An interesting Yenko story

[71SSNova]

Tonight as I was talking with a friend I have recently made, I found out he once owned a Yenko Deuce. Sit back and I'll tell you the story he told me, then there are the pics with more coming he told me.

Back in the 60's and 70's, Jerry worked for Lang Chevrolet in Xenia, Ohio. While he was there, he got into drag racing. Jerry and his friend Jim bought a '70 Yenko from Central Chevrolet in 1971, seems Central kept this one for racing themselves. Jerry and Jim pulled out the 350 and put in an aluminum block 427, L88? with dual fours, which you can see in the pics. They cut out the rear inner fenders but kept them and looks like they cut out the fender wells also, didn't ask but you can tell from the pics.
Jerry said when they got the car, it had no heater, no windshield wipers or radio, did have the 350 ci, four speed, bench seat and rubber mats. They took off the Yenko stripes and put on their own. Left the badges and door panels, look at the pics closely.
They sold the car some where around 1973 or 74 to D. from around that area. D. restored the car to it's original self as a Yenko, I think., then traded it for a truck. BTW, Jerry and Jim paid $1500 for it from Central. They never titled it and when they sold it to D., the title was still in Centrals name. The car had 25 miles on it.
Jerry and Jim also put the original 350 back in the car when they sold it to D.
Jerry thinks one of his friends may have more pics of it so if he gets more, Iíll post them. If this is your car, email me if you want more info, but this is about it.

Think about it, $1500 wonít even be a poor down payment for one today!!!

http://community.webshots.com/photo/65869448/104631069EWWUTP

http://community.webshots.com/photo/65869448/104631022CMPnoy

[Stuart Adams]

Wouldn't it be cool to have a video and intersting facts of the travels that all the SUPERCARS had in the early years of the cars life. Just sit back and watch - that would be awesome. Sometimes the history of the car being pursued is more interesting than the car. Now you know of course I'm 42, being 8 yrs. old in 69 is not fair!! Thanks for the post I like stuff like that.

[Seattle Sam]

That second shot is a great old photo...Are the guys headed out in the long shadows of early morning on the way to race? You can just make out the Yenko badge on the driver's door..

Cool USA-1 plate on the back! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif
-Sam

[68l30]

Dan, Welcome.....nice to hear from you.Is this the car???

Steve

[68l30]

Front side......

[68l30]

Rear qtr....

[68l30]

Rear with USA-1 plate,Central badge,ect.....

[68l30]

If this is the same car,I don't believe Central sponsered more than one,It seems to have vanished like a fart in the wind.....I have spoken to many people in my area,Cleveland,most of which raced at Thompson and 42.I have gotton zip on this car.I hope it will surface someday!

Steve

[Supercar_Kid]

Cool story & great vintage pics. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif Steve, could that Central Deuce in the B/W photos really be Fathom Blue? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif Sure is hard to tell in black and white, but my guess would be silver. Marlin, where ya at?

[71SSNova]

Good morning,
I can not tell for sure if these are the same cars but looking at the pictures I have of Jerry's Yenko under a magnifying glass here's a couple of things I discovered.
1. The writing on the door says Central.
2. There is some writing on the front passenger fender but can not make it out. Also on the fender is the Yenko badge and the 350 badge.
3. There is no badge on the trunk lid for Central.
4. There is the Yenko badge on the trunk lid and you can see the Yenko door panels.
Talking with Jerry last night, he said back then it was no big deal to have a Yenko. The reason they got rid of it was to drop the 427 into a 69 Z28, which they never got to the race track because they got split window vette for the engine.

[JoeC]

it is a good story - thanks for posting

[68l30]

Kid,I thought the same thing.......had to be a lighter color.I always leaned toward a GB or CS car....Good news if it is indeed another car.Could this car have been repainted by Central after the 70 season?Remember a ton happened to these cars in a very short time,esp if they were competitive.......

Steve /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif

[71SSNova]

I'll talk to Jerry next week sometime and ask all the questions that pop up about this car.

