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V6FBody Online's - Techbase:

1st Generation FAQ: General Info

When were the 1st generation models built?
What models were available?
What is the difference between the '67s and '68s?
What is the difference between the '68s and '69s?
What option packages were available on the Camaro?
What were some of the rare options available on the Camaro?
What else was special about a Camaro Z/28?
When was the first Trans Am available?
What are Pace Car Camaros?
What is a COPO Camaro?
What is a double COPO Camaro?
What options were ordered with the first COPO 9560s?
What is a Yenko Camaro?
Which Camaros are worth the most?
Which Firebirds are worth the most?

When were the 1st generation models built?

First generation cars were built from the 1967 model year, through the 1969 (which extended well into the 1970 calendar year due to a strike at the assembly plant) model year.

What models were available?

The first F-bodies came in two basic models, hardtop and convertible. All cars were 2-doors with 2+2 style seating, although GM claimed 5 adults would fit in the cars (2+3), but in practice, 2+2 was much more workable.

What is the difference between the '67s and '68s?

In 1968, side air vents (Astro-ventilation) were added in addition to side marker lights. Turn signal lamps were redesigned to curve around the fender corners, thereby serving as front marker lights as well. The console, tail lights, and grille were all restyled, and the mirrors on the doors were changed from circular to rectangular in shape. Vent windows were eliminated and round dash air outlets were included on all models. Additional padding was added around the pillars and in the armrests.

What is the difference between the '68s and '69s?

In 1969, the body was slightly updated along with tail light bezels with triple-lens styling. Inside, the console and dash were redesigned. The ignition switch moved from the dash to the steering column.

What option packages were available on the Camaro?

The Camaro could be ordered in either Convertible or Hardtop models with the following major packages:

Base Model: Standard Suspension, lower performance engine options
SS - Super Sport: Upgraded suspension, higher-performance engines
RS - Rally Sport: Standard Suspension, lower performance engine options, an appearance Package, including hideaway headlights and special trim items.
SS/RS - A combination of the SS performance package, and the RS appearance package
Z/28 - A special high-performance version of the Camaro. The Z/28 package COULD NOT be combined with the SS package (i.e. there's no such thing as a Z/28 SS). When the Z was first offered in 1967, it was as a road racer to compete with the Mustang in the Trans-Am series. General Motors wasn't officially involved in racing, of course; it just happened to offer a production car that would do the job nicely. Due to emissions and federal safety requirements GM discontinued the Z/28 in 1975 and didn't bring it back until 1977. HP and performance never fully recovered until 1985 when Chevy introduced the 215 Hp LB9 TPI 305. The Z/28 was not available in the convertible body style, although 1 '68 Z/28 Convertible was built on special order for a GM executive. The car still exists today, and is worth its weight in gold.
Z/28 RS - A combination of the Z/28 special high performance package with the RS appearance package.

What were some of the rare options available on the Camaro?

Camaros were available with a wide range of options, some of which were obscure or simply not well documented which caused them to be quite rare. Some examples:

Fold Down Rear Seat - A common option on today's cars, but quite rare back then. Allows the back seat to fold down for more cargo carrying capacity. 1st Generation Camaros were notorious for unusually small trunks making this option useful for those that had to carry larger cargo than would fit in the trunk.
Liquid Tire Chain - An option on '69 Camaros that provided a dispenser with nozzles located in the rear tire wheel wells which would spray a special traction-enhancing liquid on the rear tires to help traction on snow and ice. Quite rare.
4-wheel Disc Brakes - Known as RPO JL-8, available on '69 high- performance Camaros. Installed mostly on Z/28 Camaros. Very rare.
Z/28 Cross Ram - Two Holley 4 barrel carbs on a special aluminum cross ram intake manifold. Available from factory on '69 Z/28 Camaros.
Factory Headers - Available on Z/28 Camaros as a dealer-installed item. Supplied from the factory in the trunk of the car for installation by the dealer. 'Vigilite' Lamp Monitors - Special fiber-optic head and tail-lamp and directional signal monitors that allowed the driver to determine that all lights were working properly while sitting in the driver's seat.
L78 396 - Iron-head 375 HP 396 big-block. 4-bolt main block (all other Camaro 396's were 2-bolt mains), 11.0:1 compression forged pistons, high-performance large-port heads, heavy duty rods, special solid- lifter camshaft, aluminum intake manifold, and special Holley carb. Available all years, quite rare in '67 (1,138 made).
RPO L89 Aluminum Head 396 - Available in '68 and '69. Special version of the L78 75HP 396 with Aluminum closed-chamber rectangular port heads. Very rare.
Tic-Toc-Tach - dash mounted tachometer that also has clock on the same face.
Wood Steering Wheel - Not very rare, but nice.
160 MPH speedometer - Available in '69.
Front Bench Seat - Crazy looking bench seat equipped in a few (less than 1000, for sure) non-console cars.
Deluxe Houndstooth Interior - Deluxe door panels, with houndstooth seat inserts. In '67, the deluxe interior sometimes included chrome around the interior drip-rails and pillar posts.
Front disc brakes - Not very rare, but the calipers are 4-piston units which are hard to find.
F41 Suspension - Front suspension components which allow tighter cornering and better performance.

