CHIPD

iTrader: (2)

Looking at 1996 and 1997 Camaro SS's. Used to own a '96 SS Hardtop 6spd.
Anyway, i have found a 1997 Camaro SS that is white with the orange stripes, 6 spd and hardtop. How do i find out if it is 1 of the 100 LT4 cars that were produced??? do i have to call SLP or can it be determined in the VIN or RPO codes?

Z28/2002

iTrader: (27)

Should be able to tell by the RPO's but SLP can tell you with the VIN.


Waiting on Xsta Z 28 to post in here, he has car #6. There is a thread on it here

https://ls1tech.com/forums/special-e...t4-ss-6-a.html

Xlerator

I have LT4 #18. If you have access to the car, you should be able to verify if it was an LT4 car by the SLP options door sticker (RH Door), it should actually state LT4 SLP Car #:_ _ _ . If you look under the hood, the Emission sticker on the radiator shroud should state that the engine is an LT4. I would think those two stickers may have been overlooked or missing if it was a fake LT4.

JohnnyBs98WS6Rag

iTrader: (1)

I'm pretty sure that since SLP did the LT4 swap, the GM factory RPO decal won't have LT4 on it. CompNine's database doesn't contain any f-bods w/ RPO LT4.

I'd be interested on seeing a RPO decal on a legit LT4 car. I suspect it has LT1.

Z28/2002

iTrader: (27)

Looking at the pictures of Xsta Z's car, the RPO sitcker shows LT1. Even the SLP sticker doesn't show the LT4 on it but the emission sticker on the radiator supports shows LT4

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Other than "appearance" there are no "codes" on the car to say it is a LT4 . . the intake should be red, the tail panel should have an orange 330 hp decal and the above shown decal changed by SLP.



One needs to do a lot of homework to prove a LT4 in there.

Here is a break down of the RPO's for 1997

AG1 Power Driver's Seat
AK5 Inflatable Driver and Passenger Air Bag
AR9 Deluxe Front Bucket
AU0 Remote Keyless Entry
AU3 Electric Door Locks
A31 Power Windows
A90 Power Deck Lid Release
B35 Carpeted Floor Mats
B84 Exterior Moldings
CAE Handling Charge From St. Therese to SLP
C49 Rear Window Defogger
C60 Air Conditioner w/ Manual Controls
DG7 Body Colored Electric Remote Controlled Mirrors
DL5 Roadside Assistance Decal
FE2 Ride Handling Suspension
FE9 Federal Emissions
GU6 3:42 Rear Axle Gear Ratio
G80 Limited Slip Rear Axle
IPC PC Interior Trim Design
J65 Power Front and Rear Disc Brakes
KG9 140 Amp Alternator
K34 Electronic Cruise Control
LT1 MFI HO 5.7 Liter V8 Engine
MM6 Tremec Manual 6 Speed Trans 85 mm, 2.66 1st and 0.50 O/D
MN6 Manual 6 Speed Provisions
NF2 Tier 1 Federal Emissions
NP5 Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel
PE0 Wheel Related??
QLC Tire P245/50R16 N BL R/PE ST TL HW4
R7A Sales Item #26
STE Plant Code St. Therese
T82 Automatic On/Off Head Lamps
T96 Front Fog Lamps
UA6 Theft Deterrent System
UB3 Instrument Cluster, Oil, Volts, Tach
UL0 AM/FM Cassette
UZ7 8 Speaker, Quad Front Dr. Mounted, Sail Panel, Dual RR Hatch & Amplifier
U1S Multiple Compact Disc Player
U73 Fixed Mast Antenna
V73 USA/Canada Vehicle Statement
WU9 30th Anniversary Camaro SS Appearance and Performance Sales Package
Z28 Special Performance Sales Package
Z4C 30th Anniversary Package
1AY Stock Order Modification
1SJ Option 9 Package
1SZ Option Package Discount
10C Arctic White Cloth Trim Combination
10I Arctic White Interior Trim
10Q Arctic White Molding Color
10U Arctic White Exterior Color
6HD Computer Select Suspension Component Front LH
7HD Computer Select Suspension Component Front RH
8TH Computer Select Suspension Component Rear LH
9TH Computer Select Suspension Component Rear RH

Other codes of note to see would be:

R7T
WU9

I have also confirmed with another owner that the harmonic balancer appears to have been drilled with a "weight" hand printed on the balancer like so:



Car should also have the Quaker State SynQuest Synthetic Lubricants Package, and the Twin Dual Tip Exhaust.



