RAREST 1981 YENKO CAMARO TURBO Z28
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Episode 2, AMEREICAN MUSCLE Season 1
SECRET! ULTRA RARE 1981 CAMARO YENKO TURBO Z28 WHY DID GM HIDE THIS V8 ?
@rarecarstorys
When the Camaro Z28 returned from a two-year year hiatus in 1977, as a standalone model rather than an option package, it no longer shared the Corvette’s L-82 350-cubic-inch small-block V-8. With its tamer LM-1 350 four-barrel, used through 1981, a mid-16-second quarter-mile was about as fast as it got.
Despite the Z28’s softened performance and mid-year introduction, sales moved a bit higher than in 1974, and would soar higher still after a 1978 refresh that added sleek body-color bumpers. Available luxuries like power windows, quality stereo, T-tops, and even a CB radio completed the Z28’s new cruiser persona, and sales reached 85,000 in 1979.
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For those seeking a true high-performance Camaro, there was still Don Yenko and his famous Chevrolet dealership in McMurray, Pennsylvania. The 1967-69 Yenko Supercar Camaros with 427 big blocks (factory-installed in 1969) and 1970 Nova Deuces with LT-1 350 small blocks were muscle car royalty. Yenko, a road racer, had also left his mark in the sports car realm with the Stinger, a high-performance Corvair offered in the 1960s. A Vega-based 1971-72 Stinger became Yenko’s best-selling model.
In the Z28, Yenko and Kim Mason, his Chevy dealership general manager, saw the potential for an American GT that combined muscle car acceleration with sports car handling. Their vision crystallized in the 1981 Camaro Turbo Z, the rarest of all Yenko Camaros with just 19 made
Turbo, but not COPO
There was no asking Chevrolet to give the Z28 a hotter engine via the Central Office Production Order (COPO) system, as in 1969. Instead, Yenko installed a turbocharger kit from Turbo International, adding some of his own tweaks.
Turbocharging, which GM had first used with the 1962 Chevy Corvair Monza Spyder and Oldsmobile Jetfire, was back in the spotlight in the 1970s, thanks to the Porsche 911 Turbo, Saab 99 Turbo, and Buick’s turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6. For 1980, Pontiac turbocharged its 301 V-8 for the Firebird Trans Am and Formula. A turbo Trans Am could match a Z28’s performance, but with lots of detonation. The Buick was much more successful, evolving with fuel injection, electronic controls, and intercooler for the later Grand National and GNX.
Yenko’s “blow-through” turbo setup for the Camaro put compressed air through the stock carburetor. In contrast, Pontiac’s “draw-through” design pulled the air and atomized fuel through the compressor. Yenko’s turbo made a maximum of 7 psi and did not use a wastegate. A compressor bypass valve, also known as a “priority valve,” was claimed to reduce turbo lag by allowing intake air to go around the turbo under vacuum. Water injection controlled detonation, and a fuel heater under the carburetor was said to prevent stumbling and help keep 50-state EPA compliance.
The standard Turbo Z, called Stage I, cost $10,500 (about $30,000 today) and included air conditioning, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, and other Camaro upgrades. “Turbo Z” door graphics were actually less garish than the Z28’s own decals. Yenko also added a jutting front air dam modeled after the one used on the Camaro IROC race cars.
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Chevy really messed up putting low horse power in the Z28's . I had a 1983 z28 and was worthless couldn't do a burn out , so i pulled the weak motor out and built a 400 sbc high compression, thumper cam ,aluminum heads ,2 holly 650 double pumper carbs . And replaced the weak rear end . The car would smoke the tires thru all 4 gears and hauled ass . Thats what a z28 should be able to do .
now this sounds like a Smoking V8 car, thank you for sharing!
Buddy of mine shoehorned a 454 into an 84 a million years ago LOL. Car was a lotta fun. Same thing would smoke em through 4. 💯👍♥️
The oil crisis is the biggest factory in any of these weak motor cars from that era. People bought a z28 to drive every day of the week, not just weekends to smoke the tyres up.
@@oakleaves8370 yea my 83 z28 only ran good on racing fule not cheap tho
that's a 305 bot 350
GM never had anything to do with the Yenko cars Don Yenko did he did all this through his dealership
GM didn't hide Turbo V8s! Had turbo aluminum V8 in 1962! :
th-cam.com/video/Jzw5W1rRMog/w-d-xo.html
Maybe they didn't have any verbal agreement, but Don Yenko had a Chevrolet dealership and he built his cars through the COPO program, central office production order. Chevy knew what they were doing the whole time. Other dealerships did the same thing. They would order the car, and also order a 427ci motor and drivetrain. Switch the motors beef up the suspension and put your graphics on it. Boom! You have a monster on your hands!
