Ok so I know the two are really the same thing... but growing up we had a 1988 rs. It had RS decals on the side ground effects as well as the rear bumper cover and the car was in original faded paint when my parents bought it in late 1995 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Was this common for that year? Every 88 I have seen other than that car says Camaro in these locations, including my current 88 Camaro which is a tribute to that car. Was this a Canadian thing that year? I know, kind of a stupid question since it is just stickers but this is a question I have been wanting to ask for years.

I liked the option package it had, even though 305s are turds, especially the e code. It had the 305 tbi with a t5, deluxe gray cloth interior, t-tops, manual windows, manual locks, no cruise, had map lights, a/c, rear defroster, power hatch, 1988 low rise spoiler, black over silver paint with a double vinyl pinstripe over the gfx - one silver one red. Dale Earnhardt kind of look. I wanted that car badly, but it needed rust repair, had high miles, 1988 got stuck doing e-test every 2 years in Ontario, and other circumstances kept me from ever getting it so it was sold. Also, were the vinyl pinstripes a dealer thing on 1988s?

I have the rs badges badges from a 1990 going onto my current 88, and they are identical to what was on the original 88 rs. Could the original 88 car have sat on the car lot for awhile too and been treated to the 89 badges? Thanks for reading.

 

The RS package started as a regional thing. When GM deep sixed the 88 sport coupe specific spoiler and started putting the typical 3pc door stop wedge spoiler on the 88 Coupe, the only difference between th e RS and sport coupe were emblems and the color of the gfx. Didn't really make much sense to keep making two models of nearly the same car. Take a coupe, paint the gfx body color and stick RS badges on it, and it's an RS.

 

Based on the description you gave with having the silver GFX and the shorty spoiler, I'd say the black car was a 1988 Camaro Sport Coupe and not the RS. There were RS models produced in 1988, but they were in test markets only, had the regular rear spoiler, and came in monochromatic paint schemes. It sounds like your parents car had someone replace the emblems with RS emblems.

 

Thanks guys. This makes sense and kind of confirms one of my suspicions. I could probably produce the VIN from that car with some digging if it will tell us anything? I wasn't sure if being a Canadian car had anything to do with the RS badges.

Also, does anyone happen to know the paint code for the ground effects on an 88 sport coupe?