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Thanks once again to federal
regulations, the Camaro underwent another change in 1974. A rather silly "5
mph bumper" regulation was put into effect. Heavy leaf springs were mounted
behind aluminum bumpers, supposedly allowing the car to take an impact at 5 mph
without any damage. Not only was this kind of dumb, it also added an insane
weight to the car.
The first major change to the 2nd-gen's sheet metal came in 1974. Thanks to the
new 5mph bumper, a new nose and rear facia was constructed. The front end now
featured a sloped grille, sugar-scoop style headlamp bezels, and the round
marker lamps were mounted in deep pockets on either side of the grille. The rear
facia now featured wraparound rectangular taillights. Overall car length was
increased by four inches. The RS was now dropped from the lineup like the SS,
leaving only the Z28 and LT to carry on the Camaro name. 1974 was also the first
year for the GM HEI Distributor.
Despite the loss of performance, the restyling obviously helped, as the '74
Camaro outsold all previous 2nd-gen Camaro's.
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