It seems that almost all of us have our prejudices over seventies cars. However, you would be hard-pressed to find a better car from that decade than a Camaro Z-28. From the gorgeous split bumper early models to the later seventies Camaros that were the standouts of your high school parking lot, it is hard not to love what the Camaro brought to the table. Take for example this 1878 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 for sale on Craigslist just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. This black Z-28 with a black interior looks at once handsome and menacing despite the low horsepower Small Block Chevrolet V-8 under the hood. Needing a bit of bodywork but otherwise complete and roadworthy, is this Camaro worth the $13,500 asking price? Are Camaro Z-28s the best America had to offer in the decade of malaise? Thanks go to Tony P. for the tip!
As car enthusiasts, it is sometimes fashionable to be less than complimentary about seventies automobiles. Other than the custom van craze, there were few noticeable “movements” during that tumultuous decade. Sandwiched between the muscle car era of the sixties and the rebirth of car culture in the eighties, the seventies seem to many of us who survived it a period of stagnation. Any technological advancements came in the areas of emissions control and safety. These advancements were needed. However, fins and big blocks are a hard act to follow.
Looking back to the seventies, things weren’t that bad automobile-wise. Most of the cars that were purchased during that era provided us with good, basic transportation. Rising insurance rates and 55 MPH speed limits helped squelch the days of tire-melting acceleration and barely adequate single-pot brake systems. If you were a speed enthusiast, there were few real options on the domestic side. It was GM that managed to find a way to give us most of what we wanted. One could argue that the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird were the best domestic cars of the 1970s for those of us who liked to go (somewhat) fast and look good.
Think about this for a minute. Restyled in 1970, the Camaro and Firebird emerged from the design studio ready to be adapted to most of the mandates that the government would burden the automakers over that decade with, as most of those regulations were announced well in advance. With those burdens in mind, GM designers did a much better job integrating them into the basic structure. In comparison, existing cars had to be adapted to add such design encumbrances as 5 MPH bumpers. GM can also be commended for its excellent (for the time) engine, transmission, and HVAC systems. Say what you will, a car with a Small Block V-8, a Turbo Hydra-Matic, and a Posi-Traction rear end was a pretty reliable and easy-to-work-on piece of transportation. If it had a GM air conditioner installed, all the better. At least you’d be cool as you rolled down the interstate looking for Kojaks with Kodaks.
