BUYER'S GUIDE: 1978-1981 CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28
For 35 years, practically from birth right up until GM’s fourth-gen F-body breathed its last in 2002, Pontiac’s Firebird lived in the shadow of Chevrolet’s mighty Camaro. While Pontiac’s models tended to be aimed at the performance-hip, Chevrolets were the car for the everyman, and the division’s entry-level pricing and massive dealer network meant that you saw a lot more Camaros than Firebirds out on the streets.
Except, of course, in the late ’70s: Pontiac assaulted our movie screens with the Burt Reynolds one-two punch of Smokey and the Bandit and Hooper (with the addition of both Smokey and the Bandit II and Steve McQueen’s The Hunter arriving soon after), cementing the late second-gen Trans Am as the era’s aspirational high-performance car. On TV, The Rockford Files even made base Firebirds look good.
With all that screen time, F-body attention was suddenly inverted, with everyone looking at Pontiac’s offering rather than Chevy’s. Yet thanks to the millions built since the second F-body’s mid-1970 launch, this generation of Camaro is not particularly rare... you’re looking at just over 228,000 Camaro Z28s (between 1978-’81) that people bought as a sporty throwback to Zs gone by … or else just as attractive daily-driven transportation.
Plenty have succumbed to rot (whether from salted winter streets or leaky T-tops), abusive owners, questionable customization, and neglect over the decades. Still, the modern collector should be on the prowl for relative bargains. Trans Am outsold Z28 from 1978-’80, while the Chevy sold better in ’81. Even so, 40-plus years on from the end of the second-generation F, the Trans Am’s zeitgeist-grabbing moment has pushed the very best examples into six figures in today’s collector market, while clean, comparable Camaros can be had for considerably less cash. Rarer and cheaper? If you find a late second-gen Z28 is the car that smacks you right in the feels, here’s what to watch out for.
Engines And Drivetrain
The cast-iron engine blocks produced by Chevrolet during this era used a high-silicon alloy for longer life. That said, they’re not generally over-stressed: the Z28’s engines of 1978-’81 are pretty tepid compared with what came in both earlier and later Camaros: engine blocks packing two-bolt mains, cast cranks, hydraulic cams, 1.94-inch intake valves in heads with 76-cc combustion chambers, and compression ratios between 8.2:1 and 8.5:1 leave a lot of room for improvement. The good news is, since they’re 350s, they can easily be made to perform better.
For 1978, 49-state Z28s got a higher-output 350 than was available to the rest of the Camaro line—185 horsepower and 280 lbs.-ft. of torque, with ten horses and 15 lbs.-ft. removed from California’s stats. For ’79, 49-state Zs were rated at 175 horses and 270 lbs.-ft., with California somehow losing just five horsepower and five lbs.-ft. in translation. Cars from these years that were equipped with the Borg-Warner Super T10 four-speed stick came standard with 3.73 gears, while Turbo 350 automatics used a 3.42 gear in the rear axle.
For 1980, the California-approved 305-cube LG4 (as installed in the Z28) had fewer cubes than Z buyers were used to and pumped out 165 horsepower, thanks in part to higher 8.6:1 compression. It was available only with the TH350 automatic with a standard 3.42 gear in the rear axle in California. Camaro’s sole remaining 350, the LM1, was available only in the Z28 with an automatic or a four-speed and was good for 190 horsepower (the most powerful Z since 1974) and 280 lbs.-ft. for most of the country and came with 3.08 gears when paired with a four-speed, or 3.42s with the automatic.It was not California legal. To help offset the loss of power, engineers added a new twist on an old trick—cold air induction. Z28 hoods now offered a functional rear-facing hood scoop with a trap door that was electrically activated at full throttle.
For 1981, the second-gen Camaro’s run-out year, engine choice remained the same as ’80, but with a little less power across the line of V-8s. The 165-horse 305 was now the standard Z28 engine nationwide, though it was still available with a four-speed stick. Ordering a manual transmission got you standard 3.42 gears. All 350s were saddled with automatic transmission and standard 3.08 gearing, although 3.42s were optional. Compression ratios were unchanged from 1980, save for California-bound engines, whose compression dropped down to 8.0:1.