[JoeC]

also ask if it was original 4 speed or auto or if it had power steering as this will narrow it down on the Yenko list

[bilede]

I thought central received a silver deuce.. #89 I think.. is it accounted for?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[lowmile]

Gentlemen, If I may direct you attention to the open door jam in the second picture it appears to be Cortez Silver ...... m

[hvychev]

This is an awesome story. I also did notice the silver door jam before it was mentioned but thought that it might just be the picture or the sun shining on the car. if you look closely it could look like that closer to the door pannels in the jams it looks Gobi Beige? Just another thought.

[71SSNova]

Looking at the original picture, I can not tell for sure what color the door jamb is. It does look lighter than the blue but the sun shining on the back of the trunk lid does the same thing This question will be asked.

JoeC
I forgot to put it in the previous post about the trans. It was a four speed when Jerry got it and that was the way he sold it.

[matt murphy]

The car in the color photos looks Le Mans Blue . . . Was that an option for a Deuce ?? Fathom blue is a very dark blue.

[Supercar_Kid]

No LeMans blue on Deuces, but I agree that door edge does look silver. It could be the sunlight like Frank suggests, but the edge on the inside of the weatherstrip sure looks silver too and I don't think the light is hitting it there enough to give that appearance. Judging by the amount of paintwork on the rest of the car, it's very possible it got an entire exterior color change, less jambs, which would be just fine on a drag car back in the day. Could be the same car in the pics Steve posted, with a repaint. That may explain the off color of blue as well. That's the best explaination I can come up with. Marlin must be out doing his holiday shopping, he should be all over this thread.

[hvychev]

Marlin doesn't post much anymore......wonder why? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

Come on Marlin. You offered a lot of good info in the past. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worship.gif

[camarojoe]

I'm gonna agree with lil bro... That sure looks like silver paint in the door jamb, and the blue is definitely not fathom blue, which was the only blue a Deuce coulda came in... so its definitely a total repaint. Looking at the USA-1 plate on the rear of the silver car 68l30 posted, and seeing it on the blue car as well, my guess is that this could VERY well be the same car... the pics 68l30 has being of the car fresh from the showroom, and the blue paint job came a little later... Whatdaya think? Its a good theory anyhow.

[68TopStock]

Old racecars continue to excite me the most, especially if they are from an well known dealership involved in Chevrolet racing during the 60's. Many were repainted, and most were never jammed. When I found my car "Little Hoss", it still had (and still does) the original Royal Plum on the cowl, door jams, and underside of the trunk. I was told my repaint was done one Saturday, and it was probably raced the next day.

The above photo sure does look to be a lighter color than the rest of the car. It was probably put back on the street, but you never know, with the rear 1/4's cut, it may still be sitting in a garage, a tired old racecar. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

I would imagine that this 'blue' car (definitely silver in the jam's) could very well be the 'Gilchrist' car, (referred as such to give credit to the race photographer). The b/w race car photos are definitely of a Cortez Silver Yenko Deuce, automatic (note class on the windshield), that was raced by Central Chev in Cleveland, OH as confirmed by Charles Gilchrist himself, and some old-school racers who remember it racing in the Erie, PA in the early '70's. Other than these scant recollections, I too have come up empty on my research efforts for this race deuce.

http://www.charlesgilchrist.com/GPC/DR/Street/YD7001.jpg

Although it might look like a slam dunk on the surface, I wouldn't bet the farm on this one just yet. The reason is because there was another Central Chevrolet, in Hamilton, OH, which also sold Yenko Deuces, one of which was also Cortez Silver, 4speed - now owned by Ed Cunneen. So, it is very possible that this 'blue' car could have been that one. I have traced Ed's deuce back through Holub, Griffin, unknown woman, Griffin, unknown person in Ohio back in the mid '90s.

I sure wish it was the Gilchrist car, that would help somewhat in my research for that car - would love to restore a Deuce back to as-raced condition!

