1970-73 Yenko Camaro Advert

[Lethal1973]

Does anyone out there have a copy of the ad for second generation Yenko Camaros? One was posted a month or so ago but disappeared when the site was having technical problems.
Thanks
http://www.members.aol.com/lethal1973/cargreen.jpg

[Fhakya]

Here it is...hmmm striking similarities. What's that'cha got there Lethal? Fill us in.

-Mark Holman

[Jeff H]

Does that car have vents on the front fender like the later models ended up with? Interesting, it sure seems to resemble the car in the ad.

[Schonyenko2]

Are those the same frt fender vents as a firebird? Don't know if you got the real deal, but I like it.

[GTO_DON]

SURE LOOKS LIKE THE REAL DEAL! THOSE ARE TRANS AM VENTS IN THOSE FENDERS. GREAT CAR!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif

[Lethal1973]

Thanks for reposting the ad. Having a hard time reading the fine print - especially the last 3 items in the second column right under "Front and Rear Spoilers" ???
Doubt that this is the actual car pictured-has a steel front end, not fiberglass...but the front is welded to the front fenders so it is all one piece with no seams. Yes, Trans-Am type air extractors are molded into the fenders.
Car is showing its age-paint is really crazed and checked and driver's seat is rough. It sits outside for most of the summer-goes inside when the snow comes. Now has a small block-the big block is long gone.

[Lethal1973]

Here is some info on the green car. Original dealer was Jay Kline Chevrolet in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Car was originally ordered by Jay's son, Steve Kline. Steve used to do some road racing in the early 1970's - he raced a strange Chevy powered racer called an Enchida or Enchada(sp?). The Camaro is a 1973. It is a Z-28/Rally Sport/Type LT and was ordered with Automatic and Air. It is a late 1973 car built in July or August (I think). Yenko Conversion was an additional $2500 on top of the original price. That included the body modifications and the engine conversion to a 427. I don't know if Jay Kline or Yenko did the work. The 427 was a solid lifter version with aluminum heads. My understanding is that the aluminum heads were used to compensate for the difference in weight between the proposed fiberglass front and the actual modified steel front. The interior has the rear package shelf removed. The rear seat is shortened so that the interior extends all the way into the trunk. Battery was mounted in the trunk. Seats are the deluxe cloth/vinyl in green and driver seat is pretty hacked up (nobody seems to carry a green replacement seat cover set) Original hood was supposed to be fiberglass but is steel with a bonded on cowl induction hood scoop. The hood started losing paint around the scoop about 5 years ago, so after trying some repairs, it was replaced with a Goodmark steel unit (still in primer). The trash man wouldn't take the old hood, so it is still sitting in the garage. Car also had a ram-air set-up with a large assembly that sealed to the cowl hood and also hat two flex hoses that went to holes and fittings in the front core support area. Looked kind of home-made. I think I still have most of the pieces. Had to take the right core support air inlet fitting out when the battery went back to the front long ago. Washer bottle looks like it was on the right and moved to the left to make room for the hose to the air cleaner setup. Has a 150 mph speedo and a mechanical tach built into the stock instument cluster. Went to replace the cluster awhile back (broken plastic tabs) and found that the whole cluster was hardwired - no printed circuit board-so left it as is rattling in the dash.
Car was ordered with AC but it is gone. I remember taking out the inside ductwork but cannot remember taking out the engine bay stuff so I am thinking that it may have come with the AC removed (maybe the AC was used to get the HD Radiator and front springs??). Car has a turbo 400 automatic-shifts hard (shift kit?) Has a Plymouth torqueflite 727 (?)transmission filter. Rear end is a 12 bolt - not sure what ratio. The front is steel with trans-am air extractors and wheel flairs molded in. The seams are all filled in (except for the rubber nose) so that the front is all one piece. No small rally sport bumbers-that area was filled in. Front lower spoiler was modified also. Sold the car 10 or 12 years ago for $4500 and bought it back for $2500 less than a year later. The buyer bought the car for the big block-he took it out and replaced it with a small block (am not sure what kind). Drives ok-leaks oil in the driveway. Still have the original title with my notarized signature as selling the car but never put his name in the "sold to" spot and he never transferred the ownership so have no idea where that original engine is now. Still have the original rusty air cleaner. There used to be a 427 decal on it but that has worn off almost completely. There is a Don Yenko Sportscars decal across the chrome top that is still present. Small Yenko shield emblem on the glovebox that has faded from the sun and is almost unreadable. "Off Road Use Only" decal in the engine bay on the radiator top. Also a 427 emmissions tune-up decal on the radiator top cover-decal is pretty beat up. Still has original glass except for the windshield which was replaced in the mid 1970's. Original windshield had a Yenko decal in the lower left corner which I was able to remove and reapply on the new one but it only lasted a few years and then peeled off leaving a ghost impression. There are a couple of stickers on the drivers door above the regular GM stickers having to do with body modified by dealer but still conforming to federal safety standards. Unfortunatley, some of the info disappeared when I had the bright idea to clean the door jamb with lacquor thinner years ago. One sticker says something to the effect that car is for marketing and testing and may not be licensed for street use?? Had a red-gold-blue Yenko shield emblem on the back end but it was stolen years ago alond with the 427 emblem in the front grille. The 427 on the back was left alone. When I repurchsed the car I got tired of having people ask me to let them have a look at the 427 so I removed the back emblem and put a Z-28 emblem on the spolier (it was a 69 Z-28 fender emblem). Then I got tired of hearing about the wrong emblem so put back the 427 and a black/chrome Yenko emblem that I found at a swap meet. Put in a bolt in rollbar when I first got the car plus some extra gauges in the dash where the air conditioning vent was. Put a Corvette center brakelite on the roof in the mid-eighties. Replaced original wheels with centerlines early on. Those and the GF Goodrich tires were stolen (inside my garage-nice neighborhood) and then were replaced Enki wheels and Pirelli P7 tires. The tires rotted away over the years and were replaced a few years ago with some so-so tires from the local Goodyear dealer. Paint has gone to hell-lots of cracking and crazing all over. Car sits outside during the non-winter months so looks its age. Still fun to drive-has lots of character-kind of like Clint Eastwood-lots of wrinkles but still looking dangerous.

