69 Yenko 427 Nova Question

[ed427vette]

Does anyone know what color the Yenko 427 Nova is that is/was in the Otis Chandler collection? Mainly is it a metallic red or non-metallic. Also is the flat hood without scoops that is on the car correct for that particular car? I build 1/24 scale model cars and would like to build this car as correct as possible and the pics I have make it hard to tell.
Thanks
Ed

[bkhpah]

The car is a deep red non metallic Garnet red. It has a flat hood. I have seen the car in person.
BKH

[Charley Lillard]

Ed. I believe the car now belongs to Kevin Sudaym ? Same car Brian ? If so there is a link to Kevin's collection on this web site .

[bkhpah]

I looked at the car at Kevin's while I was in Seattle a few month's ago to help purchase a Yenko Deuce from an other gentleman.
BKH

[COPO]

Brian, what's the chance of getting Kevin to attend next years Reunion? The biggest problem would be which car to bring.........

[bkhpah]

It's hard to say. I invited him to bring a car or two but the logistics may get in the way.
BKH

[CamarosRus]

"Someday" maybe there will be a special Seattle tour group to see Kevins collection,
the Paul Allen Experience Music Project and anything else of Seattle interest.
regards, Chuck

[ed427vette]

Does anyone know why that particular car has the flat hood instead of the hood with the grills? Nonetheless it is a real beauty. Thanks for the replies guys.

[COPO]

I believe Roger Gibson restored the car and was convinced it was not an SS car hence no SS hood. I think this is still somewhat controversial as to whether or not the Yenko Nova's were SS models.

[REDZ]

You're right about the controversy concerning this being a non-SS car. If my feeble memory is correct, several years ago, when this car was featured in a few magazines, Gibson and Chandler were touting it to be a non-SS and possibly a COPO car based on something Gibson found on the build sheet. I had a lot of interest at the time in this car because we were in the middle of a partial restoration on the Rallye Green car that I had purchased from Carl Dwiggins which I eventually sold to Reggie Jackson. So I called Jim Mattison, who as you know, worked in the COPO office in the late sixties, to see what he thought about the COPO claims for Chandler's car. Jim said he was certain that there weren't any factory-built 427 Nova's and he also felt that all of the Yenko conversion Nova's were definitely SS cars. I never heard of anyone actually seeing the paperwork that would backup Gibson's COPO claim, so the mystery of the flat hood and no SS emblems is, to my knowledge, still unresolved

[bbdon]

I have seen Broadcast sheets for a few 1969 SS Novas, and none of them list an SS option. Looking at the assembly manual, the instructions for L34 and L78 point to the assembly instructions for L48, which call for the SS trim to be added. Note that I am not trying to say anything specific about the Yenko in question, since I have never seen it in person, and there is always the possibility that it was not built per the usual rules. But per the normal process used at the time, any L78 car would get the SS trim, and no Z26 code would have appeared on the broadcast sheet. But I have seen a 1970 Nova broadcast sheet with a Z26 code, so go figure. The broadcast sheets that I have seen are all from the Willow Run plant. These sheets were small, and did not have many spaces to list option codes, so I will conjecture that they were not listing some redundant codes to leave more open spaces on the form.

[JoeC]

You can see pics and read some history on the car at Kevin's site. They claim it was the first 427 Yenko Nova so maybe Yenko just pulled a non SS car off the lot and converted it although they do say it was a 396/375 car. If it was built as a COPO 396/375 you would think it would still have the SS trim like the COPO Chevelles did. It would be interesting to see what the rear end code is - if the original one is still in the car. He has a fantastic collection of cars. Does he have an e-mail address or someone who will answer some questions on the cars?
http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/1-GM.htm


[Edited by JoeC (09-16-2000 at 08:57 AM).]

[Charley Lillard]

You can Email to that site and Kevin will recieve it. Go to the home page and email the web page designer Dennis Gilbert. I believe the mail gets forwarded to Kevin. Or if you look at the cars for sale page his # is listed.

[JoeC]

I have, without luck in the past, tried to send to the web page e-mail but will have to try it again. Another thing about the possibility of a 1969 COPO Nova without SS trim - I believe the 1968 COPO Nova TH400 cars came through with the SS trim. Ray M's car has them and the red Harrell/Gibb COPO Nova TH400 race car appears to have them.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

In speaking with Greg Joseph a few weeks ago regarding this particular car, he apparently was misquoted by the magazine when they claimed that he thought the car to be a COPO 427. The Otis 'crew' felt that the car was a COPO 396/375hp non-SS car. They felt that the broadcast sheet should have had a designator for the SS package, (RPOZ26 or Z27 I believe). This broadcast sheet did not have such a code, and when the car was found it did not have it's entire SS ornaments. The final result is that they felt the car was a non-SS L78 car, which could only be explained by being a COPO. They did not feel that it was a COPO 427 car, the magazines were much more eager to make that claim and print it under someone elses name!