GM had everything to do with Yenko. If they hadn't coyly turned a blind eye to the COPO program that they knew was giving him the canvas to build his cars, he wouldn't have built any of his Camaros. Congress threatened to spin Chevrolet off from GM because they considered Chevy's market share over all other manufacturers anti-trust, and so GM created a racing ban to reduce sales. So yes. GM putting 396s in Camaros for Yenko to put 427s in was all about GM's involvement in Yenko's business.
@@ursirius4878like you just said the swaps were done at the dealership, NOT the factory...
It was a draw thru system like the Trans Am , not a blow thru system that is commonly used today
A friend of mine when I was in highschool had a 78 Z28 with a 350 and a 4 speed(in the 80's) it would bury the 140 speedometer.
i can imagin this car sounded insaine with the 350
Aside from the 67-69, the 81 was my fav growing up. As i got older i realized it was the prefect mix of left over acid from the 60s, with some pure 70s coke, & you get the styling of the 81 lol. & iirc it was the batmobile in the early 90s version..
prehaps , the greatest comment on this car channel, thank you so very much , for sharing & watching , we apreciate you
I've always loved the Z 28. In 81 i had a white one. It wasn't that fast but it turned heads wherever I went
I had a 79 with 350 and auto. Black with red interior looked nice but all show and little go.
Had a 66 GTO sent it to Raleigh NC Speed shop - Came out running over 700 HP - 118 Quarter
one of our fav cars, GTO ... need to do a story on that and the NC Speed Shop
Had a 79 white camaro 358 4 speed hot rod when i was 16. Man i loved that car wish i still owned it. I think the 78-81 Camaros and firebirds some of the best looking cars of all time.
without a doubt ....best looking cars in the late 70s 80s
The Yenko Turbo Z is the ultra rare 2nd generation Camaro of all and it’s a true hidden gem that we should have known
This is a great title for YT film, 🎥
I just put a BBC LS6 in mine. Its is black with red stripes and only has 3,800 miles on it and still own it today. Should sell it as am 72 years old and tired of it.
that sound awsome, BBC LS6 , how much HP does it have?
@@rarecarstorysnorth of 500 anyway, I wish I had a Z I’d sure never get tired of it.
My sister used to have a '77 Camaro. Great car. Great memories.
what color 77 Camaro?
@@rarecarstorys It was a dark red
my Z28 had a 3/4 race cam. nuttin but pure power, bored to the water jackets!!!!!
wow, the engineering in this era is so inspiring
4:46 B.F. Goodrich posing as a Goodyear Wingfoot
thats a great point, we will look closer
Yenko began his career of special cars modifying factory turbocharged 60s Corvairs. GM had production turbos well before the 1980 T/A
we need to do a deeper dive into YANKO, such a facinating engineer, thank you for watching!
Still a weak turd. Swapping a 300+ hp 350 was cheaper and easier.
Good one and a 1964 Studebaker R3 had 335 HP of a 289 ! 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Anyone know what kind of wheels those bronze and silver ones in the video are?
grreat question, we will endvour to find out
Yenko legend of American v8 speed
1987 buick gnx base price $29,000
what a magnificent car !
There was a turbo firebird available around that time. Was a white and blue exterior with a 305 turbo
This sounds like an awesome car
80-81 Trans Am and it was a 301 Pontiac and still pretty slow.
80-81 Trans Am , like the one from Smokey & the Bandit ?
@@SEEFIVEROBBmy buddy had one and cranked the boost up to 12 lbs it made over 300 hp but didn’t live long as the 301 Pontiac motor wasn’t very stout.
1979 buick century came with 3.8 litre v6 turbo...very rare...i think buicks first car with a turbo
perhaps we should do a story "1979 buick century 3.8 litre v6 turbo" ?
1978 was the first year for the Buick turbo. Mostly seen in Regals but you could get a LeSabre Sport Coupe with the turbo 3.8.
@@thomaslord7995they also put them in Monte Carlos 80 & 81...
The Chevy Corvair's had turbo in 65...
