You may have a copy of the pic simply by asking for it. I'll email it to you.

Also, the pictures of the original IROC cars are now scanned and available. Although they are copyrighted, please feel free to ask for them if you are interested in non-publicity candid pictures of the original Banjo Matthews IROC cars.

Aero, please e-mail me those pics at carnut2256@cox.net Can you elaborate more on those special engines? What exactly made them different? How exactly were they picked, and how much stronger were they?

No, I have never seen or heard of any other colors being offered than those seven, but with GM, nothing would surprise me. Remember the all white 1977 Can Am's? I read years later that seven were actually painted a reddish orange (Carousel Red, for you Poncho fans). I do have an ad from a magazine in 1977 for Western Wheels that DOES show a new 1977 Z painted that burnt cinnamon color!!!! Thought it was just a "re-paint" though. Hmmm could it possibly be that same car? Also, find it hard to believe that the ratio of sticks to auto's wasn't at least 50-50 ..... first of all, all the road tests said that the stick car at least FELT faster, plus the 4 speed was standard equipment where the auto was an extra cost option .... besides, this car had a 4 speed attitude behind it anyway!

This thread is of wide interest, and we should always try to be accurate in our descriptions for the sake of those who wish to restore their half-year cars.

I'll mail you the pics of the IROCs tonight.

The IROC cars whose pics I sent were specially constructed Banjo Matthews cars and were no real relation to the production car they resemble.
Those are 2nd gen IROCs, but don't confuse that with the 2nd gen title for Camaros.

The 1st gen IROC Camaros replaced the one-year only Porsches of 1973. They started as real cars, were modified for racing, and then re-modified slightly when the '75 Camaro appeared with the larger back window. These 1st gen cars retained their tubs and inner structure, sub-frames, etc etc.
The 2nd gen IROCs took the rubber nose shape, but were never real cars from the production line. They were more like what you think of when you think NASCAR construction. Some exterior skin, and that's about it.

The pics you now have show the cars being unloaded and prepared for the 1978 Riverside IROC race. Notice that the cars were shipped with metal windows.

Rich, there is only one problem I can see about a '77 Z with an L82 factory-installed: since the L82 only went into the Corvette back then, Chevrolet would have to have shipped an L-82 engine shipped to either Norwood or Van Nuys special-order, and I just don't see that happening in the era of smogged-down engines and gov't red tape.

On another note, if Chevrolet put a slightly modified 400 small block in the '77 Z, it would have kicked the butts of all other new cars of the time. These engines have truckloads of torque. Can you imagine a 400 with the L-82 cam and 9:1 compression - I ran a Desktop Dyno simulation just for the heck of it. With a 400, 9:1 compression, 1.94/1.50 valves smogger heads, L-82 cam, stock exhaust manifolds/mufflers, I got 243HP @ 4000 RPM, and 361 ft/lbs torque @ 3000 RPM.

Would have made for some legendary street performance for back then I'd say.

I saw another valve cover marked in the same manner as mine.
When I purchased this car I was in the Navy at Great Lakes NTC. The first night of ownership I had duty, so I volunteered for "parking lot patrol" (a bonafide job performed by volunteers to insure security in base parking areas) mainly so that I could look at my new car. I drove to a spot near to where I would make my rounds and there under a light was an identical car to mine in every way except that it carried the normal option list (mine was a zero-option radio-delete car). I parked directly next to it under the light and was having fun looking at them when the owner of the other car came up. He was drunk and just stood there and announced that he must be having double vision. After I straightened him out, we talked about our cars as much as you can with a drunk sailor, and of course we popped the hoods. Up to that point I hadn't paid any attention to the marking on my valve cover, but when I saw a 28 on his it came to mind, and sure enough mine said 28 also. The other swabbie didn't care, but I thought it was kind of neat that a Z28 should say 28 on it.

The man who ordered the car did so because I was going to marry his daughter (which I did), and convinced me that I should get a "real" sports car to replace the TR-5 I was driving. Hey, that was a nice car... basically an SCCA C-production car with Webers and headlights. Anyway, it is best if I keep the lurid details private, but suffice to say that my other wedding present which was aluminum and came on a pallet was wonderful, even though it was used. I didn't care when I saw what it was.
There was an ulterior motive to all this, as I was to find out years later, many years. My mother-in-law told me the story only after my father-in-law had passed away.
I think that at this point I would rather not continue publicly, but since you are so interested in the early history of the re-introduced Z28, I will tell you privately if you email me. I'm keeping a promise.

I was only 23 when all this happened. I was very fortunate. I basically just stumbled into the whole thing when I met a girl and liked her, and at the same time saw an ad for the new Z28 in Gentleman's Quarterly. It was the brown car ad, and I still have the original magazine from then, all saved up, along with everything I could find in those days in print. I saved every one of them.

