What if any are the differences in a 96 and 97 camaro z28. Besides the 97 being the 30th year. I heard something about interior, taillights, and odometer being digital. But im looking for specifics. Im thinking about buy one or the other to have a obdII car. I have a 93 z28 now. The 96 is a hardtop z28 6 speed with around 75,000 miles. The 97 is a t-top six speed with like 120,000 miles. Both around the same price. Im trying to decide which one i would want. Which would yall choose?

oh yeah if this thread is not in the correct place let me know, ill put it somewhere else

 

On the inside, the 97 has the same interior as the 98-02 cars. Not all had the digital dash, though. I think the earliest 97's still had an analog odomoeter. On the outside, they have the tri-color tail lights that the 98-02 cars have. They also received a different set of factory wheels. In the drivetrain, they received dual catalytic convertors as opposed to a single.* 97 Z-28 HP is 285 (reported) over 275 for the single cat cars.

*It's possible that the 96 also has dual cats and the reported 285 HP, but I'm too lazy to look that up right now.

Outwardly, though, there's no difference between 96 and 97 other than the interior and the tail lights. I've grown to like the 97+ interior better than the 93-96, though. Better instrument panel visibility and readability, and the center console is much better with more cup holders and a compartment lid that opens from the side rather than from the back. It's much less prone to breaking than the earlier model.

 

The 96' was dual cat rated at 285.

Like you said basic differences are the IP, console, wheels (Z28) & taillamps. Buy on mileage/condition or T-top vs. hardtop which are both personal value judgements. Heck all things being equal you have to factor options & color too.
Ultimately you'll never go wrong buying the best condition car you can afford. HTH

 

Thanks. I was relatively sure that the 96 had the same dual cats and HP rating as the 97, but I wasn't 100% either way.

 

Condition wise the leather seats(drivers,pass.) in the 97 are torn. The 96 has cloth seats and its in good condition.. I am just having a hard time deciding if i want a hard top or a t-top(again). The t-tops are good in the summer. while i think the hard top look a little better, especially cause im gonna stripe the car.

 

Your right about the analog odo. My 97 is an early one and has the analog odometer.

 

#^&$, I'd get that '96 with only 75k miles. You'd have at least 4 years of driving it probably before it'd be close to 120k like the other car has.

As far as 4th gen Camaros go, there are two ultimate years: '96 and '02 with '01 being very similar.

'96 is the ultimate hurrah of the early cars because it has dual cats, old style tail lamps, and old style interior. Although this only really applies to '94-'96 cars with leather--the leather in '96 wasn't as cheap and easy to tear as '97-'02. I don't have an opinion on cloth for any of the years. The seats were also a slightly different shape. People would complain that the seats in Camaros weren't very cushy, and the seats in the Mustang were really soft and squishy, so GM tried different foam in '97 and most people didn't end up liking the '97-'02 foam as much. They changed the shape a little bit and the side bolsters got a bit smaller as a result. Not a whole lot, but a little.

'02 and for the most part '01 as well, are the last year of the 4th gens so options were loaded onto cars. If I remember correctly, you couldn't even get a V6 Camaro without the Z28 wheels. GM just plain said "stick them on everything and get rid of those steel wheels with hubcaps." So the '01-'02 Camaros tend to be loaded with options.

Anyway, what I'd do is get the '96 unless you're keeping the '93. If you're keeping the '93, you might as well have the '97 so you get to have two similar looking cars with completely different looking interiors.

I want to see a pic of that. I haven't heard of that before.

 

Having both interiors, I like the feel of the 93-96 seats better, but I like the visual design of the 97+ seats more. Custom inserts look better in the newer seats than they do on the older ones. But boy, those bolsters are much better on the earlier seats.

97 Camaro with '96 seats and tail lights is the best combo in my opinion.

I got to point out something that Brandon didn't know!

 

in terms of resale, which would you think would be easier to sell? a hardtop or -t-top?

 

Brangeta,
Here's what the analog odometer looks like:



My car is an early build, sequence number 5444 build date 06AUG1996.
HTH

 

About 2/3 of Z28 coupes had t-tops. It really depends. A lot of people like t-tops. A few people highly prefer not to have them. I don't personally like them because they make the roof look funny and since take more than 5 seconds to take out I don't like them. I do like them in '93 and whatever other years when they had that crazy dot matrix pattern stuff instead of fabric covers though...


I've never seen that before . Can you PM me your VIN # so I can do some research and see if there was a special RPO code for that? It'll likely be hell to research.

 

Most people looking for a fun cruiser car are going to want T-tops. You'll find a few people who don't like T-tops because they feel they're more trouble than they're worth. You'll find a few people who want a hardtop because they're turning the car into a race car. The majority, though, seem to want T-tops.

 

in terms of resell, i would buy the t-top car. Alot easier to sell.

 

well actually im building a supercharged motor to go in it. Instead of the 93 auto. But man im stuck trying to decide whether to get a t-top or hardtop. I like the t-tops(97) in the summer but like the look of the hardtop which is the 96 z28.

 

97 has the interior of the 98-02 camaros, otherwise its the same car