Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Fred,

Everything that you've said so far is very up front and reasonable. I can't imagine that you have offended anyone.

Thanks for your posts. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

check out the factory trunk seal with the paint stripes on it in this 70 Chevelle. one light blue one red.
70 Chevelle Weatherstrip

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Fred,
A Lemans Blue Yenko Camaro that sold out of Broadway Chev. is currently in Iowa. Its the low mile original paint car. A Rallye Green Yenko Camaro from Broadway Chev. was restored by Brian Henderson. It was in Illinois by the early '70's.
Sorry to hear about another "the car is yours" story. We all have many more of these stories. It makes people with integrity that much more appreciated. There are fewer left these days it seems.
Good luck in your Copo search.
Mark

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

[ QUOTE ]
Fred,
A Lemans Blue Yenko Camaro that sold out of Broadway Chev. is currently in Iowa.

[/ QUOTE ]

OH - when I looked through the records of the COPO Connection when they were still on Ed's website this car had not been marked as "known" so I just assumed to hadn't been found yet. Has this car been to the reunions and is owned by it's original owner? Anyone know how/when the Blue car ended up in Iowa...thanks for the update Mark

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat...e=2&fpart=1

Here is that Blue Yenko Camaro Fred. The owner Donny Hood is a cool dude. One of the best. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...mlins/cool.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

If I were the local law enforcement I would have been all over that stuff when it was first uncovered after all these years and I would be checking the vin #s on all the engines,trans etc. and check them against old vehicle theft records to see if anything raises a red flag. Yes,maybe some big blocks were replaced for small blocks during the gas crunch but what about all those complete small blocks with the exhaust manifolds still attached that are there and the trans. with the shifters still attached to them. Maybe the trailers were welded shut and he didn't talk to anyone about his stash for a reason.It looks more like remnants of a 60's-70's chop shop. But the cars seem to have been purchased legally.
Just a thought.
https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/dunno.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Hello all, I am a first time poster here and wanted to let you know that I got to meet Larry F. tonight (12/1/05), who is a very nice man by the way, and view his new collection. I took over 100 pics and wanted to share the Yenko pics with you guys. Larry did not have a problem with me doing this so I feel comfortable showing them off to you! I know I did not get some very important detail pics but it was cold and dark in that shed and I to be honest, I don't know what to look for! I tried my best. Note, the pics of the big block by itself is supposibly the original 427 out of this Yenko. I just wanted to share these with you guys and hope you get some use from them. Thanks! http://www.aasencamaros.com/Yenko.html

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Cool - thanks for providing these pix. You never know, depending on what happens with the sale and who the car goes to, we may never have seen pix of the unrestored car.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Good Job especially on the firewall/cowl... the two holes to the right of the cowl tag are for a Stewart Warner Tach sending unit (if you didn't know)

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Makes a fella' weak just looking at these pics....nice job on the detail shots! . What a car....and that MN suffix is a beautiful thing! . I'm just wowed by it all....and feeling sorry for you Fred. ~ Pete

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Derek (Xelerator) welcome aboard. This is a great place and one of the most informative sites on the net.
Great pics, can't wait to see the rest. At least it proves this is not just an urban ledgend LOL

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Thanks Xelerator. How much does Larry want for the collection?

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Did anyone make out the last 3 digits to the BDY #. Curious to see how close it is to our 03B Yenko.
The "MOF"

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Thanks for the Welcomes, I know there is alot to learn and this seems the place to do it! cool! Like the drilled holes were for a Stewart Warner Tach! I love info like that! Thanks.

I did ask Larry what kind of offers he has gotten, but he did not want to give that information, he also did not want to give how much he paid.

Mr Yenko, I do have higher Res pics at home, I will check as soon as I get home, I am sure I can tell from them.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Met with Larry tonight (yes, we've now met)...that's another story in itself...got pics, will post them as soon as I downsize them...some numbers of interest that I found:
VIN off of car is 124379N615312, the axle stamping is BE0306 (easy to see with mirror but very difficult to take a picture, hold a mirror and flashlight and sucking in my gut under the car), Fisher Body number is 219789, engine pad stamping as noted in previous pics is TO304MN and the stamping on the engine by the oil filter is 19N615312...barley legible that I couldn't get it to show up in pics. The block casting number I couldn't make out. Its got the holes for the tach monitor and tach...odometer show 45556 miles. He also mentioned the car has the original numbers matching trans (didn't look but shoulda)...pics coming soon...
Oh yeah...the big day is December 15...met some guys from the far east with a funny accent (Boston)...one guy was worse than a kid in a candy store...he was practically leading me around the parts by the cuff of my jacket...great guys...

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Gotta love that nice firewall paint fade. Oh if I could do it over again... https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...iggthumpup.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

So we'll all be waiting on the story with Larry.

