E-Rod '79 CAMARO Z28 HOT ROD PERFORMANCE TEST 

This is pretty much my dream muscle car. I love 2nd (and 3rd) generation Camaros, and while you could argue that the 71 is better looking, I prefer the last few years (also like the 79-81 Firebirds).

Still a dammed good looking car in 2021 (and always will be).

those quarter mile runs and the burnout gave me goosebumps. well done job to a car that looks so cool it was begging for some real power.

the Mini lite rims are a nice homage to the classic Trans Am races

That's a hell of an upgrade!Got a fresh Breath of Life . Hell yeah.

The fact you made me envious of a 79 camaro is a feat all by itself. The car wouldn't be right without the disco meets modern paint job either. Well done. If I could afford the erod package I wouldn't hesitate dropping it into my 70 Chevelle.

What an awesome looking car! I love this generation Camaro. They actually do quite well too at circle track racing with some minor work.

That's an awesome looking Camaro

This is one of the nicest cars hotrod has built...ever. I have been a hotrod reader since the very first issue...

Damn that thing is so clean and it performs as good as it looks

I used to be stationed there in the late '90s. Guarded and patrolled that very flightline

David is one of my heroes

that's why I love the 98-02 fbodies. similar powertrain. no werk. 79 did look pretty cool though

Thanks for making the video guys. I remember when you built this one very cool. I have an 80 with patroit heads thumper cam .40 sbc th400 shift kit all redone interior and exterior it's flat black now but I may paint it gloss this spring

Oh snap, Friesandburger. Wasn't expecting that.

That is great for California guys who want to build their G-body, or anything between 1976 and 1995. The GMPP LS3-Erod and LSA E-rod are the best way to get power and pass CA emissions/smog. LS3 E-rod has 430 horse and the LSA E-rod has 550 horse.

I have a 1979 Z28 I ordered from the factory on October 22nd 1978 and received it May 24th 1979...black on black 4 speed. I have about 50,000 miles on it now but, was thinking to bring it up to todays technology....still love the car but, we were unable to order the car with a drive train of choice in those days...garage kept from delivery...need to get the full story on the upgrades....thanks for posting the video...

I MAKE IT A HABIT TO WATCH THIS TWICE A DAY..AT LEAST

Bring this thing back update please!

Agreed, If I can remember, (10 months back), the debate was over how dangerous these cars were and those with similar geometry, My point was some people don't understand the principles of driving or a cars limitations, much less how to compensate for that, let alone their own limitations.....

A really great candidate to do a modern drivetrain swap in. Nicely done. If you're planning on picking up a second gen camaro I suggest you do it sooner rather than later. In just the few months i've been watching (in which time I've picked up an 80 and 81) prices have been creeping up. But if you look hard enough you can get a real decent roller or even one with a running, or questionably running more than likely, drive train what would be a perfect canvas for a restoration or resto-mod. Would love to see more of them restored for street driving and less back-halved for 1/8 mile. But the truth is that a LOT of 1st-2nd gen Camaros, and Fox platform mustangs, have been butchered up for that because they're nicely adaptable for it and parts are plentiful.

the one dislike is the guy who E-Rod bought the Camaro from. cleanest 79 ive seen. love the rims too

I have a 1978 and 1980 Camaro, My favorite body style also!!!

Awesome thanks for the heads up stuff

I like how the car retains much of the stock visual styling cues, like the Z28 stripes. Aside from the paint/wheels, it looks stock from the outside.

Impressive upgrades, however: these cars had a ROLL-UNDERSTEER mechanism. (Wherein the back axle goes OUT-OF-KILTER in the turn.) What's more, the front-end had UNDERSTEERING-INDUCING camber deflections. Further, the BRAKE’S proportioning valve caused the front end to LOCK before the rear end locked. In short: 70's cars had THREE mechanisms that caused the buggies to UNDERSTEER. When you can address these three concerns... you might empress me, as well as the world of automotive enthusiasts.

My first car is going to be a 73 camaro and i have an ls3 and 4l60e for it and for fun im gonna add the c4 corvette hatch glass latch to open the trunk on it :)

As Jefferson told Damone in Fast Times at Ridgemont High....."Don't Fuck With It!" LOL

You tell 'em, your Empress! You've earned a crumpet!

All three things you listed are controlled by a variable control throttle and a skilled driver.

Anyone else watching this in March 2020 while missing the "old" Roadkill?

