Sleepers are cool. We like the idea of blending in with everyone else, knowing that we have something powerful at our disposal if we see the need or simply have the urge to exercise our right foot. But sometimes, you just have to let everybody and their mother know what’s up. You have to be bold, be brash, even a little obnoxious. Blending in isn’t always the best solution…it’s the outrageous things that grab attention. A finch is fine at being a bird, but everybody pays attention when a peacock fans out it’s magnificent tail, for example. This 1978 Chevrolet Camaro is that peacock: it’s overstated, over-the-top, and above all else, loud.
Let’s cover the groundwork before we look at the pretty bits. For 1978, Camaro was a bit of a strange duck. It had the new rubber bumper treatments front and rear that would carry through 1981, but the interior still sported the rounded dash first seen in the 1970 model. Any concern over 1978 horsepower levels can rest easy: a 421 cubic inch mill topped with a Dyers blower is claimed to be cranking 800 horsepower and is backed by a TCI TH400. A Ford 9-inch, four wheel disc brakes and beefed-up suspension bits add up to a solid package. But the grunt is only part of the package on this car.
A big, splashy graphics package can go one of two ways: epic and awful. We think that whoever painted up this Camaro knocked it out of the park and let the ball crash through the most expensive windshield in the parking lot…this is fantastic! A silver base was overlaid with a checkered flag motif shot in ChromaFlair paint that rides out to the black trimming of the car. It’s pure show quality, and can’t be missed. Inside, it’s a mild custom, with trimmed-out door panels and console and a custom gauge layout in the stock dash. Additional gauges can be found behind the blower, outside of the car.
Introverts need not apply, but if your goal is to cause people to chase after you for a second look, to have masses of people whip out their cameraphones, or to simply add some kind of real showboating to your local Cars and Coffee that the guy in the dressed-up BMW could only dream of, accept no substitute.
eBay Link: 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
Nice find. Over the top ’80s Pro Street at its best, done by someone who knows when to go crazy and when to show restraint.