As they say, it ain't easy being green. Despite my being 99.99% Irish and a fan of the New York Jets I'm not a fan of it. Especially on cars. This lovely and somewhat over restored 1979 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 can't even sway my feelings towards green either. That's saying a lot as these cars were favorites of my woebegone, misbegotten youth. They still are.
I take it I must be fairly alone feeling that way since this has an asking price of $25,000. That's a lot of green for a lot of, ahem, green.
With the third-generation Camaro delayed somewhat, Chevrolet did a great job gussying up the outgoing model. Some deride the added pointless doo-dads, baubles and bits on 1979-1981 Z28's but the boy racer in me likes it all. Color be damned.
We first find "Z28" on Chevrolet's Trans-Am race series cars in 1969. Those Camaro's, regular-production code (RPO) "Z28", had a unique, high revving 302 cubic-inch V-8, Hurst four-speed manual transmission, power front disc brakes, quick ratio steering and a "special suspension. Without knowing for sure it would seem someone in marketing thought "Z28" catchy and Chevrolet has held onto the moniker off an on for over fifty-years. The current Camaro does not have a Z28 model. Never say never about what they may have up their exhaust pipes for the future.
Contrary to what some may think, it was the height of the insurance surcharge crazy 1970's that felled the Z28 in 1975 and 1976. Chevrolet brought it back halfway through the 1977 model year and it stayed with these second generation models through the end of its production run in 1981.
For 1979, checking the Z28 box on the order form got you a one-hundred seventy-five horsepower 350 V-8, this one painted a period incorrect Chevrolet orange as the block should be blue, dual resonator tailpipes that looked like dual exhausts but they really weren't, special springs, shocks and rear stabilizer, white letter tires and a god's green-earth 3.73 axle with the available four-speed manual transmission. Our automatic equipped green-machine here was born with a 3.08 axle. Interestingly, the highest rear end ratio on 1979 Corvette's was a 3.55.
One-hundred seventy-five horsepower may not sound like a lot these days but back in "my day", when all I had was a ninety-six horsepower in-line six, more than twice the power seemed decadent. My brief time behind the wheel of one of these years ago the type of earth-moving automotive experience you simply don't forget.
Who knows how much oomph this thing has. Hopefully more than what it came with originally seeing the engine is most likely not original to the car. Note this car has a catalytic converter. Some states, like California for instance, require that if a car was originally offered with one, it has to still have it.
You buy an old car out of state that doesn't have one and that will run you quite a bit of green to put one back in. Sorry. Couldn't resist.
whats the price ?
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