The 30th :)

[phoenix_rising]

I like the roll bar a lot. It adds another dimension to the look of a vert.

[1fstss]

car is a legit 30th, it is SLP #455 30th #80 i dont have the original 16 inch ZR1's but these LS1 10 spokes have grown on me. most here know, this isnt my 1st 97 SS car is making 12psi right now, but ill be upping it as soon as the ups guy gets here. the back panel is the Berger panel, not painted. but as for the 13.49, most tracks wont bother you, my old SS was solid 12's and it was a vert, they never said a word.

[Bad_Z28]

Car came a long ways, glad to see it's running strong!

[s.reef]

love that car, saw it for sale last year and was really thinking about it...but its in good hands now

[WMCC Doug]

the back panel is the Berger panel, not painted.

Can you explain what you mean by that ..... is the C A M A R O filled in so it's flat and the SS is all that shows now?

[JoeliusZ28]

doug ive seen other pictures of it, yea the letters are filled in.

[92conv]

Nice looking ride!!!

[1fstss]

the panel that said camaro was removed, a new flat black panel was put in its place, it is called a berger *Ber-Jer* (as in berger chevrolet) panel. the camaro was never etched into this panel. it is not painted, just a flat black piece of plastic i think someone like dennis from the wmcc can verify this too the guy i bought the car from his dad has a berger phase II or III sitting in the garage.
correction i just did a search for berger panels and they all have the camaro out back, i dont know whats going on with this one.
but i absolutely love this car, it needs a few odds and ends to be perfect but it will all get done over time

[ICEPICK]

and if all goes right it will be at the meet n great.

the more we get from up this way the more fun we can have.

[meissen]

the panel that said camaro was removed, a new flat black panel was put in its place, it is called a berger *Ber-Jer* (as in berger chevrolet) panel. the camaro was never etched into this panel. it is not painted, just a flat black piece of plastic i think someone like dennis from the wmcc can verify this too the guy i bought the car from his dad has a berger phase II or III sitting in the garage.
correction i just did a search for berger panels and they all have the camaro out back, i dont know whats going on with this one.
but i absolutely love this car, it needs a few odds and ends to be perfect but it will all get done over time

Doug is probably one of the leading Camaro experts on the site when it comes to Camaro history and nostalgia, btw, not to mention that Berger Chevrolet has been WMCC's sponsor for a while.

But, that said, yeah you have a standard rear tailpanel and someone filled in the "Camaro" letters and then put the "SS" badge in place. There's no tailpanels that don't have Camaro in them (without modification, I mean). And even then, a "Berger panel" is really nothing more than a black painted tail panel. People have made it into so many different variations - filling in the Camaro letters, different emblems, etc.

[1fstss]

i plan on comming to the M&G. hopefully have the smaller pulley here and on with the N20 hooked up and dyno tuned

[WMCC Doug]

Don,

I'm hoping to see your SS at the Meet & Greet, Don, it's a great looking car.

Let me give you a little background on the "Berger Panel".

Back in the 1999 time frame, when Berger Chevrolet was coming up with a design for a special edition Camaro to commemorate their 75th Anniversary, they were working with Matt Murphy, the owner of GMMG out of Marietta, GA. (Matt had previously worked with SLP as the Southeast Zone Rep and had already been a Camaro enthusiast for many years.) Matt suggested the semi-gloss black tail light panel as a visual part of the design as a tribute to the big block equipped Camaros which were built between 1967 and 1972. Everyone agreed this was a great idea and it was included as part of the Berger 75th Anniversary Camaro SS package.

These first Berger SS Camaros were such a huge success that they decided to continue the Berger SS program for 2001 and 2002. In addition, they also built the Hot Rod Magazine Edition Camaros, the ZL1 and Dick Harrell Editions, as well. All received this semi-gloss tail light panel.

In a way that I find fascinating, this semi-gloss tail light panel became known as the "Berger Panel" and has been widely copied. Heck, it looks great, so why wouldn't it be copied? When I told Matt Berger quite some time ago, that this black painted tail light panel had become widely known as the "Berger Panel" he was quite surprised. Ironically, when Matt Murphy worked at SLP, he suggested this exact idea to them, but they turned him down. Heck, it might have become known as the "SLP Panel" if they had listened to him!

These panels are not some specially manufactured, smooth black panel, but simply the stock, original panel that has been painted a semi-gloss black. The nature of your initial response to my first questions prompted my asking for a clarification. I was not trying to bait you into anything, I just wanted to see how this simple design element has grown to nearly legendary, often copied status.

I think it's great and am very proud of my friends at Berger Chevrolet that their cars have spawned such a wide-spread idea of a "Berger Panel". I'm sure that there are many people around the country that have no idea how this mod became known as the "Berger Panel" and may have no idea that there is even a dealership in Grand Rapids, Michigan called Berger Chevrolet (especially the younger crowd.)

I salute you for knowing the correct way to pronounce Berger, I continually run into people all around the country that think it rhymes with hamburger. 8-O

I bought my first car from Berger Chevrolet in 1970. It was a '64 Impala. I've been a loyal customer and fervent supporter of Berger Chevrolet ever since. Berger had been our Club sponsor for just about 30 years now (shoot, I don't remember exactly, that was a long time ago!) Our Club was formed in 1975 and we hooked up with Berger after just a couple years or so. Berger has been very supportive of our Club and in turn our Club supports Berger in a big way. In case you missed it, check out this thread for the latest show of our support:

http://www.mifbody.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=26429

Here's a shot of the rear of our Hot Rod Magazine Edition Camaro. (Note, it has an original Berger Panel, not a copy)

See ya at the end of the month!

[1fstss]

i still think its neat that the berger badge says "as prescribed by berger Chevrolet" but i learned about the berger cars a while ago at camaro superfest. i walked by a pea green one (has a pea green block too) and i said to a buddy, theres a Berger (like hamberger) car. the lady standing by the car says rather loudly "Its not BERGER its berger (ber-jer)" to this day its a running joke the way she said it. so everytime we see a berger we say it in a naggy voice if this person is reading this, thank you for being the butt of an on going joke since 2001

[JuggaloRC]

i still think its neat that the berger badge says "as prescribed by berger Chevrolet" but i learned about the berger cars a while ago at camaro superfest. i walked by a pea green one (has a pea green block too) and i said to a buddy, theres a Berger (like hamberger) car. the lady standing by the car says rather loudly "Its not BERGER its berger (ber-jer)" to this day its a running joke the way she said it. so everytime we see a berger we say it in a naggy voice if this person is reading this, thank you for being the butt of an on going joke since 2001

I did that way back when (I think I was 16 at the time) Then the owner of the car came up to me and said "No son, its not Berger like in Burger, its Berger like in Ber-Jer, Good thing I told you this now, cause the guy down there likes to freak out on people who say it wrong"

[WMCC Doug]

I got one even funnier than that! A few years back, there was a guy from out east somewhere that drove all the way here to attend the Berger Chevrolet All Chevy Show (10 Anniversary of the show this year, BTW) and actually argued with Matt Berger on how to pronounce his name. It took Matt a couple of minutes to convince the guy that it was his name up on the sign and he really did know how to pronounce his own name!