1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Indy 500 Pace Car Edition — Cross-Fire Injection, T-Tops, Numbers-Matching Drivetrain


Why This Car Is Special

The 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Indy 500 Pace Car Edition sits at one of the more interesting crossroads in American automotive history. This was the first full model year for the third-generation Camaro, a car that Chevrolet had been developing under enormous pressure to modernize the platform after a decade on the second-gen body. The result was a car that Motor Trend named Car of the Year for 1982 — a significant achievement for a pony car at a time when the segment was struggling under tightening emissions regulations and fuel economy mandates.

What makes this particular 1982 Camaro Z28 even more significant is the Indy 500 Pace Car designation. Chevrolet was selected to pace the 66th running of the Indianapolis 500, held on May 30, 1982, and the Z28 was the car chosen for the job. To commemorate that honor, Chevrolet produced a limited number of Pace Car replica editions for public sale. These cars were built with a specific two-tone silver and blue exterior color scheme, matching Pace Car decals, and an Indianapolis Speedway license plate — all of which are present and accounted for on this example. The interior carried the Indianapolis 500 badge on the dash, and the headrests were embroidered with the Z28 logo in the factory's distinctive multi-color thread pattern.

Under the hood, this car carries the engine that defined the Z28 in 1982 and generated a good deal of discussion at the time: the Cross-Fire Injection 5.0-liter V8. This was Chevrolet's first serious attempt at throttle-body fuel injection on a performance V8, using two throttle body injectors mounted in a cross-ram configuration on a tuned intake manifold. The system was technically ambitious for its era, and it was exclusive to the Z28 and the Corvette that year. It is a historically significant engine, and this car wears its Cross-Fire Injection badging on both the exterior and under the hood as it left the factory.

Pace Car editions from 1982 are increasingly difficult to find with their original decals intact, their Indy license plate still on the car, and the correct silver-over-blue two-tone paint scheme all accounted for. This one has it all.


Features List

- Cross-Fire Injection 5.0L V8 engine
- Automatic transmission
- Indy 500 Pace Car Edition
- Cross-Fire Injection badging (exterior and engine)
- Z28 badging
- Dual exhaust
- T-Tops
- Factory hood scoop
- Pace Car decals
- Indianapolis Speedway license plate
- Power windows
- Power locks
- Power steering
- Power brakes
- Center console
- Tachometer
- Sport wheels
- Air conditioning


Mechanical

The 1982 Camaro Z28 Pace Car is powered by the LU5 Cross-Fire Injection 5.0-liter V8, a 305 cubic inch engine rated at 165 horsepower from the factory. That number looks modest by modern standards, but in the context of 1982 — when carbureted V8s in performance cars were being choked down to meet emissions targets — the Cross-Fire Injection system represented a genuine engineering step forward. Rather than a single four-barrel carburetor, the system used two throttle body injectors mounted at opposing ends of the intake manifold in a cross-ram layout, with each injector feeding the opposite bank of cylinders. The result was more consistent fuel delivery than a carburetor could provide, which improved both throttle response and emissions compliance simultaneously.

The engine is backed by an automatic transmission and sends power to the rear wheels through a dual exhaust system that exits cleanly at the tail. The undercarriage photos show a floor that has been coated and is structurally solid, which is exactly what you want to see on a Florida car of this age. The suspension on the third-generation Z28 used front MacPherson struts and a rear torque arm setup — a significant departure from the second-gen's more traditional front subframe design — and it g