Long time 4th Gen Camaro enthusiast. Specifically the 01-02 Camaro SS and GMMG Camaros. I'd love to get back in the hobby but don't know where to begin. I would love to join a 4th Gen F-Body group that is highly active.

Suggestions, websites, forums?

Thanks

 

Here is a good place to start,LS1tech is a great site for info on late 4th gen cars and they have a great classified ad section full of parts.
I've scored some great deals on parts for my '01 SS there.
Sam Strano is a wealth of info being a multi time autocross champ with his 4th gen Camaros and has a site where he sells parts.
Strano Performance Parts - Parts Search
I just bought Strano sway bars and springs and a set of Koni sport shocks.
I picked up NIB UMI tube K-member and A-arms from a member at LS1tech who cancelled a project and lots more stuff.
LS6 heads ,long tube ARH headers,cam etc. all going in May 1st at Welcome to Wong's Performance Engineering


Here's my car pretty much still stock, just custom wheels lowering springs and GMMG chambered exhaust and custom lights.
Lots of changes coming soon! Hope the video works here.

 

thanks y2k.

 

Why has the 4th Generation Camaro popularity died? The hobby seems almost non-existent today in 2017.

 

not dead, just sleeping...

 

4th gens have reached the age that they are no longer dependable daily drivers. only guys that do their own work can really afford to keep one going. I expect the trend to continue, at some point it may reverse but that never really happened with the 3rd gens and they where a LOT more popular. If not for the LS1 I think the 4th gen would have died out faster. of course you have your garage kept babies but as those owners die or get tired to fixing things that are time related failures those will go away also.

Funny how the 4th gens greatest feature may be it biggest down fall. The cheapest way to get the all aluminum LS motor with a 6 speed trans for your hot rod is to buy a 4th gen and strip it. If you watch craigs list you will see shells show up 2 or 3 per year.

I got a ticket the other day and the Cop made a comment that all of a sudden the 4th gens seemed like they disappeared.

 

For the life of me I cannot understand why the late 4th Gen Camaro SS died such a sudden death. Makes NO sense to me. The 01-02 Camaro SS in my opinion was a marvel of engineering, highly underrated Sports Car back then and even today. Add a few bolt-on mods to the 02 SS and you could reach 400hp easily. That is plenty of horsepower, even today. The 5th and 6th gen Camaros dont look so good to me. I don't know why, and those early 2000s GMMG Camaros were unreal beauties, just unreal machines!

How and why the late 4th Gen Camaro SS faded away so quickly is not even comprehensible and my gut says one day theses Camaros will come back and increase in value.

If I had the money back then I would have invested and purchased ten 2002 Camaro SSs and a few GMMG Camaros. Stowed them away in some warehouse the until 2025.

We owe a huge debt to Scott Settlemire and those lat 4th Gen Camaro teams at GM because they truly did an amazing job.

Rant over

 

I like the 4th gen, I own 3 and I see where they went with it BUT it is/was a huge failure. The late 4th gen lost the pony wars that had been raging for the 30 years before. It was never the engineering that failed it was the styling plus GM seem to forget who its market was. It seems they went for a mid range sports car when people wanted a mid range muscle car. How else can you explain the 25% less hp mustang was so successful? I worked for a Parts maker that supplied parts for the 4th gen. The last few years we where making 25-30% of the parts GM estimated they would need. There was a small spike when GM announced they where discontinuing the line but then it went right back to the low levels. The engineering is the only reason the die hard fans have stuck around. Now I can buy a 2010 SS, I will most likely not have to do much to it and under 15K with a styling that is way more accepted. You know who thinks 4th gen camaros are cool? other 4th gen camaro owners. I have a lot of friends that are car guys. Many have 1st and 2nd gens Camaro and one drive a 06 GTO daily. I get a pass on the 4th gen because its a daily driver but none of them would look twice if I put a for sale sign in my 2000 LS1.

I do not think the 4th gens would be a great investment. Car value are based on supply and demand. Most crazy values comes for guys in the 40's and 50's wanting their dream car they wished for in high school. Since the 4th gen was so pricey you saw very few at high schools. There is no way to predict future value but I do not see $7-$8K car doubling in value every 8 years. (which is my minimum for a good investment) Now add in the cost of storage and minimal maintenance you would be way better off with a basic index mutual fund.

 

I agree and with so many getting cannibalized for their drivetrains there will be less and less of them out there. I see values going up on them and 3rd gens too in my area. A clean 4th gen SS is hard to find here for a decent price. I searched for the right car for 6 months before pulling the trigger on mine.

 

Think about it this way. Back in the late 80 early 90's The L98 Z28 was rare and the king of all standard production Camaros (except the ultra rare LE1). To buy one in 97 it would still have cost you around 10K.

To be a good investment

in 2005 it would need to be worth 20K
In 2013 It would need to be worth 40K
In 2021 it would need to be worth 80K

There is no way of know what the L98 car will be worth in 2021 but 20 years later it is barley worth the original purchase price. Now if Brad Pitt said on late night TV that there was nothing cooler then a 1989 L98 Iroc,,, who knows.

Now if you add in the cost of storage. basic up keep and insurance you would really need to add 5,15,40K to the above numbers.

It is pretty rare for cars to be a good investment. Sure you hear tails of guy making a bunch of money on a car but those are the exceptions. For every one guy that made money there is 10 that lost. I bought my 67 in 1998 for $6500 I got lucky I had no way of knowing what was going to happen 2000-2007, I bought cause I loved it.