67 Z/28 vs 77 Z/28

bjburnout · Uber Guru

67 Z/28 vs 77 Z/28

unruhjonny · Guru

as seems to be the norm with Hemmings, it was a well written article.

I am a Pontiac guy through and through;
I am heavily biased towards the Firebird;
But I really like the often overlooked 1974-1976 Firebirds, and the "chrome bumper" 1974-1977 Camaros;
I think the 77 Z28 with the blacked out accents looks like a mean car - and was shocked to learn a while a go that 3.73:1 was the standard gearing(!) as the best you could get in a 77 TA (IIRC) was 3.23:1 - that gives, at least on paper, the Z28 a real edge.

I will say that the Camaro's dashboard SUCKS for having to do any disassembly - comparatively the Firebird's dash is an absolute cinch to work on.

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Of the F bodies, I like both the 69-74 Camaro and the 69-74 Firebird. If I was to own one, my first choice would be a 74 Formula 400, followed closely by a 69 Firebird any model including OHC 6 cylinder. I agree that the 77 Z28 has a neat look to it; there was a dark green one in my area in the 80s that looked really sharp.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

I really miss my 75 Esprit. It was a great riding car and fun to drive with the 4 speed.

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Canadian Poncho wrote:
I really miss my 75 Esprit. It was a great riding car and fun to drive with the 4 speed.

I understand. My son's 73 Camaro is a small block 4 speed, and it is fun to drive.

I also understand that your firebird Esprit made it's way to Newfoundland, though I have never seen it at any local shows. Maybe it's not in my area.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

gparis7 wrote:
Of the F bodies, I like both the 69-74 Camaro and the 69-74 Firebird. If I was to own one, my first choice would be a 74 Formula 400, followed closely by a 69 Firebird any model including OHC 6 cylinder. I agree that the 77 Z28 has a neat look to it; there was a dark green one in my area in the 80s that looked really sharp.

I like that 77 but I am partial to the split bumper Z28 in 1973, green in colour.

images (3).jpg

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I agree. The early 2nd gen is the best looking of the 70-81 models, not only because of the front end design but also because of the non-wrapping rear windshield.

When my son was 16 I decided to get him a car. He wanted a 70-73 Camaro or a 70 Chevelle. I couldn't afford an RS or Z28, or a good Chevelle SS, for him, but I was lucky enough to find a V8 manual trans plain Jane 73 Camaro from California for a reasonable price in Oakville Ontario. Once we did a cosmetic resto the car turned out very nice. We still get a lot of asks about whether it is for sale.

rebelrouser · Poncho Master!

I like that 77 but I am partial to the split bumper Z28 in 1973, green in colour.

images (3).jpg

That car looks like a '70 as it had headrests and that paint code is 43-43 ( Citrus Green) with a .19 stripe code. I think .10 was for White strips. In '71 they used the new tall back bucket seats and the paint code 43 was only for '70-'71- I believe. The split bumper was coded as the RS option. Signal lights were relocated between the headlights and not the lower horizontal lights below the bumpers. Zero exceptions.........

-- Edited by rebelrouser on Saturday 21st of November 2020 09:06:24 PM

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

That picture is a 1970 model representation of the split bumper front end.