This question came up yesterday when a friend called me and said he was looking at a 99 Camaro and wasn't sure if it was an SS or not, so I figured I would do an easy-breezy how to for your guys to look over or print out to take with you when looking at that supposed SS.
On the 1996 it's kind of easy to spot these ones especially if the car is a low mileage well preserved unit that has a majority of the original parts intact because the 1996 was the only year that every SS came with the ash tray lid SS-SLP plaque affixed to it. This should not, I repeat not be considered the only means of identifying a 1996 SS because many people try to clone cars this way by stealing the lids from cars at auctions, (I know because a person I use to deal with did this on a regular basis!) That nothwithstanding, there will also be a whole host of SLP
"Second Stickers" Generally in both door jambs and on the earlier vehicles, on the radiator core support like the one pictured below, it's the small sticker on the radiator core support in the bottom right hand corner.
The sticker is from SLP and informs you that the vehicle has been altered and what options were added to it.
For 1997, things got a little more inconspicuous because the "
Build Plaque" became optional and it was not numbered like it's predecessor but was rather just a 1/2" by 3" plaque that read only "CAMARO SS" and was moved from the cosnsole to the center dash trim bezel.
However only for 1997 did the Z4C 30th Anniversary SS come with a white "30th Anniversary plaque" like this one pictured here.
The
Second Sticker rule continued on for the '97 model run with all cars being equiped with the
Second Sticker in the door jamb(s) indicating the upgrades that were made.
For 98-02, things got very ambiguous and quite difficult to discern as to whether a Z28 was an SS or a clone. This was due in part to the
Second Sticker. Cars with
Base Alterations Package were cars that were designated by St. Therese to go to SLP only to recieve the Hood Wheels and Spoiler and thus did not have a
Second Sticker because they were considered
Base Alterations. I'm not going to go into detail as to what options were where and why as I have shaken that tree enough. Basically what we are looking for to see if an SS is the real deal or a clone. For cars that have no second sticker, you want to look in the Drivers Side Door jamb, and locate the build codes, you want to find the code "
WU8". This code transcended the mid '97-'02 model run and was present on all SS's for the 4th Gen; however, for '96-mid production of '97, The SS was identified by the alpha numeric code,
"R7T".
Another code to look for was
Y2Y, this was the appearance package or Second Sticker designation given to 98-02 SS's.
OK, lets say the build sticker is marred or blury and you can't read it, what now? Easy, just look at the tire inflation sticker, the tire size should read 275/40-ZR17. This really only applies to the 98-02 becaue the 96-97 came with 16" wheels as well as 17's (Note: All 1996 SS Convertibles came equiped with 16" X 8" ZR-1 Wheels).
If all else fails, you can always call your local dealership and ask them for the price for the hood or spoiler of a said Camaro and give them the last 8-10 numbers from the VIN#, if the hood comes back with a price of $1800+, you know you have an SS, and for the spoiler coming back with a price of nearly $1000.00, you know it's going to be an SS as the VIN# doesn't lie.
SS FAQ's
Q- I'm selling my 1998 Camaro Super Sport, yada, yada!!
A- The Camaro was never called a Super Sport-EVER! It was just an SS.
Q- I thought all SS's were Manual 6-Speeds?
A- The Camaro SS throughout it's build was available as an Auto or Manual.
Q- My 2002 Camaro SS came form the factory with the Corvette LS-6 engine.
A- No it didn't! No GM factory equiped Camaro ever came with a 6.0L LS-6, rather the late 2001-2002 cars (Z28 and SS) came equiped with the 6.0L block, but the standard 5.7L internals. There were no engine upgrades done to the SS, as it was the Base Z28 LS-1 engine. The only addition that was made was from 2001-2002, SS's could be ordered with the Donaldson Air Lid and 345hp Performance Package which included a Low Restriction Cat-Back exhaust system with either Dual/Dual Tips or the Infamous Center Mount System.
Q- My car has cloth interior, I thought all SS's came with leather?
A- The 4th Gen SS could be ordered with a variable cornicopia of options and in nearly any configuration (Hard Top, T-Top or Convertible). Take my car for example: My car started out life as a Base Model Z28 with no major comfort upgrades, meaning it had standard cloth interior, came equiped as a hard top, was ASR delete and rear window defogger delete. The SS options were added to that car because it was either:
1) Specified by the Dealership that submitted the request to GM and SLP for that configuration.
2) Specified by the buyer as to what options he/she wanted on their vehicle.
Q- My Camaro SS does not have the Hurst Shifter Why?
A- The Hurst Shifter was optional line item from SLP on 96-97 M-6 cars; however, from 98-02, the SS Camaro was built "in-house" at St. Therese and essentially left the plant with the wheels, suspension and the Hurst shifter from GM. The Hurst shifter could be ordered for the SS, the Z28, Formula, Trans-Am, WS.6 and Firehawk directly from the dealer manifest list. Many cars came Hurst equipped; however, some dealers opted not to include the option, as did many private customers ordering their cars.
Q- My hood and my spoiler do not match the rest of the paint on the car, is my car a fake?
A- Not necessarily. All Z28's that were designated to be sent to SLP to made SS's recieved their new hood and spoiler from SLP and were pre-painted and installed at SLP by one of their competent body men which is why the color is not a spot on match and the finish was generally a little smoother than the rest of the vehicle. 1996-1997 models were sent to SLP with all thier parts intact and recieved their new ones while there. 98-02 cars were shipped to SLP with no rear spoiler and a slave hood and then recieved their new upgraded parts.
Q- I am looking at a 2002 SS, it's black and the seller is telling me that it is a rare 35th Anniversary Model Limited Edition and that there were only a few of them ever made, how rare is this car?
A- About as rare as a $3 dollar bill! There was only one variation of the Limited Edition, and that was the Red with silver checkered flag stripe model. There were no special order black, white, NBM, SOM or any other color for that matter. All of the Anniversary 35th models were Bright Rally Red and all of them were disgnated by the production code
Z4C. So if anyone tells you any different, they are lying!
The Camaro SS could be ordered with all sorts of upgrades ranging from just floor mats, to Bilstein Level II Suspension, Chrome ZR-1 wheels, SLP Grille (01-02 only), Hurst Shifter etc, etc. That was the beauty of dealerships that participated in the SLP Program.
There are more details that I know I forgot to mention so I will add to this as I think of them, this is mainly an identification guide with some good extra information!!