F-Body: A History Part 2

F-Body: Part 2

A New Generation

The first generation F-Body cars, especially the Camaro, had been a huge success for GM. While their sale numbers did not even approach the outrageous amount of 'Stangs Ford was selling at the time, the fact that they broke the 50,000 mark each year was a great surprise for GM. What was once an experiment now became a full featured product. This would be the best selling generation of the F-Body cars. This was, much to the chagrin of the F-Body fan, purely by chance, as after 1974 there were no true pony cars left to compete with the Camaro and the Firebird, as the Mustang became a subcompact coupe and Challenger, Barracuda, and AMC Javelin left the market.

1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

Design

The new second generation F-Bodies were completely new from the ground up. Taking what they learned with the original F-Bodies, designers at Chevrolet and Pontiac created new bodies that were much more "driver friendly" than the first generation. Gone were the squeaks, rattles, and obnoxious wind noise of the first model coupes. New seats provided increased comfort, and the new cars' size was increased. Early second generation models looked very similar, with the Camaro once again having a more muscular appearance with a large open grill. The Firebird, meanwhile, featured a higher-set, smaller grill with the traditional Pontiac "Grill Split" nose. The rear-ends were different as well, with the Camaro featuring quad tail-lights (a nod to the Corvette) and the Firebird having Pontiac's distinctive "split" tail-lights.

1978 Trans Am with T-Tops; this style was used in Smokey and the Bandit

Over time, the design was revamped. In 1978, both models were given a major face-lift. The Camaro's large, jet-intake grill was removed and in its place a smaller, higher-set grill. The Firebird gained a completely smooth front end (something that would define the Firebird for the remainder of its days) with four square head-lights.

Powerplants: Camaro

The new F-Bodies featured similar powerplants to the first generation. The straight-6 continued, although the 230ci was no longer available. In its place was the optional 250ci. In the V8 department, both cars took separate paths. The Camaro kept the Chevy-built 350ci as its flagship engine, however, owners could also choose a big-block 396ci, which was actually a 402ci. Chevrolet kept the name for brand recognition. Two 454ci engines were planned, but scrapped at the last second. The Camaro would keep the 250ci and the 350ci throughout much of its second generation, with the 250ci six being replaced by a 230ci V6 late in its production run. Special engines for the Camaro were limited to the new LT-1 350ci. It was available only on the Camaro Z28. This new engine pumped out 360hp and could be mated to an automatic transmission. The previous Z28's 302 was discontinued, although late models had a 305ci which was similar in size, but nowhere near the performance.

1979 Camaro Z28 powered by the 350ci

Over time, the Camaro's big-rev engines were either weakened to the point of pathetic or discontinued due to increasing exhaust regulations and the fuel crisis of the 1970's. By the end of its life-span, the only engines available was a new 230ci V6, a 305ci V8, and the two 350ci engines, one for Berlinettas and Sport Coupes and the other for the Z28. While the horsepower offered by these engines was better than the mid-70's Camaros, it did not touch the power of the 1st generation models or the early 2nd generation models.

Powerplants: Firebird

The new Firebird's engines were, like the Camaros, carried over the first generation. A straight-6, several small-block V8s, and of course the Big blocks were continued without many changes. Two RAM Air Engines were available; both were based on the Pontiac 400ci engine. While the GTO's RAM Air engines were more powerful, which kept the GTO as Pontiac's "King of Power" the Firebird's engines were nothing to sneer at. Surprisingly, while other sports cars (including the Camaro) lost their performance engines during the mid to late 70's, the Firebird struggled until the last possible second with its high-output engines. The Pontiac 400ci, and the mighty 455ci MAX were available as late as 1977, when other cars had, at their largest displacement, 350ci small blocks.

However, even the Firebird fell to the issues of the times, with the 455ci being discontinued in 1977. The 400ci carried on as the last of the Big-blocks, and despite not having the performance of earlier 400ci Pontiac engines (or the Chevrolet 396ci) it managed to keep the spirit of American muscle alive. This would be the last model Firebirds to use Pontiac-built engines. In 1982, GM mandated that all of its daughter companies switch to "coporate" engines, or Chevy engines.

Conclusion

The 2nd generation Camaros and Firebirds are often remembered as the last performance cars of their era. Their unique muscle car design, powerful engines (compared to the competition) and hot handling made them the standout vehicles of their generation.

F-Body: A History Part 1

The History of the Great Battle

The Chevrolet Camaro. The Ford Mustang. Two great "pony" cars from the golden era of automobiles. These warriors fought for domination of the road from the late 1960's well into the early 21st century. During this time, both went through numerous evolutions. I will explain the Camaro and its sister car, the Firebird, in this first of a two part series.

2001 Camaro Z28 and 2001 Mustang GT

F-Body
Chapter 1: The Beginning

To explain the history of the Camaro, we must go back to the Chevrolet Corvair. This short-lived sports car was radical in its design; like the Porshe 911 (which would appear several years later) it had a rear mounted, air-cooled engine. It was a good selling automobile in the early 60's. People liked it's nifty, innovative engine layout and its sporty performance; despite being powered by a straight-6, its performance was comparable to many V8 cars of the day thanks to its low weight and the fact that its engine was tuned for speed. All seemed good for Chevy and GM as a whole.

Until 1964, that is. That year, Ford introduced the Mustang. Based on the popular Ford Falcon body, the new Mustang was a hit. It had all the right features; it featured a long hood, short deck body style, a variety of engines (ranging from paltry straight-sixes as well as medium performance small block V8s), a style that screamed "Freedom!" and most importantly, it was affordable for almost any person, including graduating High School students.

