[tim muscio]

I have a 68 camaro ss and I was wondering if you can tell me if this car is really an ss by the vin and cowl tag. vin# 124378n309932
cowl 09c
68-12437 nor 9990
721 yy
car has 3/8 original fuel line, brake-proportioning valve on frame under drivers door,finned drum front brakes,was some type of manual trans, spedometer cable comes out left side of steering column,has small block heater cover, tic-toc-tach and counsel gauges with custom interior

[DOUG G]

I belive you have a V8 car,not a6cyl. as you thought,due to the 124(first three digits)but also as I understand all ss,rs,and z's came with front disc brakes....but I could be wrong...
hope I was correct.

Doug

[Kurt S]

From the VIN, a V8 car. From the cowl tag: built 3rd week of Sept (09C), Butternut Yellow, gold deluxe interior.

Disc brakes were only required on the Z28 in 68.
The big hint is that it's a manual trans car with the speedo cable on the left (drivers) side of the st. column. That means it wasn't a Muncie so it's not an SS car.
Could be either a LF7 (base V8) or a L30 (275 hp).
10 bolt or 12 bolt rear? Gauges were available on any V8.

Take a look at http://www.camaros.org/diffs68.shtml and http://www.camaro-untoldsecrets.com/spotlite2.htm for more info.

[tim muscio]

kurt thanks for the info in looking up these pages it appears that in the L48 option ss that it could have an M13, M15, or an M35 which had the spedo cable exit left of the steering column. it is a 12 bolt rear end posi with 308 gears. by the way is there any way to get a build sheet for these vehicles i have already tried chevrolet customer assistance.

[Dave Birdwell]

Kurt- Weren't the finned drums part of the SS package??

[Kurt S]

Tim, I apologize. Thankfully you looked at our page closer than I did! Yup, could be a 3speed manual in an SS. So, the question is, is the 12 bolt original. What's the code stamped on the front side of the passenger axle tube (eg BU1003 G1)?

What's the pattern on the console? 3 or 4 spd (though this is easy to change)?

No documentation available, from anyone. Time to chase down original owners via title searches.

Dave, I don't know about drum brakes. I will ask though.

[tim muscio]

Kurt,thanks again. The axle code is bu0220g2 which looks like a 3.73 locking rear end but I don't know what the numbers mean. I will start a title search hopefully without to much problem because of the new privacy law.
The console is for an automatic, it has a turbo 400 in the car but under the carpeting the floor board appears to have been cutout for a manual trans looks factory.

[elcamino]

According to the chevy parts catalog the code BU is for a 1968 Camaro. The rest is the dates.

BU=positraction 3.73 ratio
02=Month of Feb
20 day
G=Plant produced=Chevrolet Gear & Axle
2=2nd shift

[Kurt S]

Tim,
The BU axle code was used in both 68 and 69. There's a date code with year cast into the center section.
With a Feb 20 build date, this rearend is not original to the car. So one less clue.

In the current condition, you may be hard pressed to determine your cars original configuration without prior owner help.

Also, I'm pretty sure that all 68's had finned front drums.

[This message has been edited by Kurt S (edited 05-03-99).]

[tim muscio]

does the sept. build date on this car mean built in 1967 or 1968? I know that currently the build date would indicate built in 67 but I don't know if they used the same month break of for production back in those years.

[Kurt S]

Built 3rd week of Sept (09C) of 67. It's an early 68 car.

[Rich Fields]

From the clues shown so far, the matches
would be to a L30/M20 or 3-speed SS350.
Only remaining significant tiebreaking
clues would be the glovebox sticker and
the hood springs.

Rich Fields