As I did almost six years ago when I introduced my 1982-1992 Firebird book, I would like to thank the forum members who ask honest questions and who respectfully discuss the answers to questions. The knowledge-base of this site never ceases to amaze me. I’d like to send a special thanks to the guys who took the time to answer my PMs: John Zofko, Mark Strembicke, and Scott Moyer.

Over the past few years, some of you have asked when I would publish a 3rd Gen Camaro companion book to my 3rd Gen Firebird book. I hesitated to say that I was working on it, because, as we know, there are no primary source Camaro documents to be found for 1982-1989. At least I am not aware of any. Fortunately, VIN-based 1990-1992 Camaro production totals are known (but must be specially retrieved to get full production totals).

I was not sure that I would be able to write a 3rd Gen Camaro book that would provide anything more than what was already out there. I eventually found a way to expand on the existing 1982-1989 Camaro production data: through Canadian-delivery production records (RPO Z49). If we know what was happening with Canadian production, we can learn what may have been happening with domestic production (there were some differences).

So, my 1982-1992 Camaro book is now published. Link:



Those of you who have my Firebird book (or any of my 25 auto reference books) will recognize that the format for presenting data in this new Camaro book is the same as the other books. The tables are easy to use and information can be quickly found. Like all my books, there are no color photos, but some black and white photos of identification labels. This Camaro book has more RPOs and production totals than any other available 3rd Gen Camaro book. Website data is usually copied from outdated books, errors and all, but I have tried to correct or properly explain certain production data.

I think the biggest surprise will be this: For 30 years, a very incorrect total for the 1991 RPO B4C Special Service cars was published. The real production total is over 100 cars different. What was the actual production total for 1991 B4C cars? Page 198.

Other books and websites tell you that you have an RPO MM4, MM5, MX0, or MX1 transmission. Those RPOs are not transmission RPOs! What is your actual transmission RPO and what are its internal gears?

Special Edition Camaros are discussed, including: B4C, 1LE, Player’s race cars, the 1982 Indy, the 1984 Winter Olympics Edition, the 1985 California IROC, the 1987-88 California RS, 20th Anniversary convertibles, and the 25th Anniversary Heritage Edition.

There is a complete model/body-style/engine/transmission/color breakout for the 1992 RPO Z03 25th Anniversary Heritage Edition cars. What was the special RPO that was added to some of these cars late in the year, and why was it added? How many Heritage cars were 1LE and how many had the L98 engine? Pages 202-203.

For 1991-1992 Camaros delivered to Japan, the RS coupe powertrain had a sportier rear axle than any other 3rd Gen Camaro. What was it? What important mechanical system did Japan’s 1992 Z28 convertible have that no other ’92 convertible had? How many Heritage Edition cars were delivered to Japan and what color were they? Page 183.

This book will certainly add to our 3rd Gen Camaro knowledge.

Enjoy!

 

I loved read my Firebird book. I'm sure Camaro owners who make this purchase will enjoy their book as well.

 

Hey All,

In my post above, I forgot to include a special thanks to Forum member Yo Soy El Warg (Charley Grove) for helping to fine-tune some of the info in my book. Thanks Charley!

 

Got mine before they are gone!

 

Good book, but there are a few inaccuracies.

'89 1LE Camaros came with VR tires, not ZR (at least they did at the end if January '89).
I believe '86 was the only year with single side dump exhaust and series sponsor decals and roll cages were installed prior to delivery to the dealers.

Thanks for assembling all this info in one concise reference manual.

 

VIZ28,

Thank you for seeing the ZR tire data on page 201 of my book. I think that you have made a discovery about the 1989 1LE.

All 74 units of 1989 1LE Camaros built as Player's cars (RPO R7U) did have RPO QDZ tires (VR rated). I indicate this on page 91 of my book. I wonder if the other two Canadian delivery 1LEs had QDZ? (UPDATE: The two 1989 non-R7U Canadian 1LE Camaros also had the VR rated tires)

However, it seems very possible that the 35 units of domestic delivery (U.S.) 1989 1LE Camaros were built with RPO QLC tires (ZR rated). See 1989 SPID label attached (the car is US delivery). The window sticker for that car also indicates ZR tires.

Without verification, I typically do not rely on the Camaro White Book, but that secondary source also indicates ZR tires for 1989 1LE Camaros.

I will edit my page 201 to indicate ZR tires for 1989 1LE as US only. (UPDATE: My edit on page 201 will go live on Amazon tomorrow, May 7, 2024)

Again, thank you.

