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MikeA
11-11-2003, 06:49 PM
This question may have been asked and answered before but did all 1969 Yenko Novas come from the factory with 396 engines? Is there any evidence to suggest that some of the í69 Y-Novas were 6 cylinder cars prior to the conversion by Yenko?

sYc
11-11-2003, 08:47 PM
It is believed that all '69 Novas came from Chevy with L-78s. Anything is possible, but the costs (parts and labor) invlolved to transform a 6 CYL. into a 427 car would be extremely high. Except for interior, sheet metal and a few other parts, a 6 cyl. and big block car have little in common, parts wise.

MosportGreen66
11-12-2003, 02:08 AM
now here is another related Q.

What happened to all of those 396 engines that were taken out of the cars? When adding up all of the Super Cars, thats a whole load of engines.

hvychev
11-12-2003, 02:58 AM
Here is an old thread on Yenko take out engines.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=18735&page=47& view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

55chevy
11-12-2003, 04:30 PM
I've got a question. In order to get the '69 Nova with an L78, it had to be a Super Sport. All the '69 Yenkos I can think of have evidence of SS trim. Except this one... http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/Supercars/69YenkoNova/index.htm
So what is the story on this Nova? Did Yenko de-trim it?? Kevin? This Nova is by far my Favorite Yenko car. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif That thing has to be a blast to drive. Anyone have any history on this car they can share?

newguy
11-12-2003, 06:36 PM
Good question. Also, since they came from the factory as L-78 cars, and the SS emblems taken off, why the change in the steering wheel, wouldn't there be any proof that Yenko needed to order a few extra bowtie emblems for the steering wheel to replace the SS emblem?

sYc
11-12-2003, 06:48 PM
Hopefully Kevin will log on and explain, but I believe it has been determined that it too was originally a SS car.

As per mine, it still had the the SS emblem on the steering wheel when I got it. The rear SS emblem had been removed, not for sure about the front.

olredalert
11-12-2003, 08:23 PM
------All you guys clearly know more than me about Novas.However,in late 1970 I went to the local Olds dealer to pick up my brothers new 1971 W30 Cutlass.While there I was cruising the used car lot and there was a 1969 L78/auto Nova there,that I remember having virtually no options.It had a rubber floor covering,vinyl bench seat,no guages of any kind(except speedo of course),and it certainly had no SS emblems present.I also remember that the car appeared completely stock,both outside and under the hood.It was dark green with a black gut,and couldnt have been more of a sleeper.I got the keys from the salesman and it was a fairly stout ride.Would love to have it today,but back then I felt like I would get tired of it pretty quick,as it didnt have power steering.Did I see some sort of aberration?Always just assumed you could have ordered an L78 in any 1969 Nova,or at least any two door..........Bill S


-----I should amend my statement that there were no SS emblems to "I dont remember there being any SS emblems"

camarojoe
11-12-2003, 11:26 PM
I'll bet it had SS emblems, thats the only way you could get any kind of big block in a 69 Nova, outside of a dealer engine swap.

JoeC
11-13-2003, 01:06 AM
I don't know if a dealer would convert a car with 6 cyl vin because they may have legal problems with the insurance companys. The customer may try to get a 6 cly insurance policy on a hot rod V8 car. Insurance was a big problem in late 69-70s for young drivers of big block muscle cars

Unreal
11-13-2003, 12:27 PM
I was in college in Pittsburgh in the late sixties. (HAIL TO PITT) I remember seeing ads for engines (and I think, wheels/tires) all the time. I just don't remember if they were sixes, small blocks or big blocks. I don't remember if they were short blocks, or entire engines. Must have been all that Duke Beer.

Supercar_Kid
11-13-2003, 12:48 PM
Unreal, do you remember visiting any nearby Chevrolet dealers back in the day? Don Allen was (and still is) on the corner of Baum and Liberty in North Oakland/Bloomfield. They supposedly sold quite a few hi-perf Chevys back in the sixties, and still sell quite a few Corvettes. My father was also a student in Pittsburgh during this time and swears he recalls visiting Don Allen in '68 and seeing a whole showroom of what must have been specially ordered Hugger Orange Chevrolets. Camaro, Chevelle, Corvette, he claims there was even a Hugger Orange '68 Impala. Anyone else remember seeing any Hugger Orange cars during the '68 model year, or is this just a cloudy memory?

JoeC
11-13-2003, 12:56 PM
is he sure it was Hugger Orange and not Omaha Orange? Omaha seemed to be a popular special order color in 68. Hugger has more of a red tint then Omaha

Supercar_Kid
11-13-2003, 01:51 PM
Nope...he swears it was "Hugger." I've always thought perhaps he's remembering wrong, and they were really '69 cars that he saw in '68, but he says no. He was driving a brand new 68 Chevelle at the time so I know he knew what he was looking at. It's sort of funny because he said he hated the color when he first saw it, and it's since become one of his favorite Chevy colors, as it has with many Chevy enthusiasts. He claims to also remember when the '69 Camaro Pace Cars hit the showrooms and the new orange checked interior was enough to turn your stomach. Nowadays I can't think of anything more 60's than Hugger Orange houndstooth.

Unreal
11-13-2003, 07:26 PM
Never hung out at Don Allen, but I remember it well. I was a Poncho guy at the time. A few years later, I went back for homecoming, and one of my fraternity brothers was the used car manager at Don Allen. I'll bet he saw a few supercars pass through his lot.
I posted a year or so ago about Pitt's road racer. The car showed up a couple of months later on Dreamcar Garage. I'd love to contact the current owner! Anyone know how?

55chevy
11-22-2003, 01:17 AM
[ QUOTE ]
I don't know if a dealer would convert a car with 6 cyl vin because they may have legal problems with the insurance companys. The customer may try to get a 6 cly insurance policy on a hot rod V8 car. Insurance was a big problem in late 69-70s for young drivers of big block muscle cars

[/ QUOTE ] I always assumed that dealers ordered the L78 SS Novas to convert to 427s because it would've been the cheapest and easiest way to do it. Order the L78 package and you get all the heavy duty hardware on the car factory installed.. Swap in a short block, and bam.. SuperCar. ya think? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/headbang.gif It would've been a major booger to convert a 6 cyl car back then.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif