The 79-81 Camaros are my favorites.

My first performance car was a red 1981 Z28, I loved the car. I rebuilt a 350 with flat top pistons, eddy 4bbl a mild cam, eddy intake, headers through flowmasters. Backed that with a thm 350 with a shift kit and 3.73 gears. I never ran it at the drag strip but it ran well on the street. That was back in 2001, I had some super fun times!

Longtime car guy….You got me with a previously unknown car! I had thought Yenko had stopped modifying / marketing cars like these well before 1981. Bravo & Thanks!

My sister bought a used 1978 Z-28 from Yenko in 1981. There were all of the to-be turboed Z-28s parked in the storage lot. The used Z-28 had a set of 4 blue wheels and Uniroyal radial take offs from one of the converted cars. There were stacks of stock wheels and tires in the parts department. There was a brown one with gold lettering on the floor.

2nd gen F-bodies are super fun cars. I had a couple in my late teens/early 20's. So did numerous people I knew. Actually probably the most units of a particular platform I've ever been in. They bring back so many memories. 3rd gens are fun too.

This kind old crossing guard in our neighborhood owned a black Z28 with the blue stripes, not a Yanko as far as I know. He used to park it in a driveway across the street from his post. He kept it pristine and glossy clean. Getting a look at that car was a great motivator for waking up in the morning on schooldays.

I've actually kind of driven a Yenko TurboZ! My friend has one, and he let me pull it up into the service bay at the end of the day, (it stayed at the shop) only I couldn't keep it running because the carburetor needed rebuilt. Pretty sure it's a Stage 1. IIRC if you ordered the stereo from Yenko, you got an Alpine! Don Yenko was a piano player, and into music. I saw a radio delete in the first Yenko featured here @6:01, and a later digital Pioneer Super Tuner in the second one @6:20.

The "gross" vs "SAE" horsepower rating change in 1972 made things look a lot worse. Throw in catalytic converters and the fuel embargo and things were rough until fuel injection and modern engine controls starting getting phased in during the mid-80's.

That sure brought back some memories. I recall reading about these when Yenko started making them. Well, and those Centerline wheels - those were the rage back then. Couple of small points - GM actually started with turbos at Oldsmobile, before the Corvair and Buick started turbocharging the 3.8 in 1978. Minor points - just trying to add some clarity. Thanks for sharing this.

small correction GM (and the worlds) first turbocharched production car was actually the Oldsmobile Jetfire. The car was crazy because it still kept a relativly high compression v8 so it had methanol water injection stock called "Turbo-Rocket Fluid" the problem was your average owner didnt bother keeping it topped off.

My neighbor had a ‘79 RS that he hopped up. 350 bored .030 over, a sweet Crane cam, hooker headers, Holley carb, electronic ignition, th400 transmission, 3.73 posi rear, among other added features. The car was a beast. He knew how to wrench a car and it showed. I went with him to Lebanon valley racetrack, where he ran low 12’s-high 11’s at 110 mph or so. The car was his pride and joy. He sold it about 20 years ago and has regretted it, but needed the $$$.

I had not heard of this particular Yenko car. I’m surprised so few were made. Great video.

Thank you! I've been stuck in a bit of a rut, watching what turned out to be lame KZfaq videos full of misinformation and basic stupidity, often with computer generated narrations. It was refreshing to view this well made, well narrated video that contained good, solid and interesting info.

My first car was a 1978 Type LT. Years later I bought my brother's 1972 RS. Wish I still had them both. I sold them just before prices went out of this world.

I have the 1970 three-speed manual Camaro here at S-Pain. It's my dream car since I bought it in the late nineties 😍 Nice video 👍

Thanks for another interesting and informative video

My ex-brother in law had A gold -black 79 and a blue -black 81... I was about 10-12 yrs old and I loved those cars.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I WOULD LOVE TO BUILD A CLONE!!!! TOTALLY AWSOME EDUCATION. THANKS FOR SHARING.