 

I'm really enjoying the book. I bought one for myself and one for my best friend. We are both 3rd gen nuts owning 9 between the two of us, including 3 1992 B4Cs.

Is there any hope of ever getting US IROC color breakdowns like you have for the Canadian cars?

 

Hi B4CYA,

Thank you for your patronage!

You have a challenging request. For the 1985-89 IROCs, domestic color breakout has never been published.

However, I have the 1990 IROC COUPE domestic color breakout. This data is NOT in my book -- you're the first to know:

 

I had always heard they never broke them down that far. I've had a yellow 87 L98 IROC since 2000 and I was always curious how many they actually made. That's awesome news they broke down the 90 IROCs tho. We appreciate all the work you've done!

 

You know, it's pretty sad that GM couldn't database all of the info this many years later. They have all of the invoices so a data entry intern could enter all the details for each year, then GM would have the breakdowns.

I've thought about asking GM for all of the VIN 3 (verts) 1987 invoices just to see what they would charge me for all of it. With that, we would be able to document every single 87 convertible down to every option and color.

 

Scott, you and I would do something like you suggested!
My own personal quest? Sit down in the National Corvette Museums' Archive Room, and go through ALL of the 1981 Corvette build sheets. Yeah, I know, almost 9,000 build sheets! And, they do have them - in fact, they are all scanned. Not optically scanned, unfortunately. But, I have handled the originals, as well.
Keep in mind that in 1981, the Corvette was also built in St. Louis, so, once you know the Bowling Green totals, then you would know the St. Louis totals too.
It would be nice to know the RPO M18 4-speed manual transmission breakout for BG. Then subtract that amount from the reported 1981 total of 5,757. You would then have the ST. Louis manual amount.
It would also be nice to know the exact breakout of the two-tone cars. My 1976-82 Corvette book gives a pretty darn good estimate (I do explain the math that I used).
If you're ever at NCM, go to the Archives Room, and say hello to Betty Hardison. Tell her Robert Casey sent you. She is a wonderful resource.

 

If it was possible to get my hands on all the 87 build sheets, I would absolutely sit down and take the time to break down the 87 cars. Just for my own curiosity. I wish I knew how to get in contact with someone at GM to see if that was possible. Or if those documents even exist to do so.

 

It's definitely possible. GM has all of the invoices on microfiche. If they just charged us for the paper used, all of them could be printed, but they want like $50 a piece today. I don't know if they'll allow an external agent to sit in their offices gathering this data.

 

Yea since they are getting that kind of money out of them its unlikely they would let some random guy in there to sift through them all.

 

Has anyone purchased this book? If so, could you tell me what he shows for the total number of 92 Camaros built? I’ll be happy to buy the book if the number is correct. The Camaro White Book has it wrong in the copy I have.

 

Basic production totals are available in the tech database on this site. This book is for more in depth breakdowns of individual options. I recommend purchasing the book. I got it off amazon and had it in 2 days.

 

I have nearly every Thirdgen book and don’t need to add another unless the 92 quantity is correct. That’s the reason I asked the question.

 

@shiftman can you answer Leonard's question about 1992 Camaro production figures stated in your book? Leonard owns the last 1992 Camaro with the signatures from the assembly plant workers. I'm also curious if his Camaro was noted in the book?

 

C'mon Leonard. You know the REAL number is 70,007. Your car doesn't exist!!!!

 

That will save me $26!😂😂

 

What's with Leonard's car?
Searched, found nothing.

 

http://www.last1992camaro.com/

 

VIN is 70,008, but GM only references 70,007 cars produced.

 

Robert, I see you have other books. Any chance the 98-02 F-body book has counts for SLP cars, specifically how many 2002 1LE conversions SLP did?

 

Hello All,

I apologize for the delayed response. My 98-year-old mom is close to having a visit from the angels, and my sister's cancer has metastasized - she is down to 100 pounds and not doing well. They are both in Michigan and I live in Greensboro, NC. I have been driving up there and spending much time with them. They are my priority.

So, there are questions that need to be addressed. OK, good. Let's get started.

B4CYA: I truly doubt that we are going to be able to find VIN by VIN build sheet data that you could tally. I have heard (but cannot confirm) that Jim Mattison was able to save some Pontiac build sheets. I do not know the years, or models. And Scott is right, we would need to rob a bank to buy the sheets, and/or sit down somewhere (where and would we get clearance, and is there a daily charge for us to "research"?) to view the microfiche.

