It has been over 50 years but I worked at Motion along with a good friend, Stan Noren. We, along with a few other mechanics built a large portion of their Nova's, Camaro's, and the occasional Corvette... Joel Rosen, the owner used to take finished cars out on Sunrise Hwy. in front of the store a launch them with all the guys involved in the builds standing on the sidewalk and watching.....Great times and many old memories of all sorts of stories come back when I see a car that I helped build!
@RicerEater1978 False. The Baldwin-Motion Camaro was 550hp to the Yenko's 425ish. Baldwin Motion had a guarantee the car would hit 11 second quarter miles right off the showroom floor. And it did. And you could also get them faster if you wanted.
I think they had several packages/phases? Considering the little accuracy of head castings of that day compared to current bolt on AL ported heads 500 was very impressive
My Father Ran a 55 Nomad back then he bought a 427 L88 from Baldwin Chevrolet short block after he got out of Nam for like 500 bucks or so then the open chambered rectangular port heads 2.19 1.88 valve heads car weighed 3750 ran D MODIFIED PRODUCTION Chrysler 4 Spd Olds rear 4.88 for the quarter 5.57d for the 1/8 mile at islip drag strip ran New York National and Westhampton also stock H Rockers Purple L88 cam 12 .5.1 11.40 131 was best time. Yenkos were only 427 L72 different animal than the L88
Yes the Yenko was the 427/425 so it still had a 520 solid cam, 11 to 1 compression, 2.19 rect heads the L-88 had more cam and compression. I lived in NY when NY national speedway was running, that was about 1973 when i went there, it was a 1/4 mile at that time
In michigan these engines were a dime a dozen transplanted in camaros novas and firebirds . I don't think anything could beat them with the 4.56 gears and exaust port work with header extensions and over 1200 cfm tunnel rammed . These engines pulled hard on the top end . Aluminum heads weren't really used . 427 was capable of some high rpms with those open chamber rectangular port heads and long duration cams ( l88 wasn't the only cam used). Decking for quench ,indexing plugs and proper valve train geometry . If the combustion chamber is done right debured 13 to 1 compression your making some power .
I have a 1967 Camaro, SS delivered to Baldwin Motors when new. It was a 396/375 fr the factory,no power steering ,no power brakes.Deepwater blue with Bright blue interior,purchased it in 1991 from a speed shop in Connecticut,still have it wish I knew more about it
Bought my 1968 SS 396/375 Chevelle when I was 17. The L88 phase III was way out of my price range. If I only knew then what I know now I would have stolen the money to buy it.
Paul BEVINS OR BLEVINS CANT REMEMBER HIS NAME came to NY National with his Vette off the trailer first run out of wind tunnel ran a 10.88 or something set new record 1971 or so that was it .My ole man seen the writing on the wall that was it for the Nomad
I had a Yenko clone, 427/425 with 456 gears and a 4 speed, run mids 12's with a junky old 780 holley, mist ran mid to high 12's with 25 inch slicks 11.7 wasn't stock or was tweaked by racers for the track-- i was only up there a few times Motion did have more HP due to higher compression, bigger cam, so had the dual quads but not all-- in it's day the motion was the fastest
@@ThunderAppeal In those days 5-6 speeds werent even a dream so if you wanted serious times for its day 456 gears and radical cams were tolerated and part of the fun! When you ran 110-115 in the 1/4 in an old Camaro you got a fast ride and more fun than a modern Camaro!
It is incredible for sure, but when EV's eventually become the norm for example, it will be hard for car enthusiasts who will never be able to drive (like myself due to visual impairment) to feel any real excitement or emotion about them aside from their looks. And no, fake exhaust speakers don't count.
@RicerEater1978 The Baldwin Motion had more HP than the Yenko, and had a dual carb setup. No wat was a Yekno more powerful, and B-M would make the car as fast as you wanted it. The 11 second guarantee was for their base, it wasn't their fastest car.
