Back in the 60s, Chevy came out with the 302ci in the Camero. This engine had a label attached to it like a ZR1 or something to that affect. I've heard them called a mouse motor etc but the other designation is what I'm looking for. BTW, I'm doing this for a friend that doesn't do computers all that much. Thanks Jim
If I remember right, the guys at chevy were trying to come up with a name for the new HP package, just like they did for the Rally Sport package which was RPO Z-22, or 23, I think. Anyway, they just decided to call it by the RPO number...Z-28....I could be wrong, your mileage may vary. ...and btw, there isn't an "E" in Camaro.
So now I got to go back and put an "E" in my post. I am almost Mr Chevrolet or so I have been told. I have never been fond of the Camaro and try to miss spell it on purpose. Damn it now I have spelled it right twice. Guess its like Dylan said, " the times they are a changin." BTW for all my faults one of them is that I can never remember the proper parts numbers. Never the less if I ppst anything at all I know hat someone will correct me. That gets the info out there at least.
cousin tried to sell me a 1969 Z-28 in 1971 killer car,******s,ansens,lift kit,absolutly like new not a scratch on it for $1700 tried to get a loan at the bank and they turned me down I stayed pissed at that bank for 20 years
My friend has told me that it was not a RPO or number configuation but a name if that confuses everyone... Thanks for the many responses. (BTW I knew there wasn't an "E" in Camero LOL)
In '71 I couldnt borrow a dime from the bank even if I knew the loan officer. Guess that's whay I always owned hot road of some sort. I could always come up with enough for a body or an el cheapo on its last legs car and make it run.
This says your friend is wrong. http://musclecars.howstuffworks.com/cl***ic-muscle-cars/1969-chevy-camaro-z28.htm You can probably go over on some of the Camaro boards and find out a hundred different opinions on how it got the name but I doubt that it was intended to confuse anyone. In fact, why did you ask that on a traditional hot rod and custom car board that caters to and favors 1964 and earlier vehicles that were built before super cars and pony cars? You could poke around this board http://www.camaroz28.com/ and find more info than you ever wanted and some of it is probably correct.
67 was the first year for that motor and they were "MO"302 till 69, the 69's where the only DZ 302's Great motors built for high rpm but didn't have a lot of low end torque. They were Chevy's answer to the, Hot at the time, TransAm road racing craze.
@Mr48Chev...I'm sorry that I offended you or other pre 64 car guys, but I remembered that I had signed up on this forum so this was a starting place to ask questions. Don't be so touchy as most of the pre 64 cars and trucks have later engines. I just thought (and apparently was wrong) that I could get an answer which I have in most cases without har***ment.. Thanks to all that have answered. Later Jim
I'm gonna guess the Z-28 designation is what you're looking for. Sorta like the Z-11 Impala's/LS-6 Corvette, etc. None of the numbers match the suffix numbers on the block. Even though most folks can identify the DZ number with 69 Z-28. But on the other hand the 70 model Z-28 with an LT-1 350 kind of shoots that out of the water, so I guess I'll just watch the thread and learn something. Larry T
With all this talk about the Z 28 302, it reminds me of the summer of 1969. I had just gotten home from a tour of Southeast Asia. Hot Rod magazine spoke of the Z 28-302 Camaro and the Trans Am Series Racing. Sears Point Raceway, in Northern California, was brand new at the time. I attended the first Trans Am Race there. Parnelli Jones drove a mustang, Mark Donahue drove the Z28. They battled 60 laps with Parnelli leading Donahue. With 9 laps to go Donahue p***ed Parnelli to take over the lead and win the race. It was one of the best races I'd ever seen.
Them DZ 302 "s are some kick *** motors anyone that has run one through the gears knows what I am talking about.I have a hard time not winding one to tight dont want to get out of it when it starts talking to you
in the 1967-1969 Camaros, "Z-28" was an RPO code. Starting in 1970, the "Z-28" was an actual "trim package", much like the "Malibu" was a trim level of the Chevelle.
Here's a good read on the subject: http://www.67z28.com/history.htm Knew I had another link had to find it in my notes. (Yeah I collect the GM history ****) http://www.camaros.org/diffs67.shtml
The 1967 Z28 was a half year intro in 1967 (Feb 67 if I remember right). The first 302's that came out of the factory were sj cranks. But by about June 67, the 302's had switched to the new lj forged cranks. The original sj 302's are very rare (I believe most went to race teams thus the general pubic really got the lj cranks). Just info I have collected but their maybe a margin of error in the interpretation.
The small journal was an MO block, the DZ block was a large journal. They called it a DZ 302 because it was the same block as the 327 and the 350. They all have the same bore. It could have been a DZ 327 or a DZ 350 as well. If the OP is actually thinking street slang as opposed to part number then Z-28 or 302 or mouse is probably the name that will arise. When I put one in my Chevelle SS ('64) I got the engine and ****** out of a wrecked '69 camaro the guy at the yard said he had a '69 Z-28 with a 302 in it. So in that instance it was a 302. No one cared about RPO numbers or block designations it was a 302 and that was enough to sell the engine. That doesn't make any sense at all does it. Well those are the kicks I guess, ya win a few you loose a lot.
So, some RPO's were engine specific (LS-6 for example, Corvette or Chevelle), some were packages that included the engine for specific models (Z-28/Camaro only, Z-11/aluminum nosed 430 hp 427 Impala) or trim packages. Puts it in black and white----sorta. Larry T http://www.rpocodes.com/
That's what I keep coming up with but my friend says that's not it...I guess the "mouse" designation came from the "MO 302" ... Anyway, thanks for all the responses. Later Jim
Beeno, I'm pretty sure that DZ suffix number was specific to the 1969 Z-28, so all original DZ engines would be 302. Of course you could install a 327 or 350 rotating ***embly in the DZ block and outrun the 302, but that's another story. What????? Me stir the pot, no way. Larry T
Well, as OT as this whole thing is, I'll chime in, having owned one for going on 35 yrs. I'm no expert, but I had mine before all this crazy $$ ****, hit the fan. First, there ARE NO "DZ" suffixed 327 or 350's. Not from the factory. Period. None. Didn't happen. What someone may have restamped, or made from a 327/350 block, is a completely different cow. Probably half the Z's on ebay at any time are this breed. The other direction, one could make a 327/350 from a DZ block, with the right rotating ***embly. But why, it'd be like turning $100 bills in $1 dollar bills. Damn the internet, how this **** gets started, and the next thing you know, it's gospel. As to the OP's original question. The only thing I can think of as far as a name or nick-name, besides 'Z', is this. GM really didn't promote the car heavy, until '69, when they realized people were going bonkers for these things. They ran a half or quarter page, ad in alot of the magazines on the car. Listing the distinct features, etc. At the end, it said something to the effect, "...and when they ask what the 'Z' stands for, tell 'em ZAP!" So alot of people started calling them Zappers. Apologies for the whole OT stuff. Needed done.
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