i have one of those 1984 camaro berlinetta's that have the F41 graphic on the rear bumper i bought it this way and i was told it has corvette a-arms and springs but i guess the last owner upgraded the springs to some better corvette springs if not it has some now. is this suspension much better then the suspension on say a 91 rs or iroc?

 

Not to be cruel; but —

Wow.... I hope you didn't pay extra for the car because of that drivel.

The "from a Vette" line has been very popular for years as sucker bait, with regards to motors; nowadays, "police interceptor" and "Vortec" seem to be peaking, as ways to bid up the price of things that are unexceptional in any way. I've never heard somebody selling a car claim that their control arms or springs were "from a Vette" though. That's pretty creative.

Vette parts don't fit these cars, period. Those particular pieces are so far different from the ones in these cars, if you saw them side by side, you'd laugh that someone would have the audacity to try to claim that. Your car doesn't have Vette CAs or springs, you can believe that.

There is no such thing as a 91 IROC; GM terminated their contract with the International Race of Champions to use their name, effective 12/31/90. So the last IROCs are early production 90 models.

There's a BIG difference in the springs in a 90 IROC, or a 91 Z28, and a RS. Although, it could be argued, that they're all the same now; worn out and used up. The parts in a 84 car would be even worse. I changed the springs in my 83 the first time in 86 as I recall, because they already sagged so bad; the car didn't even sit level any more. Stock springs suck.

I have no idea what the F41 badge meant; specifically, whether it had anything to do with the suspension, or if it was just trim. There were quite alot of them around where I was living when those cars came out, and it seems to me, most of them were pretty much base model cars, alot had 6-cylinders in them IIRC. Being base model cars, I didn't have the slightest interest in them, so I never investigated them at all. At best, assuming that they did in fact have an upgraded suspension equal to the best available at the time, about all that might be left today that's any better than the lowest-level car and still useable, would be larger sway bars. And even the very best of those in the early cars, is much smaller than the later IROCs and Z28s. For instance, my 83 HO Z28 came with the 32/21 sway bar combo; that would be the best that yours could possibly have come with as well. Later cars came with as much as 34/24 or 36 hollow/24 combos. As far as what springs they came with, well, they're 20 years old now, and they were worn out about 18 years ago, and it's kind of pointless to even worry about them any more... kind of like worrying about which cars came with better oil in them when new. It doesn't matter much any more, you wouldn't want that oil anyway.

Without knowing what's actually in your car, it's impossible to guess what it might compare to.

 

Just to throw in an opinion, I've never heard of "L41" cars. An RPO starting with L usually denotes the engine type, not the suspension. Are you sure it's not F41?

An F41 suspension usually consists of bigger sway bars, firmer springs, and possibly upgraded steering box and different wheels for an older car. It is the base suspension on 91-92 cars, I believe.

And like RB83L69 said, there isn't a chance you're going to find Corvette suspension pieces on your car, unless someone did some serious modifications.

 

F41 : SUSPENSION SYSTEM, FRT, RR, FIRM RIDE, HANDLING

Cars like my '91 RS with this package got 16" alloy wheels, and it came with 34/21mm sway bars front/rear.


Ed

 

yes it is F41 mybad i only paid $500 for the car and its in good condition and had aa engine swap to make the engine a 350 with mods no air anymore and no heat. the car has the berlinetta nose and the seller told me he put corvette springs in it thats prolly b/s but i know he did atleast change the springs because they look new not 20 years old. i was trying to find out what the F41 ment on the car someone told me the suspension was better then normal stock cause it was a F41 but i have no idea

 

Sorry to say this, but the seller flat out lied to you, possibly to make the sale..Other than the brakes, nothing off a Vette, especially the suspension, will fit our cars. Corvettes have a single rear leaf spring that goes from one side of the car to the other, wheel to wheel.

Ed

 

so what does the F41 mean on the back of the car? nothing just for looks or is there something special about F41 camaros or no.

 

My guess is that it denotes the suspension package, firm ride and handling.

Ed

 

RPO F41 was a very minor supension addition (not worth calling it a upgrade) for $49. For this you got the badge on the bumper cover.

 

ok so ic that this car is basically just a regular camaro except for the fact that there isnt air or heat and the engine and trans and rear end isnt stock.

 

AFAIK, that's about right. Although I can't speak to the no air and all that other stuff. I'll just have to take your word for it. But, from all I've seen, that's pretty much regular these days too.

The actual contents of the F41 RPO varied considerably over the years.... whatever it was in 91, probably wasn't the same as 84. Alot of things had changed over that time period as far as the buying public's expectations, and the base model equipment and the RPO parts changed to accomodate that.