What else was special about a Camaro Z/28?

All 1st Generation Z/28's must have power front disc brakes, and a 4 speed manual (Muncie) transmission. Air conditioning and automatic transmission simply were not available. If you see something that says Z/28 on it, and it has an automatic or A/C, it's fake.

When was the first Trans Am available?

In March of 1969, the Firebird Trans Am became available. In its first year of production, the Trans Am was an option package, WS4, available on the coupe or convertible. It consisted of the 400 HO engine, three-speed manual transmission, heavy-duty suspension with front and rear sway bars, power steering and brakes, and Safe-T-Track rear. Visually, the Trans Am could be identified by the functional front fender air extractors, Cameo White paint (only color for the Trans Am), dual blue hood-roof-deck stripes, a hood that had wider scoops located just behind the bumper, a blacked-out grill and a rear deck spoiler. In the interior, the TA got a three-spoke wood-grain steering wheel. Optional, was the 400 Ram Air IV engine with a four-speed manual or Turbo Hydra-matic automatic transmission. Trans Am decals were located on the front fenders.

A total of 689 Trans Am coupes were built, 634 with the 400 HO engine (114 with the stick and 520 the automatic). Of the 55 Ram Air IV powered Trans Ams produced, 46 had the stick and 9 had the automatic. 8 convertibles were built, all powered by the 400 HO, and split evenly between manual and automatic transmissions.

What are Pace Car Camaros?

In 1967 and 1969, the Camaro was chosen as the Pace Car for the famous Indy 500 car race. Special Camaros were built to actually serve as the Pace Car for the race, and others to serve as cars for dignitaries to use at the track. Along with the actual cars that paced the race, and the festival cars (the ones used by dignitaries), Chevy offered Pace Car replicas to dealers for sale. Pace Cars were always SS/RS Convertible Camaros, with either 350 or 396 engines. In '67, the color scheme was a white Camaro, with blue 'bumble bee' stripe (around the nose), and blue deluxe interior, with a white convertible top. In '69, the pace car was white, with Hugger Orange Z/28-style stripes (the Z-10 hardtop and the Pace Car were the only way to get stripes like on a '69 Z/28 without it being a Z/28), with special Hugger Orange interior, and a white convertible top. Pace Car Camaros are very desirable collector cars today. In '69, there was also a special run of Camaros called Z-10's, which were equipped like '69 Pace Cars, but were hardtops instead of convertibles. They were mostly offered to dealers in the southwest as a special promotional deal around race time. These are quite rare today. Even though they seemed to deviate from the standard pace car configuration more than the convertibles, they are still legitimate pace cars (although some don't believe so). There were no records kept at Chevy Motor Division offices, but it is believed that somewhere between 200 and 300 of the cars were built at the Norwood plant between 3rd week of April (04C) and 1st week of May (05A), possibly longer. Some of the cars have a 04L date code (bizarre - possible broken die, or part of the Z10 mystique). All seemed to have had the Z10 code on the cowl tag.

The two pace cars (#1 and #2) which actually paced the race, had 396 ci (375 HP) engines. This started out as an L89 aluminum headed engine, but was converted by the factory Special Engineering Department to the L78 cast iron heads (although it's not exactly known why this was done). Other than blueprinting the engine to factory specs, engineering did NOTHING else to ensure the engine could produce the 130 MPH speeds required for the Pace Car duties except Zyglo or Magnaflux the mechanical parts. In order to stop the cars, a heavy-duty JL8 rear disc brake option was added. A 3.31 rear axle ratio was also added. With the four-wheel disc brakes went 15"x7" rally wheels sporting Goodyear Wide Tread GT tires. Other modifications made by Engineering included adding a balanced driveshaft and heavy-duty battery/ alternator (63 amp). All critical suspension and steering parts were magnafluxed along with the axle shafts and wheel studs.

