Powered by a 450-HP 427ci Big-Block

 If you're a fan of early Camaros, or muscle cars in general, then some of your favorites have to be the Yenko-modified examples, built for those who wanted more than what Chevrolet was willing to offer through its dealers. Yenko's Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, dealership would order up just the right Camaro from GM, often a 396 big-block car, and stuff a 427 big-block under the hood, an option that wasn't on the menu from GM. The creation was called a Yenko Super Camaro, and they even offered a tuned version that put out even more power.

This 1967 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro RS/SS coupe, one of three known to exist, is an early product of the partnership between racer Don Yenko and "Mr. Chevrolet," Dick Harrell.  A pioneer in the business of building "dealer specials" to fulfill the pent-up demand for competitive Chevrolet muscle cars, Yenko began by modifying 100 Corvair coupes for SCCA competition. With the entry of Chevrolet's new Camaro into the growing performance wars, Yenko hired Bowtie expert Harrell to manage the Yenko Chevrolet racing program and develop custom high-performance packages that unleashed the huge potential of Chevy's growing range of midsize muscle cars.

One of the most successful of the early Yenko conversions was the Yenko Camaro SS427. The Yenko 427 began as an SS Camaro equipped with the L78 375-hp 396ci V-8 (one of 1,138 built), 4.10 rear end, Muncie M21 (or M22) four-speed transmission, front disc brakes, and heavy-duty suspension. The factory 396 was then replaced with the Corvette's RPO L72 427ci engine and supporting components. The Super Camaro 450 standard upgrade cost $677.27 (in 1967 dollars), and included replacement of the 396ci short-block with the aforementioned L72 427ci unit, metallic brakes, heavy-duty clutch and pressure plate, high-capacity cooling system, and suspension upgrades. Other items included a Stewart Warner tachometer and instrument package, a fiberglass hood, hood pins, and "427" emblems. Further Yenko options included Traction Master traction bars, tuned headers, scattershield, and special spark plug wires. It sounds cheap today, but that was a lot of cash back in the mid-'60s.