Photos: RM Auctions

Author Bob McClurg once suggested that had Don Yenko not been killed in a 1985 airplane crash, he would have become “the Carroll Shelby of General Motors.”  Yenko was a Chevrolet dealer near Pittsburgh, PA, with a long history in SCCA racing.

Yenko Sports Cars began in 1965 with the production of the Yenko Stinger – a modified Chevrolet Corvair – which dominated the SCCA D/Production class and won the national title in 1966. When GM debuted the Camaro the following year, it was a natural reaction for Yenko to remove the factory 350 engine and replace it with a L-72 427 cid Corvette V8.

The conversion was not a simple one, resulting in a substantial price premium. Regardless, his Canonsburg, PA, shop turned out 54 Yenko Camaros that year and a ‘supercar’ of the day was born. The following year, Yenko used SS396 Camaros as the donor car. Since the 396 and 427 engines were of similar size externally, the conversion was simplified. Some 68 cars were sold for that model year but Yenko understood that factory support would be needed to grow the program much further.

Through his racing efforts and his father (a personal friend of Ed Cole), Yenko was pretty well connected in the GM organization. With some back room dealing, he managed to gain access to the Central Office Production Order (COPO) system. With this, GM would build Camaros with special options. Needless to say, the key to the candy store had been found.

In January of 1969, the COPO Camaros started arriving with a standard 4.10 ratio, 12-bolt live rear axle and heavy duty suspension, power disc/rear drum brakes, 14×7-inch stamped steel wheels with hubcaps, as well as a cowl induction hood, dual rear exhausts, black vinyl bucket seat interior and a 140-mph speedometer.

With the iron block 427-cid V8 already installed, Yenko’s shop was left to install the front spoiler (and optional Z/28 rear spoiler), exterior graphics and emblems, auxiliary gauges, a 7,000-rpm tachometer, a center-mounted fuel gauge and 15×7-inch Rally Wheels. Atlas 5-spoke mags were optional, with E70x15 Goodyear bias ply tires.

The example shown here belongs to Milton Robson, a Georgia businessman and car collector. With just 26,000 original miles on the odometer, it is believed to be one of the lowest-mileage all-original Yenko Super Cars known to exist. As a “survivor” car, it is original in all significant aspects. Only 201 Yenko Camaros were produced for the 1969 model year and this one, in Fathom Green, is the rarest of exterior colors.

As part of the Robson Collection, this Yenko Camaro is anticipated to command between three and four hundred thousand dollars when it goes to auction next month. In total, 55 vehicles, including a trio of Pontiac GTO Judge Convertibles, will be put up for no-reserve bidding at the November 13 RM Auctions event in Gainesville, GA.

Additional details and the digital auction catalog are available by visiting the event web site.