When Chevrolet Wrote the Book, Or at Least the Pamphlet, on Performance

The close of the 1970s wasn’t exactly the high-water mark for performance cars from American manufacturers, yet that didn’t keep automakers from marketing them. In 1979, Chevrolet produced a consumer pamphlet featuring a cover shot of IROC Camaros in competition, with the bold proclamation, “From people who know what performance is all about.” Inside, the GM division touted its range of models aimed at enthusiast buyers, not all of which have stood the test of time.

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The Camaro, in Z28 guise, was the starring attraction, billed (unironically) as “The Ultimate Camaro.” The copy boasted of the Z28’s standard 5.7-liter V-8, complete with a four-barrel carburetor, but one had to read the fine print to learn that the range-topping variant produced just 175 SAE net horsepower, or five hp less for buyers in California. Aesthetically, it came with a rear spoiler, fender gills, dual sport mirrors, aluminum wheels and a “simulated hood scoop,” and while hardly able to deliver the performance advertised by the IROC racers on the cover, at least the 1979 Z28 dressed for the part.

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Oddly enough, the upscale Camaro Berlinetta also received a two-page spread in Chevy’s performance brochure, with ad copy citing its smooth, quiet and “more sophisticated” ride, thanks in part to additional sound insulation and revised (i.e. softer) suspension tuning. Those wondering about engine options would find the chart on the Z28 page, and the Camaro Berlinetta was available with engines ranging from a 4.1-liter inline-six (rated at 115 SAE net horsepower, or 90 hp in California) to a 5.7-liter V-8 (rated at 170 hp in 49 states, or five less in California).

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The brochure’s 1979 Monza Spyder was framed by a shot of a heavily modified road racing Monza, a nod, perhaps, to the car’s competition pedigree. Available with engines ranging from a 90-hp 2.5-liter four to a 130-hp (125 in California) 5.0-liter V-8, the Spyder package included steel-belted radials, a sport suspension, a day/night rearview mirror, a front air dam and rear spoiler, Rally II wheels and sport mirrors. What it didn’t include was a convertible top, making one wonder why Chevrolet would evoke the Spyder name for its Monza 2+2 hatchback and Monza Towne Coupe variants.

No Chevrolet performance literature would be complete without reference to the Corvette, which in 1979 was available with the 195-hp L48 V-8, or, outside of California, the 225-hp L82 V-8. A four-speed manual transmission, or a close-ratio four-speed manual transmission, were available no-charge options for buyers wishing to row their own gears, and Chevrolet produced a record-setting 53,807 Corvettes for the 1979 model year.

The year also saw brisk sales of the El Camino, with 59,008 examples produced (a record for the fifth generation model). It’s not clear how many left the factory in “Royal Knight” guise, a package that played on the popularity of the black and gold Pontiac Trans Am made famous by the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit. Though a trim package only (consisting of a front air dam, sport mirrors, Rally wheels, pinstriping and a pair-of-fire-breathing-dragons hood decal), the Royal Knight would have made the ideal second vehicle for those with a Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am parked in the second garage bay.

Perhaps the brochure’s real concession to performance was its offering of the Chevrolet Power book, complete with specifications, technical data, blueprinting procedures and parts listings needed to perform “off highway” modifications. Not for amateurs (according to the copy, anyway), Chevrolet Power was “for people who know what Chevrolet performance can be.” Even if you couldn’t buy a particularly fast Camaro from your local Chevy dealer, the bowtie brand was still willing to help you build one.

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