The turbo pictured is a draw through like the pontiacs used, the turbo has air/fuel drawn through it. a blow trough would require an air filter before the turbo and an enclosure or hat on the carb.

Interesting Video, I've talked with car guys and a few were unaware that Chevrolet produced a 302 CI small block, 1967, 68 and 69, a friend of mine had a 1968 Z-28 Camaro 4 speed close ratio, with the 302, It was short stroke bigger bore {Over square} and revved quickly and I couldn't believe it was 302 cubes. subbed. 👊 😎

I had no idea! Thanks for the share!

Great vid, keep it up 🤘

There were so many of this gen Camaro/Firebird built. They were great cars, wishing now I would have picked up a couple or kept my 80 Z28. They were just so plentiful, it didn’t seem there would ever be a lack of them. I saw so many cut up for amateur stock cars.

Wow...as a Chevy guy who in 1975 my sister bought a Camaro new....I never heard of this version. The Z28 was out and popular in the early 70's but this one got by me. Great story.

Great video!

A cool story !Thank you

I had the 1981 Turbo T/A black with tan interior and T-Tops in 1983 after high school. Thing was a pig but a beautiful car. It had the WS6 suspension. Fun car to just cruise around in.

My good friend with a garage is putting a 373 Detroit posi into My 94 Z-28. I detonated the 308 limited slip lol. Previous owner put some work into the 350, I'd really like to get it Dynoed, guess im taking to the track to find out. Might use 6th gear now with the lower gearing. Lol. Great video, keep on posting that Chevy greatness . Thanks.

Whoa!! We learn something new everyday! I knew about the Turbo V6 Firebird GTA but not this Camaro

Well done sir. My oldest friend bought a base 1979 Z28 and it was a blast to ride in.

I had a 1980 Z-28 right out of High School 4 speed on the floor , great times ! Thanks !

Talking about scar needle in the hay stack. Thx for the info.i can imagine one would cost to buy if for sale.priceless in my book

Man, that's cool. I've never heard of one. 14s was very good performance for the day.

My first car was a 1976 Camaro. A previous owner had installed "Sky Trackers" they let you pump the rear tubes up another 8 inches from stock ride height. The 76 had the wheezy 305 in it but another owner had put a bunch of spacer plates between the carb and intake. The old 76 was actually perfectly reliable. Never even had a hiccup in it. The interior was the cleanest still un unmolested , I hope one day to get another one.

I had a Chevelle with SS 396 badge on fenders. I was making 1/4 mile runs and missed a power shift. It went past redline a lot. Heard a bang, then engine began to run really rough complete with some white smoke out exhaust. Lesson learned don't rev a BBC past 9,000 RPM or be prepared for serious engine problems. Limped home and pulled valve covers. I had a broken screw in rocker arm stud on intake side. High vacuum in that cylinder pulled a little oil from crankcase and blew it out the exhaust. What a relief to not have to rebuild entire engine. Took parts and Vin to local speed shop. They looked at it then went on computer. They were babbling about some super rare cars with BBC by some super famous builder. They had a part and said this is equivalent to broken part. Car was a complete sleeper. Plain beige and small fender logos, nothing fancy or visual clue what car could actually do. When I bought it, I just assumed all Chevelles had Headers with large exhaust system, big Holley sitting on top a big intake manifold. It was pretty quiet until you smashed the go button, then all Hell broke loose. For some reason I had to replace rear tires more times before having to change front ones. It could burn rubber in all 4 gears while power shift. That chirp was rear tires looking for some traction relief. Can't remember if 4:11 or 4:56 rear end and lousy mpg. Gas was cheap and it was leaded. To this day I wish I knew about Yenko before speed shop and broken part.

My 70 and a half and my 81 z were my favourite outta all of my camaros and transams I’ve owned thru the years…amazing machines..

Imma tell my friends about this channel, you covered a mustang and camaro I've never heard of in a great format

I found out about these from MadMikes \ NastyZ28 \2GCOG back in the early 2000s. It was THE resource for all things 2G Camaro. Every engine, trans, axle code there ever was. Production numbers by model \ engine etc. I think it may still be up.