Love it.
the white paint is hideous ... 11,000 is like 38k today, 17,000 58k
the red was stunning,
@@rarecarstorys Like the one at 5:40.
I also like the black with silver accent stripes.
I wish I can drive this car ❤
so do we
@@rarecarstorys I hope we can
have faith! with divine timing all things come to you , when you are ready
Yeàh, but it was a 305 and we know how much trouble those engines had.
No it was a 350...
Chevy 305 don't have any "trouble" they are just not everyone's favorite small block, but if you know what you're doing they can put out up to 500hp...
@@jcanfixall1585 well just watched a TH-cam video, the 305 is considered one of the worse engines ever made, plagued with oil leeks, valvé scoversm oil pan, timing chain covers, heads, don't argue with me about the 305, look it up. Besides the 305 is really a junk engine, for the cost of hot rodding it up you could have built a 350 then you have something. But I'll tell you a little truth, I've owned several GM cars GTO, 442, GS, Yenko Camerogreat cars but just like today, their quillity control is terrible. Their building their trucks in Mexico, paying their workers about $7.00 a day. I know six Silverado's and they swear they will never buy a GM vehicle again. Saw one on the lot, brand new, the underside of the bed was completely rusted out, brand new. Know a guy bought a brand new Vette there loose strings on the seats, none lined up trim, GM's quillity control is terrible f, l ,
@@jcanfixall1585 read what I had to say!!
@@jcanfixall1585 now I don't want to argue with you, but watched a you tube video the other day and it named the 305 as one of the 20 worse engines ever made. Plagued with oil leaks, head gaskets, etc, Listen I've owned plenty of them, GTO, 442, GS, Yenko Camero, should have kept that one ,and got rid of a wife, great cars, but you couldn't give me one now , know six guys who bought new Silverado's they swear they will never by another GM , Saw a,brand new Silverado on the lot, the underside of the bed was completely rusted Through their building their trucks in Mexico'. Paying their workers $7.00 aday. Their quillity control is terrible friend of mine bought a new Vette, loose strings hanging from the seats, panel not lined up, just terrible. In our parking lot there are three Chevy trucks two and three years old, their rusting out around the wheel wells. No excuse for it, not for the money they cost..GM's ging to be number three manufacturer soon , least they wake up.And by the way you can build a 350 for the same money as a 305, so why bother?
@@Albertgermanaro-fs7yf I did read it, that's what I commented on...
Stories, not storys.
thank you for watching!
Tell um K.I.T.T
My 1st car was an 81 Z28 I bought in 87 for $6500 CAD with 18k miles on the clock. Dark blue with blue stripe paxkage, 350/borg warner 4spd T10. I was 16. Ended up putting another 20ish thousand into it over the years. New 350 pushing 450hp, Super T10, 4.11 posi, centerline rims/Bridgestone tires, 8k color change paint job. 4k stereo to name some of it. Miss it dearly. Unfortunately it broke down years ago and while I hitched a ride back into town someone or ones decided to torch it! MoFos!
wow , your specs are inspiring
MIsinformation,,like always,,Yenko always bought small quantities for their. Conversions. To my best knowledge,,the car in the thumbnail is a Chevy Laguna/Malibu ( mid '70's)
Thanks for sharing
Where do you see a Laguna???
Worst automated voice over
thank you for watching
@@rarecarstorys turned it off, moved on. The voice is grating
The fact that he can't spell "Yenko" (there's no A in the correct spelling) is even worse. This TH-camr must be the only Camaro enthusiast on the planet that can't spell Don Yenko's name correctly. It's five letters, dude. It's not rocket science.
@@olikat8 thank you for moving on
@@houseofno thank you, never been good at spelling, must be the dyslexia :)
nobody hid it it's just to expensive and just nobody cares about a camaro
there are many intresting cars, to care about .....what would you recomend?
Yep, GM didn't hide Turbo V8s! Had turbo aluminum V8 in 1962! :
th-cam.com/video/Jzw5W1rRMog/w-d-xo.html
celt u cnnntn
cept u cmmnent
There's no A in "Yenko." Check your spelling in captions please.
I bet you a fun person to be around 👎
TH-cam does captions!!!
we kept looking at our script, title & thumbnails .... we could not find the error, thank you for confirming it YT , we appreciate you ❤️
Good one and a 1964 Studebaker R3 had 335 HP of a 289 ! 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
A 355hp 💥⚡️studebaker , we are building this channel to learn more about cars 1960s-1990 , thank you for watching!