My favorite Camaro!! I think I love it more than Crusher!!! Yup!!! I Love it more than Crusher!!! PLEASE Let me power tour this car!!! I wish my 79 Camaro was like this

Some nice parts in this car.

Beautiful car. I had a 78. Its top speed was 130. I remember getting beat by a honda crx at a light.😳

We're talking about brake bias. And yes, the fronts do the majority of the work with weight transferring forward and the static nose-heaviness of the car. Even my stock rear drums don't just "roll to a stop." I am not advocating having the rears unable to lock (and unable to reach the limit of grip as determined by static coefficient friction), but rather saying the fronts should lock FIRST for stability. This is only slightly first, but first nonetheless. Look it up!

Pure awesomeness ❤

if you carefully watched the video it has hotchkis suspension which addresses all of your under-steer issues,the wild-wood brakes have an adjustable per portioning valve and any car in the world has the front brakes working at 70% or more compared to the rear,this car is equal to a modern super car in its current state

My '77 Impala needed emissions tested too, but all it took was a good tune up every year and it passed with flying colors.

ya love this car ever since I got my 81 z28 with a 350 shorty, short n a four speed ive been making every excuse just to drive it

"A man has to know his limitations" , countless people wreck driving brand new vettes as well, however 3500 pounds, sub-frame, and under powered, second generation F cars were just that, a generation better. The Camaro will always fall short as a factory production vehicle, two words - corvette supremacy..... That doesn't mean folks won't stop trying to break that barrier or the hearts of others that get in the way. The Camaro in this video is GREAT but only a modest attempt to obtain the crown

I think im gonna get rid of my G Body for a Gen 2 Camaro 80 or 81. Im gonna do a similar build with it but I want a 6.0 LS with twin turbo somewhere around 600hp

I am impressed this is A great car handles and accelerates awesome. Makes the new '10+ Camaros look like junk though considering that this is A 32yr old car with A stick axle, with the same motor and out performs it.

gonna drive this around every racetrack on the world while performing an act on myself...

getting a 1979 z28 this saturday cant wait

can't wait to finish mine !1

More like the worst thing about the car is the tires, I would like to see the numbers on better tires, none the less great vid.

Sick setup man, fucking ridiculous.

Love it. Want it.

I'd love to see you guys do a 3rd gen Camaro with an e rod ls7.

Nice job, I want one, if you could throw a new Z06 engine in mine I would appreciate it lol

Way better looking too.

I was looking for something to like about this car - crate motors (while easy and reliable) are boring, and the interior of the thing is horrifyingly bad. Seriously, who built the dash and was like "oh, yeah, fake carbon fiber on a '79 camaro is totally THE look!" But I could probably overlook all of that now that I see the performance of the thing. I love that Hot Rod finally made a 2nd gen camaro as fast as they've always looked. Well done.

He did. Those who study ancient history (which of course involves reading mentions of a ruling Empress) can, on occasion, mistype the word.

@alphamongrel First Sheen reference! Well played, extra points for that one.

I know the paint is great quality etc but not really liking the colour at all..but hey each to their own, I'd probably hit it with rattle can satin black. The rest of it, though, I love!

What all had to be done to put a t56 in the car I'm looking into manual swapping my 81 ...trying to figure out what has to be done for driveshaft and crossmember for trans

Man that tire flex at 1.30 tho

@1968ChuckO I agree, we need to see the F-bomb...in the mag or in my garage either or.

I love that car!! In fact Ive just bought it from you.Im poor so my $50 check is in the mail. I expect delivery of the car by next Tuesday at the latest :)

@slammer153 So why you at me? I said for it's time it handled very well. And with some upgrades it handles even better.

awesome awesome!! a real american muscle car may not be perfect but its super cool and super fun!! who am i kidding it is perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a 78 Firebird with the LS3 E-Rod connect & Cruise kit. I'm still stuck on this last bit before sending my car off the CA Smog center: I cannot find a gas tank with a pressure sensor that is smog legal. None of the ones I found anywhere are smog legal that come with the fuel pump in it (which usually have the pressure sensor in it too). We got a work around for the fuel pump (by using an external one), but what about the pressure sensor? That needs to be connected the the CPU. otherwise that part of the diagnostic will throw an error code and it won't pass. Can an aftermarket sensor be installed? And where? Anyone know?

very nice job

@silverado271 Actually in their time frame, they were one of the better handling cars you could buy, it even garnered the nickname "The Hugger" for how well it handled curves. But by todays standards they dont handle very well, but as we can see by this demonstration here they can be made to handle very well with some suspension upgrades.

