1967, 1968, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Special - Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode 341

1967, 1968, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Special - Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode 341
The Chevrolet Camaro launched for 1967, and Chevrolet came out swinging for Mustangs with the Trans Am road-race inspired Z/28. In this episode of Muscle Car Of The Week, we take a look at the 1967, 1968, and 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28s, their history, and what makes these cars special. From The Brothers Collection.
The heart of the package was a Trans-Am rulebook friendly 302 cube V8, a hybrid using the crank of a 283 and a bore size of a 327. This fit the 305 cube limit of the TA rulebook, and also made for a lightweight, high RPM performer. The factory rating was 290 HP, but the race cars were tuned to over 400 HP with 7000 plus RPM capability. It featured 11.0:1 compression, breathed through a Holley carb, spun deep-groove pulleys, and was bolted to a Muncie 4-speed with a heavy duty clutch. The car also featured a road-race tuned suspension system, with a 12-bolt rear axle suspended by mono leaf springs, but held in place with radius rods to help reduce spring wrap and aid in traction. Wheels were 15”, the only ‘67 Camaro to receive them, and power front discs were a mandatory option. This new performance package was called the Special Performance Package, but that’s not what you know it as today.
Production of the Z/28 package started slow, with only 602 built for ‘67, and 7199 for ‘68. But people really dug the car, as Chevrolet cranked out 20,302 for ‘69. The joke on the street is that there are more z/28s on the street today than Chevrolet built, thanks to people building clones and tributes.
First generation Z/28s were limited on options, so no air conditioning was available. There were also no Automatics, either. 1967 Z/28s didn’t even have Z badging on them, so the only way to ID one was the bigger wheels and stripes. A 302 fender badge appeared in early ‘68, replaced by a Z/28 emblem mid-year. But Chevy capitalized on the hot looks of the Z for ‘69, and put the big Z where ever they could… in the grille, on the fenders, center stage on the tail pan - and 302 engine callouts emblems on the optional cowl hood. A new cowl-induction system was a you-install-it option in ‘67 and ‘68, which added a plastic plenum to pull cool air from the windshield base. The parts came in the trunk of the car. Spoilers were optional until 1969 when they were made standard. Big news for ‘69 was the JL-8 rear disc brake option. But overall, there were not many year-to-year changes to the Z recipe over the first generation of Camaro… and that was a good thing.
First generation Z/28s will always be revered for their great looks and excellent street performance, and the Trans Am tie-in makes them even more special. The Z/28 name lives on thanks to the impact of these early cars.
#Camaro #Z28 #MuscleCarOfTheWeek
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1967, 1968, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Special - Muscle Car Of The Week Video Episode 341

[@justinsanders2705]

My first car was a 1978 Z28 It was a bucket but it was mine. I loved that car. I spent hours just cruising back roads. I wanted to restore her but life happens. I got outta high school got a job and traded her for a F150. Just hearing the words Z28 makes me feel twenty years younger. Great video.

[@Dogboy1960]

I don't know. The late '70s Z/28s get a bad rap they don't deserve in my opinion. These cars were better than we remember them as we look back now. Still a great looking car with real potential. A motor swap, a crate 383 from any of the builders who offer 'em would suddenly make a great car out of the late '70s ear Z/28s with their stock 10 bolt 3:73 posi and close ratio 4 speed. If willing to take it to the limit? kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJemoZWQg6h0kKc Most folks wouldn't be willing to go all in like the car in the video but it does show the potential and pretty cool car as result.

[@curtismuma1931]

Yup I had a 68 z28. All numbers matched. Sold it in 1981. For 4,500. Which was insane at the time. Boy what a mistake!

[@MrRallysport1]

I still have my 1968 302, Z28, Rallysport and currently working on it.

[@carlinshowalter1806]

I found a 68 Z 302 on craigslist in pieces,built it right and I've never had a motor that will take such abuse.With the stock solid lifter cam I rev it to 7 grand every day on my way to work in my 77 Camaro. Quite a bit of a change from the wimpy 155 hp 350 that it came with.Runs like a animal. 4:11 posi next mod.

[@larryeiler9281]

I got to own a 69 z/28 for a while till a baby came along. wish I could afford one today. My favorite body lines and fun

[@thefettfan3994]

I am not an American i'm from across the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland. In my humble personal opinion The late 60's Camaro, for its design appearance as well engine power deserves the title of "World Automobile of the 20th century". No nostalgia or cententallity but because its unique, functional and it does what it says on the tin, "Fast and Powerful!!! Good show as always!!

[@soapmacktavish972]

My grandpa has a 1968 z28 rs

[@Emirates_A380]

Thank you

[@edstransitscott9186]

Another great segment, Kevin, 67, 68, 69 Z-28. Most Iconic car ever built, I love my 69 Z. You are very professional narrator, you are The Man !

