A manual gearbox Camaro like today’s Nice Price or No Dice RS is rare to find, something the seller says as “nearly impossible.” Let’s see if this survivor Chevy has a few more unexpected pleasures up its sleeve and whether those might include its price.
Volkswagen’s camper vans, whether Eurovan, earlier T2, or current California, have an eager and robust following. That’s been the case for so long that, over the years, other car makers have tried to get in on the game with camper clones like the 19998 Honda Stepwgn Field Deck we looked at yesterday. Unfortunately for both Honda and the dealer that went through all the trouble of importing the van, imitation is only flattery, and at $9,950, the Honda didn’t find many friends. Ultimately, that resulted in a 56 percent No Dice loss.
When Chevrolet introduced the third-generation Camaro in 1982, Road & Track magazine anointed it as one of the most beautiful cars on the market, comparing it favorably with the Ferrari 308 GTB, which, arguably, was and is one of the best designs of that era.
This 1992 Chevy Camaro RS is from a decade later, at the other end of the third generation’s model run. In its base V8/manual form, it offers more horses and gears than the top Z28 edition that Rodent Attract tested and fawned over ten years earlier.
That’s not to say there couldn’t be more. This RS sports the 305 CID LB9 V8, which offers 170 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque. That’s five more horses than Chevy managed to massage out of the ’82 Z28’s 350, but it is well shy of the 245 horses and 300 lb-ft made by the ’92 Z28’s 5.7 liter L98.
There’s still a lot to like about this RS Camaro. It does have the rocker and valance extensions that give it a bit of a Z28 vibe. Above that is a T-top roof for hair-tussling fun when desired. Perhaps most importantly, it sports a five-speed manual to make the most out of the 305’s output.
Not only that, the seller says the transmission has been rebuilt and is paired with a new clutch and flywheel. Other updates include a replacement ignition lock and key, a new battery, and four new tires on its chromed factory alloys. The seller even claims to have the receipts for all these repairs and replacements. This work was obviously necessary as the car has amassed a remarkable 238,000 miles on the clock.
As far as aesthetics go, those miles don’t seem to show. The Medium Quasar Blue paint looks to be original, and while it suffers some peppering on the nose and a few scrapes on the back, it appears solid overall. The same can be said of the interior, which while exhibiting some wear on the driver’s seat and a dash cap that’s cracked in multiple places, is otherwise clean and in decent shape. An aftermarket stereo sits in the dash but could be easily replaced with a factory unit if originality is critical to a new owner.
And who might that new owner be? According to the seller, that’s a specific individual, as they advise somewhat mystically in the ad that “This car is for someone looking for this particular car.” This particular car comes with a clean title and a $6,000 price tag for that particular person.
Would you pull the trigger on this seemingly well-kept but not kid-gloved Camaro at that price? Or do the downsides of the wear and tear—and that tepid 305—make it a hard pill to swallow?
You decide!
San Diego, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Mitch Dryden for the hookup!
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