What is a COPO Camaro?

COPO stands for Central Office Production Order. This is the process used by Chevrolet (and other divisions of GM) for internal orders for 'special' cars under limited production. The COPO process was used to produce special cars for special occasions. The Pace Car Camaros that actually paced the Indy 500 (because of modifications needed to the cars to meet the special requirements of reliability and safety for race duty) were ordered via the COPO process. The COPO process was also used to build special show cars, and sometimes, for special competition-oriented cars. The most famous 1st Generation COPO Camaros were COPO 9560 and COPO 9561. COPO 9560 involved making a special run of 1969 Camaros equipped with the SS package (minus the SS badges) and a 427 cubic inch aluminum block engine (ZL-1) (like that in the Corvette) making 430 HP. Only 69 of these were built. COPO 9561 was another special run of 1969 Camaros equipped with a cast iron block version of the 427 cubic inch engine (L-72). While there is no documented number of COPO 9561 Camaros built, it's estimated that the number is somewhere between 500 and 600 cars. Many went to specialty high-performance Chevy dealers like Yenko. COPO Camaros are worth small fortunes today and are very desirable collectors' pieces.

Additionally, there was COPO 9737, the sports car conversion which added a 140 MPH speedometer, a 1" stabilizer shaft, and E70x15 Goodyear Wide Tread GT tires. Cars built after May of 1969 also got a center gas gauge and a factory tachometer.

What is a double COPO Camaro?

It's a COPO 9561 (cast iron 427 cubic inch engine) combined with COPO 9737 (sports car conversion).

What options were ordered with the first COPO 9560s?

VIN 569358 (#1) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M40 Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5923 51-51 Dusk Blue
9560 High Performance Unit
Suggested Retail Price $7364.20
Sold for $5827.29

VIN 569359 (#2) was ordered with the exact same options as #1.

VIN 608193 (#3) was ordered as follows:

5B37 Floor Mats 2 Frt & 2 Rear
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5Z21 Style Trim Group
5Z23 Special Interior Group
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5926 76-76 Daytona Yellow
9560 High Performance Unit
9737 Sports Car Conversion

Note: COPO 9737 added the following:

E70X15 RWL Tires
Rally Wheels
13/16" Stabilizer Bar
140 mph Speedometer

VIN 608214 (#4) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M40 Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5912 69-69 Cortez Silver
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 608381 (#5) was ordered with the exact same options as #1.

VIN 608536 (#6) was ordered with the exact same options as #4.

VIN 608613 (#7) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M40 Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5927 72-72 Hugger Orange
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 608761 (#8) was ordered with the exact same options #4.

VIN 608879 (#9) was ordered with the exact same options as #4.

VIN 608969 (#10) was ordered with the exact same options as #1.

VIN 609016 (#11) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5912 69-69 Cortez Silver
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 609149 (#12) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5923 51-51 Dusk Blue
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 609171 (#13) was ordered with the exact same options as #11.

VIN 609238 (#14) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5924 71-71 Lemans Blue
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 609372 (#15) was ordered with the exact same options as #11.

VIN 609395 (#16) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5927 72-72 Hugger Orange
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 609462 (#17) was ordered with the exact same options as #11.

VIN 609510 (#18) was ordered with the exact same options as #12.

VIN 609530 (#19) was ordered with the exact same options as #12.

VIN 609599 (#20) was ordered with the exact same options as #11.

VIN 609651 (#21) was ordered with the exact same options as #12.

VIN 609690 (#22) was ordered with the exact same options as #11.

VIN 609747 (#23) was ordered with the exact same options as #12.

VIN 609838 (#24) was ordered with the exact same options as #12.

VIN 609856 (#25) was ordered with the exact same options as #7.

VIN 609880 (#26) was ordered with the exact same options as #16.

VIN 609965 (#27) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M40 Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5920 57-57 Fathom Green
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 610014 (#28) was ordered with the exact same options as #16.

VIN 610123 (#29) was ordered with the exact same options as #16.

VIN 610168 (#30) was ordered with the exact same options as #16.

VIN 610413 (#31) was ordered with the exact same options as #7.

VIN 610515 (#32) was ordered with the exact same options as #7.