Also, all Z28 engines in 1981 were fitted with Computer Command Control (CCC), an early electronic engine management system. This management included monitoring the Rochester carburetor, as well as the new-for-1981 lockup torque converter within the Turbo 350; it locked up in second and third gears at the management computer’s command. However, the electronic controls didn’t always operate as they should, and many owners just removed the systems, swapping in earlier mechanically controlled distributors and carburetors, so check to see if CCC is operating if absolute correct-to-1981 accuracy is your goal. (The computer itself lived within the confines of the redesigned console.) Curiously, in Canada, buyers could order a non-CCC-equipped car with a 350-cu.in. V-8 and four-speed transmission.
The engine’s casting date can be found on the rear of the block on the driver's side, on a flange just ahead of the bellhousing. More specific data, including a partial VIN and a Chevrolet production code identifying the engine, can be gleaned from the machined portion of the block deck jutting out from under the front passenger-side cylinder head. Both engines used Rochester four-barrel carburetors, cast-iron exhaust manifolds, a single catalytic converter, dual resonators, and dual tailpipes.
Engines can be quietly modified … but so can the rear ends. Camaros of this era all came with an 8.5-inch ring gear inside a durable 10-bolt rear. Regardless of the ratio it may now employ, better acceleration is a gear swap away—and as it’s a change no one can see, no one will grumble about you “hot rodding” a nice old stock Camaro.
Body And Chassis
Late second-gen stories like these generally use model year 1978 as a break, even though the Z28 returned for 1977, because Camaro went through a subtle but substantial facelift for 1978. While the hood remained unchanged from earlier second-gen models, front fenders and doors will only interchange from 1978-’81 and have some differences with corresponding parts from 1970-77 models. (Restoration boffins will note that a post-’75 wraparound-rear-window quarter panel will fit, as will 1975-and-later floors, which were altered to clear the catalytic converter.) Functional front fender vents allowed hot engine air an escape route from under the hood and would also help to keep the nose planted if high speed was attained. Z28s had these outlets throughout, though the ’78-’79 vents are slotted to resemble fish gills, while the ’80-’81 vents are smooth.
The Camaro received new integrated front and rear bumpers covers for 1978, while the Z28 also got a new non-functional hood scoop. A new front air dam and Trans-Am-esque wheel spats, along with revised graphics, made up the 1979 Z28’s look. Model year 1980 added a functional, solenoid-operated air intake hood scoop with graphics that announced “Air Induction” on either side of the scoop. The 1980-’81 Z28 also got a new grille with broad horizontal bars that were painted to match the body color. For some reason, the grille painted tended to fade prematurely on these models, leading many owners to respray their Z28 grilles in black—many surviving examples wear black grilles today, though this is technically incorrect.
Like the first-generation F-body, the unit-body second-gen Camaro used a bolt-in front subframe that mounted the suspension, engine, and transmission; from the firewall back, the construction was conventional welded unit-body. While the F-body’s front subframe was substantial, these cars were very susceptible to rust and rot. When shopping for a Camaro (or Firebird) of this era, it is wise to get that car on a lift for a thorough inspection. Rust will show itself in the floor pans, in front of and behind the rear wheel openings, in the lower fenders, the rocker panels, along the bottoms of the doors where the sheetmetal skin is folded over, and inside the trunk opening, near the hinges. The front subframe can rot around its rubber mounts, particularly the rearmost mount on the passenger side. Rear subframe rails can also rot through, especially just ahead of the rear axle—tapping on these sections with a pointed tool may reveal unwanted surprises.
The lower cowl is a rust hotspot also, as leaves and dirt tended to collect there, but this can’t be seen without removing the front fenders. Generally speaking, if significant rust and/or rot is found in areas beyond the lower fenders and lower portion of the rear quarter panels, beware—these cars, when subjected to numerous rust-belt winters, usually suffered from body rot in a broad variety of areas that can turn what may start out as a simple restoration into a major undertaking—shop the most rust-free car you can.
One more major body caveat: T-roof cars, with their removable panels, were notorious for leaking, and the water that got inside often pooled in the footwells under the carpet (particularly in the rear), rotting the sheetmetal as owners remained blissfully unaware. This could even affect cars from drier climates and could even be the result of frequent car washing. If the model you’re looking at is so equipped, take extra time to make sure everything underneath looks solid.
