Chevrolet’s Camaro Z28 engines span nearly half a century, from an exclusive 302 to a 7.0-liter V8 from the Corvette. Along the way, the Z28 lost power to emissions rules and won it back with fuel injection. It also dropped out of the lineup more than once.

Here are the 10 V8s in order. Each rating below is tied to its model year and to the source that reports it. Also, we leave a number out where sources disagree.

1. 302 V8 (1967–1969)

The first Z28 was a regular production option, RPO Z28, built around an exclusive 302-cubic-inch V8. Chevrolet rated it at 290 horsepower, but it “easily hit 350 on a dynamometer,” according to Autotrader Classics’ history of the Z28’s first 25 years.

Chevrolet built only 602 cars in 1967, Autotrader says. Similarly, Jalopnik’s Z/28 history gives the same 602 for the first year. Then sales took off. Autotrader counts 7,199 for 1968, and in 1969 the Z28 outsold Ford’s Boss 302 by 20,302 units to 1,628.

2. LT-1 350 (1970–1972)

For the second-generation car, Chevrolet moved to 350 cubic inches. Hagerty’s Camaro history says the second-generation Z28 used the Corvette’s solid-lifter LT-1 350. Autotrader rates it at 360 horsepower and 380 lb-ft, and Jalopnik gives the same figures.

However, the numbers fell quickly. Autotrader counts 8,733 Z28s for 1970. For 1971 it lists 330 gross hp, or 275 net. Then for 1972 it lists 255 hp, with production down to 2,575 cars.

3. L82 350 (1973–1974)

For 1973, Hagerty says, the Z28 switched to the hydraulic-cam L82. As a result, the solid lifters were gone. Autotrader puts net output at 245 hp that year, and Wikipedia’s second-generation Camaro history gives the same 245.

Even so, sales rose. Autotrader counts 11,574 Z28s for 1973 and 13,802 for 1974, and Wikipedia agrees on the 13,802. Then the option ended, and there were no Z28s in 1975 and 1976, both sources say.

4. LM1 350 four-barrel (1977½–1981)

The Z28 came back in the spring of 1977 as its own model, a 1977½, according to Wikipedia. Its engine was the LM1 350 with a four-barrel carburetor. Autotrader and Jalopnik both rate it at 185 horsepower. Autotrader counts 14,349 cars for 1977, while Wikipedia says around 13,000.

After that, the 350 stayed through the end of the second generation. For 1980, Wikipedia says the 350 was available only on the Z28. By 1981, most U.S. Z28s used the 350 with an automatic, rated at 175 hp. Meanwhile, California and manual-transmission buyers got a 305 instead.

5. LU5 Cross-Fire Injection 305 (1982–1983)

The third-generation Z28 arrived for 1982 with a carbureted 305 as standard, rated at 145 hp, according to Autotrader and Jalopnik. Above it sat the LU5, which used a Cross-Fire throttle-body injection system. All three sources, Hagerty included, rate the 1982 LU5 at 165 hp.

Autotrader adds that the LU5 came only with the automatic. Meanwhile, Autotrader counts 64,882 regular Z28s plus 6,360 pace-car replicas. According to Wikipedia’s third-generation Camaro history, Chevrolet dropped the LU5 for 1984.

6. L69 5.0 High Output (1983–1986)

In April 1983, Chevrolet added the L69, a carbureted 5.0-liter “High Output” V8, Wikipedia says. Autotrader, Jalopnik, Hagerty and Wikipedia all rate it at 190 horsepower.

That beat the 1982 LU5’s 165 hp, even though the L69 used a four-barrel carburetor instead of injection. Sales kept climbing, too. Autotrader says Z28 sales reached 100,899 units in 1984, and Wikipedia says 1986 was the final year for the L69.

7. LB9 Tuned Port Injection 305 (1985–1992)

Tuned Port Injection arrived in 1985, Hagerty says. According to Autotrader, the TPI engine made 215 horsepower and was available only in Z28s. Wikipedia also gives the same 215 for the 1985 LB9. That year also brought the IROC-Z, which Autotrader calls “the deluxe edition of the Z28.”

Wikipedia lists TPI 305 ratings through 1992, when the third generation ended. Along the way, the Z28 badge vanished in 1988, when the IROC-Z took over, and it returned for 1991, Autotrader says. The larger 350 TPI, by contrast, went only into IROC-Z coupes.

8. LT1 5.7 (1993–1997)

The fourth-generation Z28 used the 5.7-liter LT1 V8, rated at 275 horsepower, according to Wikipedia’s fourth-generation Camaro history. Hagerty also gives 275 horsepower for the generation’s 5.7-liter V8.

Jalopnik notes that 633 buyers paid $995 extra for the 1993 Indy pace car edition. Wikipedia says the higher-output Z28 SS followed in 1996.

9. LS1 5.7 aluminum (1998–2002)

A 1998 restyle brought “the aluminum LS1,” Hagerty says. Wikipedia also describes the LS1 as an all-new 5.7-liter V8 with an aluminum block and iron sleeves, which replaced the LT1.

Sources disagree on the LS1’s rating, so we leave it out. Instead, the record on the end date is clear. Wikipedia says the final fourth-generation Camaro was built on August 27, 2002, and the Z28 then disappeared until 2014.

10. 7.0-liter LS7 (2014), the biggest of the Camaro Z28 engines

When the Z28 returned, it used the 7.0-liter LS7, a 427-cubic-inch V8 from the Corvette. EngineLabs reported that the engine used dry-sump oiling with a 10.5-quart reservoir and titanium connecting rods.

According to Consumer Guide, the 2014 Camaro Z28 came only with a close-ratio six-speed manual. It also carried a $75,000 price, including a $995 destination charge.

More from Fast Lane Only

• Unboxing the WWII Jeep in a Crate
• 15 rare Chevys collectors are quietly buying
• 10 underrated V8s still worth hunting down
• Police notice this before you even roll window down

This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.