VIN 610732 (#33) was ordered with the exact same options as #16.

VIN 610899 (#34) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5920 57-57 Fathom Green
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 612763 (#35) was ordered with the exact same options as #34.

VIN 612913 (#36) was ordered with the exact same options as #34.

VIN 612963 (#37) was ordered with the exact same options as #34.

VIN 613633 (#38) was ordered with the exact same options as #27.

VIN 613787 (#39) was ordered with the exact same options as #27.

VIN 615198 (#40) was ordered with the exact same options as #34.

VIN 615229 (#41) was ordered with the exact same options as #14.

VIN 615242 (#42) was ordered with the exact same options as #14.

VIN 615362 (#43) was ordered with the exact same options as #14.

VIN 618396 (#44) was ordered with the exact same options as #34.

VIN 618522 (#45) was ordered with the exact same options as #27.

VIN 618562 (#46) was ordered with the exact same options as #14.

VIN 618713 (#47) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M40 Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5924 71-71 Lemans Blue
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 618902 (#48) was ordered with the exact same options as #14.

VIN 619976 (#49) was ordered with the exact same options as #47.

VIN 620498 (#50) was ordered with the exact same options as #47.

VIN 620923 (#51) was ordered as follows:

5A01 Soft-Ray Tinted Glass
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5N34 Sport-Styled Steering Wheel
5ZJ7 Rally Wheels
5Z21 Style Trim Group
5Z23 Special Interior Group
5715 Dk Blue Vinyl Trim
5911 50-50 Dover White
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 620934 (#52) was ordered with the exact same options as #47.

VIN 634918 (#53) was ordered as follows:

5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5ZJ7 Rally Wheel
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5911 50-50 Dover White
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 635720 (#54) was ordered as follows:

5C08 Vinyl Top
5D55 Center Console
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M40 Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
5N40 Power Steering
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5T60 H.D. Battery
5U17 Special Instrumentation
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5V48 Increased Engine Coolant
5W84 Additional Gas - Canada Only
5Z87 Custom Interior
5729 Ivory/Houndstooth Trim
5924 Lemans Blue
9560 High Performance Unit

Note: Additional Warranty RPO's were included on this vehicle:

ZK8 Tire Pressure Decal
ZN1 COPO Axle 4.10 Posi
ZP1 COPO RWL Tires F70X14
ZQ7 Canadian Warranty Booklets
ZV9 Special Order Processing

VIN 641266 (#55) was ordered as follows:

5A01 Soft-Ray Tinted Glass
5C08 Vinyl Top
5D55 Center Console
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5N40 Power Steering
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5U17 Special Instrumentation
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5U80 Rear Seat Speaker
5Z22 Rally Sport Equipment
5Z23 Special Interior Group
5727 White Vinyl Trim
5924 71-71 Lemans Blue
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 641310 (#56) was ordered as follows:

5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5Z21 Style Trim Group
5Z23 Special Interior Group
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5911 50-50 Dover White
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 642468 (#57) was ordered as follows:

5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5926 76-76 Daytona Yellow
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 642835 (#58) was ordered as follows:

5A01 Soft-Ray Tinted Glass
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5N34 Sport-Styled Steering Wheel
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5ZJ7 Rally Wheels
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5913 52-52 Garnet Red
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 642876 (#59) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5NC8 Chambered Dual Exhaust System
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5Z21 Style Trim Group
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5927 72-72 Hugger Orange
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 642903 (#60) was ordered as follows:

5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5920 57-57 Fathom Green
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 642927 (#61) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5911 50-50 Dover White
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 642934 (#62) was ordered as follows:

5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5Z21 Style Trim Group
5Z23 Special Interior Group
5718 Red Vinyl Trim
5913 52-52 Garnet Red
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 643047 (#63) was ordered as follows:

5D55 Center Console
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5N34 Sport-Styled Steering Wheel
5U17 Special Instrumentation
5Z21 Style Trim Group
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5927 72-72 Hugger Orange
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 643171 (#64) was ordered as follows:

5A01 Soft-Ray Tinted Glass
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M40 Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
5N34 Sport-Styled Steering Wheel
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5ZJ7 Rally Wheels
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5927 72-72 Hugger Orange
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 643779 (#65) was ordered as follows:

5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5U17 Special Instrumentation
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5920 57-57 Fathom Green
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 644311 (#66) was ordered as follows:

