This is an interesting find that Mitchell sent our way. It is a 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 with only 10,230 miles that is located in York, Pennsylvania. The asking price is only $9,500 and is listed here on Craigslist. Usually the low mile cars we review are in original condition but this car has been modified for more power which equals more fun!
In 1982, all Camaro Z28’s were equipped with either a LG4 145 horsepower or a LU5 throttle body injected 165 horsepower 305 cubic inch V8 engine. At some point in this car’s history, the original engine was replaced with a 350 cubic inch V8 engine that was bored .030 over. The cylinders are fed through aluminum Corvette heads and backed by a strong Turbo 400 automatic transmission.
The exterior is black with a silver cloth interior. The car is equipped with power windows and power locks. It is hard to see it in the pictures but the car has factory T-tops. Overall, the car looks mint and retains its original aluminum wheels. When the 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 was introduced, the reviews loved the styling and handling but there was a lot of grumbling about the lack of a powerful engine option.
I remember pulling up to my first 1982 Camaro Z28 on the street at a stoplight. I was driving my 1979 Pontiac Trans Am equipped with a W72 400 cubic inch V8 and 4 speed transmission. In the first 100 yards, I was 2 car lengths ahead of him. I will say the car looked good in my rear view mirror. This would probably not be a problem with this car since the engine is significantly modified. Post your thoughts in the comment section.
I like this car a lot. For only $9k more one could but the 20k mile Monte from yesterday. I’d stick with this I think.
Don’t trust the mileage – the speedometer has been replaced sometime in the past. In ’82, the factory speedometer was a double-needle gauge, that read mph on one-half of the sweep, and kph on the other side of the face. And, it only went up to 85 mph, as per the federal law at the time. I know, I had an ’83 with a 5-speed.
Great catch on the speedo. Should indeedhave the double needle km/mph unit, which automatically kills the mileage claim. It’s also been repainted, as it’s missing its original stripes. The air cleaner is off an L69. Exhaust tips are wrong too. I bet you it has way more than 10,000 miles on it.
Indeed. I opened this listing just to get a gander at that hyper-cool double-needled speedo.
This whole story stinks, and I didn’t catch the speedo. Someone bought a brand new car, tore the engine out and built a new one, and then didn’t bother driving it? Horsefeathers. But they did do a nice job restomodding this Camaro.
The 85mph speedo law was repealed in 1981, so any car that still used them after that was either using up stock or waiting for a redesign.
Those speedometers were used through 1984. Other than the missing stripes another odd thing is the location of the power window switches. They should be closer to the shift lever and further apart.
Great eye on those switches. Also seems to be missing the Z28 logo that should be on the lower right of the rear bumper. Aftermarket radio too. IMHO, not a bad presentation for an 82, and probably a better driver than new with the 350. Just doesn’t jibe with the 10k mile store.
In the late 80’s, I had an 83 Z28 that was dark brown with gray trim. In true 80’s form, it also had rear window louvres. I absolutely loved that car then and for nostalgia’s sake would love to have another one today despite how weak they were.
Handsome car. Good visibility & proportions. Amazingly clean inside.
I didn’t think the big turbo 400 automatic would fit in these cars. Surprised they didn’t go with a built 700r4 or similar built turbo 200.
Maybe the speedo was simply changed to complement the new motor.
Wonder what happened to the original motor & trans.
That red ’69 convertible seems parked awfully close to that blue egg on wheels. lol
Hey man that’s my blue egg your talking about.
Yes you bring that up there was a large bracket mounted to the rear end went up to the tail housing on the Transmissions how did they get around that
If the body and undercarriage are rust free it’s still a good deal based on the modifications. If done well the car will now be much more fun to drive than when it was stock. If the modifications were performed when the car was still fairly new, what was done make sense. People were not used to the 700R4 and they were fairly weak, at least until 1986 when GM made some internal upgrades. The air L69 cleaner upgrade was being pitched by every performance magazine.
If the owner is claiming low mileage based on what’s shown on the speedometer, how is that different that what appears on the site almost daily, often without much skepticism.
The car should stand or fall solely on its condition. At first glance it looks nice enough to possibly merit the asking price. Someone that actually puts in the effort to see it in person may come away with a nice car.
Steve R
Photo ten on the CL ad seems to show a split in the flexible hose leading from the passenger side air intake to the filter housing. Going to go out on a limb here and say that one of those might be hard to source?
Looks like a decent car, but I’ll always prefer a manual transmission in vehicles like this…..
Have always like those wheels!
I have never seen a Camaro with a rear wiper. I have had multiple of every generation, and this is a new one on me. Rare option?
Yes, I helped my friend choose a 1982 Trans Am that h had bought new. It had nearly every option and how he ended up with it was this; the Trans Am he chose was $100+ more then the others on the Pontiac dealer’s lot of nearly 35 Firebirds & Trans Ams. Of the 15-20 black/gold Trans Am’s this was by far the most pricey because it was the only one in stock with a rear wiper. It was standard on the sophisticated S/E model.
I currently have a 1982 Pontiac Trans am Black/Gold edition. I have had mine now 21 Years. I love my car an trying to convert to a Knight Rider car. I had a 1982 Chevy Camaro 2.8 v6 white. I called it Ying and Yang. My son was so mad for trading my Camaro in for another car. My 1982 Camaro I bought for 35 dollars.. had a blown engine. I rebuilt it. The cost to buy some of these cars of the 80’s is starting to go up.
I agree that the speedo has been changed. I had a 1982 Z28 with a 4 speed manual that had the dual needle as well. Yes it was a 4 speed manual as 1983 was the change over to a 5 speed. This speedo is out of a newer model.
I have an 85 with 64 thousand on it
That’s my blue egg your talking about.
My 85 z28 came with no ele seats no tilt wheel no air no holes in the dash for it no ele hatch no ele windows just a v8 5 sp
I like it and the price is not crazy..
I had bought a 1983 Trans Am new back in 1983. It was the LG4 305 4 bbl. with the 4 speed automatic. It was painfully slow. It even had the fresh air inlet from the rearward facing offset hood scoop. I owned it for about 2 years and only put 9,500 mi. on it due to not wanting to drive it. Getting beat by 5.0 Mustangs and 2nd gen Z28’s and Trans Ams. Handled great but slow as a sloth with arthritis.
With an extra gear in the trans for oomph it should have been able to keep up with some of the 2nd gens that were heavier & had 1 less trans gear – unless yours had a grandma rear end ratio & yours was loaded with options?
3:73 rear would be ideal with the 4 speed automatic.