I have an 87 camaro and i started doing research on it to find out the history for when i start restoring it. I have found alot of stuff that indicates it is a sport coupe but some things i have found leans toward an LT model.. what is making me think this is the RPO code is LG4 which on the history thread on this site is only under the LT model for what i have in the car. It has a 305 with the 4 barrel carb and i am pretty sure it has the 2.73 rear. Not sure about the tranny


How can i find out for sure what I have? I would like to bring it back to factory specs when i do the restoration.

 

If you have RPO B4E, then you have an LT. RPO LG4 was the base V-8 engine in the Z28 and IROC. It was optional on the standard sport coupe and LT for 1987.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...camaro-lt.html

 

thanks, like i said most of what i was finding was sport coupe but then i saw the camaro tech board on this site and i was confused. It has the 87 LT with RPO code LG4 and the sport coupe with a different RPO and only in a V6. I have a V8 and all my stuff matched the discription for the LT with the V8 5.0 305 with the 4 barrel carb and such. It doesnt matter to me what i have i love the car just would like to know the history and be able to restore it properly

 

Well hopefully the link I attached will help out. Btw, what are your wheels like? 14's or 15's?

 

Bravo.

Ask yourself the one really important question:

Why?

The correct path to proceed is contained in the answer.

If you think anybody else, including perhaps the person you wish would buy it from you someday, is ever going to care, and that's why you want to do this, you're making a HUGE EXPENSIVE mistake.

If you just want an "all original" car, that's the wrong one to do that to; it's near the bottom of the line for that year. About all it has going for it is a sticker and (fortunately) the V8. You can sell ti for whatever you have in it, buy a car that DOES have some kind of inherent desirability to the extent that any of these cars does, and actually have something worthwhile after spending several times what ANY of these cars (almost) can be purchased for.

If it's not a question of "worth" at all, but rather you just want a "cool" car, then "original" to THAT car is not the right goal.

Note that in no way am I telling you not to do this; only, that you better be DAMN CAREFUL about what you're doing it for and what you think you're going to have at the end of it all, or else you'll be in for a MAJOR disappointment.

 

The Sport Coupe could be had with the 4bbl 305, same as the LT. Quite the shocker that the Tech Data chart is wrong (sarcasm). In fact most of the options that made the LT what it was were optional on the Sport Coupe. Aside from the codes mentioned above, the Sport Coupe had steel wheels, while the LT had aluminum wheels. The other give away are the LT badges, which could just as easily be gone now.

Beyond everything else, the LT wasn't as rare as some of the numbers suggest. It's still basically the same thing as a Sport Coupe, not something people really get excited about.

 

My wheels are suppose to be 14"s but the previous owner changed them to 16"s.

As far as the restoration goes this is my first car that I am restoring. I know its nothing special but I like the car and I like to see cars in good condition. While I will try to bring it back to factory specs I will have my own modification to it as well but dont want to make the mistake that i have heard many other make by taking a car and changing a buch of stuff then find out it was something special that they shouldnt have done anything to.(not the case with this car but good to find out before you do anything to it) This will hopefully be a good car to get some practice on before I get the car that I really want

 

The forum shrinks linked photos down to fit the thread, so right click and click view image to see these full size.
As you can see, the biggest difference is the Sport Coupe in 1987 came with 15" steel wheels, the LT came with either steel 14" wheels with hubcaps or 14" silver aluminum wheels. If the tire decal in the door jamb shows 14" tires, it's a pretty safe bet the car is an LT.

 

Well the LT is pretty much a Berlinetta without the fancy electronics from 1984-86 as the 1982's - 83 had analog gauges.

Then again, the Type LT came out in 1973 to be replaced with the Berlinetta in 1979 to be replaced with LT in 1987 to later be dropped after 794 were made. Not a popular model to keep producing it.

