I was a 15-year-old boy with a Mustang fixation when the ’93 Camaro was introduced, and my first impression was envy. With 275 horsepower under the hood and quarter-mile times flirting with the 13s, no Mustang could touch it. It looked like a spaceship. The TV ads showed a powersliding Z28 backed by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was an event; after all, it was the first new Camaro in 11 years, and it would be the last all-new Camaro for 17 more. If you want to relive your teenage days, this low-mileage example on Craigslist could suit you just fine.
About a year after their introduction, my dad and I were checking out a dark green ’94 Z28 with a tan interior (remember those?) on our local Chevy lot. The salesman came out to talk, and for some reason, he let me get behind the wheel for a test drive: I didn’t understand it then, and I don’t understand it now. Regardless, when I punched it down a dark side road, the tires spun for a bit…it hit second, then third…the speedometer swept past 80…my dad smacked me on the side of the head from the back seat. It was the fastest thing I’d driven to that point.
How do you only put 5,611 miles on something when it’s that exciting to drive?
The reason for all the excitement was the LT1 350 from the Corvette. Although it was down a few horsepower on the plastic Chevy, it was plenty enough for any pony car faceoff in the early-’90s. The onetime king-of-the-hill Mustang couldn’t touch it. Of course, the LT1 was a stopgap until the LS1 found its way into the Camaro in 1998, but even today, it’s still a strong small-block Chevy.
One of the common water-cooler conversations about the Camaro involved the engine placement: How could you get it out of there? Half the engine’s under the cowl! You have to drop it from the bottom! I don’t know how many Camaro sales were lost because of engine accessibility, but in the ’90s, I doubt it was too many.
Another selling point was the six-speed manual transmission behind the big 350, which was one more gear than the Mustang’s transmission. That allowed for decent highway fuel economy, but in reality, the optional four-speed automatic was just about as quick as a six-speed car. (But it didn’t have that cool round shift knob.) These days, the automatic isn’t likely a deterrent, since fewer people seem to care about shifting for themselves.
Located in Arizona, this immaculate Camaro is all-original, including paint; the fluids have been changed and the tires are newer. The seller is asking $17,500, and that honestly doesn’t sound too far out of line to me, but that might be the nostalgia talking. What do you think? Thanks to Rocco B. for finding this one for us!
Good write-up. I wasn’t a big chevy fan around this time, but I can see the appeal of this offering as a time-capsule opportunity to relive someone’s gearhead youth. Though sometimes cars like this fall into a limbo situation where they are only highly attractive because they are so low mileage and if you start driving them they would lose value quickly.
Having said that, a “like-new” car that’s now 30+ years old is prone to have issues with seals, soft neoprene/rubber parts, hoses, even though it should have minimal mechanically wear and tear that that mileage, parts that have sat around for that length of time often fail from material deterioration so if you start driving it I’d expect to have to attend to a few things.
Interesting final comment on the choice of transmission. I’m sure that’s correct that there are plenty of buyers out there who would be happy with the automatic, but it’s a negative for me. I think the 5-speed manual would be much more fun in this car.
It seems to me that the ratio of manual to automatic transmissions from new in car like this, and it’s Mustang contemporary, is a bit of a paradox now that these cars are older and owned by classic enthusiasts – that is, there were far fewer manual cars built/sold originally but I get the feeling that these minority of stick-shift cars are now more sought after by the enthusiasts who still care about these cars ? ( if that make sense ?)
You are likely correct that manual transmission vehicles will always appeal to a certain demographic who may be willing to pay a premium for those vehicles. At 71, however, I have made the switch to automatic transmissions. I get the sense that many BF readers are of similar age. Using a clutch, which I drove daily for decades, in stop and go traffic now is a drag if you have a bad left knee, like me. As both cars and car nuts get older, perhaps automatic transmissions will become the primary choice. The same thing with air conditioning and cruise control. As an adult, I never owned a car with them until I was in my fifties. Now they are a requirement. I guess that it is all part of aging for some/me.
and heated seats for our backs!
I had a ‘95 Z with the 6 speed. That clutch was so soft a scrawny 8 year old could depress it all day long. I’d bet your bum knee would handle it, even in rush hour traffic.
