To all you second gen Camaro know it alls
 

Every so often someone will post a pic of a really nice 72 or 73 Z28 and right away someone comes in and criticizes the car saying that the stripes and the emblems should not both be there...only one or the other. Well here is a series of pics that says otherwise....all are from the 1972 and 1973 Camaro brochures respectively and I hope this will end the negative comments about future pictures of 72 and 73 Z28's.


As you can plainly see in the 1972 and the 1973 brochures Z28's had both the stripes and the emblems!

I think the Emblems vs Stripes debate is concerning the 1974 Z-28's

No, there's a 1973 Z28 in the EBay and other seen ads section right now which is a beautiful car where someone made the comment that both don't belong.

The blue 73 currently consigned at streetside is my old car.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but - playing devil's advocate - we know the brochures are not always correct.

K

Another one :biggthumpup:

The 73 Type LT Z28 never had stripes or Z28 emblems from the factory. The 73 Z28 Sport coupe came with Z28 emblems but the stripes were optional.

This is a spot on Factory Type LT with the RS and Z28 options. This is how they came from the factory. Only the wheels give up that it is a Z28.

One of my engineering management jobs was to review advertising materials for trucks, both print and photos, from an engineering perspective to make sure they were technically accurate and that the claims could be substantiated.

I'm just imagining the conversation around this photo:

Me (making initial contact): Yes, I have a 70 SS appearing vehicle, but you can't open the hood.

Photographer: Ok

Me (when locking down the arrangements): Ok - so I have you down for vehicle 170SS6CYL for this two day period. Remember - don't open the hood.

Photog: Ok

Me (when dropping the car off): Ok - so here's the car you asked for. Remember - it is not representative underhood, so no underhood photos or engine shots.

Photog: Ok

Me (6 months later, looking at brochures in the dealership): Oh SSSHHHHHssssshhhhh………

McCune....you must not have read the brochure very carefully....let me post the Z28 section again:

And this

The 1973 TypeLT with the RPO Z28 option is a different model car and never got emblems that said Z28 or stripes. That is all I am stating.

With Type LT the Z28 became a cosmetically latent RPO.

Weird but true.

Absolutely correct! My close friend ordered a 1973 LT Z28. It was a real sleeper because he didn't order a spoiler. The only give away under the hood was the L82 engine, trim tag with Z28 identification and exterior 15 inch wheels. No Z28 emblems just 350 on the fenders.

Hard to imagine that if you ordered a Z/28 in any year other than 1967, that it wouldn't have some visual nomenclature.

The used car dealers back in the day loved getting TypeLT Z28 trade in and only give them TypeLT value.

The 73 TypeLT Z28 is probably the most confusing Z28 ever sold.

There is one other thing that would tell you a TypeLT has the Z28 option, standard full bumper front end has the black grille.

Absolutely true.

Here's a post from a few years ago by Mike Greenawalt here in AZ showing his 1973 Z28's:

Here is Mike's 73 TypeLT Z28 in detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI1grhBZWM8&t=316s

How does the RS not require front bumper guards yet the non RS has them?

On the RS, they added several additional reinforcement bars that were not there in 1972 to meet the new crash requirements. The bars from the radiator support to the front fenders were also longer so the engineers did their diligence and testing.

These bars:

Left and right fender to the core support.
Left and right core support to the reinforced hood latch which was connected to the header panel.

My roommate in college had a silver 1973 RS Type LT Z28 that he bought used in 1976. It was a great car and he argued up and down with people that it was a Z28. He finally had stripes painted on it. It was a very fast car.

A 73 or 74 Z28 with a 4:10 gear swap was a fast car for that time for sure.

With these 11 unique support bars found on only the 73 RS. Very hard to find if you are missing them.

Yes the remaining bars are core support to the header along with the reinforcement plate.

Were the extra bars added starting on January 1, 1973 or from the start of the '73 model year production?

Not sure when the photo was taken but this also seems like a great color photo example of the factory finish on valve covers...

I believe the extra bars started in the beginning of production as they are in the assembly manual. 73 changed from a bow style headliner to a board style by the 3rd week of Feb.

I refinished mine and think they are close.

Great info guys, thank you!

74's are at least 300 lbs. heavier.

Love learning all the little details that make the 73 Z28 so unique. Another reason this is the best car site ever, thanks guys!

That's my old car. In the family since new. Sold in 1999 with 21,000 original miles.

It is amazing that a 21000 mile car is missing the valve cover wire clips?

My dad liked a clean looking engine. After my Brother was killed in 1974 he stripped the clips off the engine along with the smog and placed all of what he called "junk" in a box stashed in the barn loft in 1975.

In 1980 when I got the car- he took the box down from the attic and tossed the original parts he stripped off the car in the trash. He told me later he was afraid that I was going to put "that junk" back on.

He was right. I would have.

Great background info on the car. Junk, that is why finding parts is hard and expensive because your Dad was not alone in his thinking. Thanks for the info.

Great info and clarity on the second gens and the Type LT. I'd love to find a nice LT RS Z

Plastic technology on cars was still relatively new in 1974 and the previous generation did not trust it.

SMOG: was a "power robber" so it typically came off first.

Just a few years earlier Opticlean was under the hood from the factory in a glass bottle... so there you go the pace of technology change.

I still recall My brother saying "look I got the little Bastard" As he held the seat belt buzzer speaker in his hand. I asked him for it and kept it.

The buzzer was in the console box when I sold the car.