Camaro First Generation Pt. 1 (1967 - 1968)
The Chevrolet Camaro was introduced as a pony car in 1967 to compete with Ford's Mustang. Available with a wide range of engines and performance options, the Camaro could be anything from a sedate sporty car to an all out musclecar.
The Super Sport package included a 350 cubic inch small block rated at 295 horsepower and 380 ft-lbs of torque, and could be ordered with a 396 big block rated at 325 or 375 horsepower.
The Z/28 began life as unpublicized option code for a special race version of the '67 Camaro that was made to compete in the Trans Am racing series. It included a high-revving 302 small block rated at 290 horsepower, as well as upgraded suspension parts and racing stripes on the hood and trunk. For 1968, the Z/28 was advertised and they now wore identification badges, unlike the ‘67's which had no Z/28 emblems. The 1969 Camaro was moderately restyled and was the last year for the first generation. Big block 427's were finally made available, mostly as a special dealer installed COPO (Central Office Production Order System) option. Chevy did manufacture a few (reportedly only 69) Camaros with the aluminum block ZL1 427 engine which was underrated at 430 horsepower.
In 1970, the Z/28 received the LT1 350 rated at 360 hp and 380 ft-lbs of torque. The Z/28 disappeared for 1975 and '76, but returned in 1977. The Z/28 carried over into the Camaro's third generation, and was manufactured until 1987. It was again revived in 1991 and would continue for the entire run of the fourth generation Camaro until it ceased production in 2002.
The fourth generation Camaro was produced from 1993 to 2002. 1996 saw the return of the SS Camaro which came with a 305 horsepower ram-air LT1. The Camaro was slightly restyled in 1998, the same year it got the LS-1, the all-aluminum 5.7 liter small block engine from the Corvette. It was rated at 305 hp and 320 ft-lbs of torque in its base form, or 320 hp and 345 ft-lbs of torque in the ram-air version.
