With just 32K on the clock, today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Z28 is a time capsule of what GM thought a pony car should be in the early ‘90s. Let’s find out if its price might mean you’d give it the time of day.
Among all the simple joys in life, voting yea on an NPOCP candidate you really believe in must be one of the most satisfying. That was evident yesterday as the 1989 Buick Reatta we judged saw both comments and votes align in its favor. In the end, a modest $2,500 asking price proved a happy place as well, earning the car a commanding 88 percent Nice Price win. I’m giddy from the experience.
There’s another kind of giddy we all know. That’s the one that starts the command “giddy up” and that naturally leads us all to thoughts of pony cars. The class is called that due to its segment modeler being Ford’s iconic Mustang, but there are other brands that have carved out their own niche here, and one of those is Chevy’s Camaro. Among the most coveted of those is its best-known performance edition, the Z28.
Now, both Camaro and Z28 are somewhat odd names. The former is a made-up word, while the latter is simply a designation off the options list. It’s sort of like getting your In-N-Out Double-Double Animal Style—it means something but you’ve got to be in the know to dig what exactly that is.
Originally intended as a package designed to bring together enough go-faster parts for amateur racers, the Z28 option wasn’t even marketed in the Camaro brochures. Instead, it was promoted by word of mouth through the racing circuit and savvy dealer salespeople.
By the time this 1991 Chevy Camaro Z28 rolled off the assembly line, that performance package was institutionalized in Camaro lore and carries the option package designation on both rockers and on the dash. This model year marked the return of that Z28 option as the IROC-Z package had been dropped with the end of Chevy’s sponsorship of the race series at the dawn of the decade.
This Z28 sports Dark Red paint in what appears to be as-new condition and has just 32,000 miles under its tires. This is a two-owner car and obviously both of those owners had things to do other than driving this Camaro, evidenced in those remarkably low miles. Over the course of its life, the car has had its factory wheels traded out for 17-inch Ronal alloys, although the OG rollers are still apparently hogging garage space if you prefer their appearance.
The interior is grey cloth and features a dash brow so deep you might think the designer had some sort of Neanderthal fetish when penning it. Rubber mats keep the carpet clean and hopefully have been in there long enough that almost all the nauseating rubber mat smell has dissipated. All the plastic trim appears intact and in fine shape.
Both front and back buckets look to be in excellent, almost unused condition, although that’s usually the case for the latter two as this generation of Camaro has always been a penalty box for rear-seat passengers.
The hits keep coming under the hood where the Tuned Port Injected 5.7-litre V8 looks nearly factory fresh. There is some clean up to be done here, but things like the alternator and warning stickers look brand new. There’s also what appears to be the largest cooling system reservoir in the world squeezed in for good measure.
The up-option 5.7 made 245 horsepower and a more notable 345 lb-ft of torque in ’91. That’s backed up here by a 4L60 four-speed automatic with console-mounted set-it and forget-it shifter.
Yes, I can spidey sense the disappointment coming from all you “Stick Shift or GTFO” slushbox haters out there, but understand that’s the only way the 5.7 came so all your fist-shaking about that is for naught.
The only other real plus here is the presence of clean title. With a car as clean and un-used as this, it’s not surprising that it has never gotten into the sort of hijinks that could affect the title. All that put together equals a $20,000 asking price. Or so the seller thinks. We may all feel differently, and it’s now time for you to voice—and vote—your opinion on that seller’s pricing acumen.
What do you think, is this amazingly clean and little-used Z28 worth that $20,000 asking? Or, is that just too much to horse around in this old school pony car?
You decide!
Chicago, IL Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to onlytwowheels for the hookup!
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