CAMARO BRAKESIn 1961 Lee Iacocca, the Vise President and Gen-eral Manager of Ford Division proposed that Fordneeded a new sporty entry level car to get youngFord buyers interested in the brand. He wanted asmall car that would seat four people, have bucketseats and a center floor shift and be no more than180 inches long. He also wanted it to weigh lessthan 2,500 pounds and cost less than $2,500. Hisproposal had to go through Ford management andin 1962 he got the approval to start producing thecar. Ford kept the car a secret and since it wasbased on the Falcon/Fairlane chassis that waseasy to do. That also speeded up the process ofbuilding the car, so in the spring of 1964 the newMustang was debuted and it became an instantsuccess.

The management executives at Chevrolet weretaken by surprise and they didn’t have a car thatcould compete with the fast selling new Mustang.There wasn’t even a Mustang competitor on thedrawing boards. The Nova was competing with theFalcon and it was having a hard time doing that.The word came down from the management tobuild a Chevrolet that could compete with the Mus-tang, but that wasn’t an easy assignment. The en-gineers at Chevy were working on the chassis forthe ’68 Nova, so to speed things up the engineersand stylists started with that platform as the basefor the new car. The stylists were busy designinga single body design that could compete withFord’s notchback and fastback styles, because asingle body style would be faster and more costeffective to produce. The Mustang convertible wasalso selling well so that had to be part of the de-sign process. The new Chevy offering was calledthe Camaro and Pontiac jumped on the band-wagon and started working on a Camaro offshootcalled the Firebird, which was an upgrade thatwould compete with Ford’s upgraded Cougar.

The management, as well as the engineers andstylists, wanted a car that was more attractive, hadmore power and handled and drove better thanthe Mustang, plus it had to sell for a comparableprice. The Chevy engineers and stylists wereworking hard and fast to bring their new car tomarket without compromising quality, and in 1967.

the new car was ready to hit dealership show-rooms.The new Camaro was built as a unibodyfrom the firewall back and the body bolts to a rec-tangular steel subframe that was outfitted with dou-ble A-arm suspension and was capable ofsupporting the front sheet metal. The car also fea-tured a solid rear axle riding on parallel leaf springsand it was equipped with drum brakes with optionalfront discs that in 1967 turned out to be problem-atic. Similar to the Mustang, the base engine was a230ci straight six hooked to a three-speed sticktransmission.

While Chevy was finishing the Camaro, Ford wasentering the muscle car market with a strong run-ning 390ci engine in the Mustang, so Chevy had tocome up with some high performance engine op-tions to compete with the small and big-block Fordperformance engines. The Super Sport Chevyswere always the top-of-the-line performance carsso the Super Sport Camaro was outfitted with a to-tally new, Camaro only, 350ci engine that was ratedat 295 horsepower and was more than a match forthe high performance Mustang 289. The Camarocould also be optioned with the 325 horsepower396ci engine and although not often disclosed bymany Chevy dealerships for liability reasons, a spe-cial order 375 horsepower 396 was also available.Chevy also offered the Rally Sport option thatadded nice trim additions to the Camaro and it alsoincluded hideaway headlights so the top modelwould be a RS/SS Camaro with the big 396. WhileChevy was creating the Camaro, Ford was domi-nating in SCCA road racing and a new series calledTrans Am racing was being created. Chevy knewthey could make points with their potential buyers ifthey could knock Ford out of the top spot in Trans

Am racing.The new Camaro was built to handlewell so a few changes were made by the engineersto make it handle even better. The engine size inTrans Am racing was limited to 305ci, so the engi-neers at Chevy dug into the Corvette bag of tricksand bored a 283 block to four inches giving the en-gine 302ci. The engine was equipped with aCorvette high lift solid lifter camshaft, Corvette bigport heads, an aluminum high-rise intake manifoldand topped it off with a 780cfm carburetor. The newcar was named after its RPO option code Z/28. The302ci engine was rated at 290 horsepower but thatwas a gross underestimation and that could quicklybe seen when they were on the track competing.In 1967 the Camaro paced the Indy 500 using anRS/SS 396 Camaro convertible and the pace caroption was made available to the public.

