Who’s Magna? Who’s Decoma?

In 1997, Magna International Inc. was a leading global supplier of technologically advanced automotive systems. In 1997, the company employed more than 25,000 people at 98 operating divisions throughout North America and Europe. Magna designed, engineered, and manufactured a range of interior and exterior vehicle systems through its divisions. It still exists at the time of this writing (2022) and employs over 158,000 employees at this time.

It’s worth mentioning… SLP Engineering, Inc. was a division of Magna International during the ’96-’02 Camaro SS time period.

In 1998, Decoma International Inc. was Magna’s plastic exterior systems group, and employed more than 4,500 people in 14 manufacturing and engineering operations strategically located in Canada, the United States, Europe, Mexico and South America. Decoma became a separate public company in March of 1998 on the Toronto Stock Exchange (DEC.A) and in the United States on The NASDAQ Stock Market (DECAF). Decoma's customers included Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen. This group had six manufacturing facilities located in Canada, three in the United States and one in each of Mexico, Belgium and Brazil. Decoma's molding processes included injection molding, reaction injection molding, and compression molding using a variety of different materials. Finishing capabilities included one component, two component, and waterborne painting, hardcoating, and chrome plating. State-of-the-art assembly and sequencing operations enabled Decoma to provide its customers with modular assemblies and vehicle conversions on a just-in-time basis. A dedicated mold making facility and their in-house tooling expertise allowed the company to develop new programs faster and create a robust manufacturing process.

Concerning their division Decoma Exterior Trim Inc., it supplied its customers, which included Ford, GM, Chrysler and certain North American subsidiaries of foreign based OEMs, with bright metal, plastic and co-extruded trim products, including belt moldings, body seals, window surround modules, rocker panel moldings, bodyside moldings, window moldings, air dams, wheel opening moldings, grills, and running boards. Decoma Exterior Trim had seven manufacturing divisions located in Southern Ontario in 1998. Manufacturing processes utilized by Decoma Exterior Trim included injection molding, metal stamping, roll forming, co-extrusion, anodizing, E-coating, chrome plating and painting.

In short... Magna Decoma was who made the ground effects, but also, they designed the F-1 package.

What’s an F1 Camaro, Camaro F-1 package, or F1 special edition?

The majority of the information in this specific section below is directly from 1997 marketing materials by Decoma. I’ve only updated the text to make it match the tense it should be, and added a small number of additional details when necessary. You’ll notice this sounds like marketing text… because it was.

The GM Performance Parts F-1 Specialty Vehicle was a do-it-yourself supercar. Individual components were available from GM dealers for weekend projects, or the entire package could be installed on a suitable 1993-1997 Camaro by any GM dealer. (Note: there was also a 1998-2002 F-1 package, however it’s unclear to me whether Decoma was involved with producing it or not… I can’t find proof in either direction.

Your nearest Chevrolet or GM Performance Parts dealer was able to supply you with these aftermarket parts.

The Specialty Vehicle modifications addressed three separate facets of the Camaro's personality: appearance, handling and performance. The different elements could be mixed and matched to suit a Camaro owner's taste, budget and timetable. Every item, from body panels to the cold-air induction system, met or exceeded GM's stringent engineering standards. Their installation did not void the factory warranty, and all emissions-related components were legal in all 50 states.

The ground effects, were designed by one of GM's top stylists (Bob Fehan) and tested in the GM Aerodynamics Laboratory wind tunnel. The tough Reaction Injection Molded (RIM) polyurethane material should keep its good looks for years. The ground effects were available separately or as part of the F-1 Specialty Vehicle Sport Package.

This F-1 Specialty Vehicle Sport Package included: left and right rocker panel extensions, a front air dam, a rear bumper extension, a three-piece rear spoiler, V-8 cold air induction system, V-8 performance exhaust system and ornamentation (four pieces—three F-1 decals and a Specialty Vehicle emblem). The body pieces came in a factory primer ready for painting.

The Specialty Vehicle graphics evoked the distinctive paint treatment on classic Camaro Z28s of the '60s. These self-adhesive stripes were offered in four colors (black, silver, red and gold) and included complete installation instructions. Exclusive ornamentation package and optional floor mats identified the GM Performance Parts Specialty Vehicle as something special.

A variety of wheel and tire packages were available to enhance the Camaro's grip on the asphalt. Wheels were available in 16" x 8" and 17" x 9" versions.

