Vehicle Description
Serial No. 124377N241669
Body No. 142091
The tale of the Yenko Super Camaro is legend to automotive
enthusiasts of the muscle car era. A prominent western Pennsylvania
Chevrolet dealer and road racer, Don Yenko would order Chevrolets
through the Central Office Production Order system with 427 cu-in
V8s, creating a big-block powerhouse that the factory would
ordinarily never have permitted - but which, after careful further
tuning, was sold right out the door of his dealership. The most
famous Yenko creation was the aptly named Super Camaro, one of the
most feared drag racers of its era.
In the first season of Yenko Super Camaro production, its namesake
collaborated with professional drag-racer Dick Harrell, whose St.
Louis race shop actually performed the conversions on finished
Camaros, exchanging their original 396 cu. in. engines for the big
427 mills. It is believed that this arrangement was relatively
short-lived, perhaps not even lasting for the whole of 1967, before
Yenko began using the COPO system, and that only about ten such
Yenko-Harrell Camaros were built.
The car offered here is one of those early builds, and one of
perhaps four extant. Constructed by Yenko and sold new to a
customer of Burt Chevrolet of Englewood, Colorado, on 1 August
1967, its Yenko-Harrell modifications included "hotting up" the 427
cu-in engine to 450 horsepower with Mickey Thompson headers, and
was further mounted with Traction-Master bars, an R/C bellhousing
for the M21 four-speed transmission, and unique 427 emblems,
pin-locked fiberglass "stinger" hood, and additional Stewart-Warner
gauges, including a tachometer. Unlike the later Yenko Camaros,
aside from the hood, the car remained largely visually "stock"
aside from a few special logos, and even wore its factory-applied
Butternut paint and black interior.
Mike Slaughter of Brighton, Colorado, discovered the early Yenko in
2007, and exhibited it as a "barn find," painted red and in its
intact unrestored condition, at the 2008 Forge Invitational Muscle
Car Classic in Kingsport, Tennessee. After the show, Mr. Slaughter
undertook an eleven-month restoration to its original condition
with no expense spared. This included the L72 427 cu-in V8, rebuilt
by Dean Davis of Moline, Illinois, complete with a properly coded
3910 Holley 780 carburetor and the correct aluminum intake and
correct cylinder heads; reportedly this engine dyno-tested at 505
horsepower. Original Rally wheels were mounted, shod in Firestone
Wide Oval tires.
The completed restoration assembled an impressive roster of show
honors, including receiving Chevy VetteFest Gold Spinner honors
with 998 out of 1,000 points. It was the subject of a feature
article in the April 2010 issue of Muscle Car Enthusiast magazine
and was also seen in Super Chevy magazine, which referred to it as
one of the rarest and most valuable Yenko Super Camaros in
existence. The Gateway Automobile Museum acquired the Camaro from
Mr. Slaughter in 2012.
Accompanying the car is original paperwork from both Yenko and the
Dick Harrell Performance Center, including the work order from
Yenko Chevrolet listing parts installed on the car, a second work
order from Harrell billing the labor for the conversion to Burt
Chevrolet and Yenko, and the Yenko car invoice selling the car to
Burt for final delivery. Further, an authentication report from
Larry Christensen documents the car's condition prior to
restoration, noting that it had only minor rust - as would be
expected on a dry Western Camaro. Indeed the car is believed to
still retain its original quarter panels, roof, and floor panels.
Mr. Christensen subsequently inspected the car again and issued a
second report, following restoration; both remain on file and
testify to the quality of this example, before and after the
work.
This is an outstanding, superbly documented and beautifully
restored example of that rare "sleeper," the early Yenko Super
Camaro.
Collection Guarantee Disclosure
Please note that as part of a larger collection to be offered at
live and online auctions, the Consignor of the Gateway Collection
has been guaranteed a minimum price for certain cars, including
this Lot, by Broad Arrow. Depending on the final Hammer Price
obtained for those Lots, Broad Arrow may benefit financially.