There is a great pic of an early bumper IROC car used in Goodyear ads in Road & Track magazine, among others. It shows an orange IROC, full side view, two page spread. I have that too. Man, I never throw anything away about early camaros. I bought them all when they were new on the stands.

Ever read Cars Magazine? They used to have a great editorial style, definite and to the point. People like Nunzi Romano would take new cars and really work them with basically factory parts, and they would haul ass. That was my attitude towards my new Z and the incredible gift of a ZL-1 engine. I used a Corvette intake (low-rise) and the hood would close ok. I always tried to "Keep your GM car all GM". That magazine out of New York really influenced me as far as how to run my supercar.

Remember, this was the day of the 55 mph limit, which my Z would make in second gear, so getting on the freeway and hitting third would leave the traffic standing still, and fourth would be a rush forward. I used the stock mufflers and tailpipes hooked up to Hooker Super Comps, and they sounded absolutely bitchin. On the fwy they howled like an Indy car, with a very smooth but high pitch. Whenever I would pull alongside some other performance car on the freeway, it would intimidate the driver just by being there and sounding off. It was running the original 12:1 compression, which made it sound great as well. I must have bought gallons of octane boost over the years. Early boost would cram up the combustion chamber a lot.
Recently I tried to replace them on my '80 project, but the replacements, while good (Walker Dyno-maxes) are no way the same thing. Those original cans were not mufflers, they were resonators, and when used alone they sure were nice. Man, if only someone would repro those originals.

I have all the mags stored in the same spot, and easy to get to. As soon as I get some time I'll make a list and post it. The GQ ad showed the brown Z28 driving toward the camera. I remember that when I first saw it I was very excited at the thought of having a V8/four-speed performance Camaro instead of the 225 horsepower TR-5 that I was driving at the time (that car flat hauled ass and would easily take out 911S Porsches). That's how strong the psychology of that ad was. Just the thought of a new Z28 was enough to get me going. The amazing public response to my car was certainly symptomatic of the thirst of the American people for an exciting alternative to the disco crap offered the previous few years.

Since you've apparently read the printed literature (excuse the over-use of that term) of the day, you see that the new Z28 was for the day a fast and good handling car. It deserved the adulation heaped upon it by the public at-large. By the time the '78s came out, this was beginning to disappear, at least in the daily exposure in public. They woke back up for a little while in the spring of '78, though, when at OCIR I laid down smoking 12:1 open-header tracks and demonstrated the superiority of the American Supercar using that poor little Chastain Capri as a canvas to paint the picture on. The R&T people didn't quite know what to do, but the fans did. I pulled up to park with thumbs ups and cheers. The crowd that gathered around my car right next to that Capri made the whole R&T group look foolish. No one was looking at their car. I think that the metallic silver had some part in that... it was a very elegant looking car parked there, not a car for gold-chain disco flappers. Another element of that pass was the fact that the car was so light on its feet, nose-high from the aluminum engine and its torque, and the silver being a weightless looking color itsef.... all these elements taken together made everyone watching feel good about their country. It was an american victory... that's how it was seen, that's how it was taken.

The first 77 1/2 I ever saw was a red one, parked. But the second one was driving by and slowing down, a brown/camel one, and it was just like the mags described... the exhaust was something you hadn't heard in a new car for years.

In the early mornings on the base when I first got the car I would fire up my new Z and drive to the school I was attending there, and as I drove in second gear down the road everyone would turn and stare. After hours, out in the real world, same thing... everyone would turn and stare, pedestrians would stop in crosswalks or call to me from corners, horns would honk, people would be crowded around it when I came out form a store, etc etc. I had absolutely no privacy in that car. When a month later the rubber nose '78s came out, we thought they looked a little funny.
Personally, I think that the black rub strip on the 77 1/2 cars breaks up the nose just enough to make it look better. That horizontal black line makes a big difference, especially on lighter colors like, ahem, code 13.

Back to work now. I'm working on my doctorate and preparing for law school, but I seem to just type away about my silver Camaro. My books and work are just sitting there. Can't help it... I still wear levis and t-shirts.

Yes, CARS was a favorite of mine back in the day, used to read it monthly for the "how to" tech articles. Those guys were pretty sharp! Still have a bunch of back issues from the late '70s.

quote:

---

Originally posted by aero80:
It came with a little plastic plate where the radio was supposed to be. It had a bow-tie molded into it. I have a pic showing it somewhere. I'll scan it and send it if you like.
The car had as listed options tinted glass and a side-terminal battery, besides the Z28/F-41 equipment. That was it. Ok, two options, so I guess it was not zero option technically. I've never seen a Z28 without tinted glass, so maybe it was part of the package as a mandatory thing like the F-41 suspension. That's why I said it was a zero-option car. This car had been special-ordered. All of the other Zs that I saw in those days had basically full-boat option lists. Remember, this was the day when everyone wanted to be a combination of Burt Reynolds and John Travolta.
Not me. T-shirt and levis, tool box in the trunk, and the familiar parking spot at the speed shop was more my style. I've never been to a disco, and neiter had my car.