Is an LT basically a regular sport coupe? Yes, with more standard options (although not much.) In 1987, the Camaro's were all sport coupes and no separate model like the defunct Berlinetta and Type LT with "FS" V.I.N code as opposed to the 1G1FP V.I.N. code for all other Camaros with their RPO codes like B4E= LT; Z28= Z28; B4Z w/Z28 = IROC to identify them. With the obvious that the higher end of the spectrum had the lower ground effects.

And from the factory order sheets, from what I can tell, in 1987, you could not get the optional fog lights, roof console, power seat, power mirrors on a "base" sport coupe. Which is funny as you could get leather seating. And...the sport coupe came with standard 15" one year only style rally wheels. LT's stock wheels were steel 14"s with hubcaps and optional Argent/Gray Berlinetta styled aluminum wheels like in the above pic. My car pretty much looked exactly like the one above from the brochure with the exception of the t-tops and 6 cylinder engine and red interior in mine.

Correct me if I am wrong people.

 

As to the one-year-only 15 inch steel wheels. If you notice, the center stamping itself appears to be the same as the earlier wheels, as well as later S10 wheels... just with different shaped cutouts. I've never been able to compare the two side-by-side to tell for sure.

 

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Yup, The cut outs are more rounded rectangular holes than I want to say "triangular" as the earlier versions.

Here is a link to a nice 1987 Sport Coupe that I found on Car Domain with a perfect example of the "stock" wheels.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/330459...evrolet-camaro

 

OK I thought i had it figured out now I am confused again!

According to what Drew has said it would be an LT because my tire decal shows 14" wheels. But with the VIN that MY87LT said it would be a base sport coupe because I have the 1G1FP VIN. It would be nice to just look at the stock wheels but like I said the previous owner changed them to 16" wheels

Can anyone explain this more and help me figure it out? What are some of the other differences?

 

Not really... GM used the same styling on several different Rally wheels. They look similar, but they don't really share any parts. For example, the S10 never got 15" wheels. The S10 rally wheels are 14x6, the Sport Coupe Camaro came with 14x7's. The Camaro wheels also were completely different with separate inserts in the openings, with different trim rings and center caps. The later 15" Camaro rally wheels are different again, with the center caps locking into the lug nuts instead of the clips on the wheel that the S10 and Camaro 14" rally wheels used.

I'm too lazy to look up and see if the LT in 87 used a different VIN from a Sport Coupe. I want to say that distinction ended after 86 with the death of the Berlinetta. I think what he's trying to say is that the VIN is the same between an LT and SC, and only the RPO codes call out the model.

Since the primary difference between a Berlinetta and a Sport Coupe was the digital dash, and heinous gold graphics, and those details went away in 1987 and the car was renamed an LT, there is so little difference between an LT and a Sport Coupe that it's pretty much just an emblem package.

 

Actually what I was saying was that begining in 1987 there was no separate Camaro model (Berlinetta). All Camaro's are basically Sport Coupes that are then classified by their RPO codes that identifies them as what type of models. Say a 1986 Berlinetta's VIN would begin with 1G1FS and "Base" models, Z28's, and IROC's would begin with 1G1FP.

Of course, the separate model or RPO codes break down what it is.

1987 was the final year for 14" wheels (steel with hubcaps or aluminum) on a Camaro and were exclusive to the LT model. The 15" rally wheels were on the "base" coupe. Z28's still had the 15" (for lack of a better word) their Z28 wheels. IROC's with 16's.

Hope this clears it up for 1987 only. And Drew is correct.

 

So if I understand this right an LT is bascially a SC with different emblems. But the LT is the only one with the 14" wheels, which mine is suppose to have. So I probally have an LT model and the VIN would be about the same as the base SC

One of the other problems is that there are very few markings on this car other that camaro on the dash and embrorder in the seat.

This is why I would like to know so that when i do the restoration i can get the proper decals and stuff

So the best way to find out for sure is to find the build sheet and research the options on that?

 

I want to say that an LT is a step above a "base" Coupe, like an IROC is a step or two above a Z28.

