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Car Of The Day: December 22, 2009; Kenner Fast 111's '80 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 Estate
Topic Started: Dec 22 2009, 03:40 AM (502 Views)
Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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Today's car of the day is Kenner Fast 111's' "1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 Estate".

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Wikipedia
 
The Second Generation Chevrolet Camaro was introduced to market in February 1970 and remained in production for 12 years. This generation's styling, inspired in part by Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Ferrari, was longer, lower, and wider than the first generation Camaro. A convertible body-type was no longer available. Although it was an all-new car, the basic mechanical layout of the new Camaro was familiar, engineered much like its predecessor with a unibody structure utilizing a front subframe, A-arm and coil spring front suspension, and rear leaf springs.

The Second Generation Camaro was developed without the rush of the First Generation and benefited from a greater budget in light of the success of the First Generation. The chassis and suspension of the second generation were greatly refined in both performance and comfort; base models offered significant advances in sound-proofing, ride isolation, and road-holding. Extensive experience Chevrolet engineers had gained racing the first-generation led directly to advances in second-generation Camaro steering, braking, and balance. General Motors engineers have said that these efforts made the second generation much more of "A Driver's Car" than its predecessor. Although it began its run with a number of high performance configurations, as the 1970s progressed, the Camaro grew less powerful, succumbing, like many production cars of the era, to the pressures of tightening emissions regulations and a fuel crisis. Major styling changes were made in 1974 and 1978; 1981 was the final model year for the second generation.


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For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Camaro_(second_generation)

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Aside from the fact that this is a Camaro station wagon, the casting itself is not horrible. Albeit, with no hood scoop it is definitely not a Z-28. And let's face it, wagons never get much respect in diecast, so even a fantasy wagon is better than none (and Pontiac did make a pair of Firebird wagon concepts that toured heavily in the late 1970s, which may have been the inspiration for this). I can overlook this, easily. What I cannot overlook is Kenner's novelty rear bumpers. Yes, the license plates were a great idea. But not at the expense of giving every single vehicle in their lineup a Dodge Monaco-esque rear bumper. It looks especially ridiculous on the Mustang, Corvette, and Firebird, all of which have their regular taillights directly above the fake ones. Despite these glaring faults, Kenner Fast 111's have charm in spades, and we may see more in COTD at a future date, as this is far from the only one in my collection. On a side note, here's a link to the Firebird shooting brakes:

http://www.indiemonkey.com/firebird/

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Wikipedia
 
The 1978 model featured new soft front and rear bumpers and much larger taillights. To go along with this new bumper, Chevrolet also gave the feature of a body kit to lower the front nose. Some of these body kits even featured sideskirts as well. This was also the first year the T-top — a t-bar roof with dark tinted glass lift-out panels — became available as an option. RS models differed from the rest of the lineup with a unique standard 2-tone paint and striping scheme. With record sales of 272,633, the 1978 model outsold the 1969 model, the previous one year sales champ. This year was the last year for the Type LT also. With dealership packages you could order a Type LT with a RS option and a Z28 option so you could possibly have a Type LT RS Z28.

The biggest changes for 1979 were the introduction of the luxury-oriented Berlinetta model, replacing the Type LT, and a restyled instrument panel with a much flatter appearance than the previous wraparound design (although the gauges themselves remained in the same places as before). The base model, RS and Z28s carried on as before, the Z28s now came with a front spoiler and fender flares much like its Pontiac Trans Am twin had, and now came with "Z28" decals that ran from the beginning of the front flares to the bottoms of the doors. Electric rear window defroster became optional this year, replacing the old blower type. Sales for 1979 were the highest ever for any generation Camaro before or since, numbering 282,571 units. Engine choices remained with the 250 I6 standard in the base and RS models, with the 305 2bbl being an option and standard on the Berlinetta. The 350 V8 remained standard on the Z28 and optional on the base, RS and Berlinetta.

For 1980 the aged 250 cid (4.1 L) inline-six was replaced with a 229 cid (3.8 L) V6, 231 cid (3.8 L) in California. The 120 hp (4.4 L) V8 became an option on the base, RS and Berlinetta models this year. The Z28 hood included a rear-pointing raised scoop ( air induction) with a solenoid operated flap which opened at full throttle, allowing the engine to breathe cooler air. Speedometers now read 85 mph (137 km/h), down from 130. Z28s had new optional grey 5-spoke rims (later used on the 1986-1988 Monte Carlo SS) , a unique style upper and lower front grill and smaller revised graphics on its lower-door decals. The side scoops were also changed from a louvered design to a flatter one with a single opening. The 350 V8 was no longer available in the base, RS or Berlinetta models, being reserved only for the Z28 this year.

The 1981 model was nearly unchanged from 1980 and would be the last model year for the second generation Camaro. The Z28 was still powered by a 350 cubic-inch V8, however due to new emissions regulations the engine was now equipped with a CCC (Computer Command Control) unit for the first time. This predecessor to modern engine control modules had an oxygen sensor, an electronically controlled carburetor, a throttle position sensor, coolant sensors, a barometric pressure sensor, a manifold absolute Pressure sensor (MAP), and a check engine light on the dash. The transmission was now equipped with a lockup torque converter, controlled by the CCC as well. The CCC could also be used as a self diagnostic tool. However, as the goal of this change was strictly emissions reduction, horsepower dropped dramatically, to 175 horsepower (130 kW). Moreover, that engine was now only available with an automatic transmission and those who preferred the four-speed stick had to opt for the smaller 165-horsepower 305, which was the only engine offered in Z28s sold in California, and then only with an automatic. Canadian models, however, could still get the 350 and 4-speed combination, and were not equipped with a CCC. Canadian 1981 Camaros were thus identical to 1980 US model. RS models were dropped this year, but the RS designation would reappear in 1989. Total production had dropped down to 126,139 from a high of 282,571 in 1979, partially due to the performance loss, and partially due to potential would-be buyers awaiting the all-new third-generation Camaro set for 1982 introduction.


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james_autos
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Minivan
Never seen one. Looks horendous.
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craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

Two Words : Derby Bait.
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bangerkid45
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Ultimate American Banger Enthusiast!
james_autos
Dec 22 2009, 03:56 AM
Looks horendous.
100% agreed James! I have one lined up for the CARnival banger race, I bought mine for 25 cents, even then I dont think it is worth that much!
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JustDavid
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SUV
I used to have several Fast 111s in my collection...I only bought them for the license plates, then crashed 'em.
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Sak
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Ezekiel 25:17
Whoever designed this idiocy really should've listened to Nancy Reagan, and...

JUST SAID NO!
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
We love this thread because it is so horrible.

Let's take this casting, as I would, and JAMES AUTO would, and strip it, repaint it, detail it, and VOILA!!!
It still looks like rubbish. Another good choice, SWIFTY!
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slythorne
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Micro Czar
I actually like Fast 111's :P I had a lot of them in my toybox growing up. They were not afraid to do something different.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
slythorne
Dec 22 2009, 10:38 PM
I actually like Fast 111's :P I had a lot of them in my toybox growing up. They were not afraid to do something different.
I admit, I too have a big soft spot for them. I do try and fill the gaps in on my collection (they only made 39 models, in about two colors each), so getting the whole set is not impossible (albeit I only focus on the real cars and leave the fantasy cars alone). The best part? They can be had dirt cheap!
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James
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Mr.Bowtie
A Camaro Station Wagon, I want one, real bad........Presents to whomever sends one to me first.....
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jedimario
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RAWR
I think "Camaro Shooting Brake" would be more appropriate, but it ain't no Porsche.
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