Meet the Fleet – Muscle Cars: ’71 Camaro Z/28 RS

• BODY: Auto World
• WHEELS & TIRES: Vincent

For a guy who loves Chevrolets-and knows as much about them-as I do, the Z/28, RS, and SS options on the 1970-’73 Camaros have confounded me for years! I’ve alternately heard that a car was EITHER a Z/28 OR a Rally Sport but couldn’t be both, and alternately heard that both options could be ordered together. Adding to the confusion, the Rally Sport models came with RS badging, but if the 2 packages were ordered together, the RS badging appeared nowhere on the car except-of all places-on the steering wheel, as it was dropped all over the rest of the body in favor of the Z-28 logos. This has been muddied all the more by the fact that the split front bumper design that defined the RS option on the 1970-’73 cars is so cool looking that a large number of cars that left the factory without it have had it added by an owner at some point, and you have a recipie for mass confusion!

So here’s the definitive answer: the Rally Sport appearance package, or option code Z/22, absolutely could be ordered on a Camaro that was also a Z/28. Incidentally, the Z/22 RS option included the Z/21 “style trim group” option, which could be had independently of the RS package. And, as rare as a factory original RS Z/28 is, whether these are the most desirable of all the “mainline” Camaros of the Gen II era is debatable considering the existence of the Z/27 option, which is universally referred to by its better known moniker: the SS. And-yes, the SS was also available with the RS option…and finding an original one of those would make for one rare muscle car!

So…confused yet? Of course the mind-blowing number of options that could be had on American cars of this era is precisely why they are so popular today: collect ‘em, trade ‘em, race ‘em with your friends, you can have it your way! Who didn’t love that? Who doesn’t miss that???

Funny thing is, I got this car as an afterthought; I bought it in a lot of 3 bodies where the other 2 were the ones I really wanted, and only after I got it did I realize that it is one of the 2011 “Chevrolet Centenary” editions and is actually somewhat hard to find. It looks great in silver with the wide black stripes, and wearing a set of very traditional-style Vincent wheels that look just like Chevy “Ralleys” and low profile tires, once it was all done up, it wound up being my favorite of that lot of 3 bodies! It is not only fast but an exceptionally good handler, which is only right, considering it represents the dawn of the “age of limitations” when Detroit was forced to abandon horsepower and began to focus more on handling and braking to bring performance minded buyers into the showrooms.

So, what does all this alphabet soup information have to do with this post’s featured car? Well, this “Nevada Silver” 1971 example is one of those rare, original “double code” Camaros! Verified by the existence of its build sheet, “Commando” is San Diego resident Curtis “Cannonball” Cameron’s “numbers matching” collectible, sporting it’s original-albeit rebuilt and modified-code Z/28 350 small block, with its 3.73:1 Positraction 10-bolt rear end driven through its original cast iron Muncie 4-speed, handled by its heavy duty sway bars and kept in line by heavy duty front disc and rear drum brakes. Although its 780 cfm Holley 4-barrel is not original to the car it is the original spec, at least to the eye, though one can’t help but think it’s been “breathed on.” The radiator has been improved from stock, the heads have been re-engineered, and the exhaust system customized to get maximum horsepower to go along with that maximum style. The car has had one repaint in its original colors but the code 785 black “custom cloth” and vinyl interior is almost all original, and the car spends as much time on the street as it does on the track. While he has never been a tournament winner, “Cannonball” Cameron has a hell of a trophy case, and has won many races against much more powerful cars with a mixture of driving skill and handling prowess. “Commando” goes, stops, and turns as good as she looks, making her a prime example of what the industry was still capable of even as they were being crushed by a government determined to spoil everyone’s fun.

Of course, as the recent mid-term elections sadly showed, those times are not only back, but back with a vengeance, leaving those of us gearheads who appreciate and remember classics like this one as the true keepers of the faith, whether at 1:1 or at miniature scale. Some legends haven’t died yet!