I OWNED A 73' TURBOCHARGED(RAY-JAY) CHEVY VEGA WHICH RAN 12 SECOND QUARTER MILES... SIMPLY AWESOME 👍😎

awesomesauce TY for the content great channel.

Dont know how I've never heard of the Yenko stinger wagon, but I have a new favorite Yenko.

Oldsmobile also experimented with turbocharging in the early 60's, as well..

The silver model at the end was awesome.

I like the silver sparkle one at the end of the video; its the only one I can afford.

They where actually draw thru, not blow thru. The carb sat on top of the adapter that was fed below it by the turbo there by creating a suction on the bottom of the carb to draw the fuel down with the boost.

thank you

The price is what prevented big sales...Why does that sound familiar?

0:30 "In 1970 the Z28 made a respectable 360 horsepower... By 1981 though, power from the same size 350 cubic inch small block was down to just 175 horsepower" While power was down significantly, the two engines were also measured very differently. The 1970 LT-1's 360 hp was measured in SAE gross hp(zero driven accessories and through dyno headers with a velocity stack on the carb) but in 1981 the engine was measured in SAE net hp(all driven accessories, an air cleaner and a full exhaust as it would be installed in the car). The '71 corvette was advertised in both gross and net hp with the following numbers: engine gross/net Base 270/210 LT-1 330 /275 LS-5 365/285 LS-6 425/325 Quarter mile times were negatively effected even more by a large reduction in rear axle gear ratios to improve fuel mileage. Standard gearing in a 1970 Z28 was 3.73:1 vs 2.73:1 or 3.08:1 in 1981.

My Hi Skool car my senior year 1984 was a 1978 gold Ttop Z28 that I paid $2000 for! I had a car magazine back then with an article about that Z ✌💖☮

wow , never heard of it till this video , thx

In medford Oregon there was a '78 or '79 z28 with the same front spoiler. It had a 427 in it and no Yenko decals.

Cool video. There was also an early 60s turbo Buick V8. Had a glass bottle for a special concoction (likely same or similar to meth) that you would need to refill. If not bad detonation. So they got a bad wrap for having to fill the fluid and what happened if you didn’t and most people didn’t understand. Thought I’d throw that out there if anyone got a kick out of it.

In 1985 I had a 1985 Camaro with the Fuel Injected 2.8L V6 and BW T5 5 speed. It had no AC, no Power Windows, No power Locks, 4 Speaker sound system, and very little options. It did have rally wheels and suspension and full gauges. It was ordered on purpose this way and then the buyer backed out of the deal while the car was on it's way to the dealer. Only thing power was the steering and the brakes. So it was really light. The thing was AWESOME in the twisties after I got a hold of a set of Z28 Wheels and Tires. I blew the doors off an Alpha Romeo GTV6 coming back from Lime Rock thru the back roads. A friend of mine had a FULLY and I mean FULLY loaded 1985 Z28 and it was a PIG. I used to regularly beat Mustang 5.0Slow's with it. The FI 2.8 made really good HP for the day. It was quite little sleeper. If I still had it it would be perfect for a twin turbo setup.

That was well done👌 ✅Liked ✅Subbed

The second he mentioned dealer-built I KNEW he was talking about Don Yenko.

I saw one years ago in the wild. It had the staging lights out on the hood. So freaking cool.

We built a 1980 Camaro Z28 w turbo international turbo kit like in yenko prior to them coming out. We put in a Doug nash 5 speed etc. won best car in the camaro nationals that year

I like this video, and appreciate you making these. The footage at the end of the diecast confuses me, though. I understand the Yenko Turbo Zs are ultra rare at 19 units. Just sayin.

The late 1970s and early 1980s aftermarket turbocharging of vehicles where interesting times. My father did a couple of turbocharged kits on BMWs.