[@tomnekuda3818]

A friend of mine bought an early Z28, had the dealership install the two four barrels on the cross ram manifold 302. He ended up grossly underestimating the power and "handling" and ended up dead one dark night when he lost control.....it was very sad but I never blamed the car. Good video....great cars....the Camaro and the Mustang will be forever pushing each other to new highs.

[@danielcannon3511]

Sorry about your friend

[@tomnekuda3818]

@@danielcannon3511 Thanks.....just a bit much car and maybe a bit much beer. I dunno, those early Camaros encouraged a fella to get crazy, whereas; the Mustang seemed to give you some warnings. Hang in there.

[@carlinshowalter1806]

Can you imagine that kind of horsepower with the wimpy bias ply tires from back then?

[@tomnekuda3818]

@@carlinshowalter1806 I had a 1970 Roadrunner back then that I put Polyglass Goodyears on to try to nail down traction (H's in the rear and G's in the front) and I still had trouble finding traction. I can't imagine the fear that went thru him the night he lost control of his Camaro........"the Hugger" Chevy called it; yup, you bet.

[@andrewashington6462]

The way he narrates pulls you back into those days..really enjoy the Show..!

[@earli3693]

Many big blocks but those trans- am cars were something else... everyone wanted one!

[@jswan9658]

Great Car Heritage, thanks for sharing.

[@ChevyIILS]

Another great episode Kevin! Still hoping for an episode featuring the ‘67 Chevy II

[@frozencarguy6274]

Love the old Zed 28s

[@JacobsDad]

finally someone who says Z properly - go Canada:)

[@INNIMA]

70 coronet R T station wagon next? That would be awesome 😎

[@georgepaust8416]

I find it odd that you never mention the real big deal about the 1969 Z28. IT WAS THE MOTOR. No longer did they use a 283 crankshaft in a 2 bolt main 327 block. The block was an all-new casting featuring four-bolt main caps and a forged steel crank with larger main journals. This 4 bolt main block would be the precursor to the LT1 350 which came in the 1970 Z28. This engine, designated DZ 302 was only made in 1969 and only went into the Z28. As a matter of course, my favorite year Camaro is the 1967 rallysport in either SS or Z28 trim. I love the vent windows, the door pillar and the fact that some small parts were made of metal until the next year when they were replaced with plastic.

[@NuclearGrizzly]

I have a '69 Stage II. Nothing until 4000 rpm but then she pulls like a big block until 7K.

[@Dogboy1960]

Another indication of how very racy the 302 was. As was often the case before roller cams, fuel injection and computer controlled ignition and cam timing.........the choice made to make racy car power levels at the top end often required you to give up so much bottom end and street manners what you ended up with was a great engine for the race track and a truly lacking engine for everyday street driving. A NASCAR driver won't really care about a lack of power under 3,000-4,000RPM but in a street car you really should.

[@randybiby9757]

Awesome cars!

[@allantaylor3288]

Great video Kevin👍

[@patriotgreg6191]

I had a 69 it had been raced got in fall of 73 had a LT1 M22and 12 bolt 410 with a Mr Gasket aluminum finned cooling cover also a dual feed mechanical secondaries I installed tube headers Endelbrock Torquer and Chevy angle plug heads and of course hippo electric fuel pump. Had a conservative 450 hp I would zero to 110 on a daily basis and pull shifts at 7000 all the time got stolen in77

[@yavin99]

A friend of mine that I grew up with had a 72 Z28, I know it only had 250 hp stock but after he put all forged internals with 11.5 pistons, Holly dominater and had it balanced and blueprinted with 4.10 gears and a 4 speed that car would damn near pull the front wheels off the ground with street tires. He had people offer him $12000-$15000 in 1990 and he turned them all down but as awesome as that car was I always liked the 60s Camaros the best.

[@carlinshowalter1806]

What was cool was that the '70 Z/28 LT1 350 had forged 11:1 pistons right from the factory! AND solid lifter cam.

[@edstransitscott9186]

Nice, Kevin

[@bobhoffman5581]

When the DZ engine blocks were developed, they implemented the use of big block water pumps and starters...

[@TheFokker03]

Super car,Kevin.Of course these shared the same basic body, as the Pontiac Firebird,which was also a Trans Am racer,later a model emerged in '69 called just that.

[@carlinshowalter1806]

And don't forget the 70 Challenger T/A with 340 with three carbs!

[@bobsilver3983]

I love the big block cars, but lots of people had to buy small block "under the insurance radars" like the Olds Rallye 350, Cutlass W31, 68 or 69 H/O Lemans? I have a 68 Lemans H/O that I bought from the original owner 4 years ago. The guy I bought it from was only 20 or 21 when he bought it...he wanted a GTO, but checked with his insurance company beforehand and the GTO was more than double the price of the Lemans...so he ordered a Lemans H/O. In 1969 my dad ordered a 69 Pontiac Custom-S instead of the GTO for the same reasons. Funny thing, insurance only knew "Lemans", they didn't ask about what engine it had....straight 6 cylinder or a 350 H/O V-8 was the same insurance rate....175 h.p vs 320 h.p.