It depends on the "phase" that was specified. In most cases, the 427 cars were production line stock L-72 crate engines shipped directly by Chevrolet. In that sense they were identical to the Yenko 427 COPO Camaros. Those cars did NOT have "11 second guarantees." It was the Phase 3 cars that generally did, though they were essentially un-streetable.
550 might have been overrated but in the day it was king, need traction to get the ET down there too not just HP, i used to have Lakewood track version traction bars with j loops up and over the axle, not just bolt to the spring purchase
@Car Guy daddyo Didn't Chevy make a few different L-88 cams? It's been AGES ago but i thought someone told me they made a few grinds/phases as the years progressed. Seems most modern cams outperform the old factory ones but as time progresses thats usually the case, i think the ZL-1 cam was even more aggressive?
@Car Guy daddyo Same valve size as the 427/425, mine had the 2.19 intakes but dropping 70 pounds sure a good thing especially with so much weight on the front end of a Camaro. The 427/425 factory solid cam was about 520 minus lash, that was a nice cam to live with and didnt suffer from any low end loss but i am sure the L-88 made more higher end power when it kicked it
Yes that 427/425 cam was much more streetable than the L-88 cam, that was a bit much unless you are ready for it and don't mind even worse mileage and super rough idle, those super rough cams get hard to live with especially solids with the noise factor.
@zxtenn The L88 cam 3925535 solid lifter cam was plenty streetable. I not only ran it in a 396 4 speed 514 geared 68 Camaro, I also ran it in a 69 LS1 427 Impala Custom with 308 gears. It pulled hard when roll on racing.
Operating Engineer, you can't fool me, you sat in a seat when the real work was getting done by the Ironworkers. Just kidding. Thanks for posting, IW 385.
Lots of fun on the street. Wanna drag race and go rounds? TCI Transbrake Powerglide, TCI 5000 stall transbrake converter, 488 gears. Should go 6.60s 1/8th mile and be a lot more consistent.
@@whicker59 it’s much slower than a hellcat and I’ve never heard of anyone than could not lean forward in the seat just because the car was accelerating in a 12 second car
@@frankjohnson6342 Is a Hellcat NA? lets talk 60's technology, transmission, etc. and not compare to 2022 tech. and drivetrain but faster than a 68 HEMI is what counts
@@joequillun7790 I agree with dropping a few tenths by shifting faster but old school shifters with the linkage and clutch set-up made it more difficult and i doubt he wanted to miss any gears, the Hurst Super Shifter was a good shifter to use and a good Borg and Beck pressure plate then but pedal pressure was SICK compared to the diaphragm, i had a Borg and Beck in my Yenko clone 67 Camaro, lets say it grabbed
@@zxtenn you could be right, Jim. If he had the factory crap shifter. Me (?), I'll take a Mr.Gasket V gate, any day. Had one for many yrs in my Goats, and Bird. Loved it, and miss it. Was your 67 a BBC?
@@joequillun7790 I had a 67 RS that i had a JUNK 327 and got a 396/325 for it with headers and a spreadbore, 2.5 inch pipes into Corvair turbo mufflers which was stolen, that had 3.31 gears and then i had a 67 RS that i built, a 427/425 with 456 gears, both were 4 speeds, [Yenko Clone] HUGE difference between the both cars but 456 gears are really strip gears and you need to have a 6000 grand + engine to finish the 1/4, the 396/325 with 5 grand redline would never do it and even with 4.10 be questionable? That factory Chevy solid cam in the 427/425 or a 396/375 was a great cam, idle wasn't too crazy like an L-88 and much smoother too. That is the car i had the most fun with.