It might be interesting to note that the Z/28 didn’ttake off as expected becauseAmerican Muscle Carenthusiasts liked big-block power. Most buyersopted for the 350 because it had 295 horsepower,the 396 had 325 horsepower and 375 horsepowerdepending on which one you ordered. The little 302had an advertised rating of 290 horsepower so itlooked small in comparison, but it was actually pro-ducing more horsepower than the lower horse big-block and was much lighter. It took a few years forthe buyers to catch on, but they finally did in 1969and that’s why the production figures grew fromyear to year. In 1967 only 602 were built, in ’687,199 were built and in ’69 buyers got the idea and20,303 were built.

The ’68 Camaro was very similar to the ’67 but itwas the first year for Astroventilation so the ventwindows were eliminated. The high performanceengine options remained the same except in ’68 a350 horsepower 396 was added to the option list.It didn’t take long to find out that the ’67 Camarosexperienced wheel hop in quick starts so the carreceived staggered shocks with one in front of therear axle and one behind. The Camaro also re-ceived some small trim changes for the ’68 modelyear.

Chevy was working on a two-year model change,but a new second generation Camaro was beingdesigned and engineered and it was taking longerto finish it than expected, so the designers made a

few nice changes to the Camaro body and they re-leased the ’69 Camaro, which ultimately became aclassic. The Camaro looked lower and more mus-cular due to the bodyline and wider because of thegrille design so Chevy enthusiasts loved the newcar. The regular performance engine options wereretained, but there were two special Central OfficeProduction Orders 9560 and 9561 signed off bymanagement, so that the factory could install 427engines. COPO 9561 allowed the installation of427 steel block engines in Camaro Sport Coupesand 1,015 were produced with many going to spe-cial performance dealerships. COPO 9560 was fordrag racers and it allowed an aluminum 427ci en-gine to be installed in a Camaro Sport Coupe. Bothof the 427 Chevy engines were producing 425horsepower and the lightweight aluminum versionwas doing great in Super Stock drag racing. Only69 aluminum 427ci powered Camaros were builtfor drag racers and they are desirable collector carstoday. The aluminum 427 Camaros sold for abouttwice the price of a regular one. This was also thebest year for Z/28 Camaros because a new cowlinduction hood was released, and along with thefront and rear spoiler, the car looked fantastic. Theengine block was also strengthened and had a DZdesignation for identification.

Wilwood recognized the performance of the Ca-maros early on, as well as their popularity, so thecompany developedseveral disc brake kitsthat will allow them toperform as well as abrand new car. Sincethe Nova and Firebirdshare the same platformas the Camaro, thebrakes kits will fit themas well. If you have a ’68or ’69 Camaro with disc D52 Brake Caliper

brakes you can make a quick and low cost im-provement by installing Wilwood D52 calipers thatare a direct bolt on to your existing brackets. Thecalipers are available in Platinum-E finish or yourchoice of Red and Black finish. If you are building aPro-Touring style Camaro you may want the Dy-napro Big Brake Front Brake Kit part number 140-10510 that features Dynapro six-piston calipers inRed or Black finish along with 12.18 rotors in a stan-dard or drilled and slotted style.

Brake Kit 140-10510

Wilwood also offers the Superlite 6R Big BrakeFront Brake Kit. This kit part number 140-9803 of-fers Forged Billet Superlite six-piston calipers inBlack, Red or Polished finish that work with 12.99-inch rotors in a slotted or drilled and slotted style.

If you are looking for a nice brake system that willfit behind your original 15-inch Rally Wheels youcan order the Forged Dynalite Pro Series FrontBrake Kit part number 140-10996 that featuresForged Dynalite calipers in Red, Black or Pol-ished finish and they are used with 11-inch rotorsin standard or drilled and slotted styles.

Brake Kit 140-140-9803

Brake Kit 140-10996Wilwood also makes a largeW6A Big Brake FrontBrake Kit part number 140-10920 that is perfect forpro touring enthusiasts. The kit features W6AR six-piston calipers in a Red or Black finish. Thecalipers work with 14-inch rotors in a slotted ordrilled and slotted style.