Improved air flow was the key to the GM Performance Parts Specialty Vehicle's enhanced engine performance. The cold-air induction package featured dual stainless steel 2.5" diameter inlet tubes with performance filters. A 3" cat-back stainless steel exhaust system with a high-flow muffler improved engine efficiency. These modifications raised the output of the Z28's 5.7-liter LT1 small-block to approximately 305 horsepower, and shortened zero-to-60 times accordingly. A short-throw Performance shifter was also available for Camaros equipped with a six-speed manual transmission to help the driver keep up with the horses.

They advertised this as “the only Camaro appearance package that does not void your GM factory warranty.” 

So what are these F-1 Camaros or parts, in simple terms?

The F-1 components were a collaboration between multiple suppliers to GM. You could buy them 1 at a time or buy the package. The package is the only way the car could be considered a special edition (and even then… it’s still a DIY one or one customized for you by the dealership).

As stated earlier, these performance parts gave dealerships opportunities to cash in on the popularity of car customization/personalization and the money associated with such. This is, after all, what all aftermarket parts companies try to cash in on (while vehicles are still new… at least). Many dealerships have had a routine of using GM Performance Parts and GM Accessories to dress up one of the cars (any model of car) sitting inside the new vehicle showroom. Many have had joint marketing deals with other companies to dress up showroom cars as well. For example, we've probably all seen a Chevy SUV or truck with Weathertech floormats in it on the showroom floor... whether we remember it or not. This sort of marketing and customization is done with several intentions. 1) It shows the potential for what can be done to make the car look personalized, and even if a buyer doesn't buy THIS car, maybe they will buy a cheaper model from the outdoor lot. 2) It advertises that these products (they can earn some money off of) exist and are available from their parts counter. 3) It makes the car in the showroom (that hundreds of people get to open the door and sit in--if they leave this one unlocked) look like a special edition and maybe someone will decide to buy that car for a premium. These parts also permitted the dealership to upgrade cars that may have been sitting unsold for a little while, giving their paint shop some work to do, etc.

Each F-1 option was an add-on, so you could get 1 thing, 2 things, or everything... but it wasn't a "package" unless someone bought the "Specialty Vehicle Sport Package" that included, frankly, only about half of the options available.  The assortment of parts included cold air induction and a cat-back exhaust, dual racing stripes made of vinyl, a bigger stabilizer bar and bushings and such, Hurst shifter, the Y3F RS ground effects kit, some embroidered floor mats, F-1 decals to add to the car (some dealerships would remove the Z28 emblems and put the F-1 decals in their place), and wheels very similar to SS wheels.

Is it a special edition? No, not really*; not any more than any other Camaro customized after market. Can it be a rare car? Yeah! Does it add value? Depends on whether or not you like it.

*= Technically... a brand new Camaro could have had F-1 equipment installed on it by the dealer before the car was ever sold to its first owner. So yes, technically, the car could have been sold brand new with some or all of the F-1 content installed. That wasn't the primary purpose of this equipment, but it WAS possible. From a collector's viewpoint, you'd have to have receipts and other paperwork to back this story up, otherwise it's just a story, and the car collecting (and history) hobby is full of unsubstantiated stories... most of which are fake, misremembered, salesman lies, etc.  

• Some specifics and tidbits about many of the options:

  • • The F-1 Specialty Vehicle Sport Package included: spoiler extensions, ground effects, V8 cold air induction system, two-on-the-left exhaust, and the ornamentation kit (3 decals and an emblem). The floor mats, stripes, wheels, and other options were all optional and not part of the “package.” Though… to be honest… from the perspective of 4th gen Camaro fans… if the car doesn’t have most of the optional equipment, the car doesn’t really seem like it is an F-1.  

    • The short throw shifter available for manual Z28s was a Hurst short-throw shifter.

    • The air intake and exhaust (that's pictured in marketing materials) were produced by SLP. The air intake was identical to the SLP one, except SLP’s was black and the F-1 one was chrome/polished. The catback was identical to the SLP TOTL (Two on The Left) exhaust used on the ’96-’97 SSes.

    • There was also a dual-exhaust catback people called the Decome Exhaust that was kind of unique looking. I've rarely seen it on any of these cars. The tips were slightly ovaled. I don't know the story behind why this existed vs. the SLP TOTL exhaust.

    • The ground effects and spoiler extension pieces were the exact same pieces used on the ’96-’97 RS (which was a V6-only model) and were produced by Decoma. They were made from Reaction Injection Molded (RIM) polyurethane.

    • The suspension package included 1LE front stabilizer bar, bushings, link kit, and track bar.

    • The wheels were ZR1 style wheels (versions of the ’96-’97 SS wheels) with BF Goodrich Comp T/A tires. The 16” ones were available first, followed by 17” ones once they were available. To my knowledge, these were exclusively silver-painted and chrome were not available… but chrome may have become available after 1998.

