Yenko (?)Nova(?) or (?) Deuce (?)

[MosportGreen66]

Question:

Were the Yenko Novas built with 427 Called NOVAS and the Yenkos built with LT-1s called Deuces? Visa Versa, or is a Deuce the proper name for any engine optioned Yenko built Nova?

I think I got my question across.

-Dan

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

The '69 Yenko Novas had the dealer installed 427's (most of them) and were referred to as Yenko SC Novas. The '70 Yenko Novas had the LT1 installed by GM under COPO 9010, and a suspension package under COPO 9737, and were referred to as Yenko Deuce Novas.

[Mr70]

I believe in 1968 they were advertised as Chevy II.
In 1969 they became Novas.
In 1970,Don Yenko marketed the LT-1 Nova as a "Yenko Deuce".It was his name,not Chevrolet's.
Does that sound correct Marlin?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

In '68 they were both Chevy II and Nova's - the only year for the dual designation. Then in '69 they were only Novas.

A for Don's designations, the '69 Yenko SC is self explanatory. The '70 Yenko Deuce is still a little of a mystery, we believe he was referring back to the Chevy 'II' terminology - but we are not definite. Some have suggested that he refrained from calling the '70 Novas Yenko SC to differentiate them from the 427 models thereby not causing the insurance companies to catch on to the true performance and ruin his idea behind the LT1 etc... Others have suggested that Don used the Deuce term to indicate the Yenko II in comparison to it's bigger engined '69 counterpart - in a similar fashion as GM had done with the original Chevy II and the bigger Chevy I's so to speak. There are more theories as to why the '70 Yenko Novas were so prominently decaled as Deuces, but you get the idea. In short, we really don't know for sure!

[MosportGreen66]

Thanks guys. If anyone new the answer it would be you Marlin! One other question. Because there were other hi-po engines like a L-78, why did Don use the LT-1? Was it cheaper? or did he want to be different?

-Dan

[T Billigen]

For insurance purposes. A lot easier to get your insurnace man to cover a small block than a big block. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

[Supercar_Kid]

I have always been under the impression that Yenko was making reference to the Chevy II nomenclature when he coined the term "Yenko Deuce." Although the Chevy II name was no longer being used by Chevrolet by 1970, the Nova was still commonly referred to as a "Deuce" by many Chevy enthusiasts, much like people call a GTO a "goat" or a '55 Chevy a "double nickel." Many Nova and Chevy II drag cars of the day payed homage to the term by being named "Deuces Wild" or "Superduce" and countless others. None of this is written down, and I suppose it would be tough to document Yenko's thinking, but that's just my opinion. There were plans for a later 70's Yenko Nova to be called the Yenko "Ace" but that never materialized...I suppose that was to be a spin off on the already recognized Yenko "Deuce" name.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

That is very true Eric, the II / Deuce term was a carryover from earlier models, and is the most popular thoery as to why Yenko called them the Yenko Deuce. We have wondered why Yenko didn't call the '69 Yenko Nova SC's a Deuce though, it would have fit into the logic as well. We will probably never know for sure.

The Yenko Ace was on tap for the '71 model year along with the Yenko Deuce. The Yenko Ace was to be another Nova but this time with 15" wheels/tires, and special suspension however I don't recall that it included any real performance upgrades. Neither of them made it to production, I would assume that Yenko may have pulled the plug since there were many dealers that still had '70 Yenko Deuces on their lots - some of which were complaining that they could not sell them (Colonial for eg!).