Total Production for 1997

xx,xxx

xx,xxx were V6 Coupes

xx,xxx were Z28 Coupes

Pricing

The Base Coupe started at $16,215.

The Base Convertible started at $21,770.

The RS Coupe started at $17,970.

The RS Convertible started at $23,170.

The Z28 Coupe started at $20,115.

The Z28 Convertible started at $25,520.

The 30th Anniversary Edition Z28 Coupe started at $20,690.

The 30th Anniversary Edition Z28 Convertible started at $26,095.

History/Trivia

Three 1996 Camaro Z28 coupes in 1997 trim paced the 1996 Indy Brickyard 400. Festival 1997 replicas (white with Hugger Orange stripes and white houndstooth cloth seats) were sold as used cars by Chevy dealers. All were built within the first one-hundred 1997 VINs.

The Camaro's model-year sales were 58,152 units. Calendar-year sales were 55,973. According to industry trade journals domestic model-year production was 48,292 coupes and 6,680 convertibles for a total of 54,972 units.

The Ste. Therese, Quebec, plant built all of these cars (and all 30,754 Firebirds). Of the Camaro's built, 71.5% had automatic transmission, 14.9% had a 5-speed manual transmission, 13.6% had a 6-speed manual transmission, 66% were equipped with a 3.8-liter SFI V6 engine, and 34% were equipped with a 5.7-liter SFI V8 engine.

13.7% had traction control, 100% (All) had power steering, 100% (All) had ABS brakes, 27.4% had a limited-slip differential, 100% (All) had steel-belted radial tires, 81.3% had power door locks, 78.8% had power windows, 100% (All) had reclining bucket seats, 47.3% had a power seats, 22% had leather seats, 100% (All) had dual front airbags, 100% (All) had tilt steering, 100% (All) had tinted glass, 99.2% had manual air conditioning, 93.4% had cruise control, 100% (All) had delay windshield wipers, 30% had a ETR stereo cassette player, 15.9% had a name brand sound system, 3.8% had a name brand sound system with CD, 20.3% had another brand CD, 64% had an electric rear window defogger, 29.2% had a manual remote-control left-hand outside rear-view mirror, 70.8% had power rear-view mirrors, 27.8% had a power right-hand rear-view mirror, 18% had chrome styled wheels, 82% had aluminum styled wheels, 76.6% had remote keyless entry and 43.3% had T-tops.

A total of 55,437 new Camaro's were registered in the U.S. during calendar year 1997.

Monochromatic Paint/Black Roof/Mirrors

RPO code D82 gave coupes monochromatic paint (so a body colored roof and mirrors) and was a "no cost" option. This applied to both hardtop and T-top coupes regardless of engine. The '97 ordering guide states that D82 required CC1 (T-tops) for V6 and V6 RS coupes. Z28s could have D82 with a hardtop or T-tops. A black Camaro/RS/Z28 would not need D82, because it is already monochromatic.

D82 wasn't available on convertibles. Black mirrors weren't available on Z28 convertibles for this year.

Black mirrors were standard equipment on Z28 coupes and RS coupes (with T-tops) only, according to the 1997 order guide. I have seen black mirrors on V6 Camaro coupes with T-tops as well, however, I only have pictures of 1 car in my photo collection. V6 Camaro coupes were not specifically mentioned in the order guide regarding the color of their mirrors if T-tops were specified.

If a V6 coupe or V6 RS coupe had a hardtop, they'd have a body colored roof automatically. If they had T-tops, they would come with a black C-pillar standard. The V6 Camaro coupes would (apparently) come with body-color mirrors and the V6 RS Camaro coupes would come with black mirrors. Like I said above, the base model V6 Camaro coupes with T-tops were not mentioned specifically in the order guide regarding their mirror color, however they came with black mirrors.

Black roof/mirrors summary:

The 1997 ordering guide doesn't specify every single aspect. It makes note of several, but we are left to assume things.

V6 coupe w/ hardtop = body-color roof and mirrors

V6 coupe w/ T-tops = gloss black c-pillar and body-colored mirrors (an assumption we're forced to make) however, gloss black mirrors is what I have seen on all examples. D82 monochromatic paint optional

V6 convertible = body-color mirrors no matter what

V6 RS coupe w/ hardtop = body-color roof and mirrors

V6 RS coupe w/ T-tops = gloss black c-pillar and gloss black mirrors. D82 monochromatic paint optional

V6 RS convertible = body-color mirrors no matter what

Z28 coupe w/ hardtop = gloss black roof and gloss black mirrors. D82 monochromatic paint optional

Z28 coupe w/ T-tops = gloss black c-pillar and gloss black mirrors. D82 monochromatic paint optional

Z28 convertible = body-color mirrors no matter what

Spotter's/Restorer's Guide to 1997 Camaros

All Camaros, RSes, and Z28s came with flat black door handles and key-lock cylinders whether they had D82 or not (but Z4C cars came with Arctic White door handles). This was the final year that all Camaros came with black door handles no matter what.