Ever read Cars Magazine? They used to have a great editorial style, definite and to the point. People like Nunzi Romano would take new cars and really work them with basically factory parts, and they would haul ass. That was my attitude towards my new Z and the incredible gift of a ZL-1 engine. I used a Corvette intake (low-rise) and the hood would close ok. I always tried to "Keep your GM car all GM". That magazine out of New York really influenced me as far as how to run my supercar.

Remember, this was the day of the 55 mph limit, which my Z would make in second gear, so getting on the freeway and hitting third would leave the traffic standing still, and fourth would be a rush forward. I used the stock mufflers and tailpipes hooked up to Hooker Super Comps, and they sounded absolutely bitchin. On the fwy they howled like an Indy car, with a very smooth but high pitch. Whenever I would pull alongside some other performance car on the freeway, it would intimidate the driver just by being there and sounding off. It was running the original 12:1 compression, which made it sound great as well. I must have bought gallons of octane boost over the years. Early boost would cram up the combustion chamber a lot.
Recently I tried to replace them on my '80 project, but the replacements, while good (Walker Dyno-maxes) are no way the same thing. Those original cans were not mufflers, they were resonators, and when used alone they sure were nice. Man, if only someone would repro those originals.

I have all the mags stored in the same spot, and easy to get to. As soon as I get some time I'll make a list and post it. The GQ ad showed the brown Z28 driving toward the camera. I remember that when I first saw it I was very excited at the thought of having a V8/four-speed performance Camaro instead of the 225 horsepower TR-5 that I was driving at the time (that car flat hauled ass and would easily take out 911S Porsches). That's how strong the psychology of that ad was. Just the thought of a new Z28 was enough to get me going. The amazing public response to my car was certainly symptomatic of the thirst of the American people for an exciting alternative to the disco crap offered the previous few years.

Since you've apparently read the printed literature (excuse the over-use of that term) of the day, you see that the new Z28 was for the day a fast and good handling car. It deserved the adulation heaped upon it by the public at-large. By the time the '78s came out, this was beginning to disappear, at least in the daily exposure in public. They woke back up for a little while in the spring of '78, though, when at OCIR I laid down smoking 12:1 open-header tracks and demonstrated the superiority of the American Supercar using that poor little Chastain Capri as a canvas to paint the picture on. The R&T people didn't quite know what to do, but the fans did. I pulled up to park with thumbs ups and cheers. The crowd that gathered around my car right next to that Capri made the whole R&T group look foolish. No one was looking at their car. I think that the metallic silver had some part in that... it was a very elegant looking car parked there, not a car for gold-chain disco flappers. Another element of that pass was the fact that the car was so light on its feet, nose-high from the aluminum engine and its torque, and the silver being a weightless looking color itsef.... all these elements taken together made everyone watching feel good about their country. It was an american victory... that's how it was seen, that's how it was taken.

The first 77 1/2 I ever saw was a red one, parked. But the second one was driving by and slowing down, a brown/camel one, and it was just like the mags described... the exhaust was something you hadn't heard in a new car for years.

In the early mornings on the base when I first got the car I would fire up my new Z and drive to the school I was attending there, and as I drove in second gear down the road everyone would turn and stare. After hours, out in the real world, same thing... everyone would turn and stare, pedestrians would stop in crosswalks or call to me from corners, horns would honk, people would be crowded around it when I came out form a store, etc etc. I had absolutely no privacy in that car. When a month later the rubber nose '78s came out, we thought they looked a little funny.
Personally, I think that the black rub strip on the 77 1/2 cars breaks up the nose just enough to make it look better. That horizontal black line makes a big difference, especially on lighter colors like, ahem, code 13.

Back to work now. I'm working on my doctorate and preparing for law school, but I seem to just type away about my silver Camaro. My books and work are just sitting there. Can't help it... I still wear levis and t-shirts.

---

Damn.....let me ask you a question....Do you have any money??? Wanna buy mine????

I'm looking right now at another 76 T/A SE, T-tops 400 4 speed. But the guy wants a lot. And my 2 car garage is not big enough for 2 f-bodys>>>>>>>>>>>Ken

And I had a TR-7 in High School. The wedge. The shape of things to come. Remember that stuff?