Chevrolet introduced the Camaro model in the fall of 1966 as a 1967 model. This car was designed and built as a direct answer to the popular Ford Mustang that came out a few years earlier. The car featured in this article is a 1973 Chevy Camaro Z/28 RS.
The Chevrolet Camaro’s / First and Second Generations
In a way, the first generation Camaro’s should not have been the design success they were. This is primarily because they were rushed to market.
Interestingly enough, when the Camaro debuted, it essentially had the same specs as the Ford Mustang. Chevrolet answered the Mustang with virtually the same formula. This included the same chassis, wheelbase and powertrain. About as close as you could get.
Following is a comparison between the 69 Camaro and the 69 Mustang..Wheelbase– Camaro 108.1 inches…Mustang 108.0 inches. Overall length- Camaro 186.0 inches…Mustang 183.6 inches. Weight– Camaro about 2,900 lbs on average…Mustang 2,750 lbs on average. Engines– Camaro’s two highest performance engines were the 396 and the 427 cubic inch V-8′s…Mustang offered a variety of engines, the two largest being a 390 and a 428 Cobra Jet. The Ford Mustang that year also had a 429 cubic inch Boss 429 which was a rare engine.
The Chevy Camaro followed the long hood short deck Mustang formula but in a swoopier fashion.The first generation Camaro offered a wide range of engine choices and a long list of available options. One example was the 1967 396 cubic inch “big block” convertible.
The 1973 Chevy Camaro was a second generation Camaro. Second generations Camaro’s starting in 1970 had an entirely new body design.There was much more time for design planning on the 1970 Camaro. The second generation models had their own dedicated chassis.
Our featured vehicle comes with three option packages. This includes the Rally Sport split bumper nose…the LT luxury touring package…and the Z/28 special performance package. An interesting observation is that the second generation Camaro was not rushed to market like the first generation model which needed to hit the showrooms fast to compete against the Ford Mustang.