If you can get any more photos, not matter how insignificant you might think they are, it would undoubtedly help a bunch. We have studied those two Gilchrist photos - who caught the SW tach hangin on the windshield pillar?
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

In reviewing the other pictures in that grouping, what's the nova in yellow-ish primer in the background? I see there is a headlight mounted to the core support in another photo.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

I spoke with J. Griffin last evening regarding Ed's Central Deuce that he used to own. I was mistaken in that he did not purchase that particular car from someone in OH, (I was thinking of Cliff's red deuce), he purchased the car from Carl Dwiggins. When he purchased the car it was silver with stripes, however they were not yenko's stripes but rather another person's effort at recreating the stripes.

I do not know where Carl purchased the car, nor do I have
contact info for Carl. Speaking with Carl is relevant in our efforts to determine if this car is indeed the Gilchrist car, or coincidentally another silver deuce raced by another Central Chev.

The other way to determine which car this is, would be to see a firewall pic with visibility of the speedo cable exit. The original poster is working on that!

[71SSNova]

Talked with Jerry again today and met Jack, another owner in this Yenko. The story has changed some but it is all coming together.
There were three other guys with Jerry that owned this car together when they raced it back when. I will refer to Jerry and the other owners as JJJR, Jerry, Jack, Jim and Richard (who might still have pictures).

I met Jack today, who was one of the four. He brought more to the table about this car but unfortunately, I am about three months too late. Seems he was cleaning up about three months ago and threw all the pictures away that he had of this car. OUCH!!!

In my first post, I said Jerry bought it from Central Chevy, which he corrected today. JJJR bought the car from a person (so far only known as Keith) in Dayton that bought it from Central. He was injured in an accident and with his settlement, he bought the car from Central (donít sure which one at this time) and a pool hall. Keith bought the aluminum 427 from Allen Chevrolet and had it installed in the car in 1971. Keith also had someone cut the rear fenders out which JJJR put back in. Jack remembers running around to different body shops looking for the fender wells that were cut out.

JJJR bought the car in 1972 off of Keith instead of 1971 like I previously stated, so they were third owners. When I showed Jerry and Jack the pic of the Gilchrist car, they both thought this was the car. They bought the car as showed in the pics I posted, they never saw the car as original but they did get some pics of the car as it was originally and think that this car is one in the same. Hopefully Richard will have those pictures.

We talked quite a bit about the fact that the Gilchrist car was an automatic and the JJJR car was a four speed. They could not remember if there was the indicator in the speedo or a place on the column for the shifter. As we are talking it also comes out that Richard of JJJR, is the one who actually put the original engine back into the car. Richard had to go back to Keith to buy it, but Jerry went and picked it up and he seems to think that there was an automatic transmission attached to that engine.

We also talked about the color of the car and they do not know anything about it. They thought it was the original color but as Jerry was looking at the pics, he saw what was pointed out as a silver door jamb.

I am waiting a phone call from the next owner (D.) after JJJR to see what he remembers and if it might have went to Cincinnati as Jerry now thinks. Also Richard will be in town this week to see Jerry and I will talk with Jerry next weekend again for more info. Hopefully more pics and more leads. More next week.
.

[Ed Cunneen]

My Silver Deuce was sold from The Central Motor Company in Hamilton, Ohio. It was sold 1 1/2 years after being delivered there. Gary Madden (now in Meza, AZ) was the salesman. I have not yet been able to reach him.
Central Chevrolet Inc. was out of Cleveland, OH.
Does the front fender have the INC. on the Gilchrist photo?
It is too hard for me to read.

[camarojoe]

Sorry to drag this ancient post back to the surface, but I was wondering if there have been any new developments on this? Has this car been determined to be the Gilchrist Deuce, or Ed C's Deuce? If it is the Gilchrist Deuce, any luck on finding if it still exists or the details of its demise?

[71SSNova]

Not yet, I've been told there are pictures and possibly 8mm film. I believe they are there, just have not got them yet.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

I've been to the Columbus OH area twice in the last 4 months, and have done a little researching. Have a few contact names to follow up on, but nothing concrete. The car appears to have always been on it's MSO, and we don't have the vin # to research by either. It's a tough one!