add
add
Menu

The Yenko Super Camaro L-78 With The 427 & 396 Engines.

In the muscle car era Ford, Chevy, and Mopars ruled the muscle car world.
In the mid 60’s to 1970 these companies tried everything they could to have an advantage or be considered the fastest muscle cars around.
One such car was the Yenko Super Camaro.
The Yenk Super Camaro was built under the personal supervision of Don Yenko. The originals were all first generation Camaros and were built as a way to get around the GM rule that engines for the Camaro’s of the time could not be larger that 400 cu inches.
For the first year of 1967, Yenko ordered L-78 equipped SS Camaros and swapped in the Chevrolet Corvette’s L-72 427 in³ (7.0 L) V8. The cars came with a 4.10 rear end and heavy-duty suspension. The exact number of cars produced is 104. Yenko also installed a fiberglass replacement hood similar to the “Stinger” hood featured on 1967 big-block Corvettes.
For 1968 and encouraged by the success of the 1967 model, Yenko continued to produce his Yenko Super Camaros for 1968. All of the 1968 Yenko Super Camaros started life with the L78 396 in³ 375 hp (280 kW) hp engine and close ratio 4-speed Muncie transmission. They were all built as Super Sport cars but only the Yenko-ordered cars came with the 9737 COPO appointments which included a 140 mph (230 km/h) Delco speedometer, a special Magic Mirror trim tag and a large 1 1/8th inch front anti-sway bar. Yenko swapped out the factory 396 in³ short-block for the L72 427 in³ 450 hp (336 kW) short-block reusing all of the rest of the 396 in³ engine’s components including the heads, carburetor, intake manifold, etc. He swapped the stock hood for a twin-snorkel fiberglass one he had made along with other features including Pontiac’s 14″x6″ steel wheels with special Yenko caps, Yenko emblems gracing the front grill, front fenders and tail panel and 427 emblems were added to the tail panel and front fenders as well. Other additions included a Yenko Super Camaro serial-numbered tag in the driver’s side door jamb and Stewart Warner pedestal-mounted tachometer and gauges were installed in the interior. Early cars got a rear spoiler made for Yenko and later cars all got the factory spoilers front and rear. The recognized production number for these cars is approx 64 cars converted, with well less than half of that number known to exist today.
For 1969 For 1969, the dealership worked with Chevrolet to have the L-72 engines installed on the factory assembly line using a Central Office Production Order, or COPO. The orders included power disc brakes, a 4.10 Positraction rear end with heat treated axle shafts, (to avoid breakage), a Z-28 front anti-sway bar, and a heavy-duty 4-core radiator. Buyers of the car had the option of either the M-21 four speed or the Turbo Hydramatic 400 automatic transmission. A total of 201 cars were sold in 1969, 171 with four speed transmissions and 30 with automatic transmissions. Yenko rounded out the visual package with front and rear spoilers, a cowl-induction hood, special “Yenko 427” badges, twin stripes down the flanks and hood, (not with all cars however), and the sYc (Yenko Super Car) badge, (again, not with all cars). According to the Camaro Research Group, standard black interior (code 711) was the only interior ordered by Yenko.

Yenko
Yenko Camaro Big Blocks

Republished by Blog Post Promoter


13 thoughts on “The Yenko Super Camaro L-78 With The 427 & 396 Engines.”


  6. Very nice car I’m up sixties Camaro fan from way back not sure about that hood if its original to a Yenko of that nature I guess I would have to keep it otherwise it’s got to go and those rims are terrible

  7. doesn’t quite look right with those Pontiac wheels, may I suggest the Chevy Rallye with wide rims

    1. Yenko put those wheels on the car. He wanted a steel 5spoke. Those were the only available stamped steel GM 5spoke at the time. Check out the center caps. They have the “Y” on them

    2. well I can accept that Michael Rose, but the Y on the center cap isn’t visible on my phone

Comments are closed.



Most Recent Facebook Posts


Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Load more


Meet Fellow Enthusiasts and Drive the Future of Muscle Car Content!

Join Us on Meetup
X