'69 Yenko Nova

[sYc]

We have moved our Nova to the garage to began the restoration process. Build date of 01A, body # 254956. Here is what we have found so far. It started life as L-78 car, SS with all of the SS markings(hood, side louvers, black grille and rear panel, steering wheel), base exterior(Lemans Blue/non-vinyl top) and interior(black bench), PDB, non-PS, rubber floor mat, etc. As per Yenko add ons, here is what we found. Rear panel had SS emblem removed and two holes drilled for the 427 and Yenko emblems (staggered). Moniter(add on tach) holes between trim tag and fender, front fenders has 3 holes (factory), thus Yenko replaced the 396 side marker assemby with a 427 unit(Impala/Caprice). According to Vince (for the $500.00 fee, the prior owner), LB, 4sp, 427, bench seat, 4:10, Bl. int., w/stripes, rubber mats, Atlas mags, sold new at Van Chevrolet, Mission KS. I do not want to start an argument, but since buying the car, Vince has been quoted as saying that this car is first on the list. I have been unable to verify this since Vince will not speak to me. It would be nice to know one way or the other. Tom

[COPO]

That is interesting to hear it came from Van Chevrolet. My '70 LS-6 Convertible was also sold new at Van Chev. and is believed to be the first one built. Seems that Van sold a number of "hot" cars.

[bowtie3168]

Tom,
That car sounds like a winner! Will you post some photos?
Andrew

[sYc]

Marlin; No such luck. That was the first thing Rob did, was check for any "hidden" paperwork. None found. One interesting note. Since Vince would not talk to me, we ran the Nova's VIN through the NICB, an agency that has official Chevrolet (and others) records which tell where a car was delivered to. The Nova came back as Yenko Chevrolet, W. Pike St EXT, Canonsburg PA 15317, thus this Nova is for sure a Yenko. Tom

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Would like to know the VIN and Trim Tag info from Randy Miller's '69 Yenko Nova if anyone has it. I would like to compare his data to the others to see where it falls in.

I believe Randy's car was sold out of Nankivell Chev. in Indianapolis, or out of V.V. Cooke in Louisville. We have some approximate dates for the sale to the original owner of a '69 Yenko Nova, and I think it is now Randy's car.

Thanks,
M

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Tom:
According to the research that I have done on the '69 Yenko Novas, your car has the earliest body number, Kevin's car has the earliest VIN number. I am not sure which one denotes as 'earliest', and I sure don't want to start anything on it either!! Maybe yours was the first one 'sold' according to Vinces paperwork??

Either way, can't wait to see it.
Marlin

[bkhpah]

For years even before Tom bought the Nova we were informed from Vince though Mark Kickle that this was Nova #1. Who knows.. It's cool no matter what number is assigned to it...
BKH

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

For clarification, both of these cars are 01A build date.

Tom;
Have you found a Broadcast Sheet? This will tell you the actual day that the car was made!

M

[Peter]

Tom, There's a agency that can tell you what dealership your car was sold at? I never heard of this. Is this something anyone can have done? I would love to know what dealership my car was sold at. My brother in law has a 69 RS/Z that still has the Scuncio RI High Performance emblem on the back. I hear there have been some good cars that came out of that dealership besides one of the ZL1's. I know a old Chevelle guy that has a Scuncio High Performance emblem thats different than my brother in laws. I may see if he wants to get rid of it just to hang on my wall.

[COPO]

Peter, NICB is typically used by law enforcement personnel. Do you know a friendly man in blue?

[Chevy454]

Peter:

If possible, I would like to get a scan or a copy of one or both of the Scuncio emblems for the Scuncio page here on this site. We have very little Scuncio info, but we are currently in contact with part of the family, so maybe in the future we can get some more info/pictures up.

[Mr Yenko]

My brothers 70 LS-6 was from scuncio chev. according to the build sheet. This is a 30,000 mile orig. car . It does not seem to have any evidence of a Scuncio emblem ever being placed on the car.But i bought a scuncio emblem for the car in case my brother decides to put it on.

[JoeC]

Tom - A Lemans Blue 69 Yenko Nova with white stripes sounds beautiful. Does it still have the original front fender Impala side marker lights/emblems? The pic of Kevins Nova shows the Yenko 427 emblem but Yenko could have done either. They were not always consistant with emblem installations.

[Peter]

COPO, Thanks for the tip. I do have a friend in blue and he's already warned me he's going to want me to help him with something soooo......
Chevy454, Next time I'm at my brother in laws I'll snap a picture of the emblem on the back of his car. I don't see the other guy a whole lot but I plan on stopping by his junkyard sometime again (great place, over 300 Chevelles and a couple handfulls of Camaro's and such) and if he won't sell it to me I will at least take a picture. Sorry I have no way to send it electronically but if you want once I get them I will contact you to find where to send them snail mail.

[JoeC]

Peter - 300 Chevelles? where is this junkyard located?

[bowtie3168]

Peter: Any '65s (Chevelles)?

[Edited by bowtie3168 (10-12-2000 at 03:37 PM).]