Brake Kit 140-10920Drag racers will be glad to know that Wilwoodmakes a drag racing brake kit that is 30 poundslighter than the stock system, the Forged DynaliteFront Drag Brake Kit part number140-1017-B. Thekit features Dynalite four-piston calipers with a Plat-inum E finish. The kit works with 10.75-inch rotorsin a standard or drilled style..

Brake Kit 140-1017-B

Wilwood also offers rear brake kits for the Camaroand one is the Forged Dynalite Rear Parking BrakeKit part number 140-7149. The kit features ForgedDynalite four-piston calipers in Platinum-E, Red orPolished finish. The calipers work with 12.19-inchrotors in a standard or drilled and slotted style thatworks with Wilwood’s internal drum parking brakesystem, There are additional kits available so youwill have to select the correct one to fit your partic-ular application

Brake Kit 140-7149

The engineers and stylists were doing their best tomeet the new ‘70 Camaro September 1969 re-lease date but that came and went. The existing’69 Camaro was sold from September through De-cember so it is possible to see some ’69 Camarosregistered as a ’70 model. After a long wait andmuch anticipation, the new Camaro was finally re-leased in February 1970. The new car was lower,longer, wider and heavier than the previous modeland many agree it was one of the most beautifulbody styles Chevy, or any other company ever pro-duced. The ’69 Z/28 Camaro had a wild graphicdesign, but the new Z/28 Camaro was more sub-tle in comparison. There was nothing subtle aboutthe engine because it was running a 360 horse-power 350ci LT-1 engine that was also used in theCorvette. The Corvette version was the same, butit was rated at 370 horsepower. The engine wasequipped with a four-bolt-main bearing block, free-flowing heads with 2.02-inch and 1.60-inch valves,a solid lifter cam, and it was equipped with an alu-minum high rise intake manifold that was toppedoff with a large Holley carburetor. The parts usedwere similar to the strong running 302 Z/28 enginewith more cubic inches.According to magazineroad tests the new Z/28 ran the quarter mile in

14.2 seconds at 100.3 miles per hour, but with afew minor tuning tricks the Camaro would get intothe high 13s. The Camaro also offered the SuperSport package and it could be optioned with a 300horsepower 350ci engine and a 396ci engine ratedat 325 and 375 horsepower. Chevy also offered aRally Sport option that included trim additions anda nice looking split front bumper.

This was also the end of the two-year car cycle be-cause the second generation Camaro body designran from 1970 to 1981 with only small engineeringand design changes to meet fuel regulations andsafety requirements. When the stylists and engi-neers were building the Camaro and Firebird theyknew it had to have a body would last for 10 yearsor more so they met their goal. In an effort to meetmany governmental fuel and emission mandatesthe engine performance suffered throughout the‘70s, but by the ‘80s things started to improve.

In 1971 the car companies were mandated to meetemissions and fuel changes and the engine com-pression was dropped and emissions equipmentwas added to many engines to keep them as cleanas possible. Not only did the engines loose horse-power from the compression changes, the horse-power ratings were changed from grosshorsepower to net horsepower making the num-bers look even smaller. The Z/28 was still available,but now the horsepower for the LT-1 engine wasrated at 275. The Z/28 Camaro body style was sim-ilar to the ’70 but the spoiler was larger. The big-block engines were also available but like the LT-1the horsepower figures were low. In 1972 the LT-1was still available and it was rated at 255 horse-power. The only 396ci engine that was availablewas rated at 240 horsepower.

In 1973 the Z/28 option was dropped from the line

and it was replaced by the Type-LTluxury Camaro.The LT-1 engine was no longer available and thehorsepower figures for the other engines were low-ered again. In 1974 new bumper regulations weremandated so the body was revised with big clunkybumpers. In 1975 the Camaro looked similar to theprevious Camaro and three engine selections wereavailable. You could get a 250ci six-cylinder, a 145horsepower 2-barrel 350 and a 155 horsepowerfour-barrel 350. The rear window became a wrap-around for better visibility. The Rally Sport cameback and it included two-tone paint and stripes. The1976 Camaro was similar to the ’75 but an alu-minum panel was placed between the taillights onthe Type-LT model. The two-barrel 350 was dis-continued and a 305 replaced it. The top 350ci en-gine was rated at 165 horsepower.

