Hello All...thought some of you might find this information interesting. Car Life magazine has been defunct for probably 40 years, so I don't believe this runs afoul of any copyright laws. Anyway, Car Life ran an interesting article in their March 1967 issue where they compared an SS-RS 350 with a 4 speed and 3.55 rear-end to a plain coupe with a 250-6 with a 3 speed manual trans. (column shifter) and a 3.31 rear-end. Both cars had manual steering, and drum brakes all around. As tested weight (with driver and fuel) on the V8 was listed as 3,620 lbs. vs. 3,408 lbs for the 6. Weight distribution for the V8 was 58/42 front-to-rear, and 55/45 for the 6. Spring rates in lb./in. for the V8 were 125/131 front-to-rear, and 124/121 for the 6. Acceleration in seconds 0-30 mph (V8 listed first) was 2.9 vs. 4.8, 0-60 was 7.8 vs. 11.4, 0-80 was 12.8 vs. 21.7, and the 1/4 mile times/speeds were 15.8 @ 89 mph vs. 18.5 @ 75 mph. The author noted that acceleration times for the 6 would have improved with a floor shift instead of the balky column shift. Fuel economy was 16-19 mpg for the V8, and 19-22 mpg for the 6. Braking for both cars was virtually identical from 80-0 mph at 21 ft. per second, although the V8 exhibited slight fading on the first stop and noticeable fading on the 2nd stop (the 6 showed no fading on either stop). The author said, "The more equal weight distribution of the six cylinder car manifested itself in good cornering and handling characteristics, less rear wheelspin under acceleration, and better braking action. Camaro's inherent understeer was notably less less in the big six than in the SS 350 version". The author preferred the basic interior to the "chrome splotched" environment of the SS, and concluded that the Camaro with a 6 constituted "quite a bargain in on-the-road performance, paritcularly at $839.00 less than the SS".