    • The floor mats confuse me, because the ones I am familiar with simply say GM Performance Parts Specialty Vehicles on them. However, I have seen F-1 CAMARO embroidered ones as well, and I don't understand where those came from.

The silver and black striped test car (or… one of the test cars) had Brembo front disc brakes on it, but they were not offered by GM Performance Parts (because the price for Brembo brakes was insane at $3000+ and they didn’t think it would be profitable to resell).

The Specialty Vehicle Sport Package, in June 1996, was advertised in marketing materials and magazines as being $1,750 (not including wheels, tires, optional equipment, paint, or installation).

Another little known fact is that the F-1 package (and parts) were available in Europe and Japan, and they were pretty popular since there weren't a lot of aftermarket part options in those countries at the time. They might have been available in other regions as well, but most cars with F-1 decals in my collection are actually from overseas.

I believe the Torsen limited slip differential eventually became available via SLP, but was it part of the F-1 equipment...? Ehhhhhh, I have not seen any proof yet.

Pricing and Part Numbers

A typed list is coming soon... 

The Designer: Bob Fehan

Bob Fehan designed the GM Performance Parts F-1 Camaro package (as well as the Firebird GT package). He was Director of Specialty Vehicle Engineering for both Decoma International AND Decoma Exterior at the time (1986-2006).

The ground effects package was designed by Bob and was tested in the GM Aerodynamics Laboratory wind tunnel to ensure that it would not adversely affect engine cooling or vehicle handling.

In Bob’s words: “I developed this package for GMPP back in 1993 for the already great performing Camaro Z/28. The package content was, Cold air induction, catback exhaust, suspension mods, A-mold 17"X 9" forged wheels on BF Goodrich sticky tires, Killer body kit and spoiler, Z/28 stripping, custom interior trim, and Hurst short through shifter.”

His own personal car was the black one with silver stripes, aftermarket headlight covers, custom seat covers, and (I believe) the wheels were BBS wheels. I do not know the year of this specific car. It appears that the clay model concept car for the F-1 package was sculpted on this specific car.

Dispelling/Confirming Myths/Misinformation/Facts

The F-1 Camaro was NOT a factory ordered special edition. 

There’s not an RPO code for it. 

The owner of a Camaro could order the parts or entire package and either put them on themselves or have a GM dealership do it. 

Yes, it’s possible to have GM dealership paperwork for it, and that’s great! (Please show me yours so I have an example for my website!) These were dealership and/or DIY modifications to the cars. None of these cars came directly from Ste. Therese with F-1 equipment on them, and this was not a factory produced car like an RS, Z28, or SS, which all have RPO codes dictating how they were ordered as such.

Was this a Limited Edition? No. There were no limitations! There were likely hundreds and all in various configurations. The number surviving today is surely low, however, and most are difficult to authenticate. Vinyl wears out and most people have ended up removing their front ground effect on a parking curb by now.  

Were the ground effects different from the Y3F or RS? No. They are the same pieces used for the '96-'97 RS and the '98-'02 Y3F Sport Appearance Package.

How can I verify whether my car is an F-1 or not? It's not particularly possible unless you have receipts from a GM dealership or GM Performance Parts. If an owner has a receipt from a GM dealership or GM Performance Parts showing that they purchased the parts, that's all there is to verify anything unless someone like Bob Fehan says he remembers your car and knows it to be an F-1. Visually... you can somewhat authenticate it.

One thing worth noting is that GM somewhat tried to prevent people from ordering F-1 ornamentation by itself, but money talks, and nobody was going to get fired for selling F-1 decals and GM Specialty Vehicle badges, so it happened. There's evidence of such near the bottom of this page...

1998-2002 F-1 Specialty Vehicle Package

The F-1 parts/package was still available for ’98-’02 Camaros, but the options available became very limited. The only references I can find are the GM Accessories brochures that would be included in the glovebox (or given out by the dealership) with all/most Camaros sold as new cars.

NOTE: my images of these documents are kind of old and low res, so I may make typos regarding the part numbers and prices. If you own any of these, please email me readable photos.

The GM Accessories for 1999 Camaro brochure shows these options available:

• Body Extension Package (includes Ornamentation Package)… 12495399… $1,053.49

• Black Stripes… 12495400… $287.21

• Silver Stripes… 12495401… $287.21

• F-1 Wheels (17x9)… 12363994… $280.00

• F-1 Wheels (16x8)… 12363990

Note: the prices above came from the 2002 Camaro Accessories brochure because the '99 one did not have prices. In 2002, the brochure did not include 16x8 wheels, so they were no longer offered at some point between 1999 and 2002.