1977 Z/28 Camaro photor courtesy GM

The big change for 1977 was the reintroduction ofthe Z/28 Camaro. Pontiac continued to build theTrans Am and they were selling them as fast asthey could build them. The Trans Am was the onlyaffordable and nice looking big-block performancecar that was still available in the mid-‘70s and ob-viously there was a big market. The Z/28 receivedsome body identification changes and a 170 horse-power 350 was used for power. In 1978 the Ca-maro received plastic covering on the bumpersmaking the car look nicer and the Z/28 was still thetop performer. Chevy bumped the power on theZ/28 engine to 185 horsepower. This was also thefirst year for factory T-tops on all models. The 1979Camaro was the most popular Camaro in the ‘70s.The Type-LT model was dropped and a Berlinettareplaced it. The engine options remained thesame, but the Z/28 horsepower decreased to 175horsepower. The instrument layout was also an im-provement over previous Camaros. In 1979 Chevysold 282,571 Camaros and that was an all timerecord.

After a record-shattering year Chevy wanted to im-prove fuel economy, so engine selections were re-vised. The base engine was a 115 horsepower229ci V6 engine. In California the Camaro receiveda 110 horsepower 231ci V6. Next up was a 126horsepower 267ci V8 engine. Fortunately the Z/28350 engine had 190 horsepower except Californiawhere it was powered by a 155 horsepower 305ciengine. After the engine emasculation only 152,005Camaros were sold. The buying public wantedmore horsepower not less. In the final year,1981,for the second generation Camaro it received acomputer and the models being offered were thebase Sport Coupe, the Berlinetta and the Z/28.1970-1978The ’70s must have been a really tough time forthe Chevy engineering team because they wereworking backward. Instead of building engines withmore power they had to think about emissions, fueleconomy and lower octane fuel. It was bad enoughfor people living in the 49-states but it was evenworse for the Californian’s who had to put up withGovernor Jerry Brown’s stricter emissions laws,which translated to higher priced and lower per-formance cars. Fortunately the Camaros were nicelooking cars and they could be turned into per-formers with a little work. The engineers atWilwood saw potential in the ‘70s Camaros so,they offer several brake improvement kits thatshould be of interest to anyone owning a ’70-’78Camaro and Firebird. Similar to the earlier models,if your Camaro is equipped with a standard brakearrangement, the Wilwood D52 caliper is an easyupgrade that can be installed in a couple of hours.The calipers offer superior clamping force and theyare available in Platinum-E finish, Red finish orBlack finish. If you want to make a big change,your Camaro’s stopping power can be vastly im-proved using Wilwood’s Dynapro 6 Big Brake FrontBrake Kit part number 140-10738. The brake im-provement kit features Dynapro six-piston calipersin a Black finish and 12.19-inch rotors in a stan-dard or drilled and slotted style. If you are buildinga pro-touring style Camaro or if you just like thebest of everything, you can order the Wilwood Dy-napro 6 Big Brake Front Brake Kit part number140-10485. This kit features Forged Superlite 6Rsix-piston calipers in Red or Black finish and large12.88-inch rotors in slotted or drilled and slottedstyle.

Brake Kit 140-10738

Brake Kit 140-10485If you want improved brakes, but you are restoringthe car and want to retain the original 15-inchwheels, you can install Wilwood’s Forged DynalitePro Series Front Brake Kit part number 140-11007.This kit features Forged Dynalite 4-piston calipersin a Platinum- E or Black finish and 11-inch rotorsin a standard or drilled and slotted style.

Brake Kit 140-11007

There are more kits available so you will have toselect the correct one for your particular applica-tion. If you are drag racing your Camaro and wanta lightweight brake kit Wilwood makes the Forged

Dynalite Front Drag Brake Kit part number 140-1019-B. The kit features Forged Dynalite four-pis-ton calipers in a Platinum-E finish.The caliperswork with 10.75-inch lightweight rotors that featurea standard or drilled style.