So... would this be a class C car in Forza?

Yes, that is ok with me. The other alternative is having the rears lock first and spinning the car. Understeer is purposely built into cars because it is more controllable. In your scenario, hit the brakes is the right answer for a car with ABS. Otherwise, you should take out steering and get on the brakes and then slowly get off the brakes as steering is added back in. Go take your car out to some performance event where you can test this for yourself.

4:18 my favorite part lol

Oh ya you guys gave her some legs.

god forbid Freiburger put on a decent shirt for once in his life

Sickness....

I would be interested in buying the Camaro

2cnd and 3rd gens favorite carz in the world son owns 81 z28 myself a 86 iroc z28

Those were some quick shifts ey?

my dream car

I’ve contacted Hotchkis on the topic of changes their parts make to frontend geometry. After days, they have not responded. And to know, I cannot see how their parts address the roll-understeer mechanism other than to mask its effect. As to the 70-30 braking bias: This ratio may be fine for inline braking, yet, in a turn this creates a deadly understeer effect. A mechanical “monkey box” computer, alerting the braking system to the steering wheel being turned, should have been applied by GM.

This was a fantastic build and a fun driver. What is the cost to duplicate (less the fancy paint job)?

which hotchkis kit did u use? Looking at one for my 77 now that just about everything else is kinda done..

Orange is not the color I would've chose, but beautiful nonetheless.

have u guy's ever seen a second gen camero with full spoiler kit were it has spoilers in front and behind all wheels i just got a 79 z28 rs t top with full spoiler kit for free have never seen one before the old owner got it new and told me it was one of kind car because of the full spoiler kit and i have been trying to find another one but can't find one with the full spoiler kit and most people have know idea what i'm talking about . i was told by a good friend that they did build them a long time ago but did not put too much thought in to it in till i got one and the back window louver is on the option sheet too i all ways thought that was after market . so i been trying to find more about it but know body knows a thing about it how rare is this car it was order with every option chevy had to offer the guy told me

This car really does have great paint. Too bad about the hood already buckling though.

@ThePunisher1978 Yes you can, but it's between 10 and 12 euro

Awesome car! I love best that it's mentioned, "you can just brutalize this car, and it just takes it.." Phenomenal! Let's all thank Ford for making such an axle to be fitted to this GM car that can handle such brutalization! Woot!

There's nothing wrong with the front brakes locking before the rears. I know, in the perfect ideal situation, all 4 would lock at the same moment in order to maximize the braking force at each tire's limit of grip, but that's not practical. Erring on the side of front bias makes safe understeer, especially in any scenario that involves any amount of turning. So much of the real braking work is done by the front brakes on these nose-heavy cars that that shouldn't be among your "big 3" concerns.

craigslist, and youre in California! you can find everything out west

Epic car !

Sweet Camaro!

dont forget the HUGE sponsor discount* cha chinggg

NIIIIIICE!!!! just nice!

put the z28 decal on the nose like it had when it was blue

170 HP out of 5.7L is kinda sad...

Is there a build play list for this

nice car. I want it

Does anyone know the paint code on this car? And what wheels? Ive got a 81 camaro and would love for it to be this color and same wheels

Build A Car or Truck with the 5.0 Coyote crate motor and A TCI 6 speed Auto with paddle shifters.70 Torino or Mustang would be nice...paint it White...make it unassuming.

What wheels are those they look nice. Were can i find them

hi ....what cann udo to do a tunning on a DACIA ...a romain autovehicule

@silverado271 Thats what makes it so much fun! Who wants something that everyone expects to handle good, way more fun to make people say "How is that car doing that?"

Rallysport or z28? Hhhmm, that's a tough choice.

Thank you "BeZero" (talk about truth-in-labeling), for pointing to someone's typo. I'm sure you didn't do so in an attempt to look as shallow as can be, yet, that's how it ended. Okay? Got that? If you have anything intelligent to offer in the field of industry (or, perhaps laundering tips? More your speed.) please chime back in then. Oh, and good luck in rehab and in getting your car out of the police impound. I hope your stay in "lock up," (as you people call it) wasn't too harsh.

Is this David frieburgers 79 camaro?