A 1966 Ford Mustang

GM was caught completely off-guard. Chrysler had released the Barracuda earlier, and although it wasn't technically a pony car, it stole some of the Mustang's thunder. GM, however, had no car that could compete with the hot Mustang. GM's divisions immediately began work on a new car that could compete... And hopefully crush Ford's miracle pony.

Chapter 2: The F-Body is born

GM's plans were rushed, and they weren't universal among the divisions. Chevrolet and Pontiac, GM's two primary divisions from a sales standpoint, came up with radically different designs. Pontiac believed that the Banshee prototype could be converted into a full production two-seat car to compete with the Mustang; it was light and could be powered by a straight-6 for the base model with V8s as an option. However, GM did not want a car to compete with its current flagship sports car, the Corvette. While Chevrolet could have probably made a "low-end" Corvette to compete with the Mustang, they realized that it would be cheaper for GM to simply design a new body.

The Pontiac Banshee I

Thus, came the F-Body. It was very similar to the Mustang; it featured the long hood, short deck style. Unlike the Pontiac car, it had a rear-row seat plus a traditional trunk. It was larger than the Mustang, however it was still a compact by the standards of the 1960's. Chevrolet named the car "Camaro" which roughly means "comrade" in French. Pontiac, who was denied their Banshee, did get their own version of the F-Body called the Firebird. Both were very similar, although they were very different at the same time. However, as the years passed on, both would get more and more similar until 2002, when both cars were virtually the same.

The 1st Generation

The first generation Camaro/Firebird were released in 1967. The Camaro debuted a few months earlier in the summer, while the F-Bird took flight later that year in the fall. Despite being brand new cars, there were dozens of options for the prospective buyer of a F-Body.

1969 Camaro Z28

In the engine department, the base engine of the F-Body cars was the 3.8L (230ci) inline-6. A 250ci version was also available. However, most buyers opted for the V8 powerplant. Choices started with the 327ci, the defacto small block 350ci (which became one of the most popular engines of all time), and the 396ci.

There were two special engine choices in the first generation, however they were only available for the Camaro. The first was the 302ci which was available only with the Z28 package. Surprisingly, despite being the smallest V8 available, it was one of the most powerful, bested only by the big-block 427ci, which only found its way into a handful of Camaros anyway.

While the Firebird had Pontiac versions of the normal engine sizes, it did not have the 302ci or the 427ci. Instead, it received Ram-AIR Engine choices, most taken directly from the Pontiac GTO muscle car. While none of these engines provided the pure horsepower of the 302ci or the ultra-rare 427ci, they were more powerful than the base V8s in the Camaro, leading to most F-Birds outrunning most Camaros in the early days.

1967-68 Firebird on the left, the face-lifted 69 on the right

Styling was similar, with the main difference being the front facia, where the Camaro had a more muscular, simple appearance with two headlamps and the Firebird a softer facia with Pontaic's default four headlamp design.

Both cars received a face-life in 1969. The Camaro received a much deeper V grill with inset headlamps along with a more square shape with sharper lines. The Firebird, however, was modeled loosely after the current GTO of the time. While the Camaro revamp was praised by most, the Firebird revamp wasn't as well liked. Many felt Pontiac was giving up the Firebird's uniqueness purely for GTO looks, which wasn't a good thing to many. Engine choices remained the same for 1969.

The 1969 model F-Bodies had an extremely long model year. Many people believe that many of them were actually 1970 models due to the long production year. This was not the case. The new second generation was having production problems, thus the model year was extended. However, all were 1969s, not 1970s as many believe.

Chapter 3: Conclusion

In the end, the 1st generation was a huge success. Despite only being on the market for 3 years, and the fact that it didn't even come close to the Mustang, it sold extremely well and led GM management to realize that these two new cars had potential. Thus, development on the all-new second generation F-Bodies began. The history of these cars will be covered in Part 2 of this series.

The Online Universe called Xbox LIVE

Over the weekend, I had my first experience with this beautiful thing call online gaming over Xbox LIVE. I've had a Xbox LIVE Account for some time, but this weekend was the first time I actually got to challenge people online. It was amazing and I hope to do it again. Anywho, time for general updates.

---

• My truck's rear-view mirror came off. I have to put it back on tomorrow. Fortunately for me, I rarely use it due to the fact that I have near-illegal after-market tint that makes it almost impossible to use.
  
• My essay is finished and ready to be turned in. I'm aiming for a 100, but I'll probably get a 95 or something. I always do.
  
• I'm really ticked off that Uno and Assault Heroes won't work unless I'm on Xbox LIVE. Then again, those are really multiplayer games anyway. I can just redownload them and play them when I get a chance to get on Xbox LIVE.
  
• Love issues. It's weird when you love one girl, yet another one is the one that loves you. It's really confusing lol.
  

---

Now for gaming updates.

• Halo 3: Played it online over the weekend. I managed to get a decent rank with what time I had. I am a Sergeant Grade 1 with a skill level of 8. That's not bad with only two and a half days of playtime. I also found the last skull I needed, the one on "The Covenant." Turns out I was looking in the wrong tower lol. It's on tower 2, which is on the way to tower 3. I spent most of my time on ranked matches, but I also played some "Big Team Battles" on social matchmaking as well.
  
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Yeah, I downloaded it. It's amazing. I feel so stupid that I didn't buy it when it came out for Playstation all those years ago. It's really annoying though. The 360's controller simply isn't meant for 2-D sidescrollers. It does the job in a pinch, but honestly I wish I had a controller designed for 2-D games. Heck, even a fighting game joystick would do better than the abysmal d-pad on the 360 controller.
  

That's about it really. Not much else to report. See you next mission! ;)

---

By the way, happy Robert E. Lee day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Yeah, I celebrate both. Both men were great for their respective times. Robert E. Lee was a military genius and a truly good man, while Martin was a Civil Rights Hero. Good day, sirs.