Does this mean that you could no longer get the parts for ’93-’97 F1s from GM? Not necessarily, and some of those parts would have been identical to what was used for ’98-’02.

To the best of my knowledge, the F-1 specific parts were discontinued by GM sometime before 2006. I know for a fact that they do not advertise the F-1 package in the 2006 GM Performance Parts Catalog. I only own a 1997, 2006, and 2008 copy, so I can't check every year. If you have other years you can check... take a look... and let me know what you find.

Examples of Camaros with F-1 equipment

Note: the F-1 appealed to people who were interested in modifying their cars. It’s very common to see non-OEM, non-F-1 equipment on cars with F-1 equipment. I’ll try to mention atypical equipment on these cars when I notice it.

This black 1994 convertible with red stripes (2G1FP32P7R2163167) was the first F-1 convertible. Bob Fehan was involved with building this particular car and it features some unusual ornamentation that doesn’t seem to appear on any other F-1s as well as an unusual air intake that is not featured on any other F-1. This car might have a stronger SLP connection than some of the other cars. The exact history of this car is unknown to me. If you have a copy of SLP's 1995 presentation, please email me a copy!

This red and black striped ’94 F-1 (2G1FP22P1R2115190) was absolutely gorgeous when I saw it on ebay in 2010. It has some non-F1 content like the RK Sport rear ground effect and center exit exhaust (practically the only car I’ve ever seen this RKSport exhaust on), the leather/cloth seats, a very customized interior, and a lot of custom engine work. This car had 57k miles on it and sold for $12.5k back in March of 2010. The winner of that auction was Avenpes from camaroz28.com. 

Not too many people reading this know this about me, but I used to just enjoy saving pictures of Camaros with appearance modifications I had never seen before, or unique color combinations. I liked collecting them. When I saved these pictures of this Polo Green Metallic Camaro with gold stripes on September 12, 2011, I didn't realize these stripes were F-1 stripes or that I would ever care about what kind of stripes were on it or a single other detail about this particular car. Well... it's 2022 now... and it's the only car in my photo collection that has the gold F-1 stripes on it. It was a '94 Z28 with 38k miles on it, and I have a bunch of decent images of the car with the 2011 dealership's giant watermark on them.

It's possible that these are reproduction stripes, but they are an exact match for F-1 stripes.

The owner of this '95 F-1 was named Brian and he had a website about his car in the late 1990s. He enjoyed modifying his F-1 and it was heavily modified with a Vortech S-trim 6 psi Supercharger and more. It was featured on page 116 in the February 1998 issue of Chevy High Performance Magazine. 

His car featured the 1LE F-1 suspension, the ground effects and spoiler, black stripes, F-1 ornamentation, floor mats, and Decoma Exhaust.

I didn’t save the details for this car back when I saved the photos. (I didn’t expect to become a 4th gen historian for fun, so I sometimes just saved images I liked). Anyway, this red and black striped car is a bit unique in that it has chrome wheels. The chrome wheels were available from SLP for sure… but I don’t believe chrome was available for the F-1 component ones (not that it matters much). Unless the taillamps were swapped, this car is a '93-'96.

This red and silver ’96 F-1 is a bit of a mystery to me. It was in the GM collection and was supposedly designed to be on the Camaro Legends Tour. It was LOT 696 at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach 2004 and was labeled a 1995 RS F-1. I’m not sure if it was a Z28 or not. I don't have any other photos of this car and no memory of it.

This is a '96 Cayenne Red Metallic Z28 F-1. It's an automatic with black stripes, all stock except headers. This car features the "Decoma Exhaust" with oval tips. The last known owner was Stwztid from ls1tech.

This ’97 silver and black striped F-1 was from Europe and is a good representation of one of the many F-1s from Europe/Japan. I have a few other European/Japanese examples saved from the past few decades, but most of the pictures aren't very large or worth sharing.

The F-1 package and components were popular in these countries since aftermarket parts for American cars were not easily obtained. Note: this one has some kind of aftermarket wheels on it I don’t recognize.

This black ’97 F-1 looks like one that likely had the F-1 sport package and nothing else additional put on it. It has the ground effects, 3-piece spoiler, and the ornamentation only. It was located in Japan.

This silver ’97 F-1 is a great example of how the F-1 equipment was inconsistent (by design). Most people assume an F-1 had to have ground effects to be an F-1. Well... this owner had only purchased the wheels, exhaust, and decals. 

