPG. While if you wanted to do that with a 70s 'Stang it would cost 20-40 percent more, almost worth buying a new one for that.

Every day a noose of emissions laws gets tighter around the proverbial neck of the Camaro, among a plethora of other cars from the past, that chokes the Camaro into fewer numbers. As if that's not enough hundreds, if not thousands, of Camaros are being doomed to an existence of rusting away in junkyards and driveways of pig headed owners who refuse to sell the car because they are going to restore it (and never do). There are also places where these cars, in reasonable to perfect condition, are ran through crushers and turned into scrap metal because of a bone headed mindset that these cars are obsolete, gross polluters and have no place in modern society. So in turn one of the most desirable cars on the planet ends up shrinking in numbers every day… with no end in site.

Matthew Burns