The second-generation Camaro is one of the more unique looking musclecars available. They are unmistakable with their available split front bumper, long front end, and big oval grille. They also had some impressive performance offerings such as the big-block L78 396 cubic-inch engine, four-speed manual transmission, and a Positraction rearend.

As if they weren’t powerful enough, it isn’t uncommon to see extra-large engines and extensive performance updates on these cars. While you may not have any intentions of changing anything, there are still some that want to know what the car was like brand new. Lucky for us, the VIN and cowl tag on your car can tell you anything you want to know.

The Vin

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Let’s start by looking at the VIN using 1973 as our example. Starting in 1972, the VIN even includes an engine code that tells you what engine your car had from the factory. The VIN can be found on the driver’s side dash under the windshield, and is easily seen from the outside of the car. A sample VIN would be something like: 1S87T3N182396.

Breaking this down, we get: 1-S-87-T-3-N-100253. The 1 at the beginning designates Chevrolet, the S tells us the model is LT, 87 means two-door coupe, and T tells us this car is a Z28 with a 350 cubic-inch engine. The N means it was built at the Norwood, Ohio, plant, and the last six digits are the sequence number starting at 100001. This would have been the 253 Camaro produced that year.

By The Numbers

Digit One, Manufacturer:

• 1 – Chevrolet

Digit Two, Model:

• Q – Sports Coupe
• S – LT

Digits Three and Four, Body Style:

• 87 – Two-door coupe

Digit Five, Engine:

• D – 250 cubic-inch, 110 horsepower
• F – 307 cubic-inch, 115 horsepower
• H – 350 cubic-inch, 145 horsepower
• K – 350 cubic-inch. 175 horsepower
• T – 350 cubic-inch, 245 horsepower

Digit Six, Year:

• 3 – 1973

Digits seven through thirteen are the sequence number starting at 100001.

The Cowl Tag

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The cowl tag is located under the hood, on the upper right corner of the cowl. This tag is significantly more complicated than the VIN, but at the same time, is less complicated than most other cars. A cowl tag has roughly 32 characters for you to decode. A sample cowl tag will look something like this:

The top line can be broken down into four basic sections: 73-1FQ87-N-158854. The first two digits represent the year, the second five digits are a model description, the N is the Norwood, Ohio, assembly plant, and the last six digits are the Fisher Body sequence number. The model number itself can be broken into five parts, 1-F-Q-87. 1 for Chevrolet, F for Camaro, Q for sport coupe, and 87 for hardtop.

The second line can be broken down into 777-A51-97-97. The first three digits tell us the car had green vinyl interior, the second three digits are the same on all Camaros, and tells us that it has bucket seats. The last digits tell us the exterior color scheme. In this case, 97-97 means medium orange bottom and medium orange top.

The third line is broken down into its two sections: 05B and Z28. The first three digits are the date code, 05 for May and B for second week. The last three digits are exactly what they look like, it is the Z28 exterior trim option. .

By The Numbers

Line One –

Digits One and Two, Year:

• 70 – 1970
• 71 – 1971
• 72 – 1972
• 73 – 1973

Digit Three, Manufacturer:

• 1 – Chevrolet

Digit Four, Model:

• F – Camaro

Digit Five, Style:

• Q – Sports Coupe
• S – LT

Digits Six and Seven, Body:

• 87 – Hardtop

Digit Seven, Assembly Plant:

• N – Norwood, Ohio

Digits eight through fourteen are the Fisher Body sequence number, and do not relate to the sequence number on the VIN.

Line Two –

Digits One through Three, Interior Color:

• 773 – Black vinyl, LT model
• 774 – Black with blue cloth
• 775 – Black vinyl standard
• 776 – Black with white cloth
• 777 – Green vinyl
• 778 – Saddle vinyl
• 779 – Neutral vinyl
• 780 – Chamois vinyl
• 781 – Black with green cloth, LT model
• 785 – Black with white cloth, LT model
• 786 – Black with blue cloth, LT model
• 788 – Neutral vinyl, LT model

Digits Four Through Six, Seats:

• A51 – Buckets (all cars)

Digits Seven through Ten, Color Codes:

• 11 – Antique White
• 24 – Light Blue
• 26 – Dark Blue
• 29 – Midnight Blue
• 42 – Dark Green
• 44 – Light Green
• 48 – Midnight Green
• 51 – Light Yellow
• 56 – Chamois
• 60 – Light Copper
• 64 – Silver
• 68 – Dark Brown
• 74 – Dark Red
• 75 – Medium Red
• 97 – Medium Orange
• A – White vinyl top
• B – Black vinyl top
• D – Medium Blue vinyl top
• F – Medium Chamois vinyl top
• G – Medium Green vinyl top
• H – Red vinyl top
• T – Light Neutral vinyl top

*Note: the first two digits are the lower color and the second two digits – or letter, are the upper color of the car.

Third Line –

Digits one and two are the month in two digits form, 01 is January, 02 is February, 10 is October.

Digits Four through Six, Exterior Trim Code:

• Z28 – Z28

Digits Seven through Nine, Striping:

• NONE – No striping
• ZR8 – White Stripe
• YF8 – Black Stripe