All Camaros, RSes, and Z28s came with flat black painted headlight buckets ("raccoon eyes") and flat black grills EXCEPT black Camaros, RSes, and Z28s which came with gloss black matching the rest of the exterior paint AND 30th Anniversary Z4C Z28s and SSes had white grills. It is completely possible to polish this flat black to a satin black luster with various waxes or polishes, so if your car doesn't have flat black anymore, keep in mind that someone probably just waxed/polished it at some point in time.

All Camaros came with a red Chevy Bowtie on the grill.

All Camaros had automatic daytime running lights (DRL). The front parking lamps (bright side of the turn signals) would automatically come on when the ignition was turned on. They also had an automatic exterior lamp control, which would turn on the headlamps and other exterior lamps at full intensity when it was dark outside.

All Camaros this year had tri-colored taillamps worldwide starting in 1997. In other words, the 2-color tail lamps from '93-'96 used in the US and Canada were discontinued and all '97s had 3-color taillamps of some kind.

1997 was the only year of the old exterior with new interior design (used 1998-2002).

The '93-'96 interior was discontinued. 1997 featured a new instrument panel, console, seat contours and fabrics. Climate control knobs were moved from the top (93-96) to bottom (97-02) of the dashboard. The seat foam was intended to be softer and more comfortable. The cloth "zebra stripe" (houndstooth) fabric was introduced and available in Light Gray, Graphite, Tan, or Flame Red. The leather was intended to be smoother, and the leather seat centers were perforated leather. Leather colors were Graphite and Tan.

Early '97s came with an analog odometer, later '97s came with a digital odometer.

Unverified: some later '97s might have come with the non-aero windshield wipers that all '98-'02 Camaros had.

Also new for 1997, was a new floor console with auxiliary power outlet and 4 cupholders.

For 1997, Bright Green Metallic and Bright Purple Metallic were introduced. These colors were specifically meant to replace Bright Teal Metallic and Dark Purple Metallic from the 1996 palette. Medium Quasar Blue Metallic was dropped midyear.

For 1997, a new dark gray interior color replaced the graphite interior from 1996.

The medium gray interior color was revised for 1997.

All 1997 Camaros came with the 30th anniversary logo embossed on the headrest of the front seats and between the rear seats on the upper portion as well. Cars with leather seats have the same embossed logo, but it is incredibly difficult to see on the seats in photos compared to cars with cloth seats. Z4C cars had the logo embroidered on the leather seats instead of embossed.

The convertibles came with new front safety belt guide loops on the seats.

All RSes and Z28s came with rectangular exhaust tips on the dual exhaust.

All RSes and Z28s came with 16" aluminum wheels (you could not get one with steel wheels and hubcaps).

Bose was no longer offered as an audio system. GM was calling the new 200-watt system the Audyssey Sonic Sound system (which I assume was later renamed Monsoon) and it was only available on coupes.

New for 1997 were the new Chevrolet family of radios.

A new remote 12-disc CD system was available.

New 5-spoke aluminum wheels introduced.

All engines this year used DEXCOOL coolant. It was called "long life coolant", not scheduled to be replaced for 100,000 miles or 5 years... whichever came first.

All engines used platinum-tip spark plugs designed to last up to 100,000 miles.

All '97s had a low oil level indicator.

All '97s had battery rundown protection which would automatically turn off interior lights if they were accidentally left on.

New for 1997, air conditioning was now standard on all Camaro models.

Only two engines were available. The base Camaro came with the 3.8L L36 engine, producing 205 hp and 230 lb/ft of torque (a different page in the '97 ordering guide rated it as 200 hp and 225 lb/ft, but I believe that's outdated). The Z28 Camaro came with the 5.7L LT1 engine, producing 285 hp and 325 lb/ft of torque.

All L36 engine cars met the California TLEV emission standards. They also feature a flexible joint between the down pipe and the catalytic converter (to seal the exhaust system further) that '95-'96 cars did not have. In other documentation GM referred to this as a damper; "Damper added to 3800 Series II V6 engine for improved noise and vibration reduction". The engine's front and rear intake to cylinder block end seal was redesigned for 1997 to seal better.

All LT1 engine cars contained the technologies needed to pass California emissions requirements. The LT1 featured copper lead cam bearings (which replaced the former cadmium lead bearings, which were environmentally unfriendly, a benefit primarily for the manufacturing site). New composite rocker arm covers were added to absorb more engine noise and vibration. A 5-degree throttle improved launch feel and gave smoother transitions off the line. The LT1 now used "long life coolant" which was DEXCOOL. The LT1's ignition system was enhanced in 1996 with new low-resistance wires and new spark plugs to give an improved idle quality. This high current, low resistance system also offered cold-start performance even in temperatures as cold as -20 degrees with the LT1 starting every time within six-tenths of a second.