My dad had a 79 Camaro. I loved that car so much! Hopefully one day I can get one!😁😁

Loving the classic American car videos recently

Nice

Those 80’s Camaros are beautiful

My oldest brother bought one of these in white what someone had wreked, frame was good engin still good so he did the front clip and all the dings repainted after 6 months he had it running and looking new but dropped in a 4 speed. First turbo car i rode in, i was 8 but ill never forget the pull when the boost came in and my brother just laughing. My dad had a L-71 Corvette(700hp) and he said the turbo Z was super fun.

I had a 1981 Camaro and I eventually dropped a more upgraded 350 into it that included real fuel injection and wished I had the money for turbos but it still ran great. A year after I put in the motor a friend of mine who I served with offered me stupid money and two weeks after that he totaled that beautiful Camaro breaking my heart.

Fit and finish of the later gray model kit is on par with GM product assembly of the era.

I've never herd or seen one of these turbo Z/28 rides.

Loved all those Camaros.

I never heard of that one.. No wonder my '79 Z-28 Camaro with mods blew away the 1981 Pacecar Turbo Trans AM

LEGIT CONTENT FAM

Growing up in Miami during the 80s, a good friend of mine bought a 1981 4 speed Z28 with a turbocharger..we all freaked out as I had my trans am turbo ,but never seen a turbo mounted behind the ac compressor on a chevy V8..It still used the factory air tub for the "air induction" flaps on the hood..it was a black car with red interior and red graphics....I lost contact with the person who owned this car years ago.but i know here traded it for a GTX440 back then, he only owned it for less than a year.

All it took to make my 1973 El Camino into a 300+ horsepower street monster was a 4 bbl Weiand intake, 600 Holley Street Warrior carb, 10 inch torque converter & 3 inch side pipes (stock manifolds). Has over 150,000 miles and still runs great.

If you own a Yenko Vega you sir are a God among men

What a cool and great car from the 80’s another reason why I love the 80’s who ever has them they are their garage Queens as what I would do if I owned something like this masterpiece.

I use to work at advanced auto parts as a second job away from the dealership. Someone had me look up parts for a 1981 camaro and I saw a turbo option on the list. I looked at my older co worker. Old guy. I said, "I've been a camaro crazy person my whole life. I've never seen a turbo camaro." He said he remembered them and there weren't many. It was confirmed by another Old guy friend lol. Now I see why I've never seen one. Not many were made. lol I bet that 17k is now work 6 digits. I will stick with my 1980 camaro with 69 camaro motor. All new suspension, brakes, lines, hose and more for way less. Lol very cool detailed history on these.

I had an experimental 79 z28 fun car from the factory wish I still had it

Wow, almost forgot about these. I remember reading a review of one of these, I forget which magazine it was, but it was 30+ years ago. Two things I remember in the article, horsepower was rated at 330, I dont remember their source of that number. And the other thing I remember was the turbo had no wastegate. As stated in the article, was the only way to prevent blowing your engine was paying attention to the boost gauge. Now I want to find that magazine. I probably still have it, buried in a box somewhere...

first car was an 80 camaro ;) it was a rust bucket for 200$ but i got it road ready at age14 had many many transams afterwards 89 transam an 86 and a 1995 with an LT1 it was 1 of 15 made with corvette motor which became WS6 package in 1996

had a 1978 z28 that was ordered by the dealer's son but he did not take. Was loaded with a 4 speed and came with 3.73 gears. Was also a Cadillac white instead of Chevy white. Not the kind of strings that dealer's could pull back in the day but it ran ok considering the late 70's choked engines.

I have seen one of these before about 10 years ago, though I don't know if you could consider it "in the wild" it was in this traveling car museum car show thing that seemed to have mostly GM and early "non big 3" american cars(tucker, studebaker, packard etc). it was white and gold. I had heard of Yenko modified GM cars before so I didn't pay it much attention I thought it was really neat and remember commenting on how odd I thought the turbo placement was but had no idea it was so rare.