Brake Kit 140-1019-B

Wilwood also offers a rear brake kit for Camarosthe Forged Dynalite Rear Parking Brake Kit partnumber 140-7149. The kit features Forged Dy-nalite four-piston calipers in Platinum-E, Red orPolished finish. The calipers work with 12.19-inchrotors in a standard or drilled and slotted style andthey are designed to work with the internal drumparking brake system.

Brake Kit 140-7149

1979-1981Throughout the ‘70s, the engineers and stylistswere making changes to the Camaros and in 1979the engineers beefed up the spindle, so Wilwoodcame out with a new Hub assembly that would workwith the stronger spindles. When you look at salesfigures this was the highest production year for Ca-maros and it was the same for Pontiac so Wilwoodoffers several great brake improvement kits for thecars. If you want to bring that Camaro down fromspeed you can start with the Wilwood Superlite 6RBig Brake Front Brake Kit part number 140-10492.This kit features SL6R Forged Billet six-piston

calipers in Black or Red finish and 12.88-inch slot-ted or drilled and slotted rotors.

Brake Kit 140-10492If you want even more braking power you can in-stall the Superlite 6R Big Brake Front Brake Kit partnumber 140-10493 on your Camaro. This kit fea-tures SLR6 six-piston calipers in Red or Black fin-ish and 14-inch rotors in a slotted or drilled andslotted style.

Brake Kit 140-10493If you want a kit that will improve your stoppingpower and work great with your 15-inch rallywheels you can install the Forged Dynalite Pro Se-ries Front Brake Kit part number 140-11008. Thekit features Forged Dynalite calipers in Black and11-inch rotors in a standard or drilled and slottedstyle. There are more kits available so you willhave to select the correct one for your particularapplication. Drag racers will be glad to know thatWilwood also offers a lightweight Forged DynaliteFront Drag Brake Kit part number 140-8175-B. Thekit features Forged Dynalite 4-piston calipers in aPlatinum-E finish. The calipers are designed towork with the lightweight 10.75-inch rotors in astandard or drilled style.

Brake Kit 140-11008

Brake Kit 140-8175-B

The third generation Camaro was totally differentfrom the previous model because it was smaller,500 pounds lighter and it was a complete unibodywith MacPherson strut suspension in the front anda long torque arm and coil springs in the rear. Thecar had a pleasing design and it was the first car tooffer a fuel-injected engine. The engines offered in1982 started with a 90 horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, a 112 horsepower 2.8-liter V6 en-gine, a 145 horsepower 305ci engine and the Z/28165 horsepower 305ci engine with Cross Fire In-jection. The transmissions also changed to a four-speed automatic with overdrive and a five-speedmanual with overdrive. The new Camaro wasasked to pace the Indy 500 again, but none of theoriginal engines had the power to do it, so the pacecar was outfitted with a highly modified 350 enginethat wasn’t offered to the public. In an effort to meetemissions more effectively the ‘80s cars wereequipped with computers and this became the turn-ing point in making engines powerful and emissionscompliant.

The 1983 Camaro looked just like the ’82 but therewas an engine change for the Z/28. The top engine

was the L69 engine and it was rated at 190 horse-power. In 1984 the Camaro remained similar to theprevious models. The Z/28 L69 engine was im-proved and Chevy dropped the Cross Fire Injectedengine because there was a new engine on thedrawing boards. This was the first year for the new700R4 overdrive automatic transmission becauseChevy needed a strong transmission to harness thehorsepower that was coming.

Things started changing for the better in 1985when Chevy was sponsoring the IROC races. Thestandard Camaros remained similar to the previ-ous years including the Z/28 Camaro. The top per-formance car in 1985 was the IROC Z and itfeatured new graphics, a hood with large louversand improved ground effects so the racecars coulddo the same thing. The IROC also featured new16-inch five-spoke wheels, gator back tires, and anew Tuned Port Injected 305 engine delivering215 horsepower. The Tuned Port engine couldonly be ordered with the automatic transmissionand that was due to emissions restrictions. TheIROC was difficult to get in ’85 because the pro-duction was low and they were very popular.

In 1986 the IROC became a good seller and theonly visible change was the location of the nowmandated third brake light. It was installed in a podjust above the rear hatch. The Camaro engine op-tions remained the same including the 215 horse-power IROC engine.