[Lethal1973]

Thanks for your questions. In late 1973 I saw a green Camaro in the showroom of Harold Chevrolet in Minneapolis and liked the color but it was a manual transmission equipped car and I wanted an automatic. Looked for an automatic in that color at several dealers and found only one. That was this one at Jay Kline, already ordered by his son. They let me take over the order (paying for the conversion part up front-ouch!) I don't know why Kline passed the car on except that maybe it was so late in the model year that he was happy to get full list price on a car with lots of options. Got my credit union loan in late July, paid Jay Kline in early August and didn't get the car until nearly a month later!

[olredalert]

Lethal,

------Hadnt heard that Jay Kline name in years.I had a 66 Corvette,427/425 coupe,with a 36 gallon tank option that came from Jay Kline new..........Bill S

[hvychev]

Lethal, do you still have any paperwork on the car supporting it's Yenko heritage?

[JoeC]

If you want to email me the vin number I may be able to find some info on the car if it was built at Yenko.

[Charley Lillard]

Cool Car and History...Don't throw that Hood away..Or anything else...

[Lethal1973]

I only have the New Car Invoice from Jay Kline listing the Yenko Conversion for $2500 as one of the options. Also had a small 8 or 10 page rough draft Tech Manual that came with the car which was stamped "draft" - looked like the picture on the flyer that started this thread...had it a month ago but can't put my finger on it right now...between the wife and the kid it's a wonder I can find any of my stuff!!

[Charley Lillard]

So you own maybe the only 73 Yenko ??????? Cool....

[68TopStock]

Lethal1973,

Welcome to the site! I'm the guy that stopped by this summer, I showed you an article about my Gibb Camaro racecar. Took some pics, met your cute daughter. You sure have come to the right place. When I spoke to you, I can't remember if I mentioned this site, but you will get the help you are looking for.

Tom,

I think I mentioned I saw a 2nd gen. car this past summer, maybe not. What does Lethal1973 have here?

