Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 – Spark

1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Spark - S2610 (resin)

Published 03/14/25

In early 1965, rumors began circling in the automotive press about a new pony car. The term “pony car” came out in 1964, when Ford first released the Mustang. Since then, a pony car meant an affordable, yet stylish, compact coupé (or convertible) with a sporty performance. In April of 1965 the press got news that Chevrolet would come out with a pony car of its own. Code-named Panther, Chevrolet formally announced the car project in June. And in September 1965 they officially debuted the new car, called Camaro. The car went on sale in late 1966, as a two-door 2+2 hardtop coupé or a convertible. Chevrolet offered many engine options: 3.8 or 4.1 liters inline-6 or 4.9, 5.0, 5.4, 5.7 and 6.5 liters V8. In fact, one of the characteristics of the Camaro was the endless list of available options (engine, transmission, trim, etc.).

For the Camaro, Chevrolet used their so-called F-body – a unitary steel chassis with steel body panels. Chevrolet longitudinally mounted the chosen engine up front, with a drive shaft to the rear wheels. In 1970 the Camaro went through a restyling, becoming larger and wider. Though now called “2^nd generation”, the car still used the previous F-body. That being so, it retained the previous front subframe, A-arm front suspension and leaf springs for the solid rear axle. The new body featured a fastback roof line (double-shell unit for improved rollover protection and noise reduction) with wider doors. Distinctively, the rear received four round tail lights similar to the Corvette and gone was the front spoiler. Chevrolet also improved the interior of the car, with a new curved instrument panel and new Strato bucket seats. Interestingly, the 2^nd Gen is the only Camaro generation without a convertible option.

Despite the many styling changes, Chevrolet kept the huge list of factory options for the 2^nd Gen Camaro. One of these options was the “Z/28 Special Performance Package”, with a new high-performance LT-1 5735 cm³ (350 ci) V8. The LT-1 engine was special, built from the ground up with only premium parts and components. With special cams and a 1325 m³/h Holley four-barrel carburetor it delivered 268 kW (360 hp) and 520 Nm of torque. That allowed a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in just 5.8 seconds. Top speed, however, was just 190 km/h (118 mph). By all performance metrics, compared to the 1^st Gen Z/28, the 2^nd Gen, with its improved engine, performed better. Even so, Car & Driver on their review complained that the car was too smooth compared with the 1^st Gen 🤨. Car journalists sure are a picky lot sometimes…

And here’s a bit more info about the Z/28 package. Until 1969, Chevrolet’s cars could not compete in the Sports Car Club of America’s (SCCA) Trans Am series. Why? Because their V8 was too big (over 305 ci) and their inline-6 was underpowered. So, for the 1969 model year, Chevrolet created the “Z/28 Special Performance Package”. The Z/28 package came with a lot of options, and chiefly, with a 302.4 ci (4955 cm³) V8. With that, the Camaro could now race in Trans Am. However, to spice things up, for the 1970 Gen II Z/28, Chevrolet used the bigger 350 ci engine. And as a side note, this model in particular is in fact a Rally Sport (RS) Z/28. That’s because it has the split front bumper and the white “rally stripes”. The regular Camaro had a full front bumper.

In my humble opinion, three cars are the epitome of “American Muscle”: the Mustang, the Corvette and the Camaro. I’m more than certain that many will argue that my list is either too short or off-kilter. Well, it’s not based on any quantifiable or historic factors, just on what me thinks is cool. And to me, those three are just plain cool 😎. So, when I found this Z/28 up for grabs for a VERY good price, I smashed the BIN button. I was very happy. And then I got it… WHERE THE HECK ARE THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS?!? At first I thought I got a defective unit, but no. Spark didn’t bother to add them 😤. This is a very old mold (absurdly heavy), and back then Spark was NOT what Spark is today. That being so, this is what I got.

Never forget: buy the model, not the brand, yadda yadda yadda.
Boogers 😣.