[@mikepantel6945]

These Brothers have one fine collection. What are they hunting for now?

[@scottrasmussen8258]

Probably one of the select few muscle cars that are over the top!

[@louiskats5116]

Hi Kevin, Another great video, you didn't mention that there was a dual 4 barrel option available. Love the 67 Bug eye look . Your number 1 Fan in Australia Louis Kats from Melbourne Australia ☺ 👍

[@carlinshowalter1806]

I don't think you could get the two four barrel set up until 1969.

[@Yankeededandy62]

Z/28 - just the sound of this little screamer gives me goosebumps. I would have loved to see GM put it into the Corvette at the time. I never got, why they waited until 1970 with the bigger LT-1.

[@Dogboy1960]

You watched the video so now you know why the 350 LT1 wasn't in these 1rst gen Camaros. What most folks who don't know? Because Trans Am racing rules limited engines to 305 or smaller they often fail to recognize just how special the little mouse 302 was. In a world of massive displacement motors unrestricted by a racing series rule book it's easy to miss the 302 small block and and the idea that this might have been the raciest of all of Detroit's production motors for the 3 year period of '67, '68 and '69. It reved bigger and made an incredible amount of HP/cubic inch that exceeded that of just about everything else. The bigger LT1 benefited from everything chevy threw at the 302 but by 1970 Chevy had abandoned Trans Am and most of racing again. The 302 had entirely forged short block and free floating wrist pins, mechanical cam and that crazy looking available Cross ram intake were incredibly obvious efforts on the part of the factory to squeeze every potential pony out of each of the mere 302 cubic inches. A new owner need to do no more that slap on some cheapo headers and go racing with the highest reving V8 you could buy from Detroit back in the day without cracking open first and spending big in the aftermarket. The z/28 just DOMINATED in Trans Am with Mark Donahue at the wheel. Seeing 4 piston calipers as an option taken from the Corvette program in 1969 was another indication of how Detroit's biggest automaker was flexing an unfair advantage over smaller rivals by '69. Today a BOSS Mustang and certainly an ARR Cuda or Challenger TA fetch big money too.........but ultimately the Z/28 was the most tricked out from the factory of them all.

[@kensalazar5066]

@@Dogboy1960 nice job, but 4 piston front calipers were in fact standard in all 1st generation Z28'S. They were needed to slow that beast down. I believe the JL 4 disc brake system was available in 68 as well, not sure thou....

[@darrellsomers5427]

Because the corvette wasn't built for the SCCA trans am series

[@billyrayvalentine7972]

Fun facts. The 1967 and 1968 Z/28 had the MA 302 blocks. The 1969 had the DZ 302 blocks. Then the 1970 and 1971 had the LT1 350 Corvette engines. 1972 and 1973 Z/28 had a 350 but it was no longer a high performance engine

[@curtismuma1931]

Wrong. 67, 68 cars had the mo blocks.

[@jasongraham5648]

Great channel, but you make me crazy every time you put your hands on the psint

[@MikeBMW]

Thanks, Kevin, I had a 1970 but a friend had a '68 - not a Z (back in the 70s) and we would wheel hop that all over the parking lots on acceleratopn. Love the vids! :)

[@carlinshowalter1806]

those crappy mono leaf springs on the early Camaros

[@georgepaust8416]

I enjoyed this segment on the early Z28 Camaros. I grew up at this time so I didn't learn much new, but I must advise you of something extremely important you forgot to hit on. The 1969 DZ 302 was completely different from the 67 and 68 models. The new four bolt main block replaced the two bolt main 327 block. The new steel crankshaft had larger main journals and rod journals to accept the new heavier duty LT1 connecting rods. In 1970 they would replace the 3-in stroke crankshaft of the 302 for a 3.5 in stroke crankshaft giving you the LT-1 350 which subsequently went into the 1970 Z28. For me, this is a major distinction. The car and the motor were one year only production in 1969. The same could be said for the 1970 Z28 as the following year, low compression and unleaded gas virtually killed the Z28 performance.

[@carlinshowalter1806]

In 72 the Lt1 motor went to hydraulic lifters and dropped the compression. The Camaro (and other Chevys) got the cat.convertor in 1975.

[@427bullis]

The LT-1 was a great engine.

[@thomasyoung7049]

I just hit the like hand and guest what it was #442 ..LOL...

[@Mike-bb1li]

Does the 1968 Z28 have about 400HP? I heard.

[@carlinshowalter1806]

Some guys here on Ytube have dyno tested "stock" 302 Z motors and came up close to that most of the time after a little tweeking on the carb and timing.