I thought I saw that post here but can't find it and it sure seems like it is true judging by how the tail lenses are flush on the left side, but recessed on the right.
Did someone at GM mess up with the blueprints?

 

Where did you hear that?

 

I have a bunch of articles snagged from the web- some talking with the old GM guys who bitched about what GM made them work with and how they hated making sub-par cars knowing they could do better (live axel, plastic everything...). Could have been there, but I thought it was on a message board long ago so I thought I'd ask. I swear I saw someone comment that they just ran out an measured and was blown away that it was indeed true by a few centimeters.

 

The closest I can come to answering this is in 1987 I went to the USCC Nationals in Norwood, Ohio and during the plant tour we got to talk with a few GM types. I raised a number of problems with my Camaro and they really had no answer. There were short comings for the 3rd gen throughout; leaky side windows, over heating, whistling noises, and much more. GM knew the car had problems but lived with them any way. There was a sectioned off area for finished cars that didn't pass final inspection from the assembly line and there were dozens of Camaros and Firebirds parked there. Even if you don't get a definitive answer on the length, I could be believe it based on what I saw and heard in 1987.

 

I know that routine too. I read at GM they took bad cars to a special out of sight "back room" and actually would try to sledgehammer a car into submission in a hail mary effort to still get it off the line to ship and sell.
Don't think that would work with the hatch glass.

 

cars arent an exact science there willalways be flaws il the negth and everything by alittle bit. if you notice when you take a part off an "identitical" car and put it on your it may not fit as god at the 1 that came off it. 3rd gens were the last of mainly steel camaros.

 

Got some replies from my other thread about my hatch glass. Someone wrote me the passenger side tends to stick out over the rear lense by about 1/4". Apparently, it was in a GTA forum where I remembered seeing that tidbit. Design flaw built into every third gen. There were pics there, but I am not a member and couldn't view them, but I can just look at my own car!

 

both my cars are even back there, so idk about that.