We all have hobbies that some people think are silly. For example, if you had been privy to my inner monologue about two minutes ago, you would have heard a voice a lot like mine saying the following: “Man, I wish I had a picture of this Camaro’s VIN and body tag.” Yes, I love decoding cars, even cars I don’t plan to buy myself, such as this 64,200-mile 1984 Camaro Z28. There are a few questions I’d like to answer, such as which version of the 305 is under the hood, and the VIN would be very helpful in determining that. But we can forge ahead anyway. Barn Finds reader Barney found this “how cool must you have felt when you can pulling into the driveway for the first time” Z28 on craigslist in Peoria, Arizona, with a firm asking price of $15,000.
Actually, the seller could probably tell us what that felt like (or close to it); it’s been in the family since 1988. What they don’t tell us is which 305 is under the hood. Chevy offered two versions, the base 150-horsepower LG4 or the High-Output 190-horsepower L69. Both were available with the optional four-speed automatic overdrive in 1984, which this car has, so that robs us of a clue.
Nevertheless, this is a well-optioned example of a car that has clearly been taken care of, and for once, I don’t assume that a carpeted dash cover is in place to hide a giant crack. The Z28 has air conditioning, power driver’s seat, and power windows, which all work as they should. Unfortunately, there will be no breaking out your Motley Crue tape that you bought in 1987: the AM/FM cassette radio doesn’t work. Also, the fuel gauge is stuck on “full.”
One thing I’ve always liked about early third-gen Camaros is their speedometer; no, I don’t like that it’s maxed out at 85 miles per hour, but I do like its creativity. Notice how metric-system-forward it is: kilometers-per-hour gets its due in a fashion that most cars don’t allow. Neat.
This is obviously a clean Arizona car from new; the undercarriage doesn’t have even a scent of rust, a lovely thing to see when you’re shopping for anything.
The 1984 Camaro Z28 was certainly one of the coolest cars in which to pull into your parking lot at work, at school, or at home. They’re finally getting their due in the marketplace, and although they were far from perfect cars, and they aren’t that fast by today’s standards, they still can make the owner feel like the coolest person on campus. I just wish they’d show me that VIN.
It is an LG4 because it has a single snorkel unmarked air cleaner. Do y’all sixty nine would have a dual snorkel air cleaner with “5.0 Liter H.O.” in red letters on it.
It would also have 5.0 Liter H.O. decals below the Z28 emblems on the side ground effects and on the driver’s side of the back bumper.
Good call, Cayenne! Thanks for picking that out.
The L69 is of course the one to have. Though it only had 190 horsepower, that was still 40 more than the LG4, and it had a. cam with .410 and .423-inch lift on the intake and exhaust valves, respectively, with 320 degrees advertised duration.
It also had a tuned Quadrajet, 9.5:1 compression ratio, bigger exhaust manifolds, a larger Corvette catalytic converter, 2 1/4″ exhaust pipes, and 3.73 gears. I drove several back then and it was a night and day difference, both in sound and performance.
BIL had one of these (had to be an L69) that we stored for him while he was deployed overseas. I remember being shocked and impressed by the cojones it had! Healthy burnouts and a nice squawk when it hit 2nd gear…never knew the particulars until I read them above about how they were equipped but now I see why! Too bad it vanished as their kids came along but didn’t that happen to most of us? Priorities…his was black with red and white trim…sharp!
if that fuel tank needs to come out that will not be fun i can tell you that.
I agree as I have removed a couple of gas tanks on these cars and it is a major project to change the sender/pump assembly by dropping the rear diff down with a lot of suspension components.
These were the last gen. of Camaros that I really liked. Remember so many of them around back in the 80’s. Minus a few small needs this looks in really clean original condition. These cars were usually beaten into the ground back in the day. Seems like a fair price for a great looking Camaro.
“Although they were far from perfect” is an understatement. At least mine was.
Yes, the Cadillac Diva had two brand new cars and neither was a land yacht. The first was just the opposite, the smallest car I could find, a 1972 MG Midget convertible. The second was a 1984 Chevrolet Camaro Berlinetta. Not a Z28 but basically the same car. Mine was a lemon that fell off the lemon tree with a thud!
It had the digital dash which was a nightmare back then. Digital was just making its debut and full of problems. My car was in the shop at least every other week, mostly for the digital.
The “lollipop” stereo was so bad it was removed twice so I wouldn’t have to leave the car. I took a trip from NJ to Huntington, L I.N.Y with no radio.
Another time it started to rain and I put the wipers on. It was just drizzling, but when I went to turn them off they wouldn’t go off. I called to make an appointment to bring the car in and couldn’t get one for a week. Beautiful sunny warm days and I’m driving around with my wipers on for a week. I think I finally had them unplugged.
They weren’t fast or powerful but fun to drive. One of the things I really liked about this style of Camaro was the versatility. The entire back opened up. You had a cover, like a window shade you could close to hide everything.
Or you could put the rear seat down and almost have a station wagon.
Definitely cool cars to own, but I had a bad experience and would never have one again.
I’ll stick to my used land yachts, thank you!
Third gen camaros and firebirds were continuously improved throughout their 11 year production runs, so by 1992, they were no longer complete junk, but only mostly junk. I’m lucky enough to own an 89, which has become a decent car…since I’ve upgraded every single component, practically, right down to the nuts and bolts.
My wife bought a 1984 z28 HO 305 L69 (Dual snorkel intake), T5 five speed, 373 differential, new in 84. She still owns it today. 42 years comes March. 74,000 miles. Charcoal exterior.