[Chevy454]

Peter:

Thanks for the offer to get me some pics. I will take whatever, and see if I can get them to work. I need to do something on the Scuncio page and the Bill Thomas page...anyone know of any other dealers I might add? I'm not sure how to decide which ones to do and which ones NOT to do...any ideas?

[Mr Yenko]

Hey CHEVY454 ,
Would like to know more about Brynes' Bros. Chevy. Does anyone have any old ads that they can post?

[sYc]

Joe; When we bought our Nova, most of the emblems, including the front marker lamps had been removed. But, we (myself and the former owner, a body shop owner) feel that the car still has its original front fenders, with the 3 "factory" holes, not four, that would be needed to install a marker lamp and a seperate 427 emblem. We did try a 427 Impala emblem and it does fit. This was one of the things that fit the story when I was told that this Nova was the first (prototype), as Yenko prototypes have been known to be different then what was later sold (such as Cliff's Gold Camamro and one of the Deuces). Also, just recently, Vince verified through a mutual friend that this car was the first one built and had a couple of other unique features (stripes). I wish that I knew for sure the whole story, but until then, I will just let the car speak for itself, as I do not want to get into a debate with out hard facts. Tom

[SuperCars]

In conversations with Vince a couple of years ago, he spoke of my Nova as the first one. I called him thursday and spoke with him about the Novas to reconfirm this. He said quote, " he refers to mine as the first one because of it having the earliest VIN number". I went further by asking does that mean my Nova is the first one? He seemed to "believe" it was. I then asked about Tom's car as being reported to be the "first"? He knows the car and said it was not; and was two to three cars down the list from my car. He was speaking to me from memory as he did not have his list out in front of him. I am not terribly concerned on whose is first or not as they are all great cars; but just trying to help clear the questions up. I plan to follow up on this as I am to talk to him again. (I am trying to resolve ny SS or non-SS issue)Kevin

[sYc]

Kevin;
I agree, it is not that big of a issue. In fact, I would say that we may never know which was "converted" first, which would actually be #1. Also, Vince is holding true to form. One day he says his records show one thing and then the next he says they show something else, such as your
Nova. I wish you luck in getting answers to the questions you have concerning your car, as it is a very interesting car, but from what I have read and know of Vince, the picture will only get more fuzzy. In addition, I have to disagree with him on some accounts, such as R. Miller's Nova. Because Vince's records indicate that is was sold for "a couple of hundred dollars less", that it must be a unconverted 396 car. I think you need more facts then this to decide what Yenko did ot did not do. Even though I will be the first to admit that Vince does have many of the Yenko records, until he comes forth with them and allows some one besides himself to determine/document what the records show, I will always have some doubt as per his "opinions". On a side note, the Yenko records that Vince have were obtained illegally, as they were taken from the old Canonsburg dealership by a former employee and "sold" to Vince without permission from the Yenkos or staff. The family still has hard feelings over this matter, as they feel that the records should be made public, not being "sold" by someone who was never connected with the dealership or family and in it "only for the money". Tom

[Peter]

JoeC and Bowtie, The Chevelle junkyard is in MA and I am sure he must have some 65's. He's been collecting these since they came out. Some have been there since the beginning of time and others just show up. He makes trips to the south to buy some good and parts cars and has them shipped to MA and he buys whatever Chevelles he may see in peoples back yards around here. It is a junkyard but he has some decent stuff. He's got some cars and some parts in storage while most are outdoors. I am very selfish in the fact I don't tell many about this place because its like the only old car junkyard in driving distance for me but you guys are special. If your interested I will get you his info, don't have his numbers ect on me right now.

[Chevy454]

Micky has been holding out on us! Check out this link ( http://www.mickyhale.com/nova.htm ) from Micky's web site (which is located here: http://www.mickyhale.com/ )

I thought you guys might enjoy seeing some pictures of another '69 Yenko Nova. This car has the "SS" wheels on it...maybe you Micky can give us some more info on this car...?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Tom;

I agree with you that the 'unconverted Yenko Nova' theory is sketchy, at best. I think that Yenko would write up a 427 Nova order so that he could move the car, even if it was for a 'few hundred dollars' less. Yenko would install/remove just about anything, we even know of him selling cowl plenum air cleaners.

What we really need is some original owner paperwork on one of the '69 Yenko Novas, especially one of the 'unconverted' cars. We have been searching, but have not been able to find an owner that kept the paperwork. What we have found is that there were several Garnet Red and Lemans Blue cars, but not as many Rallye Green ones. We have also found that they all came with the 'XT' wheels and 'dogcaps', bench seats, rubber mats, and 4 speeds - some owners claim it to be an M22.

Regardless, the '69 Yenko Novas are awesome cars, I hope to find one someday!

Marlin

[micky69396]

Rob, as far as the SS wheels go, I think that Vince told us that car had them. (Am I correct Dick - RedZ??).

[bkhpah]

We have at this point only discovered dog dishes and Atlas mags on one car for sure. Anything could be possible. Only red stripe tires have been found on the 69's as well..white letter tires were not offered from the factory in 1969 on the Nova line
BKH