New for 1997, the automatic transmission became standard for the Z28. In previous years, it was an extra-cost option because manual was standard. Now, the automatic transmission was built into the cost of the car, and those who wanted a manual transmission did not get a discount by selecting one.

Three transmissions were available. The base Camaro came with a 4-speed Hydra-Matic 4L60-E automatic (M30) or 5-speed manual by Borg-Warner (M49). The Z28 came with a 4-speed Hydra-Matic 4L60-E automatic (M30) or 6-speed manual by Borg-Warner (MM6). For the V6 cars, the MX0 (automatic) had 3.08 axle ratio (or 3.42 if equipped with Y87). For the V6 cars, the MM5 (manual) had 3.23 axle ratio. For the V8 cars, the MX0 (automatic) had 2.73 axle ratio (or 3.23 if equipped with GU5). For the V8 cars, the MN6 (manual) had 3.42 axle ratio.

Y87 (performance handling package) was available for V6 Camaros and RSes (both coupes and convertibles). It included a limited slip axle, 4-wheel disc brakes, dual outlet exhaust, and sport steering ratio. It required QCB (P235/55 R16 tires), N96 (16" wheels), and cars with MX0 (4-speed automatic transmissions) were given the 3.42 performance axle ratio from the manual-equipped Z28s. These upgrades made the cars visually look more similar to Z28s, made them feel sportier, and made them handle more similar to Z28s as well.

1LE (performance package available exclusively on Z28 coupes without t-tops) included a special handling suspension system (that included larger stabilizer bars, stiffer springs, dual adjustable shock absorbers and bushings). For 1997, it was only available on 1SG (base equipment group), so it was not available on 1SH (preferred equipment group 1) or 1SJ (preferred equipment group 2), so these cars could not have power locks, fog lamps, cruise control, remote hatch release, power windows, remote mirrors, keyless entry with illuminated interior feature, alarm, etc. 1LE required QLC (P245/50 ZR16 summer performance tires) and MX0 (automatic) cars required GU5 (performance axle ratio). 1LE was not available with AG1 (power seat) or CC1 (T-tops).

Z28s with GU5 (performance axle ratio) have 1st gear selectable on the faceplate for the automatic shifter. Z28s without GU5 do not have a "1" on the faceplate.

Z4C (30th Anniversary Edition) was exclusive to the Z28 and SS and could be had as a coupe (hardtop or t-tops) or convertible. It included white monochromatic exterior paint (including door handles) with hugger orange stripes, white 5-spoke aluminum wheels (chrome were still optional), 30th Anniversary embroidered emblems on the front floor mats and headrests. The standard interior featured Arctic White seats with black and white hounds-tooth inserts, but Arctic White leather was optional. Convertibles all had white convertible tops. Z4C required 1SJ (preferred equipment group 2) and QFZ (P245/50 ZR16 all-season performance tires) or QLC (P245/50 ZR16 summer performance tires) tires. AG1 (power seat) was required as well. Fun fact: the Z28 emblems were supposed to be white, but they ended up being black like all other Z28s.

RPO R7T (SS Package by SLP) was available through dealers, but was a non-Chevy modification by SLP Engineering. It included 300hp engine, special hood with functional scoop and forced induction, restyled decklid spoiler, revised suspension (coupes), 17x9" Corvette-style ZR-1 wheels with P275-40-ZR17 tires (coupes), and special badging. Other items available separately. Colors limited to White, Polo Green, Silver, Black, and Red.

V6 Sport Appearance Package

I am dying to see real pictures of 1997 V6 Camaros with the "V6 Sport Appearance Package" by SLP. This was a Chevrolet dealer offering as well as something SLP would sell to anyone wanting to add the stripes to the Camaro they already own. I'm dying to see several '97 V6 Camaros that were purchased from dealerships with this package already applied.

The package included:

Body stripe graphics in violet & orange or light violet & gold

16x8 polished aluminum wheels (that look a lot like Firehawk wheels...?)

Camaro windshield header

Z28 exhaust

Via SLP:

"SLP's body stripe graphics packages are attractively styled to enhance the appearance of your late model Camaro and Chevy/GMC S and C Trucks. They feature OEM quality, self-adhesive, vinyl material and a color-fast finish that carries a one year Limited Warranty*. All packages include instructions and locator guides for easy installation."

Sport Appearance Package

This distinctively styled appearance package is available for the 1993 through 1998 Camaro, in two color combinations: violet and orange or light violet and gold, that cover the entire color palette. See color recommendations chart.

Please email me (brangeta at gmail) or post pictures in my Facebook group if you have any pics of Camaros with the V6 Performance Package graphics/decals! I didn't know (until 2021) that this was actually a "real thing," so I have never saved any photos of ANY Camaros with this 1997-only rare package.