Ertl 1:18 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28

In 1967 Chevrolets long awaited answer to the wildly popular Mustang finally arrived with the release of the Camaro. Camaro is either French slang for “friend” or a totally made up word as Chevrolet seems to prefer car names that begin with “C” ( Corvette, Chevelle, Caprice, Corvair, etc) Wherever the name came from and whatever it means it was an immediate hit with the Chevy crowd. Unlike the Mustang which first came out with limited options and variations the Camaro came out as a full blown series. The Camaro had over 100 factory and dealer options as well as three “package” upgrades. The first package, the Rally Sport or “RS” package was mainly cosmetic and included things like concealed headlights and interior trim upgrades. Next was the already famous “SS” or Super Sport package for the guys who loved to leave rubber at stop lights. The SS package could be ordered with either the new 350 engine or the “bad boy” L35 396 cid big block. The car was an instant favorite with Chevy “street racer” fans and, thanks to Chevrolet, they could mix and match RS “show” with SS “go” to their hearts content.If you really dug deep into your dealer’s option catalog you could also get the otherwise unadvertised Z28. A car that at first look did not have the looks of the RS or the muscle of the SS. You actually had to buy the base car and then add the Z28 options. It almost seemed as if Chevrolet was trying its best not to sell any Z28s. In fact of the 220,906 Camaros produced in 1967 only 602 were sold as Z28s. It was a strange beginning for the model that would come to be seen as the ultimate Camaro. The secret of the Z28 package is that it was quietly put together by the “pro racing” boys at Chevy so that they would have a homologated car for Chevy privateers to race in the Trans Am series. It was a way to get around GM’s “No Racing” policy.

The Z28 came with a unique 4.9 Liter small block V-8 – a reworked 327 – as Trans Am rules limited displacement to 5 liters. Chevy listed it as producing 290 hp which was a bit of a cover-up as that rating was at 5300 rpm. At it’s actual rev limit of 6,800 to 7,000 rpm it was really producing closer to 400 horsepower. It also boasted an upgraded suspension, 15 inch as opposed to 14 inch “Rally” wheels, improved brakes and Muncie four speed manual transmission. This was no “stoplight burner” but rather a balanced road racer. It could not only go but stop and turn as well something that most muscle cars were less than adept at. It took a year or two for the general public to catch on but the performance dealers like Roger Penske wasted no time in getting the Z28 on the track and eventually beating the Mustangs at their own game. RC2 -Ertl has produced the 1967 Z-28 as part of its American Muscle “Authentics” line and the car has the look of a winner. For starters I like the way it is packaged. The formed plastic held the car well and offers more protection than just the old plastic “base” and straps setup. It is probably also cheaper which is fine with me as I’d rather the money be spent on the car than on a chunk of plastic and some screws that will likely spend their life in my closet. The basic shape and stance of the car are very good and even if you are not a “Butternut Yellow” fan you should be pretty happy with the quality of the paint finish. The “Chevrolet” and “Camaro” tags on the hood, trunk lid and front fenders are clean and crisp – they may not be photo etched but they are just fine with me, particularly at this price point.

The fit of the body panels is likewise very good – the fit is tight and even all the way around, indeed so much so that it is a bit of a task to get the hood opened. The hood and door hinges are what you would expect to see on cars costing twice the price of this one. Realistic, if perhaps a bit beefy, hood hinges, and concealed door hinges mean you can display this car opened up without losing the “real car” illusion. The body lines look good to my eye and the front and rear ends are well formed. It is also nice to see that the front headlights don’t suffer from the dreaded mounting post “eye ball” that makes the headlights on even very expensive cars look cheap and phony.The interior is good for a car of this price with carpet, mats and decently formed and textured seats and belts. The primary impression you get of the interior though is “dark” and that’s a good thing because that was generally the feeling you got slipping into one of these cars. The steering wheel could have been done a bit better and the instrument cluster is just ok. The only part of the interior I really wish could have been done a bit better is the rear window deck. It looks too plastic and the rear deck speakers do not give the illusion that they are separate pieces but rather look like what they are – a one piece mold. Normally I wouldn’t even comment on such a thing but given the slope of the rear window the “speakers” are the most noticeable item in the interior and to my mind the only “cheap” looking detail that can be seen when doing an exterior inspection of the car. I think it is a mark of how good this car is that the speaker on the rear deck is even considered as a “flaw” let alone a major one.

Wheels and tires are generally a weak point on cars at this price point but the Rally wheels and Firestone “Red Line” tires on this car look great. The car even has a “working suspension and the driveshaft turns with the wheels. Nice touches at this price point. Even better is the fact that the suspension doesn’t end up sitting the car too high a problem that plagues many models including ones from such high end icons as CMC and Exoto. The trunk opens to reveal a spare and some less than stellar trunk “upholstery”. This doesn’t bother me at all considering that the same item on the real car was pretty cheesy as well. The inside trunk lid is textured to “show” the insulation between the structural spars, a nice touch. The chassis detail is businesslike with all major items accounted for. It may all be plastic but it looks good. Last but certainly not least is the engine compartment. This was a pleasant surprise as the engine and associated bits and pieces are well formed and nicely finished. The “302” decal on the air cleaner is a nice touch as well. Fully plumbed and wired is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days but this car delivers on the promise. The engine bay is as detailed as any of my Lane GT-350’s or GMP Trans Am Camaro. While the RC2’s plumbing and piping might not have quite the look and feel of the more expensive cars it is a treat to see a car at this price point so well hooked up.

Like most any car, especially one that is half the price of some of its muscle car competitors, this car is not without flaws. Beyond the speakers on the rear deck and the uninspired steering wheel the black racing stripes show a bit of “alligatoring”. It would have been nice to have gotten the “drip edges” around the window openings in “chrome” strips rather than painted on and I may be wrong but the side window openings look to be a millimeter or so too narrow. I’m also not real crazy about how the “clear” part of the rear taillight was done by painting white over a red lens instead of using two pieces of plastic. The license plate also looks very fake and must have been made for another of their Chevys models as the vanity plate spells out “MYSS” and this is clearly not an SS! – the car would look better without any plate at all. And to get really picky the flat area between the headlight and the grill surround at the fender should be black not chrome and I think the front tires might actually be too wide. I might consider doing a bit of touchup on the grill but the tires are staying right where they are.

Overall this model, like the car it is modeled after, is a winner in my book and a good sign for everyone who is looking for good cars at a good price. I hope that this trend continues.

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