Some people purchased the decals and nothing else... so... that's how mysteries, lies, and faux legends got started. This is the primary reason that F-1 components (or the F-1 package) will always have a blurry future. Do F-1 parts add value? To me most of them do. But if the car doesn't have rare equipment on it (like the exhaust), then what value is an F-1 sticker?

In my personal opinion, this particular '97 F-1 is more valuable than a stock Z28 because it features rare wheels, rare exhaust, and has the rare stickers to go with it. It looks incomplete to me without having the stripes and ground effects though, but this owner didn't want them.

I don't have any details about this F-1 except that I saved the image April 4, 2002 on my computer. The car has some other exterior mods... GTS headlight covers, tinted turn signals, a red painted grill, chrome wheels...  

Like many other cars on this page, I had to dig really deep to find examples, and all I know is I saved this image September 22, 2002. It appears to be a Bright Teal Metallic '97 with black F-1 stripes. 

This is one of the more surprising examples. This is legitimately a '97 30th Anniversary Edition Camaro Z28 with the F-1 Specialty Vehicle Sport Package (ground effects, 3-piece spoiler, and ornamentation). It retained its 30th Anni stripes, but the owner much have had to replace the stripes on the spoiler in order to apply them on top of the 3-piece spoiler. 

This yellow 1997 convertible F-1 (2G1FP32P3V2113358) is my favorite, and perhaps the finest looking F-1 I have ever encountered. Its history is completely shrouded in mystery. GM’s media archive contains images of it (and several of these images I’m sharing are used with permission from GM), but there’s not any record of why it exists and why it is yellow. It also features the wheels that were used on the Firebird GT instead of the F-1 wheels. Like several other F-1 cars, it features embroidered F-1 logos on the headrests. Dealers would offer customization like this, but it wasn’t specifically part of an offered F-1 option. This car even has a custom baseball cap with Decoma Accessories embroidered on the back. Bob Fehan said he didn't know anything about this car when the owner asked him about its history. I’ve checked with Scott Settlemire as well, and he doesn't know the car. If you have information about this car, be sure to contact me. I know the owner, so no need to contact me regarding that—he’s searching for info just like I am.

This ’99 bright blue V6 coupe F-1 (2G1FP22K5X2112715) is the best example of how the uniqueness of the F-1 could be diluted by the F-1 decals and Specialty Vehicle badge being added to a car with absolutely no F-1 content beyond the stickers. 

I have no information saved about this car, other than the fact I saved the image to my computer on October 16, 2004. Other than the F-1 in the 2002 Camaro Accessories brochure image, this is the only Camaro I have saved in my entire 20+ year, massive collection of Camaro photos that has these stripes (and is not a 2001-2002 SLP RS).  This car may have been a Y3F Sport Appearance Package Z28, or the owner may have added the F-1 ground effects and 3-piece spoiler to the car. The kits are identical, so it doesn't matter. What they definitely added were the F-1 stripes or SLP RS stripes... which I believe are very likely the exact same thing since both were only offered in black and silver. They also added Corvette chrome wheels.

I'm extremely pleased that I found this image, as it is currently the only image I can find that shows these stripes (other than the one from the brochure) on a '98-'02 Camaro that definitely is NOT a SLP RS.

This ’99 white convertible F-1 is one of very few ‘98+ F-1s I have seen pictures of (or… at least saved pictures of or noticed). It was previously owned by LS1Z28 from ls1tech, who was the original owner. In one post, he claims he ordered the car with the kit installed through the dealership (in other words, he had the dealership install the kit before he picked up his new car). However, in a thread on ls1.com, he says "The car started out as an SS" and "Mine was converted by the Dealer before I bought it. It was sitting on the show room floor and when I saw it I had to have it." This boggles my mind for 2 reasons. 1) He told two different stories. 2) I know for a fact that this car (2G1FP32G0X2104149) is not a real SS because SLP has no records for it. 

Regardless, this car features quite a few additional modifications, some of which were added by the next owner. The first owner had a website for the car so you can see what the car looked like in 2001. Additional mods include the SS hood, SLP grill, HP decals on the hood, SLP Dual-Dual exhaust, subframe connectors, chrome wheels in some of the photos (I don’t believe the chrome wheels were F-1 related… I believe they were SLP related), and other mods. You’ll also notice that the 2022 owner has a very interesting looking sticker on the air intake lid. I personally believe this sticker was custom made because this car did not have this sticker on the air intake lid in 2001 and I'm shocked to see it on an SLP blackwing air intake. It also has had F-1 floormats put in it to replace the GM Specialty Vehicle ones for some reason.

Additional, uncategorized images from various cars