[CamaroSpike23]

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. however the 99's did not all have the Y2Y RPO...




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.


The Hurst Shifter was optional on all 96-02 M-6 cars, but nearly all late 2002 models came equiped with them whether it was specified or not as SLP Associates "Tossed on a few freebies" To the later production as the car was being phased out.

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.

35th LE info.
When a Camaro was selected to be made a 35th Anniversary Model, it was given the production code Z4C and also because it was an appearance upgrade as well, they were all given the production code Y2Y. There were 3000 Limited Edition models made for the United States and an addition 166 +/- for Canada.

The Limited Edition was Available with with no second sticker, meaning it could have been delivered with Base Alterations which on the 2002 LE car consisted of the Hood, Spoiler, Machined finish 10 spoke SS wheels and the trophy mat. All the other options were available through the second sticker rule which meant that SLP participating dealerships could have ordered you for an additional cost all the options your heart desires.

35th ann. options:
35th Anniversary Limited Edition
Bilstein Level II Suspension
345 HP Performance Package with Center Mount Exhaust
Auburn High Torque Differential
35th Anniv. Floor Mats
Dash Plaque and Key Fobs
35th Anniv. Car Cover
35th Anniv. Portfolio
Hurst Short Throw Shifter


I'm sure there is something I am forgetting but that is pretty much the crem-dela-crem of options you could get on a 35th Anniversary convertible!

Another fact that you might want to know is that the 35th Anniversary grille (Red and White SS grille) was not available as part of the second sticker option and had to be purchased directly from SLP.

The Limited Edition 35th Anniversary was built in 2001 as early as May and bodied and titled as a 2002. Many of these original prototype cars served as the Brickyard Festival cars and carried the Production code Z7D denoting them as Festival Cars. The original prototypes had a unique dot matrix to the fade in the stripes when compared to later production model cars.


The Camaro SS was never available with the "Sport Appearance Package" because cars that were designate to recieve RPO-Y87 "Sport Appearance" were sent to Magna de Coma to have the body kit installed and would have then had to be shipped back the St. Therese then shipped to SLP Engineering for the SS Upgrade, then back to St. Therese for departure. Therefore as a cost issue, RPO-Y87 was never available for the SS. But there was once exception to the rule, one lucky sumonabitch is driving around in a 2002 SS that accidentally got shipped to Magna de Coma for the Sport Appearance package and that car is truly an accidental one off. That car was shipped to a dealership in California and it's whereabouts are unknown.



and some stuff from da fazzhah himself

Originally Posted by Fbodfather

On a 1996 or 1997 Camaro SS, the option code "R7T" will appear on the inner door decal....(right in the midst of all those other RPO codes)......that was the code that would allow the car to go to SLP.......and be converted to an SS. All 1996 and 1997 Camaro SSs started their lives out as Z28s. ONce they got to SLP, the Z28 wheels/tires/exhaust/suspension/nameplates/spoiler/hood were removed and replaced with SS specific components. (among other things.)

In 1998, the code was changed to WU8 because the SS program came 'in house' meaning that they were built as SSs with exception of the fact that they did not receive ANY spoiler during production...and received a 'slave' hood for protecting the engine from the elements while on their way to SLP for the Hood/spoiler/2nd sticker content.

Now..a few words about Y2Y. As memory serves me, we were told in no uncertain terms (by our financial controls people) that there should be a secondary code (besides WU8) that would tell SLP that there would be 2nd sticker content added to the car. (all second sticker options were added by SLP......and did not have separate "RPO" codes like regular GM options) The problem was that many dealers would forget to add the Y2Y code......and it was causing many problems and upsetting a lot of customers. (so we just 'accidently' changed the 'option string' so that when WU8 was ordered, it forced on "Y2Y".....regardless of whether the car would actually get 2nd sticker options.

Frankly, one of the biggest reasons for 'accidently' doing this was because a dealer might order stock Camaro SSs.......and prior to the car actually being built, it would then allow him or her to send a second sticker order to SLP. \


Now........Z7D......has nothing to do with the 35th Anniversary Cars: some history:......

The 35th LEs were used as Festival Cars at the 2001 Brickyard 400. The first twenty three built have a slightly different dot matrix pattern in their stripes. I cannot off the top of my head tell you exactly how many 35ths were used at the race, but it would have been at least 45. (I have the list at the office and www.35thle can give you your build number.....they also have the list of which cars were actually used at the brickyard)

The First 2002 Camaro built was a 35th LE Convert...VIN 22100001. The second 2002 Camaro built was a 35th LE coupe.....VIN 22100002. Both were used as the unveil cars at Camaros at Carlisle in June of 2001. Both were upfitted with Track Strobes.....and ran a few laps in front of the actual pace car at the race. The convertible remains in the GM Historic Collection. (don't ask me about the coupe........it upsets me too much.....)

OK.......so we used the 35th LE for the 2001 race.........so........what would we do for the 2002 race?

Well.........yours truly decided we needed to do something special.......so we built 57 SS convertibles.......all Sebring Silver with Ebony Leather interiors. But we needed them to look 'special' over and above the Brickyard 400 decals........so an RPO was made up -- "Z7D" which would force the 35th LE WHEELS on these cars......the RPO shows on the window label as "Brickyard 400 Package" 5 or 6 were built with 6 speed manual transmissions.......the rest with automatics. all but one were built on the same day.....April 29 or 30 of 2002 as I recall........the first one was built April 1 as I recall.....it was the 'pilot' car and is owned by Scott Blewitt (who was the project manager on the Camaro Legends Tour throughout that program) (his is also a 6-speed)

I have one of them......has 7,000 miles on the odometer and only goes out in nice weather. It's car number 62 of 57 built. (DON"T ASK!!!!)

Originally Posted by Fbodfather

a couple of final notes on the 35th LE.

there were a total of 3,369 built -- 3,000 for the United States and 369 for Canada. (originally we were to build 152 for Canada -- but they increased the request AFTER the owner portfolio card was printed......)

You can find out which of 3,369 35th LEs yours is by logging onto

www.35thle.com -- as they've been provided with a list of the last 8 digits of the VIN for all 35ths......

As to Second sticker options available -- you could not order all second sticker options -- such as optional wheels. The reasoning is that we wanted a consistent look on all 3,369 cars. I did finally allow the Center Mounted Exhaust to be installed -- because barring some of the 2nd sticker content was impacting SLP's bottom line -- and they'd spent a substantial amount of money validating the CME...........

So......no optional grille - no optional wheels -- but you could get just about everything else in addition to the CME.