Some big changes started happening in 1987 withthe introduction of a convertible, the first regularproduction one since 1969. The IROC remained ahot commodity with buyers and Chevy decided tomake it even hotter with the introduction of the newTuned Port Injected 350 engine that was rated at225 horsepower. The four-cylinder engine wasdropped basically because nobody wanted one.

In 1988 Chevy dropped the Z/28 designation and

used the IROC package as the top performanceoption. The normal Camaro was now offered withthe optional Z/28 five-spoke wheels and theground effects package. The Z/28 170 horse-power engine was also optionally available. Chevyalso released a new performance package for en-thusiasts who were interested in road racing. The1LE package included the 305 and 350ci TunedPort Injected engines, oversize brakes, an alu-minum drive shaft and improved suspension. Itwas built to win showroom stock road races. The’89 Camaro was very similar to the ’88 but the RS(not Rally Sport) package was brought back and itwas a trim level that included improved wheels,ground effects, and a rear spoiler that could be in-stalled on the base Camaro. The IROC was stillthe top performance package and that continueduntil 1990 when Chevy dropped the sponsorship.

In 1991 Chevy brought the Z/28 back as the topperformance model and Chevy enthusiasts werenot happy about the loss of the IROC designation.There was a new Camaro on the way so the Ca-maro remained essentially the same from 1991 to1992.

The 1982 to 1992 Camaros made advancementsin engineering and performance and it was thestart of good things to come. Enthusiast becamevery interested in cars that handled well and therewere many companies making new shocks, swaybars and heavier springs for the early Camaros sothe cars could be driven hard on the streets andeven heavier on the track. Brake fade on the trackwas inevitable with the original brakes so Wilwoodintroduced several really nice brake improvementkits for the Camaro. Enthusiasts running the origi-nal wheels and tires could order the WilwoodForged Dynalite Pro Series Front Brake Kit partnumber 140-11012. The kit features the ForgedDynalite four-piston calipers in Black, 11-inch ro-tors in standard or drilled and slotted styles.

Brake kit 140-11012Enthusiasts with IROC Camaros that wanted su-perior stopping power could order the WilwoodForged Dynalite Big Brake Kit part number 140-11275. The kit features Forged Dynalite Calipers inBlack and 12.19-inch rotors in standard or drilledand slotted styles. If you want rear brakes you canoutfit your Camaro with a Forged Dynalite RearParking Brake Kit part number 140-7148. The kitfeatures Forged Dynalite four-piston calipers in aPlatinum-E or Red finish. The calipers work with12.19-inch rotors that are available in a standard ordrilled and slotted style and are designed for usewith an internal drum parking brake system.

Brake Kit 140-7148

A larger rear brake is also available, the Superlite4R Big Brake Rear Brake Kit for OE Parking Brakepart number 140-9830. The kit features forged bil-let four-piston calipers in Red or Black finish andthey work with the 12.88-inch rotors in slotted ordrilled and slotted styles. The superior Wilwoodbrakes work great for every day use or they can beused on the track for superior stopping power with-out brake fade.

Brake kit 140-9830The forth generation Camaro was introduced in1993 and the body design was not even similar tothe third generation but the floor and rear sus-pension was a carryover. The front suspensionwas different and now the Camaro was offeredwith rack and pinion steering. The new body wasrounder and to improve aerodynamics, the wind-shield was sloped backward. Chevy made a lot ofnice changes to the car including the rear spoilerthat was carried into the body design. The top per-formance package was the Z/28 and it includedthe new LT1 (not LT-1) engine that was underrated at 275 horsepower. The Camaro was of-fered with two models the base sport coupe run-ning a 160 horsepower 3.4-liter V6 and the Z/28,but both were very similar in design. A black roofdistinguished the Z/28 from the other models andit was used on all of the Z/28s no matter what thebody color was. The LT1 engine featured 275horsepower in the Camaro and 300 horsepowerin the Corvette and both were exactly the same,so taking the net to gross horsepower ratings intoaccount this engine was as powerful as the origi-nal LT-1 engine released in 1970. The quartermile elapsed time of 14.2 seconds for the 1993Z/28 will verify the horsepower figures. This newmodel featured a four-speed automatic transmis-sion and a six-speed manual transmission. The1993 Camaro was also selected to pace the Indy500 and this time no changes were necessary be-cause the new Camaro had plenty of power.

