Does anyone know this 1969 Yenko Camaro

[hvychev]

Last night I sold a 2002 F-250 pickup to a guy, and as were doing his paperwork he saw the Yenko, and Nickey ads hanging in my office and said he once had a 69 Yenko Camaro.
The story goes that he bought it used in 1970 at Fencil-Tufo Chevrolet with 3,000 miles for around $4,000. He told me he was 18 years old and his father had to co-sign for him to get financed. The car was green, black interior, 4 speed with all the Yenko stripes and badges. He got no paperwork with the car. He said he drove the car from 70-73 as a dailey driver. He had never herd of Yenko but bought it because it was a 427. When he would go to buy parts for it the parts guys didn't believe that it was a factory 427 because it wasn't listed in the parts books. In 1973 him and a friend decided to make it a race car. They did the car up with all the race mods, a fiber glass front end, and painted it black. He said it ran 11's at US 30, and other drag strips. He retired the car in 1978 behind his fathers garage in Westmont, Il covered with a tarp, and went on with life. In 92 or 93 he was going to have the car hauled away to a junk yard but his cousin told a few people about it and Gary Dyer (the guy that had the blower company) herd through the grapevine that he had the car and rushed to come see it. My customer, Craig J, just wanted the car out of his fathers house, and wasn't expecting Gary to pay much because the car was modified and not in good shape from sitting outside fior all those years. Craig said that when Gary offered him $24,000 for the car he almost fell over. He said that he learned a little about Yenko over the years, but had no idea how much they were worth especially in that shape. He said he would have taken $1,000 for it! According to Craig, Gary had the car concourse restored to the tune of $65,000, and later tried to sell it for $125,000. He said when Gary invited him to a show that he was showing the Camaro at after the resto, he said it looked exactly the same as it did when he drove it hone from Fencil-Tufo in 70, except for the sYc on the head rests. He said that they were never on there when he bought the car. I told him that they were vinal and probably fell off by then. a coupe of other interesting things that he said was when Gary came to pick the car up, Craig said it was like a flea market in the back yard and he had all the speed parts he had accumulated over the years out on tables in the yard and he told Gary to take it all and he would'nt. He did'nt even want the fiber glass front end that was on the car. He told me that later Gary called him and apparently the spedo was not in the car when it was sold and Gary begged him to find it. He said he would send him a thousand dollars if he track it down. He looked in four garages that he worked on cars in over the years in and said that he could'nt find it. A good ending to this story is that he said he had a good banker and invested the $24,000 he got for the car and made some good investments with it and put his son through four years of college with the money. I think this guy was legit in his story and he is comming in late next week with the check for the truck and is going to bring me pictures of the car before and after the resto to see. Does any one know this car of have any info to add? Sorry about the long post! [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bob Jenkins]

Cool story.....I am looking forward to seeing the pics

[Steven J]

I grew up next door in Downers Grove, but don't recall seeing a Yenko, although the memory has faded after all these years. Did the car have a name painted on it when it was made into a race car ?

[hvychev]

I have to ask him some more questions. We talked for 45 minutes while doing the paperwork on the truck and so much was said that I forgot some of it. I will write things down when he comes in next week. He also named other race tracks he raced at that I can't remember. I just hope he will let me copy the pictures he is bringing in or I could take a picture of them with a digital camera. I will try and find out more and keep you all posted.

[Mr70]

Frank
Ask this guy if he remembers the name of the Salesman.
Also if possible to have him find the VIN# on any old Insurance forms from this Camaro.
I may have found some paper on this Camaro.

Steven J
Whadaya mean (Non Supercar)?

[Steven J]

Mr70, I quote:

This site is devoted to 'SuperCars', and although an LS6 rag is a rare and desirable musclecar, it doesn't really fit into the scope of this particular site and board.

Thus, the signature.....

[Stefano]

It is not what you own but where your passions lie. We are after all just custodians of these vehicles. Last time I checked no one was able to take them with, in the next go around [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]

[hvychev]

I am off of work tonight and I got a call from my partner and she said that Craig J left the pictures for me in my office. Pretty cool of him, I did not think he would do that. I will copy them at Kinkos Copys and try and figure out how to post them for every one to see. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[hvychev]

An update on this car.....Craig left me the pictures that he took of this car at Chevy Vettefest in 3/94. The car is Ralley Green, 4 speed, black interior, ralleys, 140 mile per hour spedo. I got some more info that I wrote down this time. He grew up in Woodridge Il and heard of Fencil-tufo from a couple of gearhead friends of his thru Hoffman Automotive in Chicago. They said that if he wanted a trick car that F-T Chevy was the place to go. He went there with his father and when he saw the color and the fact that it was a 427 he was sold. He said that he paid $3,000. MR 70 I asked him if he could remember the salesmans name and he did'nt. He said that no one gave him a fancy sales pitch about it being a Yenko because not even the salesman knew what it was. Craig told me that his friend that was his race partner in the Camaro, traded the steel front end even for a fiber glass one. The fiber glass front end was a natural grey and then did not match the ralley green paint. His friend took a flat black primer like paint and painted the whole car to match all while Craig was on vacation!! He was livid to say the least. Stephen J, the car did not have a race name that he could remember. He said that they painted some "hodge podge" name on it but could'nt remember it. A couple of interesting things, when he told me that he bought it only a year old with 3k miles I thought how could it have went all the way from Cannonsberg to Glendale Heights Il so early? The pictures show a painted display sign that Gary Dyer had painted about the car and it was one of the first 50 cars from Cannonsberg, and it was delivered new to Jack Douglas Chevrolet in Hinsdale Il so it makes more sense to me....Stephano? Another interesting thing is that Craig said That FOR SURE the car had white Yenko stripes when he bought it. The car was restored with black ones. Craig said that he told Gary this but Gary said that the info he had got on the car said that they were black. Craig said that how could that have been because when he bought it, it was definately original paint and stripes and only had 3k miles. He told me that he kept the original blue bow tie embelm from the rear panel as a souviner and is displayed on his book case at home. He said that he sold it to Gary in 11/93 and it was completely restored and being shown at vette fest by 3/94. The car was sold with the original engine that Craig bought it with in 1970. It was on an engine stand in his garage but the block was sleaved. Does any one know who owns this car now? I was told by members of this board that Gary sold the car. No owner after Gary has tried to contact Graig J, which suprises me because after all he owned this car for 23 years and has lots to say about it. It was registered with the Copo Connection, because the plaque is in one of the pictures. If any one would like to see the pictures from Vette Fest 94 of this car I could have them scanned and post them. A funny thing is when I was grilling Craig for all these details I told them that I would share them with my "Yenko Connections" and he laughed and said "what the heck, are there Yenko cults out care that actually care about these details!" [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Sorry about another rambling post!!!!

[JoeC]

Frank, it is an interesting story and thanks for taking the time to get it and post it. There are definitely some nuts out here that like to hear the Yenko ghost stories.