What do you're stripes look like if you compare them to the pictures above from the 1987 brochure of the LT and Sport Coupe.

 

Unfortunatly I have no stripes whatsoever on the car it has been repainted at some point. Which wasnt even done right. I dont even have the camaro emblem on the front quater panels.
And where the LT emblem is on the first pic had been bondoed for no reason at all, so they wouldnt be there either ( I know because i sanded all the bondo off because of lack of sanding in the first place)
I think the previous owner was trying to make a IROC repliaca or something.

 

That's a tough one then. Well you said that it has the decal on the door that states 14" tires, do you still have the underhood emsissions sticker that tells you what year and engine the car has?

 

Yes it is still there and it has model year 1987 and 5.0 for the engine

 

Well if the door is original to the car and the underhood decal is there as well, you may have an LT model. If you really want to confirm, GM's Restoration service may be able to confirm your RPO codes through your VIN.

 

Actually, the S-10 DID come with 15" rallies (optional of course) and they ARE the same rim as the Camaro rally, other than the little tabs for the centercap retention. I was only pointing out that the '87 rally wheel was actually the same stamping other than the shape of the cutouts. The contours are the same between the two wheel faces.

 

Also, didn't the '87 LT's have their own steering wheel, similar in appearance to the Z28/Iroc steering wheel? What steering wheel does your car have? Does it have any options like overhead console or fog lights?

 

Oh duh on my part. You're right about the steering wheel. Just like the Z28/IROC only not leather wrapped and the horn cap read "CAMARO LT".

Power seat, roof console, rear view auto-dim mirror, fog lights and power mirrors were available on the LT's and not on the "base" coupe.

 

Found a site that sells hub caps and came across the stock 1987 LT's hubcap for the steel wheel and they have it next to the gold stock later Berlinetta hubcap for its steel wheel. Pretty much both the same with the exception of color and center emblem.

 

My 87 take-offs next to my neighbors well-worn '86 rims.

 

Well there is no headliner in the car at all just the metal for the roof. I dont know if the steering wheel is original as it has been painted and the center cap is badly worn.

Also there are no power options in the car. No auto dim mirror. Does look like there could have been fog lights but then again the grill looks as if it has been cut to make holes for the lights.

I would like to have the original wheels on the car not just for looks but to fix my speedometer. (yes i know there are other ways to do this)

I will have to find the build sheet and hope it is still ledgable and try to figure it out from there

 

Can you post a pic of the steering wheel and/or your car if possible?

 

I will have to wait till tomorrow when i am home but I will get some on here.

I did find a picture of a LT steering wheel and mine looks the same but I havent really looked at the emblem in the horn cap to see if i can make out LT anywhere. I know it is faded bad because I could just barely make out camaro

 

I have always wanted to see that!

 

I think I got it figured out. I was able to read LT faintly on the steering wheel

 

Cool. You do have an LT.

Btw, those 1991-1992 Camaro wheels look good on your car.

 

Thanks. Havent decided if i want to keep them or try to find an original stock set yet.

And thanks to everyone for helping me out with this. Its nice to finally know. Now I can start getting the missing badges for it and start fixing it up

 

Well if you come across a set of Berlinetta gold wheels, you can always have them refurbished, painted and clear coated to look like the LT in the picture above.

 

Car looks pretty decent in the pics

The 16's do look good, but I think a set of the stock (although not for an LT) 15 inch rallies would look great on it.

 

I was going to put the 15's Z28's at one point, then the 16's mesh style, and was finally sold on the 17's Firehawk Ronal R-15's. I did keep my original 14's though. Need to get the hub caps for them.

Was using yogurt cups that I spray painted silver since the original caps flew off the car one by one over time. Got that idea while I was in high school from a teacher who had a Berlinetta that lost her caps.

 

Saw these on Craigslist, thought you LT guys might be interested:



http://allentown.craigslist.org/pts/2675846947.html

 

Also these, though the price is higher:



http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/pts/2700484973.html