The 1994 Camaro was essentially the same asthe ’93 but the transmission was changed to anelectronically controlled 4L60E transmission. Theconvertible returned in 1994 and it could be or-dered as a regular Camaro or a Z/28. The ’95

Camaro was also very similar to the previous mod-els but it was available with traction control and allweather tires. The ’95 also received a new 200horsepower V6 engine that was available as an op-tion.

In 1996 the Z/28 horsepower jumped to 285 and aSS package became available. The SS packagewas a performance option that increased the en-gine horsepower to 305, the first to break the 300horsepower barrier since 1971 and the first usingnet ratings. The SS model had new badges to iden-tify it, but overall it remained subtle, just the wayChevy wanted it.

In 1997 Chevy celebrated the Camaro’s 30th an-niversary with a special edition model that featureswhite paint with orange stripes and orange hound-stooth upholstery. This color scheme was originallyused on the ’69 Pace Car Camaro. This was agood selling model with 95,812 cars being sold.

Chevy finally got it all together in 1993 when theyintroduced the new Z/28 Camaro running the LT1engine. One ride in the new Camaro and it was ob-vious that everything was improved. Using com-puter technology and improved fuel injection theengineers at Chevy were able to get old time per-formance out of a new engine. The Z/28 acceler-ated equal to a ’70 model and handled like a roadracer. The only weak area was the brakes, soWilwood offers a few kits that will make vast im-provements in stopping power on the street and onthe track. The Wilwood brake improvement kit isthe Superlite Big Brake Front Brake Kit part number140-6743. This kit features SL6 six-piston calipersin Black and 12.88-inch rotors in slotted or drilledand slotted styles. . Wilwood also makes a ForgedDynalite Rear Parking Brake Kit part number 140-7148 for the ’93-’97 Camaro. The rear kit featuresForged Dynalite four-piston calipers in Black or Redfinish, 12.19-inch rotor in slotted or drilled and slot

ted style and they work with the, internal drumparking brake. When the front and rear kits are in-stalled on a ’93-‘97 Camaro the cars ready forhigh performance street or track action.

Brake Kit 140-6743

Chevy finally decided to make an improvement onthe Camaro, so they changed the front fascia withnew headlights and a grille change. What buyersreally liked about the updated Camaro was thenew aluminum LS-1 engine option that was pro-ducing 320 horsepower. This was basically thesame engine being used in the Corvette. Salesfor the updated Camaro was still respectable with77,198 cars being produced. Chevy made thestyling upgrade because they knew the presentCamaro body style was dated and they wereaware that a new one was needed. The Camarostill had respectable sales although less than inprevious years, but they needed to sell 50,000cars to make a good profit. This was happening ata time when SUV and pickup truck sales startedto increase, and without any marketing for the Ca-maro similar to the IROC connection, the sales

Brake kit 140-7148

were dropping while truck sales were increasing.Chevrolet management put no effort behind theCamaro plus the selling price was increasingyearly. There was also a fluke year in 2001 whenonly 29,009 Camaros were built, so a decision wasmade to discontinue the Camaro. Of course in2002 the sales popped back up to 42,098 with nomarketing behind the car, but once a decision wasmade at GM, even a bad one, it was too late to re-design a new Camaro. Chevy enthusiasts were nothappy about the decision and they let Chevy knowit. As it turned out, the enthusiasts were right.

A suspension change was made in 1998 when theCamaro front fascia was redesigned so Wilwoodgeared up to make several new brake kits for thepowerful new Camaro. The kits we will talk aboutwill also fit the ’93 through ’97 Camaros if the carsare upgraded with the ‘98 through ‘02 spindles. Ifyour Camaro is used for road racing you can orderthe Superlite 6R Big Brake Front Brake Kit (race)that is part number 140-7190. The kit features Bil-let Superlite BSL6R/ST six-piston Black caliperswith Thermlock pistons, 12.90-inch directionalvane rotors, forged aluminum hubs, caliper brack-ets, friction race compound pads, stainless brakelines and all of the hardware required to completethe installation.