It is one of the few cars remaining out of approximately 30-37 produced by Yenko in '69.

Wish I coud find one!!
Marlin

[Edited by YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY (09-20-2000 at 09:56 AM).]

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

On Yenko's order form for the '70 COPO Novas he inadvertently wrote COPO 9020, then crossed it out and wrote 9010 - which is correct for the LT1 option.

Does anyone know what COPO 9020 was for? Is it possible it was for L78 non-SS Novas in '69??

Marlin

[JoeC]

I have not heard of a COPO 9020. The 1969 COPO's were 95xx numbers like 9560=ZL1, 9561= L72 Camaro, 9562= L72 Chevelle, 9567= ZL1 prototype Camaro. You would think that if there was a COPO 1969 Nova it would be a 95xx number. Chevy did release service info on the 1969 Camaro and Chevelle COPO's (see ED's book) but did not include anything on a '69 COPO Nova.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

JoeC:
I thought about the 95xx vs. the 90xx, but then I remembered that the 9737 was from 68. Maybe GM was issueing COPO #'s in a decreasing order? Just a thought.
M

[JoeC]

The numbers are all over the place. I don't see a pattern but maybe someone else can. Other COPO numbers;
9738 '68 Nova L78 TH400
9796 '70 Camaro Z/28 new design big spoiler
9568 found on a '70 Chevelle with spec paint build sheet
9011 or 9711 (not sure) for the '71 Yenko Vega
Did the Stinger Corvair have a COPO number?

[YenkoYS100]

According to Ed Cunneen, It was believed that the Corvair Yenko Stingers were ordered under COPO #9737.
Rick

[micky69396]

This might be old news but there is a article on speedvision online about the red "copo" nova. Its done by Jerry Heasley who I believe did the original article in Muscle Car Review a few years ago.

[SuperCars]

Hey Marlin,if you would like to; you can post the photo of this Yenko Nova when at the dragstrip, that I sent you. Other batch of stuff to be sent to you tomorrow. Kevin

[JoeC]

Kevin, I would be very interested to see the original documentation and pics of your Yenko Nova. I have been trying to research the '69 COPO Nova question but have come up with no evidence that one was ever made. I know people are quick to discount the existence of the COPO cars, as the Heasley article mentions, but I try to keep an open mind and look for "just the facts ma'am." Heasley states how in the mid 80's the Chevelle experts said there were no 427 factory built COPO Chevelles but I had one in my garage at the time and it's original owner told me that he was told by the dealer (Byrne Brothers Chev.) that the car was a "factory 427 car with a racing transmission." I later found Byrne Brothers Chev. ads from 1969 where they advertised "factory installed 427 Camaros and Chevelles." I believe that some 1968 COPO 427 Camaros were made (I posted info on this) but the Nova is a different story. I leave the door open but there are a few reasons I would agree with Jim Mattison that no COPO Novas were made. The Heasley article claims that the Nova's Body Broadcast Sheet shows RPO L78, M20, M10. but no RPO for the SS. This is shaky COPO evidence. As Don Coffman states on his web site, his 1969 SS L34 Nova Body Broadcast Sheet shows no RPO Z26 for the SS trim. The COPO Chevelle has the COPO # 9562 with a ECL code on the Body Broadcast Sheet. Does the Nova's BB Sheet have a COPO type number such as 95xx on it? The ED Cunneen book has service letters from GM for the COPO Camaros and Chevelles but has no mention of a COPO Nova. In the pictures of your Yenko Nova it looks like it has been restored with an SS grill and SS emblems on the steering wheel. Is this correct? The SS hood grills are missing but maybe Yenko didn't replace them after installation of the hood stripes? The SS 396 side marker lights are missing but Yenko would have to swap them with std. side marker lights to install his 427 emblems. Do the original pics show the rear SS trim piece between the tail lights? Maybe Yenko removed the SS emblems from the grill and removed the rear SS trim when he installed the rear Yenko emblems? Weather it is a COPO or not, it is still a rare and beautiful SuperCar.




[Edited by JoeC (10-05-2000 at 07:07 AM).]

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Kevin/Joe;
I am working on the photo upload, I'm having a little bit of trouble with the file format. It is not a .JPG, so I will have to try it as a .TIF format. I will start a new topic in order to minimize the download time.
M