Good stuff, Aaron, and good points, ClassicCarFan. (I was going to give you a thumbs up but it’s not working so here you go.)
Do you have BarnFinds bookmarked on your cellphone. I have it on my Apple iPhone. Every once in a while, I will lose the thumbs up function. If I delete the bookmark and reinstall it, the thumbs up will function again.
Thank you, Tony. I’ll give that.a try.
BTW, you’ve an amazing eye for discovering great BF stuff.👍🏻
I wanted one of these when they were new I thought they were cool and it would be a nice upgrade from my 86 IROC but then I looked into what it takes just to perform a basic tuneup and decided its NOT for me. Fast forward 31 years and I’m still driving my 93 F150 because these newer cars have way to much technology for my taste.
5600 miles have been documented. The rest haven’t been. That odo has been monkeyed with.
How do you know that? So you know the history of this car? My suggestion to you is don’t buy it!
I’ve always been a die-hard Mustang guy, but one test drive back in April of 1993, and I traded in my ’91 Mustang GT convertible on a Z28 much like this one, minus the power windows and locks, and with a 6-speed stick. I had a lot of fun with that car. It was one of the first of the new Camaros in the area, and people went nuts for it. I recall parking it off in the corner at a car show and returning to it a couple hours later covered with fingerprints. One guy followed me into a parking lot to ask about it. I still remember the sticker price: $18,993.
I had it in for service shortly after I bought it, and my salesman told me I was lucky to get it. The 6-speed manual was put on hold and they couldn’t get any more. A few months later, my salesman called and asked me if I wanted to trade it in on a new Corvette. The 6-speed was still on hold, and he had a long list of people waiting, so he could offer me more than I paid for it, and they had dozens of Corvettes in stock. I drove away in a ’94 Corvette, with a 6-speed, of course.
Looks tampered with , I understand the last digit 1 can be in between but not the second 1. Nice car either way.
Nice car, I tend to stay positive, the car looks good and I think it’s most likely low mileage because the entire car looks good.
Automatic – ugh!
I had a ’99 6 speed Z/28, the automatic would have taken most of the fun out of driving it.
Fast cars, bigtime for the day.
Looks just like mine, although mine is a 6 speed with a 3.42 rear axle ratio. I drive mine. Car won’t go over 155 mph. After all these years the clear coat is pealing. Clear coat during these years are not so good. My 91 K2500 is pealing also. I can’t find a body shop in my area to repaint either. So I guess I will keep driving crappy looking vehicles that runs well
Hey Aaron, nice write-up, but I only remember seeing a red Porsche 944 powersliding in slow motion to Purple Haze. That is probably the only car commercial that that really sticks in my memory, so maybe Chevy copied Porsche, or vica-versa.
You know, I know that “Fire” was used in Camaro commercials…I wonder if I’m jumbling the two ads in my rose-colored memories.
I do not see many of these camaro’s out and about anymore, or listed for sale?. Perhaps just my geographic location, or maybe these cars have all been trashed and now are gone. I do have a 5 speed in storage, along with the rest if my collection. I maybe old, but love the clutch and shifting:)
I have a 1980 camaro with a big block and a 4l80 manual valve body, all the fun of shifting without the clutch.
I had 2 of these. One was a ‘94, it was a gunmetal gray ( kind of an off color blue), 6 speed but didn’t have the Z rated tires and was governed at 108…no good. Second was a ‘95, Deep Forest Green Metallic, tan leather, 6 speed with T’s. Did a SLP wheels and tires (back when they were in Tom’s River NJ) JBA headers, Borla cat-back and a Pontiac-style Ram Air hood and a Hurst shifter. Sounded amazing! Was a blast to drive, but I distinctly remember by buddy telling me “I’m never putting headers on one of these again…and don’t call me to help with a tune up! Car handled amazing. Definitely had the music “blasting off the T-Tops”!
I saw this car at the Gateway Classic Trunk or Treat car show. It is a true survivor, a buddy bought this same car then was transferred to Australia/New Zealand.
Truly a nice survivor car!
I had a 95 Z 6 spd. Loved it. But I got in a traffic jam on the interstate because of a wreck. Two and a half hours in and out on that clutch was not fun. It also warped the pressure plate. The car was fun and got great mpg. I’m ready for this automatic.