My stepdad and i were talking about our 4th gen z28s one day and he ended up telling me about an old chevy 302 motor that somehow came in the older 67-69 i think camaro z28's. anyways he ended up telling me that it was just a factory gm 302 motor that made over 500 hp or something like that. anyways i didnt know so i didnt really believe him but i do know he knows his older camaros and stuff so i was just wondering have you all heard of this motor hes talking about. he doesnt know the engine code or anything just that it was an old 302 that made like 500 hp or so. i did find some specs in a site that said that the 67-69 302's only made like 290 hp. anyways i went to tell him about the L88 corvette that was a 427 that made like 550-560 real hp and only advertised for like 430hp. i said that the older camaros stock arent nearly as fast as the new lt1s ls1s. i might be wrong at saying that but you guys fill me in, im ready to learn!! oh and im not dissing the odler camaros or nothing i like them i want a 69 ss myself someday!!

 

RPO Z28 got you a 302 ci V8 and 4spd from 67-69.

67 engine code MO & MP (MP came with the smog pump)
68 engine code MO
69 engine code DZ (The most well known.)

Factory rated a 290 HP, it was actually a lot more than this, some say closer to 400 HP (I've heard anywhere from 350-450, but never 500 HP, although the optional cross-ram dual 4-bbl dealer/owner installed option may have been close.)

302 cubic inches (technically 302.5) was achieved by mating a 327 with a special Z/28 crank that mimicked the 283 crank. (Although a different casting.)

All this is off the top of my head, so I'm sure someone else can fill in the missing details and make any corrections.

 

thanks man! thats where i got the hp number from rpo z28 but you say its about 400hp or so is that crank hp or rwhp?? what was the quarter mile time that it could run stock? he said that those 302 motors are rare and that they would beat the 350s and stuff. like i said it was weird to me and he was saying that it would beat the new ls1s and stuff i just gave him a weird face Lol so what should i tell him now?

 

He's right... they were fast. There was only 602 Z/28's sold in 1967 so those are extremely rare. Chevrolet had to build at least 500 units so that it would qualify for TransAm class racing.

For more on the history of the 67 Z/28....

http://www.camaro1stgeneration.com/c...28history.html

I'm not sure about them beating a modern LS1 but I like the 302's odds. Yes, they'd trounce 350's back then quite often.

 

wow that some good information. i wonder why they made 302's so powerful, more powerful then the 350s? so you dont think that they would outrun an ls1?? i have an lt1 and i think its purty quick for what it is, and when the mods go up, the faster it gets!! thanks man!

 

I seem to recall stock Z/28's running low 14's. You have to remember that this is with a 4spd, whereas a modern LT1 or LS1 has an advantage with a 6spd.

As for why they were more powerful than the 350's? TransAm limited the displacement to 305 ci, so the "new" 350 didn't fit the picture. (I say "new" because the 1st Chevrolet production car to carry a 350 ci engine was the Camaro SS.)

The physical make-up of the 302 (bore & stroke) is what gave it its power and advantage over the 350. (Although it wasn't as "streetable"... at least that's what I'm told.)

 

Oh ok. wow man your smart! so do you think my good ole lt1 will out run one lol!! he said that he always wanted one of the 1st gen with the 302 in it i said that when i get my lt1 all done mine will be faster and streetable at the same time! what do you think. I think that the older camaros are either fully street cars or full out race cars you know?

 

I have a 99 SS 6 spd LS 1, and have a 69 Z/28 302 4 spd.

The 99 is the hands down winner in every category; performance, handling, comfort, etc.

Its 30 yrs newer, I'd be dissapointed with GM if the 99 werent a better car than the 69.

However, driving the 69 is a blast, it is such a different experience, turns waaayyyy more heads than the 99.

 

SSKINDOG- wow man thats aweome. my stepdad was telling me that they were rare and jg95z28 told me that there were only 602 made thats aweome. what kind of times do you run out of your 302?? so the ls1 is faster by far.

 

There were 19,xxx Z/28's made in 1969, so not as rare as 67 or 68, but hard to find a good original one anymore.
The 99 has run a best of 13.37 @ 109 mph. And it has no mods at all. I havent run the 69 at the strip. Have to go by seat of the pants feel, and old road test reports on the 69. But, I think it would be a mid 14 second car at best, the 69. Which is still fast enough and fun.

 

The GM 302s are mean. My Dad has the rotating adssembly for a small journal 67, that he needs to get a pre 68 block for.

They were all rated at 290 @5800 RPMs I believe but they were really much higher than that. Closer to 400 from the factory. GM also offered an optional tube header exhaust, but they wouldnt put it on the cars for insurance reasons or something. They were shipped in the trunk and then either the dealer or purchaser put them on the car.

From what Ive heard even though they are a blast to drive they are kinda pain in the ***. They dont like to idle. They have a solid lift cam so you have to adjust the valves regularly. They dont like hot weather, but man when you get in one and get it up over 5000 RPMs they are beasts

 

Those 302's are little rev. monsters..

 

like any 60s cars...you have to remember the 1/4 times are on skinny bias ply tires...even the zl1 ran 12s with a rating of 430hp...it was later known to be well over 550hp...on slicks they got the car in the 10s...and another thing...the 302 wont bent pushrods like the ls1

 

The 302 was rated at 290hp but was really putting out around 350. With the crossram, 140 cam, headers and ported heads, it put out around 450 hp. They weren't that quick in the 1/4 mile and a newer LT1 or LS1 would beat it if both cars were bone stock. The crossram setup really only added 25 hp but it was up high in the rpm range and was designed mainly for TransAm racing where the engines kept revving over 5000 rpms all day long. But the Z28's are now getting expensive with an original restored car costing $27-75K depending on what options and what documentation it has. I've already been offered $75K for my car when the restoration is done, but I've turned it down.

 

Ok guys, heres the history of the infamous 302. Back in 67 they were fooling around to make a camaro suitable for road race and they took a 283 crank and threw it in the 350/327 block to create a 302. The road race version which came with the offroad solid mushroom lifter cam, Smoky Yunick style crossram intake which was a factory "in the trunk" option meaning it was brought to the dealer from the factory in the trunk made 390 horses@6000rpm's. The street version that you could buy was rated at 290 and back then the factory did to the rear wheel dyno testing not like todays brake horsepower. I was at an auction last year at lime rock raceway and a gentleman brought to auction a rare 67 302 that had 13,000 original miles, all original paint (the puke green color); stripes and the factory "offroad" setup. The car would not go over 13,500 jeez it did not even reach 7500!!!! I only know a little about those motors because my mechanic had 3 of them way back when and still has one in his garage. It was a brutal setup until the vettes with the L-88's came into play. Yes the 69 vette had an all aluminum 427 making 435 horses to the rear wheels and it was unbeatable; but had absolutely no traction so quarter times sucked (I have one back home at my mommies house).