Yenko and COPO info

[jfkheat]

Have any of you ever saw this site. There is some interesting info on it.
James
http://www.musclecarcalendar.com/WeKnowJack/WeKnowJackHome.htm

[sYc]

James, interesting reading, but they left out one small detail. The majority of the information about Don Yenko and his cars was taken word for word from a musclecar magazine article which the sYc wrote/submitted. In the article were several rare photos including one of the Canonsburg dealership.

[JoeC]

That is another hack job of Yenko history. There is a lot of inaccurate information in the Yenko pages on that site.

[Supercar_Kid]

The article states: "It is not known exactly how many Yenko Camaro's were made in 1969. The best figure is either 199 or 201, depending on the source, and probably 201. Some people believe that the number of Yenko's could be as high as 350 units (since there is a picture in existence of Don in front of a transporter holding a handwritten sign that reads "Our 350th Camaro"). But if you add all of the 54 cars from 1967 and the 68 cars from 1968 and that disputed number of 1969 cars, it still only equals 322 cars. Perhaps the total number of COPO cars ordered was 350, but the later ones were never converted to true "Yenkoπs" and just delivered the way they were or sent to Nickey Chevrolet or others for their application." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif I wholeheartedly agree with JoeC. It's articles full of half truths like these that continue to spawn the "urban legends" that seem to follow the Yenko name wherever it goes. It may be time we get one of those head bangin' into a brick wall graemlins.

[sYc]

I agree fellows. Even though the info in the original magazine article was taken from actual Yenko records, the author added enough of his "own" information to screw things up. Of cousre, what else is new.

[Jeff H]

Yup, there are a lot of X11 Z28's out there thanks to a couple of books and articles. And everyone on Ebay thinks their X11 car is an SS.

[ssl78]

I just have to throw this in could it be Don was including the 23 Jack Douglass Yenko Camaros that was approved by himself. My last post on this subject.

[sixtiesmuscle]

"My last post on this subject" Yeah, how many times have we heard THAT John? BTW, I agree with you. Why wouldn't Don Yenko include those cars for promotional purposes?
Also, Nickey didn't get Yenko's cast offs. All of their cars were special order, custom built transplant cars.

[JoeC]

I think it is safe to say that no one knows the exact number of Yenko Camaros that were built in any Year. There are too many variables to calculate an accurate total. Between transplant cars, cars sold as 396 not 427, cars not built at Yenko, customer order cars, etc. On top of that there are documents that Yenko submitted to NHRA that were clearly exaggerated. The 350 number was used for promotion purpose and I donít think Don sat down and tried to get an accurate number. He knew it was about 350 units (not 300 and not 400) for the 1969 total counting Corvette Corvair Camaro Chevelle and Nova. In my opinion they rounded up the number to nearest 50 units. Itís like the one billionth hamburger at Mikey Deeís, who counted them? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[68l30]

Don't know /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/haha.gif,I lost track around a million... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Steve

[Stefano]

Nickey Didn't need to sell anyones castoffs. They were the largest volume hi-po parts and Super Car sales dealership ever, however; Don Yenko has been quoted as saying that Nickey did sell some Yenkos.

[Belair62]

[ QUOTE ]
"My last post on this subject" Yeah, how many times have we heard THAT John? BTW, I agree with you. Why wouldn't Don Yenko include those cars for promotional purposes?


[/ QUOTE ]Does anyone know how many decal sets he sold to JD before the picture was taken ?

[sYc]

Until Chevy decides to release their records, there is no way of knowing how many cars Yenko sold. We can only use two numbers. 1. documented cars that exist today and 2. accepted number, such as 130+ Corvairs, 100+ '67 Camaros, 70ish+ '68 Camaros, 198 '69 Camaros, 99 '69 Chevelles, 40ish '69 Novas, 175+ Deuces, ? Vegas, 19+ turbo Zs, etc. The term "accepted" number simply means where there is evidence to support these numbers, such as original Yenko paperwork, GM records, NHRA paperwork, etc. And, as more documented cars and Yenko paperwork turn up, the numbers change. With Don deceased, we can only speculate how/where he came up with the numbers he did, so this paperwork will have to do, at least until Chevy helps us. And, even then, that will only prove which cars Yenko sold and which cars were COPOs, any other Yenko supercars will need additional paperwork.

[Unreal]

Tom, You mention 198 69 Yenko Camaros as being the current "best guess". However, on the Yenko page, here, the number is listed as 201. I've heard 201 ordered, with 3 cancelled. What is sYc's official position?

[sYc]

How about 198+. I honestly do not know, nor do I think anyone else does. All we can do is look at the information at hand and go from there. The numbers quoted are simply to give the public some idea of how many of each were built. And, as I said, that could change, with either more Yenko paperwork being released and/or GM releasing info.