On the upside, thanks in part to these models’ popularity, sheetmetal replacement and restoration parts are widely available in the reproduction aftermarket.
There are two kinds of second-gen Camaro: those which have had their door hinge pins replaced because of sagging, or those who need their door hinge pins replaced because of sagging. The massive doors on these cars put a strain on their mechanisms, wearing the hinges prematurely, and if left unchecked, sometimes resulting in damage to the door striker and its surrounding sheetmetal. Hinge repair kits, and even brand-new hinges, are readily available.
Finally, your late-second gen Z28 was either built in Van Nuys, California (L in your VIN) or Norwood, Ohio (an N will appear as the seventh digit in your VIN).
Suspension And Brakes
Upper and lower A-arms, ball joints, coil springs, an anti-roll bar, and telescoping shock absorbers live up front, while leaf springs, shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar prop up the rear. The Z28 package used largely unchanged springs and shocks across the four seasons of our focus: 365 lb/in. coils in front and 125 lb/in. leaf assemblies in the rear (130 lb/in for ’80 and ’81). Anti-roll bar diameters changed slightly over time: 1.2-inch front/.55-inch rear in 1978 and ’79, with a 1.125 front bar and .594-inch rear bar starting in 1980.
The steering box used was a fixed 13:1 in 1978 and ’79, with a variable-ratio ’box (from 15.0:1 to 10.6:1) arrived for 1980. All Z28 wheels were 15 x 7-inch, and all Z28s used the steel five-spoke style that had debuted on the ’70 Z28 as standard equipment, though painted body color rather than the cast-gray hue of earlier models. For 1978-’79, an optional aluminum “turbine” style wheel was available under code N90, offered with gold-toned recesses with certain body/stripe colors. Center caps for these wheels used different emblems for ’78 and ’79, with logos that should match the car’s Z28 badging. On 1980-’81 models, the optional turbine was replaced with a flared-spoke alloy wheel that could also be gold-toned with certain colors, still under code N90. Z28s used white-letter GR70-15 steel-belted radials in 1978-’79, and P225/70-15 for 1980-’81. Brakes were 11-inch power-assisted front discs and 9.5-inch cast-iron drums for the duration of the second-gen Camaro’s life. Replacement components, whether stock or slightly beefier aftermarket pieces, are readily available from your favorite Camaro parts supplier.
Interior
Z28s of this era all received a simulated rope-wrap steering wheel. Camaro received a new instrument panel for 1979, replacing the ’78’s IP that dated clear back to 1970. As a result, pieces for the ’79-up instrument panel may be harder to come by, as they were made for fewer years than the ’78 dash. The 85-mph speedometer arrived for 1980 (the ’78-’79 speedos read clear to 130!). As mentioned previously, the ’81 console is a unique piece, made to clear the CCC brain. Bucket seats are comfortable and supportive; material is available to reupholster whatever cloth or vinyl has worn out over four decades of use. Plastics tend to get brittle; replacement components are amply available.
Conclusion
Because so many of these later cars were made, there are still enough of them out there to be fairly plentiful and correspondingly inexpensive. Because they didn’t capture all of the screen time and headlines that the WS6 Trans Am did, they’re more affordable today. What’s more, they are easily modified - the Camaro benefits from one of the most aggressive aftermarket and restoration parts programs ever.
Total Production
- 1978: 54,907
- 1979: 84,887 (record)
- 1980: 45,137
- 1981: 43,272
What To Pay
- 1978: $20,000
- 1979: $25,000
- 1980: $25,000
- 1981: $30,000
Parts Prices
- Air conditioning compressor: $375
- Bumper cover (front lower support): $350
- Bumper cover (rear urethane): $480
- Carburetors (Rochester CCC 650 cfm, remanufactured): $220
- Exhaust manifold: $380/pair
- Front suspension rebuild kit: $250/kit
- Fuel pump, mechanical: $30 and up
- Fuel tank: $150 and up
- Heater core assembly: $95
- Pitman arm: $87
- Quarter panel patch (lower): $40
- Quarter panel repair skin: $160
- Radiator support assembly: $360
- Radiator: $230-$400
- Roof panel replacement skin: $380
- Steering gear box: $210
- Tail lamp lenses: $165
- Tires: $167
- Water pump: $45
- Weatherstrip kits: (complete): $430