Exhaust resonator:

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

And here is the other decal Xlerator speaks of:



The top line states: "LT4 SLP Car #:000"

Brangeta

Concerning Xsta's post; R7T is the RPO code for a '96 and '97 SS. A '96 or '97 SS must have that code or it isn't a real SS.

CHIPD

iTrader: (2)

thnx for the info all. especially xstaz28. your car is amazing.

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Unfortunately that is not a 100% MUST . . My car does not have a R7T code, and I discussed with Dave H. that WU9 . "forced" the R7T . . which the purchasing dealer must have forgotten to check. . . .

So fun when there are "nuances" that make hard and fast rules not true . .

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, and you are welcome for the info.

Brangeta

That's weird. I haven't heard that one before.

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Ain't it fun trying to "discern" all the data? . . . I read the R7T thing and then looked at my car to find it did not have it . . . I was Like WTF? . . . But after chatting with Dave I was put at ease.

Brangeta

I'll tell you the even weirder thing. While all (I guess in this case, most) SSes had R7T, not all of them had WU9. I'm not sure what WU9 actually means... any idea? Is it like Y2Y meaning second sticker content?

Is it possible your sticker is just wrong? Can you PM me your VIN so I can check it out? I've actually been working on the '96-'97 SS section on my site the past week, so a look at your car's options from the factory might help me out.

JohnnyBs98WS6Rag

iTrader: (1)

Here's what CompNine's RPO lookup shows:
Option Code First Year Last Year Description
WU9 1976 1981 MOLDING,WINDOW REVEAL WDO R/MLDG(WU9)
WU9 1997 1997 SALES PKG ANNIVERSARY Z28 SS Z28 ANNIVERSARY(WU9)

Z4C is also the RPO for the '97 30th anniversary package, which was also available on "plain" Z28s, not just SSs. CompNine shows:

# of '97 Camaro Coupes w/ Z4C = 3299
w/ R7T = 2474
w/ WU9 = 802
w/ Z4C+R7T = 659
w/ Z4C+WU9 = 802
w/ R7T+WU9 = 659

Something doesn't seem to add up here. But then again, CompNine reports that R7T is "unknown" and WU8 was the RPO for '96-'97 SS (which I know is not correct).

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Per Dave Hamburger . . .

WU9 = 30th Anniversary Camaro SS Appearance and Performance Sales Package

My build sheet:



My RPO tag . .

Brangeta

Let's get down to serious business and see if we can solve this issue Xsta by putting our heads and information together...

Production records are full of problems, so this is going to take awhile to go through.

Let's compare some total 1997 production records.

Compnine has 57,810 '97s are in their system.
Camaro White Book says 60,202 were made.
Camarosource says 58,152 '97 Camaros were sold, but states that industry trade journals say 54,972 were produced for the US market. No record for other markets.

I'm not a data cruncher for GM and never have been, but I personally believe a lot of problems with calculations lie in percentages being used. You'd see things like "71.5% had automatic transmission" and people would apply that % to a total number and come up with an amount that could be off by several cars. Whose records are actually accurate? I don't know, but I like compnine's since it's based on VIN #s. I didn't used to like it, but I like it now. Cars that were not given VIN #s, which could be test cars that were never sold to the public and were crushed when they fulfilled their purpose are not included, so I feel their numbers to be as accurate as we'll ever get. Other issues could have messed with the numbers as well, which I'm not even going to attempt to get into at the moment.

Conclusion: none of the numbers actually match up and it's hard to know what's truly accurate.

Let's work on '97 30th Anniversary SSes now...