5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5ZJ7 Rally Wheels
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5912 69-69 Cortez Silver
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 644314 (#67) was ordered as follows:

5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M21 4-Spd Close Ratio Transmission
5PL5 F70X14 White Lettered Tires
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5927 72-72 Hugger Orange
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 650643 (#68) was ordered as follows:

5DX1 Front Accent Striping
5D55 Center Console
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5N44 Special Steering Equipment
5PL4 F70X14 FG Belted White Lettered Tires
5U17 Special Instrumentation
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5VE3 Special Front Bumper
5ZJ7 Rally Wheels
5Z22 Rally Sport Equipment
5Z23 Special Interior Group
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5912 69-69 Cortez Silver
9560 High Performance Unit

VIN 650977 (#69) was ordered as follows:

5A01 Soft-ray Tinted Glass
5D80 Air Spoiler Equipment
5J52 Power Disc Brakes
5M22 Special 4-Speed Transmission
5U17 Special Instrumentation
5U63 AM Pushbutton Radio
5Z21 Style Trim Group
5711 Black Vinyl Trim
5927 72-72 Hugger Orange
9560 High Performance Unit
9737 Sports Car Conversion (consisting of E70X15 RWL Tires, Rally Wheels, 13/16" Stabilizer Bar, and 140 mph Speedometer)

What is a Yenko Camaro?

Yenko Chevrolet was one of a number of Chevy dealers that made special performance-oriented versions of the Camaro outside of the normal Chevrolet factory options. In '67, when the Camaro was first introduced, the hottest engine was the 295HP 350 available in the Camaro SS. Some of these performance-oriented dealerships started transplanting more powerful 396 and 427 big-block motors into these early Camaros making for real street/strip performers. Later, in '69, Chevrolet started doing this from the factory with the COPO Camaros, and furthered the cause of these special dealerships. Yenko made special "Super Yenko Camaros" which could be ordered with Vette 425 HP 427's with options like dual quads, aluminum heads, high performance clutches with scattershields, and things like special racing suspension modifications, and appearance packages which really added punch to the Camaro. A number of dealerships, including Motion Performance, Dana Chevrolet, Nickey Chevrolet, Berger Chevrolet, and others did similar things to Camaros and offered literally complete turnkey race-prepped cars for sale to the public through their dealerships. These special dealer cars are very desirable and rare today, and worth major sums of money in collector circles.

Which Camaros are worth the most?

Just about any 1st generation Camaro in good, original condition, is worth well more today than it cost back when it was new. However, certain models and option combinations are the most valuable, and demand premium prices on the collector car market. Of most value are the 1969 COPO Camaros, followed closely by the Pace Cars and Z/28 Camaros. The '67 Z/28 was produced in very limited quantity (602) and is thus worth more, though many people prefer the 1969 Z/28's styling and refinement, which has escalated the prices on these cars. Any SS Camaro, especially when combined with the RS package is a bonus. Convertibles, combined with SS and/or RS packages are always worth a premium. A big-block motor adds significant value. Typically 4 speed cars demand better sales prices than automatic cars, and cars with rare options or many options add value. Cars with special performance powertrains, like the 375HP 396 big-block demand significantly higher prices due to their performance appeal, and relatively limited production. Even base-model convertibles are becoming very popular with 6-cylinder, automatic convertibles in very nice restored condition selling for well over $6,000. Camaros which are modified from original stock condition, such as engine swaps, interior changes, body modifications, etc., typically are not worth as much due to the modifications. The cars with the most value in any category are those that are in documented, original condition, with a minimum of modifications.

Which Firebirds are worth the most?

Like the Camaros, most 1st generation Firebirds in good, original condition, are worth a lot of money today. There were no special COPO-like features that could be ordered on the Pontiacs like the Chevys. Obviously, the 1969 Trans Ams fetch a high price as only 689 were ever built. But of those 689, the 8 convertibles (with the standard 400 ci engine) and the 55 coupes (with the Ram Air IV engine) are the highlights of the bunch. With such rarity, it's hard to even put a price tag on these. Next on the list are probably the 102 (or so) '69 Firebirds (85 coupes and 17 convertibles) which came with the RA IV engine. But in close contention, is the 200 or so Ram Air II '68 Firebird of which only around 200 were built. These cars were known to run low 13's easily on stock tires and 12's with a good pair of slicks. Even in the Pontiacs, the engine plays a big part in the desirability game.