The 1967 Camaro Z/28 Coupe largely came to be thanks to the Sports Car Club of America’s Trans Am Series. The assistant staff manager at Chevrolet at the time, Vince Piggins, took an interest in developing a special Camaro for the Trans Am series to compete with the powerhouse performance of the Ford Mustang.
The 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe boasted an impressive racing performance against Ford and other Trans Am competitors. This remarkable vehicle is one of the most adored classic Camaros in motor history. Here’s the history of this phenomenal Chevrolet Camaro iteration.
The 1966 Sports Car Club of America Trans Am Series
Through the first half of the 20th century, car manufacturers put a great deal of effort into developing impressive racing cars to boost vehicle sales. In 1957, the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) banned the practice of manufacturers offering factory support to racing teams to advertise vehicles. They did this because of devastating accidents that occurred at the 1955 Le Mans — an accident that killed 83 spectators — and the 1957 NASCAR Mercury Meteor crash.
Ironically, one of the main champions for this ban was the head of General Motors at the time, Halow “Red” Curtice,” yet GM’s Chevrolet and Pontiac divisions worked to bypass these restrictions, and the two divisions dominated the race track in the 1950s and 1960s.
Only five years after the ban, Henry Ford II declared that the Ford Motor Company would begin officially racing again. This announcement essentially ended the ban because other car manufacturers began to follow suit.
In 1964, Ford released a vehicle that dominated both sales and the race track: the Ford Mustang. The Mustang competed in the first-ever Sports Car Club of America Trans Am in 1966, but the race was hardly a competition — the Ford Mustang trounced its competitors, which were mainly Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas.
That same year, Chevrolet began developing a powerhouse pony car designed to challenge the Mustang in sales: the 1967 Camaro Coupe. In addition to wanting to beat Ford in sales, Chevrolet aimed to beat the Mustang on the race track. The Ford Mustang so substantially dominated the 1966 Trans Am Series that the 1967 race almost didn’t take place. Vince Piggins convinced SCCA officials to schedule the 1967 race by promising that the Chevrolet would participate.
Before joining Chevrolet, Vince Piggins had already had notable success in racing in the early 1950s with the NASCAR Hudson Hornets. Chevrolet hired Piggins in the mid-1950s in order to strengthen its racing program.
Around ten years later, Piggins began developing the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 with the intention of beating the Ford Mustang on the racetrack.
Construction of the Camaro Z/28 Coupe
On August 17, 1966, Vince Piggins informed Chevrolet that he was planning on building a special Camaro for the SCCA Trans Am competition, and he stated that his goal was to build a vehicle with better handling and performance than the Ford Mustang and the Pontiac Barracuda.
Piggins’ proposal stated that the special Camaro performance package would come with an F-41 sport suspension, front disc brakes, quick-ratio steering, an 11-inch clutch, and a close-ratio, four-speed transmission. The performance package had the production order designation RPO Z-28, and although Piggins wanted to call the special Camaro the “Cheetah,” Chevrolet ended up labeling it the Camaro Z/28.
To compete in the SCCA Trans Am series, the Camaro had to meet certain specifications. It needed to have a backseat, a wheelbase of 116 inches or smaller, at least 1,000 unit sales, and an engine no larger than 305 cubic inches.
Piggins abided by these specifications, but he strived to make the Z/28 as powerful as possible with the displacement limitations. He and his team inserted a 302 CID V8 engine advertising 290 hp. In addition to this powerful small block engine, the classic Camaro had a compression of 11:1 and a high-lift, long-duration solid-lifter camshaft. It also came with impressive big-valve cylinder heads, 800 CFM Holley 4v carburetor, transistorized ignition, deep groove pulleys, and a five-blade viscous-drive fan.
Camaro Z/28 Coupe Package Options
In addition to some of the Camaro Z/28 Coupe’s impressive specifications, Chevrolet also offered notable package options. At $184, motor enthusiasts could upgrade the vehicle to a four-speed transmission with a 2.20:1 low ratio. Camaro buyers could also invest an additional $114 for an impressive disc brake package.
Some of the Z/28’s popular options included a fiberglass rear deck spoiler and the Rally Sport package. This package came with hideaway headlights, front valance-mounted turn signals, and a blacked-out grille.
Introduction of the Z/28 and Racing Performance
The Z/28 Coupe was an instant success among motorheads. Car and Driver magazine described it as, “tough and purposeful as an F-5 jet fighter, but a car you could be happy living with.”
Upon its debut, Chevrolet advertised the vehicle as being capable of 290 horsepower, but everyone knew that the Camaro was able to execute a much more impressive performance. Reviewers and car publication authors stated that the vehicle felt like it had a much more powerful engine, and racecar driver and author Jerry Titus speculated that the car could likely produce 370 hp at 7500 rpm.
Although Chevrolet only sold 602 units in 1967, the car eventually fulfilled Vince Piggins’ original purpose. The car won the 1968 and 1969 Sports Car Club of America Trans Am series, beating out the Ford Mustang.
With its racing success, the car became a much hotter item in 1968. Chevrolet sold over ten times as many classic Camaro Z/28 Coupes in 1968 as they did in 1967.
Today, the breathtaking and powerful vehicle remains one of the most beloved Chevrolets of all time.
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