1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 - Pro Street

(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 on a website other than our Garage Kept Motors site, it's possible that you've only seen some of our many photographs of the car due to third-party website limitations. To be sure you access all the more than 155 photographs, as well as a short start-up and walk-around video, please go to our main website: Garage Kept Motors.)

David Freiburger, the Editor In Chief of HOT ROD and HOT ROD Deluxe, on the definition of “Pro Street:”

“A Pro Street car must be drag-racing oriented and have wheel tubs under the back end that allow for oversized, very wide tires to be fit under the stock body. That's fact. As for my opinion, a Pro Street car is typically also stock bodied and ostensibly street driven. When the style originated in the mid to late '70s, it was inspired by the NHRA drag racing Pro Stock class of the mid '70s, hence where the 'Pro' in Pro Street came from. Scott Sullivan's Nova that debuted at the 1979 Car Craft Street Machine Nationals is often cited as the first Pro Street car, but the look was used earlier on street-driven cars that used actual Pro Stock suspension setups….”

Offered here is a 1978 Camaro Z28 Pro Street build in brown over black. Showing 72,623 miles on its odometer, or fewer than 1,700 miles per-year since new, it's been a lightly used Camaro. Of course, the most exciting of those miles were accumulated in quarter-mile increments since the Pro Street build was completed.

The Z28's copper-brown-metallic custom exterior paint is the work of professionals. The color flashes hints of bronze in different lighting situations. The finish is evenly glossy across the car, including the high-rise, cowl-induction hood, with some light patina on the front bumper. Wide, Z28-style, hood- and rear-deck stripes in a “ghosted” execution are a subtle highlight. There is no damage to any sheet metal. (To best assess the quality of the paint and trim finishes, be sure to view the close-up photographs of the car in the accompanying gallery.) Matte-black front grilles, headlight trim, and rear valance inset add a purposeful look. Cabin glass and all stock lighting lenses are clear and free of cracks. A sole “Z28” emblem is present on the rear (so competing cars will know for sure what car they just lost to). Weld Racing® 8-hole, chrome, dish-style wheels are mounted with Kelly® all-season radials 165/R15 86S in front with Mickey Thompson ET Street P275/60 racing slicks in the rear. CalTracs® traction bars are mounted on the rear axle.

Inside, the stock Z28 look in black has been largely maintained with the addition of performance equipment, instrumentation, and controls. Seat upholstery in vertically pleated black vinyl is in very good, damage-free condition with some looseness from age. Black door trim echoes the seat-upholstery design, and black carpeting (with rubber floor mats in front) covers the cabin floors. A reduced-size, 4-spoke, wood-rim Grant® GT steering wheel frames the stock instrument cluster with 130-mph speedometer augmented by an AutoMeter® SportComp 8,000-rpm tachometer (showing a 5,000-rpm redline) mounted on the steering column in front of the stock tach. Toggle-switch NOS system controls and indicator lights are mounted on the center dash, and a JVC® audio head unit replaces the factory radio. SunPro® monitoring gauges for coolant temperature, voltage output, and oil pressure are mounted forward on the console ahead of the drag-shift lever for the automatic transmission.

Under the hood is the all-business, 355 sbc V8. Low-restriction, racing exhaust headers, Dart®-branded, black-finish valve covers, and steel-braided fuel lines with fuel-pressure gauge all combine to reinforce the performance potential. (Be sure to sample the engine music in the linked walk-around video.) Viewed from below, the chassis is complete and undamaged. The high-performance dual-exhaust system (emptying ahead of the rear axle) is a visual focal point.

The car's original build and identification tags remain mounted.

While the more than 155 high-definition photographs and the short walk-around-and-startup video available on the GarageKeptMotors website showcase this '78 Z28 in detail from every angle, including from below, we expect and encourage in-person inspections at our Grand Rapids, Michigan showroom. Please call to arrange an appointment in advance as our showroom is not open to the public. And feel free to get in touch anytime by phone or email if you have questions.

If you agree the best way to measure your life is in quarter-mile increments, this well-executed Pro Street Z28 could very well be your ticket to ride.