Here's the definitions I have:
Z4C = APPEARANCE PACKAGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY
WU9 = SALES PKG ANNIVERSARY Z28 SS
R7T = CONTROL SALES ITEM NO. 44 (Camaro White Book defines it as "SS Package (non-Chevrolet modification)")

I have a SLP Information Bulletin for the '96 (not '97) SS reproduced by a magazine called Camaro Enthusiast (September/October 1995 issue) and it says...

Things might have changed for '97. I don't have that info. Wish I did so I could get some concrete evidence on what WU9 means rather than relying on a definition of it. I don't have much stuff from '97. Most of my physical collection is from '93-'96.

Here's a break-down, and why the Z4C, R7T, and WU9 stuff doesn't make sense. Cars with Z4C & R7T should equal the same number as WU9 theoretically if WU9 truly just means 30th Anniversary SS.

Coupes:
Z4C = 3,299
WU9 = 802
R7T = 2,474
R7T & Z4C = 659
R7T & Z4C & WU9 = 659
R7T & WU9 = 659
Z4C & WU9 = 802

Convertibles:
Z4C = 1,001
WU9 = 264
R7T = 476
R7T & Z4C = 240
R7T & Z4C & WU9 = 240
R7T & WU9 = 240
Z4C & WU9 = 264

Total:
Z4C = 4,300 (total 30th anniversary Z28s and SSes)
WU9 = 1,066 (total 'supposed' 30th anniversary SSes)
R7T = 2,950 (total SSes)
R7T & Z4C = 899 (total 30th anniversary SSes)
R7T & Z4C & WU9 = 899 (total 30th anniversary SSes)
R7T & WU9 = 899 (total 30th anniversary SSes)
Z4C & WU9 = 1,066 (total 'supposed' 30th anniversary SSes)

^^This data suggests that:
1) WU9 ALWAYS accompanied Z4C, (ex: there's not a red Camaro running around with WU9, every single one was white with orange stripes)
2) every single Z4C with R7T has WU9 as well. Why could this be? For '96, R7T was the ONLY code for SS. For non-anniversary edition cars (as far as I know) all '97 SSes have R7T.
3) Not every car with WU9 has R7T, in fact, 167 are like Xsta's and don't have it.
4) WU9 is not similar to the '98-'02 Y2Y code, which suggested second sticker content (optional exhaust and such). Why can't it be similar? Because there are more Z4C, WU9 cars than Z4C, WU9, R7T cars and R7T DEFINITELY means SS for '96-'97.

Okay. So. Let's compare to some published numbers. Published numbers in the past (especially on websites) have NOT always been accurate, but let's use them anyway.

Camaro White Book is the most reliable published source for the public, but it is still full of errors that I'm going to point out. The author wasn't much of a 4th gen fan. He liked 1st gens and it's obvious because he barely breaks anything down, and he either left errors or settled for errors in the 4th gen section. It says 4,533 Z4C were made. This number corresponds with the figure it says for White Leather and White Leather + Houndstooth if you add them up. White Leather was RPO 103, White + Houndstooth was RPO 10C. I'm going to include Z4C in the calculations below to make sure the interior colors are strictly 30th Anni cars and not other colored cars with white interiors (ex: a red Camaro with white leather).

Coupes:
103 = 2,242
103 & Z4C = 2,242
10C = 1,057
10C & Z4C = 1,057

Convertibles:
103 = 726
103 & Z4C = 726
10C = 275
10C & Z4C = 275

Total:
103 = 2,968
10C = 1,332

If you add those two numbers up, you get 4,300, so as far as I'm concerned, Camaro White Book is wrong, and there were only 4,300 Z4C 30th Anniversary Camaros, and only 30th Anniversary models were able to get the white seats (though they were available for most exterior colors in '98 and '99).

Next...

Camaro White Book lists in the Addenda that there were 4,309 30th Anniversary ones... okay... their number changed... and it says that in their break down in this section, another 225 were built for the Canadian market. Well, that's close to true... The RPO code for Canadian equipment modifications is Z49.

Z29 Z4C coupes + Z29 Z4C convertibles = Total Canadian Z4C
145 + 79 = 224

224 of the 4,300 were Canadian. NOT an additional 224.