LeonardS (and JT): I have known for years about your historically interesting car and, I admit it, I blew it: I did not say anything about it in my book. Eleven model-years of production data will make your head spin. I will look over the manuscript and I am confident that I can edit and add a bit about it. I can have it published and available in a few days. I will notify this site when I am confident the update has been published on Amazon. HOWEVER, we must realize that when there is 70,000 units produced of ANYTHING, marbles, coffee mugs, ball point pens, might there be ONE unit that is deemed so defective that it would be destroyed and/or not counted? Or, might a sequential number be skipped? Or, might GM have built a 1993 pilot Camaro with a 1992 VIN and then manually subtracted that car from production totals?

So, yes, my 1992 total production figure matches not only the Camaro White Book total (70,007), but more importantly, for me at least, the 70,007 figure is repeated by VIN data totals from Compnine. Anyone who questions Compnine's VIN data totals likely does not how to access or calculate the information on the site. I have worked with Jason very closely for ten years and even I still make mistakes. I have paid substantially for this special data that cannot be accessed with a basic subscription. All of this costly data is in my books. And I sell my books for much less than the White Book. And no Camaro book has exterior/interior color combination breakout by model and transmission, like my 4th Gen Camaro books..

A huge takeaway from my 1982-1992 Camaro book is that for 30 years, the 1991 B4C Camaro was said to have 592 units produced. My book shows that that figure is very inaccurate. If anybody took the time, like I did, and simply added the 1991 engine totals and the 1991 model totals, they would have caught the mistake. I show the math in my book. I took it a step further and verified the correct 1991 B4C units through Compnine VIN data. But, some people don't care about the B4C. Or the 1LE. Or anything but their car. I understand. When I factory-ordered my 1980 Z28 4-speed, radio delete, I only cared about it.

So, here's what I've done: I have attached below a printout of part of the Compnine VIN data from 1992. Look it over. You will have to add the coupe and convertible totals. 70,007 units built. Correct. Your car is VIN 70,008. Correct. Scott says this in post #23. Those two facts can live together harmoniously for the reasons indicated above. What VIN was assigned then destroyed or skipped? I do not know. As you might know, plenty of VINs have been assigned then destroyed or skipped in GM-Land (In 1972, there were 1,100 VINed Camaros that had to be scrapped).

98_1LE: I am not aware of any Chevy-reported/sanctioned (RPO 1LE) SLP Camaro conversions past the 1999 model-year. In 1999, 74 total units were built. My 1998-2002 Camaro book has the 1998-1999 1LE breakout by exterior color/interior color/ transmission, and by Z28 or SS. For 1999, I also breakout which cars had the RPO BBS Hurst shifter.

And, because we are fans of all Camaros, here's an Easter egg: I am currently compiling 5th and 6th Gen data.

Hope this helps.

 

Best wishes with your mom and sister sir.

I bought your 98-02 Camaro book and enjoyed it. My birthday is coming up and I am being asked what I want. A list of your other third and fourthgen books was provided.

 

Thanks for the reply, but that is not how GM explained the error in the total count to me. Good luck with your future books.

 

Hey All,

The update to my 1982-1992 Camaro book is now live on Amazon. I was able to sneak in a bit of information about Leonard's VIN 70008 Camaro - the last 3rd Gen Camaro. The new info is on page 207 and can be viewed via Amazon's "Read Sample" button, just below the big cover photo. Link:



Thanks for your patience.

Best,

Robert

 

I asked about the invoices for the 1989 Firebird Convertibles and it would have been $13000

 

The white book has the same inaccuracy for 1991. It lists the last VIN as ML200838. I am currently looking at a Carfax report of a '91 RS VIN ML200843.

 

I have never used compnine, but are all the sequential VINs accounted tor in the database? I’m sure the counts are mostly “select count(whatever) from table where option….”, with little regard for validating the sequence.

I suspect GM only considers it countable if it was sold and/or shipped. Do they count cars still in their possession?

 

Robert, best wishes to your mom and sister.


Just a side note here. I have 2 1989 IROCs. One of which I am the original owner. My December 1988 built one came with VRs from the factory and my May 1989 built one came with ZRs.

 

I just bought the book over amazon... i would recommend it. . I found that the 91 RS coupe I bought new was a pretty rare car. The car had every option the dealer could add including the cd player, rear louvers, engine block heater and Leather. the book shows it was one of 93 cars that were Dk teal, gray leather , L03 AND 5 speed. I wish I would have kept it.