enlighten me please

[dklowrider]

the 72-73 bumper thing has me thinking. i know they had larger bumper guards, or bumperrettes or whatever you want to call them up front, with a rubber face in 73. the filler panel thing might be a 73 pinto i'm thinking [don't laugh, mine was a 302 w/ a c-4 automatic].
what makes me feel stupid is a buddy has a 73 in his garage right now that we've been cruising in since around 75. you'd think i would see it in my sleep.

[snaggeltooth]

Ya for some people. I still primarily own pre 72 muscle, but I've had a 74 formula in the past. After a while that stuff kinda grows on ya. I didn't like them for the longest time. But now that newer cars got even more "Butt Ugly" the stuff from the 70's isn't all that bad looking all the sudden

They have now grown in popularity, driving prices up. I'm glad to see it.

It took me 5 years to accept the 97-98 4th gen camaro style changes. I'm still not a huge fan even though I own 2 of them. But I've gotten to the point where I can tollerate it

to me .. 70-73 ... tie ..74-76 Firebird..77-78 Firebird .. 79-81 Z28...

[Firebirdjones]

no, 73 only set the front bumper away from the body a couple inches with a filler panel to cover the space, same bumper [ i think?]. the rear was unchanged. 74 was the nose and tail styling change and larger bumpers.
back then the big stickers were like 'wtf are they doing to these cars?', but i agree that now it's somewhat cool, i guess cuz it's old. i think 80-81 was a nice refinement for an end to the generation.

You are right, I remember the egg crate grilles now that they went to in 73, and the bumpers had large bumper guards that the 70-72's didn't have.
Hence the crash impact standards I was referring to.

[twozs]

The 73 model Z28 had a low compression solid lifter engine while the 74 was a hydraulic lifter version of the same engine (this limited RPM capability). They cancelled the option as they didn't want to downgrade any further what was once a small block race car.

The 77 model Z28 actually had an engine with better internals and a slightly hotter cam which produced 15hp (net) over the basic 4 bbl 350.

Like I stated above it was brought back as a mid-year car in response to the Trans Am.

the 73 Z28 and the 74 Z28 had the same L82 245 hp motor 9 to 1 compression 4 bolt main forged crank and rods and pistons and hydraulic cam. it was a pretty stout setup . the z was canceled after 74 because it wasn't selling plain and simple. gm is out to make money and thats that ,not to please a few loyalists. the Z28 from 67 to 74 was a "special performance package" option on the base camaro as was the ss. thats where it gets its name RPO Z28. rally sport RPO was Z22, SS was RPO Z27 all based on the FQ87 platform (camaro) . in 73 there was a new model camaro called the type lt and it was the FS87. when the Z28 reappeared in 77 it was its own model FQ87/Z28 and not an option package on the camaro. the 77 LM1 motor in the Z28 was a 2 bolt main, cast internals motor , so it had the same internals as the others

[twozs]

70 - 73 were the same in apperance . the 73 had diffrent things going on behind the bumper but it looked the sane . the decal on the hood and the trunk of the 74 Z28 was optinal. it was rpo d80 and the Z28 could be ordered without it. my 73 rally sport (split bumper) Z28 all original with my 2001 Z28

[KahanaReef]

the 73 Z28 and the 74 Z28 had the same L82 245 hp motor 9 to 1 compression 4 bolt main forged crank and rods and pistons. it was a pretty stout setup . the z was cancelled after 74 beacauase it wasnt selling plain and simple. gm is out to make money and thats that ,not to please a few loyalists. the Z28 from 67 to 74 was a "special preformance package" option on the bace camaro as was the ss. thats where it gets its name RPO Z28. rally sport RPO was Z22, SS was RPO Z27 all baced on the FQ87 platform (camaro) . in 73 there was a new model camaro called the type lt and it was the FS87. when the Z28 reapeared in 77 it was its own model FQ87/Z28 and not an option package on the camaro. the 77 LM1 motor in the Z28 was a 2 bolt main, cast internals motor , so it had the same internals as the others

Good to know

[Schmalgar]

my 73 rally sport (split bumper) Z28 all original with my 2001 Z28

That's a nice Camaro duo! That Mustang owner next door has to be jealous...

[dklowrider]

You are right, I remember the egg crate grilles now that they went to in 73, and the bumpers had large bumper guards that the 70-72's didn't have.
Hence the crash impact standards I was referring to.

i had to think about that one, but yeah, the guards satisfied the law. pretty minimal change comparatively.

70 - 73 were the same in apperance . the 73 had diffrent things going on behind the bumper but it looked the sane . the decal on the hood and the trunk of the 74 Z28 was optinal. it was rpo d80 and the Z28 could be ordered without it. my 73 rally sport (split bumper) Z28 all original with my 2001 Z28

i didn't think you could still get the split bumpers in 73 with the new impact standards.

[67CamaroRSSS]

Back in the day a friend of mine had a 73 LT (L82/4-speed) with the RS option. Looked just like a 70-72.

And I mistook the solid cam for 73 because he swapped a solid lifter cam into his car after Cali stopped smogging them. Figures I'd remember it 30 years after the fact.

[twozs]

i didn't think you could still get the split bumpers in 73 with the new impact standards.

thats why its easy to tell a fake 73 RS. Chevrolet had to add 13 extra braces and supports (which my car has all) to get the 73 to pass the federal governments new 5 mph impact regulations. the RS option was never on the trim tag or noted in the Vin so faking one is easy. just bolt on the pieces that are still reproduced and away you go. but the 73 extra bracing IS NOT being reproduced and is very hard to find , so a 73 with the RS option is an easy spot. actually the full bumper 73s had a big piece of steel behind the bumper to reinforce it also

[twozs]

Back in the day a friend of mine had a 73 LT (L82/4-speed) with the RS option. Looked just like a 70-72.

And I mistook the solid cam for 73 because he swapped a solid lifter cam into his car after Cali stopped smogging them. Figures I'd remember it 30 years after the fact.

only the Z28 had the L82. the top type LT engine was the L48. it could have been a type lt RS Z28 ( the triple option car) . it actually wasn't called the L82 in the camaro although it was the same specs as the vette L82. in the camaro it was called " special performance engine Z28"

[dklowrider]

thats why its easy to tell a fake 73 RS. Chevrolet had to add 13 extra braces and supports (which my car has all) to get the 73 to pass the federal governments new 5 mph impact regulations. the RS option was never on the trim tag or noted in the Vin so faking one is easy. just bolt on the pieces that are still reproduced and away you go. but the 73 extra bracing IS NOT being reproduced and is very hard to find , so a 73 with the RS option is an easy spot. actually the full bumper 73s had a big piece of steel behind the bumper to reinforce it also

i did not know that.
i remember some stuff perfectly, other stuff, well, you know.

[KahanaReef]

Just another day at school for me

[dklowrider]

only the Z28 had the L82. the top type LT engine was the L48. it could have been a type lt RS Z28 ( the triple option car) . it actually wasn't called the L82 in the camaro although it was the same specs as the vette L82. in the camaro it was called " special performance engine Z28"

back when [way back] i picked up my 81 Z28 it was the 305 4spd.. my first mod was an L82 cam swap. made a nice running little motor 'till it was time for the 350 build.

[dklowrider]

Just another day at school for me

lots of good stuff going down here for a history buff.

[KahanaReef]

lots of good stuff going down here for a history buff.

Very true

[mbrownin]

I miss my '79 Z28. Ran like a lead turd, but a nice looking car.