[pontiacstogo]

Picked up a 1994 Camaro Z28 today. It is a '1LE' optioned car (1 of 135) that was raced at Watkins Glenn and other club events on and off from new until 2015.

It has the original (and mechanically stock) LT1 engine, T56 Borg Warner 6 speed, Hurst competition shifter, Koni Yellow DA shocks/struts, Global West adjustable torque tube, Hotchkis control arms, Hotchkis strut tower brace, Hotchkis panhard bar, Eibach lowering springs, Torsen T2 differential, 4.10 rear axle ratio, 4 point roll bar, drive shaft loop, cold air intake, Hypertech power tuner, rev limiter and exhaust cutout. It's fitted with 17x9 'SS' wheels but it came with the stock 16x8's as well. The car has 47K miles and came with a ton of documentation.

It's not perfect, and there are a few areas and things I need to address, but so far I'm loving it

[1965gp]

Very rare and very cool

[Firedup6975]

[Bob Hall]

Originally Posted by Firedup6975

Quick! Get her a bib. She's drooling again!

[skipp65]

Should be a fun ride. Enjoy

[The Boss]

Should be a lot of fun and fairly rare with only 135 built.

Were there any differences between the brakes in the 1LE cars and the regular production ones? That was the big difference in the 3rd gens.

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by The Boss

Should be a lot of fun and fairly rare with only 135 built.

Were there any differences between the brakes in the 1LE cars and the regular production ones? That was the big difference in the 3rd gens.

Not a great deal of information out there on the 4th gen 1LE's. They definitely don't seem to have the same interest and following as the 3rd gens do. This is about as much as I've been able to find;

Originally Posted by Random google search results

1993 brought the LT1, 6 speed and stiffer fourth gen chassis into the 1LE history. Unlike the thirdgen 1LE, the fourthgen had the same brakes as the other V8 F-bodies. The suspension was the main attraction in '93. Featuring stiffer springs at 360# linear springs up front and 130-160# progressive springs in the rear. Also included was a 21mm rear sway bar, 32mm hollow front sway bar, higher durometer control arm & panhard bushings and a solid rubber transmission mount. All '93 F-bodies with a V8 received the 275 hp LT1. Performance was the sole purpose of the 1993 1LE. These cars were sold without power accessories, T-tops or air conditioning, and aluminum drive shaft that was part of the thirdgen 1LE package is mysteriously gone in '93. Shock absorbers were DeCarbon with 1LE specific valving. 19 Camaro Z28's & only 3 Firebird Formula's were equipped with this option in 1993.

1994 & 1995 are the same as 1993 with a couple exceptions. The LT1 was converted to sequential mass air fuel injection from the batch fire speed density system used in 1993 and the rear sway bar was reduced to the 19mm bar used on all V8 F-bodies. 1995 cars sold in California were equipped with dual catalytic converters and power increased to 285 hp. In 1994 135 Camaro Z28's and no Firebird 1LE's are built! In 1995 106 Camaro Z28's and 2 Firebird 1LE's are built.

Looks like the brakes are the same as the non 1LE Z28.

[Verdoro 68]

Pretty cool. I didn't even know they had a 4th gen 1LE.

[pontiacstogo]

Picture of the car at Watkins Glenn in 2008. I've reached out to the photographer to see if I can still get copies of this picture and to see if they have any others;



I do prefer the silver ZR1 one wheels to the chrome versions she is wearing currently...

[keith k]

Cool. Back when these were new, I was a pretty hardcore autocrosser. There were 4 or 5 guys in the SCCA Central Division running 4th gens with the 1LE package (a must order for the autocross crowd). Outside of that small/unique group, I knew they weren't very common, but had never seen any production numbers...

[1965gp]

Please go to www.camaroz28.com and look in the specialty vehicle section (1LE, SS, Firehawk, Compt T/A, etc) and they will have a ton of information on these cars. I’ve studied it for years- I hope it’s still there.

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by 1965gp

Please go to www.camaroz28.com and look in the specialty vehicle section (1LE, SS, Firehawk, Compt T/A, etc) and they will have a ton of information on these cars. I’ve studied it for years- I hope it’s still there.

Awesome - I looked at a few Camaro forums, but hadn't found that one. Seems more technically focused than some of the others so I've signed up.

[pontiacstogo]

Haven't been checking in here very often (and my poor T/A has only been out a few times this year). Managed to get caught up on all of the needed maintenance on the Camaro and get it prepped for some track/autocross events. The work included new brakes, wheels and tires, Optispark, waterpump and just general fluid changes and a good going over. Also installed subframe connectors from UMI.

Wife and I competed in as many local autocross events as we could through the year and we had a blast! My wife surprised the heck out of me by being just as fast as I was and we pretty much competed with each other through the year. If you get a chance to take your car to an autocross event - do it!

A photo and a video (my wife driving);



https://youtu.be/I0L-_PoNq60

Next year - more autocross and (hopefully) some track days at Pitt Raceway and/or Summit Point.

[TAKerry]

Dumb question but what makes it a 1LE? I had a '96 Z, manual 6 speed, I was told at the time I bought it that they made a 'high performance' model compared to the base Z and this was one. That car was incredibly fast, and I loved it. It was my wifes car and she was afraid to drive it, in 4 years we put less than 5k miles on it. When we traded, it had less than 20k. When we bought it there was another Z on the lot the dealer was trying to sell me but it was a 'stripper' with lots of power. He said it was built for racing and was a very rare car. It was a hardtop and that's the only reason we didn't buy it (my wife wanted t tops). I would assume that one was an 1LE?

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

When we bought it there was another Z on the lot the dealer was trying to sell me but it was a 'stripper' with lots of power. He said it was built for racing and was a very rare car. It was a hardtop and that's the only reason we didn't buy it (my wife wanted t tops). I would assume that one was an 1LE?

Might have been. The 1LE package changed a bit through the 4th gen years. Early ones (like my 94) were basically no power option cars i.e. no A/C, manual windows, hardtop only, no foglights, base radio etc. Mechanically the changes were mostly suspension only - same brakes and drivetrain as a regular manual Z28.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

Dumb question but what makes it a 1LE? ...

see post #7

I think that there were less 1LE Firebirds because of the Firehawks...

[red1975pacer]

Picked up a 2012 Camaro 2ss convert with 13500 miles, black wuth orange stripes, for 21750. Original sticker was 48500. I cant believe how much these cars depreciate so quickly. Now this car reminds me of my 79 TATA more so then my 2000 Ram Air., GM could have done such a better job with the 93-2002 Trans Ams., No wonder they stopped producing them, Why GM didn't try a Black and Gold eagle kind of thing back then is beyond me.

[GT182]

Nice looking 94 Z28.... built at the GM Plant in St. Therese, PQ. It's a long shot but I could have delivered it. Looks like it was well taken care of.

[dataway]

A bit off topic ... but the early 70's Z28s were brutal, they just freakin screamed. With a manual and 3.50+ gears they were a visceral experience to drive.

[red1975pacer]

Im thinking that the 2010 to 2015 Camaro captures the true feeling of a 70's era F body. After the smaller A body change of 2016 they don't look proportioned right. The 93 to 2002 years just don't seem to have any soul.The 2010 to 15 are heavy good looking cars if bought in good colors, but they seem to hit the right buttons with a lot of people. My opinion moving forward is the Camaro will once again be canceled, unless they do something radical, like making a electric version like were seeing in the Mustang SUV .,