02 camaro

[kamaroman68]

I would like people's opinions on the 2002 z28 camaro good or bad. I have a 68 that is basically my tinker toy but a friend is willing to sell me his 02 z28 for an very good price. I'm thinking if I were to spend the money on my 68 it would still leave me nowhere where I could pick up this car and basically drive a supercar. It is LS1/6 speed equipped with Ttops and is 35th anniversary equipped which is probably just badging. One other thing what is considered high mileage for an LS1? Thanks for any replies!!! Chris

[toxicz28]

I test drove an '02 Z28,liked the car. Ordered an '02 SS because of it, and can honestly say I love the car. All '02's had 35th anniversary plaques on the dash. Anniversary editions were all red SS models with silver stripes, 35th anniversary SS badges, and embroidery on the seats.

[trapin]

When I went to buy my LS1/4L60E pullout I asked about the 55,000 miles it had on it and wondered if I should rebuild the short block. The good folks at LS1tech.com told me that 55K wasn't even considered middle age yet for these engines.

[Rhino]

I've got an '02 SS sitting in my driveway right now. I've had it since '01, I plan to keep it around at least twice that long.

[mpozzi]

When I turned in my company car back in late-2002, I bought an '02 SS new and still have it. The odometer just turned over 16,000 miles and it's a great car. With today's economy, it's a buyer's market.

There's something about going down the road in sixth gear, about 90 mph, and getting almost 30 mpg ... that's just cool.

I was coming back from Las Vegas in the car and it was getting dark. Headlights were on and I was moving along about 85 mph or so. Saw some lights coming up fast behind me so changed gears from sixth to fourth, stood on the loud pedal, upshifted to fifth, cranked it up to about 115 mph, was contemplating sixth gear and got sudden religion when a CHP officer lit up my speedometer with his side spotlight ... as he was passing me?? Guess he was more in a hurry to get somewhere than I was as I didn't get stopped ...

Honest, occifer ... it didn't feel like I was going 115. That car runs sooooo good.

Cheers,
Mary Pozzi

[subtlez28]

I love mine!!

I wouldn't worry about miles on an LS1, just use higher mileage to lower the price. They are about as reliable as they come!

[T_Raven]

The only thing I don't like about daily driving a 3rd or 4th gen F body is that with the long doors and the seat position it's hard to get in and out in tight spots. But otherwise I've liked the 4th gens I've driven. I just bought an 01 TA and I'll actually get to see the thing when I get home next month lol. LS engines go for a long time.....for that matter, even the gen 1 small blocks I've had lasted 200k miles or more. My 00 silverado has 150k on the 5.3 and runs great. My new TA has 165k and I'm sure it's got a lot of life left in it.

[trapin]

'02's in good condition are really holding their residual value on eBay, and on Craigs List.

[justanova]

The only thing I don't like about daily driving a 3rd or 4th gen F body is that with the long doors and the seat position it's hard to get in and out in tight spots

when my brother had his 01 ss he had his own saying for that, he said "you dont get in this car......you put it on"

I have had the pleasure of driving my brothers car several times over the course of the 2.5 yrs he owned it and it was such a blast to drive that I had to do an ls1 swap on my nova(although i'm still not done).

I even had the opportunity to make a trip from arizona to iowa on 2 separate occasions in that car (a 1500 mile one-way trip) and we pulled down no less than 31mpg the whole way, even though we were driving 85-95 the whole time.

it almost seemed like the faster we drove it the better mpg it got. on the firs couple tanks we double checked the #'s because we thought there was no way. btw that car was all stock except a corsa catback and an slp maf and k/n fipk. and it was a 6spd with the factory 3.42 gears

[Irnmike]

Really great car. You can't buy a better handling ride for the same price. I had a 99 z-28 4L60 and a 00 SS/ t-56. The t-56 is way funner to drive. Air box lid/SLP loudmouth catback and Hooker shorties and it put out 328RWHP and ran a 12.82@109 in the quarter. Lots of aftermarket parts available used now for great prices.

[bigvegan]

a CHP officer lit up my speedometer with his side spotlight ... as he was passing me

Man, the CHP is a class act. Every time I've dealt with them (unfortunately they haven't always driven on by), they've been nothing but calm, courteous professionals. That story is awesome.

[mpozzi]

Man, the CHP is a class act. Every time I've dealt with them (unfortunately they haven't always driven on by), they've been nothing but calm, courteous professionals. That story is awesome.

I think he'd had some practice but all I could see was my license sprouting monster-sized wings ... I'd definitely lose it being more than 40 mph over the posted 70. And yes, they're pretty nice when asking for your autograph.

Very thankful for the gift that night ... and I've got much better CHP "stories" but will save those for another thread topic.

Cheers,
Mary Pozzi

[shudog]

I just sold my 01 Z28 last fall. Drove the hell out of it with no problems. Put a midrange cam, exhaust, intake, & tuned it and a few suspension mods and the car was an absolute blast to drive. 6spd with t-tops, it was a great car to ride in. Tons of aftermarket parts to customize, I might buy another someday, just didn't have time for it anymore. By the way, all 2002 cars were Anniversary models, only some of them came with the badging.