Anyone know the easiest way to decode my Camaro Convertible? I don't have any paperwork except the VIN which in 1968 only confirms it was a V8 and therefore could be a 327 RS. It has a non orginal 350 motor and is heavily optioned with disc brakes, auto, pw, tic toc tac.

Thanks in advance.

Does it have a 12 bolt differential?

I have no idea, how would I check?

Go to the back of the car and count the bolts in the middle of the rear differential. If you have 12, it's a good sign the car might be an SS. Also disk brakes in '68 were very rare. Most SS cars had power drum brakes. Does it have an SS hood?

yes has the SS hood and thought disc breaks were more common with the SS?

In '69, power disk brakes were part of the SS package but in '68, they were only mandatory on the Z/28. In '68, you could even get non-powered disk brakes! Does your car by any chance have the houndstooth seats with headrests?

has the houndstooth seats, but no headrests. I also don't think they are original as the VIN says it was a white car with red interior

Does the car need a resto or is the paint nice? I ask because you should sand down the front header panel/fenders for any sign of the SS stripe package. If the car was built in late '67, it should have the stripe that wrapped around the nose. If it was built after November of '67 (roughly), it will have come from the factory with the stripe that started on the front nose and then worked it's way back along the doors. A white car would have had black stripes.

The car is fully restored and now has a stripe. I assume the only way to know is the differential?

Well unfortunately the diff will not confirm anything because someone could have put it in there and some L30 cars which are not SS's also came with a 12 bolt.

Was the car built in California? If so, you might want to drop the gas tank and pray there's a build sheet on top of it.

good idea. Thanks for all your advice.

Post a picture of it here if there is one and we can tell you everything about your car. Good luck!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14275316@N02/1454970740/

Hood springs are another simple thing to check. SS hoods got springs with 28 coils, standard are 26. They can be changed, but they often get overlooked when cloning.

If the rear is a 12-bolt, the casting number (on the webbing on the center section) is right for 68, and the assembly date (ratio and assemby coding is stamped into the front side of the passenger axle tube), chances are good. Some L30 327 cars got 12-bolts, but that was with the M20 4-speed only, so if it's an original Glide with an original 12-bolt, it was at least an SS350 car.

I can't remember the clues for an original dual exhaust 68. Rivnuts on the left frame rail?

In '68, you could even get non-powered disk brakes!
Nope. In 68, all disks were power. In 67, you could get manual disks.


Get the axle and trans codes and post them and the cowl tag & VIN info.
http://www.camaros.org/drivetrain.shtml#RearAxleNumbers

Nope. In 68, all disks were power. In 67, you could get manual disks.


Care to make a freindly wager my friend? ;)

I'll take that wager.
On Camaros, J52 (discs) included J50 (power assist) in 68. We did a bunch of research to confirm this.
See, it's here on the web, http://www.camaros.org/suspen.shtml#Brakes, so it's guaranteed to be true. :) :) ;)

Ohhh a money thing , i wanna know who wins and if no picture it didnt happen

Hi guys I'm new to the site , but I have owned several Camaros , all 68s . I currently have a 68 that I recently bought and was told that it was a SS , but several things point to it not being one and I am investigating further into that . That is not why I posted , I owned a true 68 SS that I sold in 2000 , Corvette Bronze , 350 , PG , 12 bolt ect... , but while restoring it I came across a interesting thing in my assembly manual . The small block SS cars had a brass block in the brake line that was located about the middle of the drivers door and bolted to the side of the subfame . The page that it was on was in the SS350 section and had a drawing noting the difference between the 327 and the 350 cars with the 327 cars being straightlined and not having this block at this point . My 68 SS had this block . This is not written in stone but may be another piece of the puzzle in determining true linage of these cars . I will scan this page and post it for ya'lls enjoyment . Terry

Hi Terry,

It is not conclusive when identifying a true SS since any car that came with disk brakes, came with the brass block. Someone with a 6 sylinder and power disk brakes would have had that block as well.

Read this: http://www.camaros.org/TopicsofResearch.shtml#Multi-YearResearchTopics

Hi Terry,

It is not conclusive when identifying a true SS since any car that came with disk brakes, came with the brass block. Someone with a 6 sylinder and power disk brakes would have had that block as well.

Not true. It was used more with the 12 bolt axle. But we've seen cars with 10 bolts and manual drums that have the valve.

Hi Terry,

It is not conclusive when identifying a true SS since any car that came with disk brakes, came with the brass block. Someone with a 6 sylinder and power disk brakes would have had that block as well.

Not true. It was used more with the 12 bolt axle. But we've seen cars with 10 bolts and manual drums that have the valve.


Kurt, are you saying that some power disk brake cars in '68 did not come with the block? That's what I was saying.

Kurt, are you saying that some power disk brake cars in '68 did not come with the block? That's what I was saying.

You said: "...since any car that came with disk brakes, came with the brass block."

That is not incorrect. Lotsa cars that came with disc brakes did not have the subframe brake valve.

And the other relevant statement is the not all cars with a 12 bolt had a subframe brake valve.

It's a topic that is confusing and you can't make absolute statements about. ;)

Ok guys , point taken . Learn new things everyday and I try to soak up every little tidbit of info about First Gen. cars that I can . The 68 SS that I was refering to was a low option non-power drum brake car with a 12-bolt . I came to my uninformed conclusion about the pressure regulator valve because it was in the UPC-L48 section of the assembly manual , which is the V-8 Engine 350 section and refered back to the UPC-5 (Rear brake lines) section for the remainder of the BL install . The 68 SS small block came with the 350 , so I ........ wait for it ........ ASSUMED that there was a corelation between the 350 (SS) and the pressure regulator valve , IE 350/PRV = SS , see ? But I stand corrected . Anyway , I had a heck of a time scanning these pages (problem with my printer) , so I'm going to post them anyway .LOL Terry
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b62/sheby2/10-1-2007104308PM.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b62/sheby2/10-1-2007104422PM.jpg