Next... Camaro White Book says there's 466 Z4C SS hardtops, 241 Z4C SS t-tops, and 251 Z4C convertibles. That totals 958.

Based on my numbers at the top, I got results of 1,066 (Z4C & WU9) or 899 (Z4C & WU9 & R7T).

Camaro White Book disagrees with my calculations again.

SLP had a break out of their records, and surprisingly, I discovered I have this. They did NOT separate the 30th Anniversary cars in their statistics according to a sentence on it, so this isn't all that useful at all. It states 3,038 SSes we made in 1997. That number is way off of what my totals above say and what Camaro White Book says.

SLP says 3,038 SSes
CWB says 3,137 SSes
Compnine says 2,950 SSes

A difference of about 100 between each other.

If I recalculate my numbers and include those WU9 Anniversary SSes that did NOT have R7T, we can get these numbers:

For reference, the math formula would be:
(R7T without WU9) + (R7T with WU9) + (WU9 without R7T) = SS
simplified to R7T + (WU9 without R7T) = SS

Coupe:
WU9 lacking R7T = 143
R7T = 2,474

Convertible:
WU9 lacking R7T = 24
R7T = 476

Total:
WU9 lacking R7T = 167
R7T = 2,950
Potential total SSes = 3,117

Soooooooooooooooooooo, what can we conclude from that?
1) SLP's records, which should be accurate, are actually reporting 79 fewer SSes than actually exist according to compnine's VIN database.
2) Camaro White Book is reporting exactly 20 more than in that database, if you include what seems to be the only two possible ways to end up with an SS (R7T and WU9 cars without R7T = all SSes)
3) Those WU9 cars that lack R7T really are SSes

That took forever. Thoughts? Anybody have any articles, press releases, or similar to back up or refute my claims?

Brangeta

I left a gap in my previous post.

SO HOW MANY 30TH ANNIVERSARY CAMARO SSES WERE MADE?!

That would be these numbers added together:

coupe:
Z4C and WU9 without R7T = 143
Z4C and R7T = 659

convertible:
Z4C and WU9 without R7T = 24
Z4C and R7T = 240

Total:
Z4C and WU9 without R7T = 167
Z4C and R7T = 899

Total 30th Anniversary Camaro SSes = 1,066

Of those 1,066 there were 110 LT4 cars. All were hard tops and had some other limiting options I don't feel like going through right now. I'll go through it on my website at a later date. What I will say is that 106 of those were production ones, 1 was a prototype, 1 was a development car, 1 was a race car, and 1 was immediately wrecked at Young Chevrolet in Dallas, TX and isn't considered part of the production because it was a total loss from what I heard. 6 were Canadian, 100 were American, and then there's the 3 early cars, and the one that no longer exists.

I don't know how many currently exist. It'd be interesting to know since the LT4 Camaros are likely going to be some of the most valuable 4th gens in the future, if not THE most valuable.

If anybody would like to share stories or pictures of these 110 cars, particularly the prototype, development car, race car, or wrecked car, I'd love to see them and potentially include them on my 4th Generation Camaro History site when I'm ready to do the article.

Brangeta

If anybody reading this is still in college, it'd be interesting if you could take advantage of your library's online resources (AKA their expensive subscription to them) and see if you can find a news article from '96 or '97 about the LT4 Camaro being crashed in Dallas, that'd be really neat to share. Some of the databases of old news articles I used to search in college are called LexisNexis, Infotrac, and Academic OneFile. There may have been others. Sometimes they have the text typed up, or even better, black and white scans of the actual articles.

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

Wow . my head is spinning! . what a lot of numbers to crunch . . .

But interesting info needless to say . . but you are correct it is VERY hard to find the cut and dry "correct" answers . . .

Some of my opinions . .

WU9 is the same as WU8 . . . they = SS. Period. . . the 9 just separates the 30th Anniversary SS from a "base" SS . . . so on the codes a WU9 must have a Z4C (USA) in the list . . I think that is a must and firm answer. . .

R7A and R7T were codes for SLP "stuff" . . . but what exactly I am not sure.