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22 economist suntribune wheels thursday may 23 2002 ipj camaro tiia9 ambfit styling exereise tl vtli jsv imlltip u retrieved- riintcie joiigina or vh i created inihe this is why i 111 isrk 1 wiril 1 llasirh g oa 1 clearance sale all new used vehicles included markville toyota 5362 hwy 7 just east of mccowan rd see all our used 9052948100 18008286585 wvjalfcom by otto stein for wheelbase communications as the 1970s began disco music was sweeping across north america and general motors was rocking to a new beat with the introduction of its secondgeneration pony cars during the early part of the decade performance cars would be hot although perhaps not as fast or quick as they were at the peak of the musclecar era in 1 970 and by the mid1 970s it would all be over the secondgeneration camaro made its debut early in 1970 production problems delayed the introduction with much acclaim from the automotive press a buff new body and an allnew highperformance 1970 12 remember it was late z28 package the firstgeneration zs introduced in the fall of 1 966 had carved out their own niche with the famous 302 v8 engines which made them legal and necessary for trans am racing by 1970 a change in the sports car club of america scca rules allowed destroking larger engines to meet the 305cubicinch limit not only did it mean chrysler could make its new 340powered challengers and cudas meet competition guidelines but chevrolet no longer need ed the highrewing softontorque 302 on the street instead the bowtie boys took advantage of the rules change and switched to a new streetfriendlier 350cube motor which they destroked for racing that made 360 horsepow er and the z28 a lot more fun to drive the engine the infa mous lt1 was pretty much the same as the one powering the corvette that year although the vette made 1 0 more horses it came with a fourbarrel carburetor 111 compres sion ratio plus all the performance goodies found in the chevy parts bin solidlifter camshaft heavyduty radia tor dual exhaust and since the z concept was always as much about handling as it was horsepower a special per formance suspension consisting of larger sway bars and beefier springs the lt1 in the 70 12 z28 made most of the engines in the chevy lineup green with envy right down to the 250- cubicinch inline sixcylinder that found its way into a sur prising number of models of chevys sveltelooking coupe the only thing with more moxy at least in termsof peak numbers was the 375horsepower 396 available for 70 only but not on the z standard equipment on the z28 also included a rear spoiler a special gauge package power disc brakes limited- slip rear axle and a muncie fourspeed manual transmission and for the first time you could get a z28 with an auto matic compared to the 1 969 models the new car was given a complete facelift with a square eggcarton grille and a wider longer footprint the basic chassis would remain the same through the 1981 model year young drivers fell in love with the car with its fresh new look and great handling characteristics but storm clouds appeared on the horizon in the form of gasoline shortages and tougher pollution regulations the days for this hot lit tle smallblock scorcher were numbered the very next year saw a reduction in the compression ratios of all gms performance engines the z28s power dipped to 330 by 1 972 gm changed its rating system from gross to net power with all the accessories hooked up and running and horsepower sagged to 255 although it was essentially the same engine the generation gap was beginning to show more powerrobbing moves lay in store in 1 973 as the aluminum intake the solidlifter cam and the holley carb were taken away horsepower fell to 245 and the move was on to turn the brash street racer into a comfy boule vard cruiser to meet tougher us crashtestlegislation the once sporty camaro took on a beefier look in 1 974 as the car grew in size and weight but remained with basically the same power the new look especially the wraparound back window that increased rear visibility was met with lackluster approval and sales suffered the z28 package was cancelled and the once muscular pony car was put out to pasture the z28 package would return again in 1977 as a full model rather than merely as an option package but by this time the car had become a paper tiger it still had the 350 engine but power barely scratched the 200mark not until 1993 did the z28 with the rebirth of the lt1 designation regain some of its firebreathing glory by then disco was gone punk was in and the whole generation of boomers had moved on to drive suvs and trucks but from 197073 the camaro especially the z28 struck fear in hearts of the competition both on the track and on the street and for the lucky people who owned one of these great machines during that period a piece of automotive history that will be handed down from genera tion to generation otto stein specializes in classic cars as a writer with wheelbase communications a worldwide supplier of automobile news reviews and features