Brake Kit 140-7190

If you have a Camaro that is street driven or justoccasionally track driven we have three kits thatwill improve your brake system. The Superlite 6RBig Brake Front Brake kit part number 140-7763is perfect for your car. The kit features forged bil-let Superlite six-piston calipers in a Black finishalong with 12.88-inch slotted or drilled and slottedrotors.

Brake Kit 140-7763

Two similar kits are available, part number 140-9833 features 13.06-inch rotors and part number140-9834 features 14-inch rotors. Some road rac-ing classes only allow four-piston calipers soWilwood offers the Superlite 4R Big Brake FrontBrake Kit (race) that is part number 140-10691 foryour track star. The kit features billet SuperliteBSL4R/ST calipers with thermlock pistons, 12.19-inch directional vane rotors with forged billet hats,caliper brackets, race compound pads, hoses,and all of the hardware required to complete theinstallation.

Brake Kit 140-10691

The later model Camaros have also been turnedinto drag cars so Wilwood designed a Dynapro Ra-dial Front Drag Brake Kit part number 140-10786that will dramatically reduce the weight of yourbrake system. The kit features forged billet Dy-napro four-piston calipers and 11.75-inch 3/8-inchwide steel rotors.

Brake Kit 10786A similar kit part number 140-10787 is also avail-able but it features 0.81-inch wide rotors. Wilwoodalso offers a rear brake kit for the Camaros and itis the Superlite 4R Big Brake Rear Brake Kit forOE Parking Brake part number 140-9830. Thisbrake kit features billet Superlite 4R four-pistoncalipers in Red or Black finish, 13 or 14-inch rotorswith an aluminum hat that works with the Camarointernal drum parking brake system.

Brake Kit 140-9830For eight years Chevy had the Camaro on theback burner while they saw Mustang sales in-crease and the fascination potential buyers hadfor the Dodge Challenger show car increase. Or-ders were coming in for the new Challenger be-fore the car was even available and because ofthat the car was put into production. The man-

agement at General Motors decided to let theChevrolet engineers and stylists build a Camaroconcept car to gauge the public reaction. The Fordand Challenger stimulated interest by using retrostyling so the stylists at Chevy used what could becalled advanced retro styling because it was a lit-tle more than just retro. The concept car hit theshow circuit and it was a big hit with Chevy enthu-siasts so the car was approved for construction.The Camaro was constructed to look almost ex-actly like the concept car and the company didn’thold back on the engine selection. The six-cylin-der powered base model is called the LS, the mid-level car is called the LT and the V8 poweredmodel is called the SS. The six-cylinder enginethat is available develops 304 horsepower whilethe V8 engine being used develops 400 horse-power for the automatic-equipped car and 426horsepower for the six-speed manual transmissioncar. The new car turns the quarter mile in 13-sec-onds flat making it the fastest standard productionCamaro ever produced. So far there have been52,082 2010 Camaros produced and of those30,278 are V8 powered. The sales would havebeen much higher if the economy was better.

When the new Camaro was released, Wilwoodwas busy designing a W6A Big Brake FrontBrake Kit part number 140-11269. The kit fea-tures W6AR calipers in Red or Black finish,14.25-inch rotors in slotted or drilled and slottedstyle. This brake kit works fantastic on the streetand can also be used on the track with excellentresults. Wilwood also designed a rear brake kitthe W4A Big Brake Rear Brake Kit for OE Park-ing Brakes part number 140-11270. The kit fea-tures W4AR four-piston calipers in Red or Blackfinish, 14.25-inch rotors in slotted or drilled andslotted styles. The front and rear disc brake kitworks terrific and it also adds to the Camaro’sawesome appearance.

Brake Kit 140-11269

Brake kit 140-11270

Wilwood Engineering4700 Calle BoleroCamarillo, CA 93012(805) 388-1188www.wilwood.com

Copyright © 2010 Wilwood Engineering,Inc. - All Rights Reserved