Not a bad time especially for it's day when the STOCK 'showroom' muscle car was probably somewhere in the 14's with street tires, high 11's is certainly fast-- let's face the facts that the new cars are faster as ET and MPH indicate, most old cars could barely reach 100 mph when the new Camaro SS hits 111, i don't like it's looks vs the 1st gen. but it does have 12 second performance
A couple of things: The L88 was not a street engine. I have copies of original GM letters that were sent to dealerships to explain that. They required 103 plus octane racing fuel, had no radiator fan shroud, no heat riser for cold temp operation and would routinely foul plugs in traffic. It's for the reason that GM stated "For off road use only." The example you see here is running open long tube headers, which of course wasn't production line stock. So equipped, high 11s is feasible. The ZL1 was the aluminum block equivalent of the L88. In its fully "as installed" (SAE Net) state, both engines produced something on the order of 376 peak HP at the crank. SOURCE: www.camaros.org/copo.shtml Power swelled to more than 520 in the full gross state (open long tube headers, no engine accessories or air cleaner and retuned accordingly): www.camaros.org/copo.shtml Impressive for sure, though not stock. Here's a rare L88 test (HOT ROD Magazine, circa 1969), keeping in mind that axle ratios have little impact on trap speed (though a much larger impact in ET) and that this car as equipped with fat aftermarket street/strip rubber: It ran mid 13s @ 111 MPH. www.flickr.com/photos/141864703@N03/49488341451/in/dateposted-friend/lightbox/ I also have a vintage ZL1 Camaro test, though at the moment don't feel like going through my archives to find and scan it. That one had a 4:10 axle ratio and dipped into the low 13s with some minor rear suspension work and a few carb tweaks, though trap speed was 110 MPH. Even on slicks, the typical 100% bone stock muscle car was in the upper 14s. Back then, anything more than 200 HP at the rear wheels was impressive. The most exotic examples (the better 426 street Hemis) could manage 315 or so, which was "H*LY SH*T!" massive by period standards.
@@operatingengineer THE MPH IS STILL WAY UP THERE. 117 IS SERIOUS TRAP SPEED AND MPH DICTATES HORSEPOWER SO THAT OLD 427 WAS PUMPING PLENTY ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO SAY A 396/375 WHICH WOULD BARELY BREAK 100 IN THE 1/4.
@@peteshea8010 I am 65 now and in 1975 i built a 67 Yenko Clone Camaro, 427/425 engine which came from an Impala which has the 11 to 1 pistons, factory solid cam, rect. port heads, etc. and i found a 67 RS shell that had the 12 bolt with 456 gears, Lakewood comp. traction bars and i got a 4 speed, since i worked at a gas station then and made no $$$ i used a JUNK 780 holley and with some borrowed 25 inch slicks and no tuning except for new plugs i got 12.7 at 110, the guy who lent me the slicks said with a single plane manifold and a good 800/850 i would have easily ran 12.4 or better. I agree 12.5 compression even then wasn't easy to deal with but i knew people that did it, remember back then the gas was superior for detonation. I could have gotten an L-88 with the ALUMINUM heads for 500.00 bucks then before i bought my engine but that was a lot for me. Even then you needed to spend $$$ to go fast but then a 427 engine though rare was still available and so were parts like scattershields, cams, intakes and carbs. Any Motion vehicle vehicle then was the pinnacle as the L-88 was Chevy's mainstream top engine less the ZL-1. From what i heard Motion guaranteed a certain time depending on the build not like these fools throwing a 850 on a stock GTO and getting nothing but a big BOG or a huge cam with no breathing
LOL. That Camaro isn't much faster for 20 years newer, my 300 hp 1993 C4 LT1 Corvette automatic runs mid 13's at about 105 mph and I'm pretty sure a 1996 C4 with 30 more horses would .be a match for a 2011 Camaro SS.
NOT STOCK AND YOUR BATTERIES ARE HAZARDOUS MATERIAL JUST LIKE THE CARS, THESE GREEN FOOLS WILL SOON FIND OUT IN 5 YEARS OR LESS HOW LONG THE BATTERIES WILL LAST, YOU'RE JUST SUBSTITUTING ONE FORM OF POLLUTION WITH AN EVEN MORE DANGEROUS ONE AND IT SURE DOESNT SOUND LIKE THAT L-88
