1st Gen Camaro vs 2nd Gen Camaro

Welcome, once again to Doc’s Clash of the Classics. Typically, in our features, we contrast and compare two vehicle models from the same model year. Today, we’re going to change things up a bit and look at two generations of the same vehicle.

Our Clash battle today is between the 1st generation Camaro and the 2nd generation Camaro. Much like the heated conversations that go down between the Ford enthusiasts and those who prefer Mopar, the debate over which generation of Camaro is best will seemingly never be settled.

Let’s begin with a look at the 1st gen Camaro.

It was back in September of 1966 that the first Camaros hit the showrooms. It was the debut of the 1967 Camaro and Chevy’s primary goal was to compete with the Mustang. At that time, Ford was controlling the all-new Pony Car market in terms of sales and GM wanted a part of the action.

To be more specific, during the mid-60’s, Ford’s sales were so dominant, they were outpacing both the Corvair and the Chevelle combined. The Top Brass at GM knew they needed to shift their focus if they had any hope of competing.

To do that, they needed a car that the Baby Boomer generation could get excited about. It was then that Chevy’s design engineers got busy creating the all-new Camaro.

During the early creation process, the project was secretly code named “Panther”. It was never going to be seriously considered as the final name for the car but merely served as a placeholder.

Rumor, at that time was, Chevy’s design team was considering more than 2000 names beginning with the letter C with one of them being “Camaro”. It didn’t have a clear meaning to anyone at the time, however, Chevy eventually claimed it could be found in a French dictionary to mean “friend” or “pal”.

Ultimately, the name stuck and from there the Camaro was born. Later on, the preferred definition became: Camaro; a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs.

1st generation Camaros were based on GM’s new F body platform and were produced from 1967 through 1969. The cars were available in a hardtop or convertible with either a 6 cylinder or V8 with four levels to choose from, the base model, the RS, the SS, or the Z28.

At the time, critics were contending it was a waste of production resources to offer the car in so many levels, but GM refused to budge. Their goal was not only to make gains on the Mustang but eventually overtake it.

Their marketing strategy was to blanket the whole personal car idea by offering a model that appealed to every lifestyle, and by doing so, they’d have a better chance at capturing that market…turns out, they were right.

In 1967, Chevy sold 220,906 Camaros, in 1968 they beat that record by selling 235,147 Camaros. Then in 1969, they again eclipsed the previous record by selling 243,085 Camaros. The total estimated 1st generation units sold is 699,138 with only a fraction of them being the top-shelf Z28 versions.

While the name Z/28 will forever be associated with the Camaro, fact is, originally it was a simple three digit, GM sales code for a “Special Performance Package” that was introduced in December 1966.

Here’s another fun fact, only an estimated 602 Camaro Z28’s were sold in 1967. The Z28 was the race ready version that you could buy in any showroom. There were some minor variations but essentially the Z28 build consisted of power front disc brakes, a Muncie 4-speed transmission, a 302 small block V8, a Holley 780 cfm carburetor, and an aluminum intake manifold.

Another strange and interesting trivia fact about the Z/28 option package was back in ‘67 the public introduction was very low key, and most Camaro buyers who may not have seen the media coverage of the Z/28 were completely unaware of its availability.

In terms of output, Chevrolet rated the engine in the Z28 at 290 horsepower but it actually developed at or near 360 horsepower. The lower number was advertised presumably, for insurance reasons. To say it was a “Beast” would have been an understatement as the engine was specifically designed to compete in the Trans-Am series.

The suspension however, wasn’t quite as impressive. As anyone who’s ever owned a 1st gen Camaro will agree, one of the biggest problems associated with the early design was uncontrollable wheel hop during hard acceleration. While there are a few contributory reasons for it, the primary cause was that both rear shocks were mounted forward of the rear axle. Later on, aftermarket engineers developed rear axle stabilizer bars that solved alot of those problems and added much needed control in performance situations.

Up front, things were better due to the front sub-frame combined with unit construction. It was a design Chevy borrowed from higher end European models that really worked out well. That, along with some clever insulator placement helped eliminate many of the problems with the early suspension design, problems that were ultimately solved in the upcoming 2nd gen series that we’ll look at in a moment.

Here today, the 1st generation Camaro is one of the most sought after models in the classic car industry. As time passes and these cars become rarer, availability decreases and price increases. A good condition, level #3 Gen 1 Camaro averages $59,000, a concours level 1967 Z28 would be inestimable.