Never knew this about the turbo Camaro Z28s. I had a 78 Camaro LT. I also had an 81 turbo Trans Am, when i had the exhaust system modified with headers and real dual exhaust (no converters), the engine came alive and could breathe. I would suspect the Hp jumped to the 250-275Hp range. Those smog motors sure were a pain and the first generation converters were not much better than stuffing potatoes on your exhaust pipes. Those items really hurt mpg, Hp and engine response. Thanks for doing the video it was great !!

I've had the privilege to sit in a few of those Yenkos as my father was friend with Mark Hassett

All those vacuum lines needed with using a carb look so funny! Tons of 1in vacuum lines lmao

Refreshed my memory on these Turbo Zs. You may want to look up Joe DVorchak who was the wrench behind these Yenko creations. Joe was very private and passed away over a decade ago. So many secrets to grave. Stories of his work with Chevy Performance.

I know a guy in Cincinnati that has one of these cars. The last time I saw it, in the 90s, it was very close to its original condition.

They are priceless.

Nice to see you cover this car. I'm from Cincinnati ohio and I know for sure where a REAL one of these Yenko Turbo Z's are sitting. I heard about this car 20 + years ago and thought the guy wasn't sure of what he was talking about. The cars been sitting for years and like most others. Probably isn't in that good of shape.

Please do a Episode on the "Macho T/A". Trans Ams... They were Cool ...

Had an 80 Z28,swapped a LT1 ……miss that car!

Aaahhh, the golden age of she'll jump a soda can at a red light; bet you can't grab a dollar bill off the dash. Such a beautiful, beautifully designed car.

While 1967 through 1969 is the coolest they kind of overplayed. My favorite body styles are 70 to 72 or 73 and the mid to late 80s models. Also really enjoy the later 90s and early 2000s shark face that most people don't like.

Wow! This video blow a lot of dust off some old memories. I had a firsthand experience with a Yenko Turbo car in the early 1980`s. It was not a Z28 though. The car was a different chassis but shared the same engine. That car was a 4-speed car with an even lower set of rear end gears (2.73). It probably would have benefited from having the automatic transmission but the gearing helped it make a lot more boost. There was a couple of additional modifications that were done to the car that helped increase the the horsepower that turned it into a true sleeper car at the time. I have a few stories about car but my favorite was coming up behind a late 60`s Super Bee and 69/70 Corvette lined up for a drag race at a traffic light. The light turned green and they took off. I passed both cars on the way to the next traffic light. When the drivers of the two other cars caught up to me at the next red light the look of confusion on their faces was priceless!

Horsepower measurement changed in 1972 from gross to net. Manufacturers had to start measuring it like the car was delivered. So the 1970 car probably only made 320 something net. But that's still a lot more than 170. EFI was necessary to start bringing compression back with new unleaded fuel.

Had a 72,man what a good handling car.

NeatO!

Those model years were always a bit too plastic for my taste. But as time goes on, I appreciate seeing a pristine example at a car show. Lifetime car guy and Chevrolet fan and never knew these existed. Super cool 😎 Thanks for sharing JT: Orlando FLA

New sub here,HAVE YOU DONE THE GNX GRAND NATIONAL,,yes the GNX

I'd love to see a video on the GT turbo fox body mustang.

The saddest thing ever was when my friend bought a 1984 Camaro Berlinetta that had a stock 4-cylinder in it.

Yeah I had a 1972 Camaro SuperSport/Ralley Sport/Z-28 with a 383 Holley hirise Turanchula with Holley 950 cfm and Rock Crusher 4 speed bolted through a 3.42 posi. 15" LR50 rear & 345/60 14" front, Cragar 5 spokes. And a 1979 Z/28 Rottenchester 4bbl. W 350 turbo automatic, lowered widened and suspension to the wall. Koni's heavy duty aluminum sway bars, and Teflon bushings. 14" wheels with 245/45zr50 BFG'S STEAMROLLER Tires...Low Pro Before it was kool to go low pro!!!