[Belair62]

VERY cool. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif

[newguy]

Leathal, I got a few questions regarding your car. I came across a car last year in Minnesota, that was a first gen that looked ALOT like yours. I passed on it as the 350 was in need of a major rebuild, and was looking for a nova instead. It had all the seems filled in the front end, had the rear spoiler seems filled in, and had the split bumper like yours, and had a L-88 hood grafted on the hood, I think it was bondoed on, and had the large rear flaires like yours. I will look at the picture I have of it and see if it has the fender vents. Is there a way I could see a few more pictures of your car, please!

edit:
this is the car I almost bought last year, and seems very similar, but could be a wild goose chase. I could find this car fairly easily.
http://www.geocities.com/iamwillywanka/camaro

[Lethal1973]

Looks quite a bit different-quite a bit more swoopy all around than mine. Mine has no front bumpers except for the rubber nose-came with a small floor jack in the trunk and a goofy jacking instruction sheet.
http://www.members.aol.com/lethal1973/car3.jpg

[newguy]

Can I ask a question about your rear spoiler? This one has it molded onto the body, again no seams. Is yours the same? How the heck do you people find out if this stuff is real, unless there is alot of documentation? I know Vince has records of the Deuces, but does he have records past 70? I never knew there were yenko super cars past the 70 Yenko Deuces. Too cool. Time to do leg work! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Leathal, are you from the twin cities? Is there a way I could have a look at your car to compare? If not, no big deal /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

thanks as always
bill

[Lethal1973]

Rear spoiler is not molded in - it is just the standard bolt-on spoiler from the factory.

[55chevy]

Newguy. The car you posted looks more like a custom job done by someone in the early 80's. The side vent's in the fenders on the Yenko car are 70-73 vintage Trans Am and the red car you posted look to be 80-81 Z28. If you compare the pics the flared fenders aren't shaped the same. And the front spoiler on the car you posted is clearly some kind of molded on aftermarket piece.. I'd say you were best off not to buy that car. The putty job will probably start cracking through the paint at any time now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif

[Fhakya]

I was just going to post a very similar reply. The flares on the red car are more an aesthetic (objective opinion) than a functional addition. This one has really piqued my interest..and a few more by my educated guess /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif In any event, good to see more MN faces onboard.

-Mark Holman

[newguy]

Glad to be here, but just mostly read and learn for me. This board is very informative, and funny with a few /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif wise crackers on this board. My passion is with the novas and love hearing about some of them that were turned into supercars, and never knew they even existed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[Pantera]

That camaro was someones custom. the side louvers on the fenders are off a '78 Z-28 so that alone should show that it was made years later than the Yenko's were. The Flairs are aftermarket like they were for something other that a Camaro. The front spoiler just doen't look right and would be prone to drag going into a driveway. In my opinion the overall look is too boxish to be a Yenko. In no way does it resemble the Green car.

[AutoInsane]

Are there any other 70 -73 Yenko Camaros out there? I had no idea they were still doing conversions in the 70's.....

[mnyenko]

Lethal1973,
Steve Kline had a 70 black/black ss camaro with a LS6 and a nash 5spd.I was told it was used by Hooker headers as a show car before it ended up at Klines.He sold it in the late 70s.Do you remember the car?Earl

[Fhakya]

That would be a nice ride. Any pics of that black one by chance? (Sounds a bit like the 'So Fast'(plates) black RS w/ flares & L-88 hood that skulked the streets in the twin cities in the late 80's/early 90's). I remember a particularily cool grudge run in about 92 where he lined up against an '89 Anniversary T/A w/ NOS/ Slicks when Redrock got speed bumps and the Lafayette bridge was down for the summer so the racing occured on the frontage road near Robert St.. If that's the same Camaro, it's brutal. Earl I believe I met you through Ron B. at Buster's this summer. Same car by chance? Also, Lethal...what's the update on your green one?

-Mark Holman
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif

[newguy]

The speed bumps are gone now. But you can get a ticket for just watching now. There were rumors that a cop even made a run against someone. I lived across the river then in s.s.paul.

[Lethal1973]

Oops! I guess it's time to find some garage space. I just love winter!
http://www.members.aol.com/lethal1973/carsnow.jpg

[sixtiesmuscle]

I've got plenty of nice heated space for it. I'll come tomorrow to pick it up. Of course I won't tell you where I live, security rasons & all.

[Mr70]

It's Two-Tone Colored. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Don't Bring that S*** (SNOW) over here!

[skierkaj]

I've seen a camaro like that at the Annual Iola Car Show in Iola, WI. Paint was some crazy maroonish color with many, multicolored (yellow, green, etc) stripes on the rear half. Had an L-88 hood (center cut out for the blower) and the molded in fender flares. Not so sure of the genuineness of the car, but it looked OK. I wasn't really fond of the patch job they did to the flares, as they seemed like they shouldn't have been on the car. Anyone else see this car?

[skierkaj]

Does anyone know where I could get some flares like that? I'd love to get a set, at least for the back, on my car. I'm just picturing huge slicks in back, with some b*tchin flares!