Over the years, Chevy has produced six generations of the Camaro platform, each with their own style and uniqueness. However, the 1st generation will likely always be favored in the court of public opinion despite any flaws or shortcomings it may have had.

Let’s look briefly now at the 2nd generation Camaro.

It was 1970 when Chevy rolled out the all-new 2nd generation Camaro and because of the significant design changes, it was met with somewhat mixed responses from the buying public.

While the exterior body design was completely different, the car was still loosely based on the Chevy Nova with slight increases added in width and length. Chevy maintained the unibody structure using the front subframe and rear leaf springs similar to the 1st generation.

With the wider platform came much better handling, so much better that in the early days the car was nicknamed “The Super Hugger”. Not only did it handle better, it was far more quiet on the road due to added insulation and increased noise reduction.

Chevrolet offered buyers a few trim levels to choose from including the Base model, RS model, SS, or Z28. Of those choices, the preferred models were obviously the SS or the Z28.

The SS option included a 396 cid rated at 350 hp with specific engine trim pieces, black grille, hide-away wipers, power brakes, and dual chrome exhaust. The Z28 was the most heavily upgraded with the LT1 V8 engine rated at 360 hp and an optional Turbo 400 automatic transmission.

As the decade progressed, performance gradually decreased due to the switch in 1971 to unleaded gasoline, stricter emissions and tighter federal regulations. The Z28 option was dropped in 1975 but quickly brought back to production in 1977 when sales of the Camaro exceeded sales of Ford’s Mustang for the first time ever.

At this point, I feel there are at least two facts worth mentioning, the first is, Road & Track magazine included the 1971 SS Camaro as one of the 10 best cars in the world in August 1971. The second point I want to mention is, the 2nd gen Camaro is still the longest running generation of Camaro in History. These two facts are not by accident, they are facts because the car was superior to the first gen in almost every category.

I’m reminded of the movie Waynes World when Wayne Campbell observed a Star Trek reference… “Ah yes, it’s a lot like “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. In many ways it’s superior but will never be as recognized as the original.”

Here, it seems, the 1st and 2nd gen Camaros follow the same line of thinking. Anyone who’s experienced both generations will likely admit the 2nd generation is far more enjoyable to drive simply because it’s designed better.

Aside from the powertrain stuff, it was the interior that really made the difference. The instrument panel was far more sporty and sleek with a touring style design. In fact, the instrumentation of the 2nd generation continues to be my favorite of any model, regardless of model year.

The strato bucket seats that were unique to the 1970 models were cool with squared off seat backs and adjustable headrests. The back seats were bucket style as well because of the raised transmission tunnel. And, the factory am/fm, 8 track radio was a definite “must have” at the time.

The center console with a standard hurst shifter was now integrated into the lower dashboard and the car just seemed to be an upgrade in every way over the earlier models.

One of the most recognizable and heavily sought after design features of the early second gen models was the split bumper option. GM called them bumperettes and they were cool because they really gave the front clip an aggressive overall look.

Chevy dropped them from production in 1973 because of the new federal impact bumper regulations and of all the changes that occurred in the 2nd generation Camaros, that’s the one I miss the most.

A fun and little known fact was back in 1973 Chevy had to scrap about 1100 unfinished Camaros because they didn’t meet the new federal bumper standards. Imagine what one of those cars might be worth today?

Well, I could go on about all day about these two versions of early Camaro designs. There are almost limitless points of views with regard to the build and design and there were also strike shortened production issues that occurred back in 1972 that we didn’t have opportunity to cover in this months feature, perhaps we can revisit this in a future issue of Gears magazine.

The debate between which of the two early generation Camaro designs will likely never be resolved. It seems fans of both generations are separated into two rival camps that are either unwilling or unable to find common ground.

For us here at Doc’s Clash of the Classics, only one of them can emerge victorious and in this case, the nod goes to the second generation Camaro. There are several reasons for our preference but the primary reason is, the car is simply a better design. It may not have the “cool factor” of the 1st gen, but in terms of driveability, it’s our winner.

As always, we’d love to hear from you, let us know which car you prefer and why. Until next time when we take a ride on a classic highway, stay safe… stay timeless… stay classic!

About the Author

Donny Caccamise is an Automotive Technology Graduate and a Certified Master Technician with more than 40 years of automotive industry experience. Before retiring, he hosted the Nationally Syndicated Automotive Talk Radio Show “Horsepower for an Hour” airing on 161 AM and FM radio stations across the nation. He is a retired member of the ATRA Board of Directors, and retired transmission shop owner. Vintage and classic cars are his specialty. Contact Donny at donnycaccamise@gmail.com