What's with the big day?

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

[ QUOTE ]

What's with the big day?

[/ QUOTE ]

That is the day of the auction...there is a reserve, but he wouldn't devulge
Also, no Yenko Deuce to be found...here some pics for starters... PICS

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

That car is 3 body numbers away from my Yenko. What dealer sold it originally?

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Larry said original owner states it was sold new through Broadway in Green Bay as a Yenko. Larry also gave me the names of all the owners. Anybody want to get an NICB on this one. Owner history goes...original owner bought it from Broadway in Green Bay then traded it in for an Oldsmobile the next year and the car was then put on a wholesale lot where the 2nd owner bought it, but went into the service in 1971 and sold it to "Dumpster Don" until Larry bought it this past fall...
It was crazy how many 074 (round exhaust port ones) and 392 aluminum big block heads there were and how many of them were in the box yet...corvette big brakes...trannies (lot of m21s)...it was very interesting, it's a different experience than seeing the pictures cause you can actually appreciate the large quantity of good stuff...

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

I have a few questions reguarding the orange Yenko.
Why doesn't it have the SYC head rest covers?
Are the rear emblems misaligned or am I just being thrown off?
How come the driver side fender doesn't appear to have ever had a Yenko emblem on it?
Why does the stripe run so far forward to the front?

I'm no Yenko expert, but I thought some of these things looked out of place based on what I've seen. Is it possible this is just a COPO? Again, I'm not the expert and I was just wondering. Thanks guys. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

--------While what you say is notable, it appears that this cars history is almost written in stone. Its much more likely under the circumstances, being unrestored and pretty much un-cared for all these years, that the car just went thru early ownership trauma as probably 98% of all these old cars did back in the day. They were used hard and put away wet for the most part and often early owners made changes that they wanted to make because they wanted to, not because a group of knowledgeable people were lurking around telling them what was right or wrong!
--------Accidents happened all the time back then with that kind of horsepower on tap and the very best body shop in the area wasnt always available to bring the car back to absolutely new condition. Often the owners didnt care quite as much as we now know they should have about the "aesthetics". It was more important to get the car operational again, quickly. Friday nights came around fast back then and a guy had to have his ride ready for battle!!!
--------Oh, and the Yenkos rear emblems are all like that on 1969 Camaros as far as I know...........Bill S

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

The car has obviously had at least a partial repaint, and the stripes look to have been painted back on it, sans any Yenko wording on the 1/4 panel stripes, and some artistic freedom expressed in the layout of the stripes themselves. orange overspray is also seen in the front fenderwells, which indicates a repaint in that area as well...the hood decal stripe does look to be original. More than a few documented cars didn't get any sYc logos on the headrests, and many more were removed by the owners on day 2. Emblem placement varied from car to car, and some didn't get any at all... there's really not one "correct" way they were built, as plenty of variations to the Yenko add-ons have been documented. The grill looks to have been replaced, or at least has been painted black, as it would have originally been silver, shifter is not original, etc... while it may not have been touched in 25 years, it has obviously had some work done to it since new. With that said, it is still an awesome discovery.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Why is the VIN not listed here? Is there a typo on the list as it is one VIN off the car shown on the list.

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/show...0/page/0#76004

Body number is three away from mine so it seems pretty certain it was part of the batch ordered by Yenko.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Since not all of the Yenko inventory sheets have been circulated there are still missing vin numbers. This car is on page 5 of the Yenko Camaro inventory sheets.I don't think this page has been circulated and not all the vin numbers are known.
Mark

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Well the list posted on this site totals 198 cars (I did not count to verify) which is the generally accepted number of cars excluding the Jack Douglas cars ordered directly. Therefore is there a typo on the list or is this the 199th car?

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

198, 199 or 201 - take your pick, nobody really knows! Could be a typo as well, there were several sources for the vin lists - including Don's sheets which also contained numerous typos. If you recall, when the lists were published the instruction was to use them as a guide, not a sole source.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

[ QUOTE ]
If you recall, when the lists were published the instruction was to use them as a guide, not a sole source.

[/ QUOTE ]
Exactly, M...this should be the case with *anyone's* lists. No one has the total list of Yenko cars...

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

So what is the thought, a typo or another car to be added to the list?

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

I'm not sure yet, we need to nail down the originating dealer - might be Yunkers, if so, it might be a typo otherwise it might be a newbie.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Roger-
Thank you for your interest in the collection. Because we are currently seeking a buyer for the whole lot we are not selling individual cars or parts. At this point we are seeking a private buyer and they are not up for auction. The collection is too difficult to inventory at this point, and it needs to be seen if one were to buy it. We do have a partial list of what we have, but it is far from complete. If you are interested in examining the lot, please call us.
Thanks!
De Pere Auto Center
705 George St.
De Pere, WI 54115
920.336.2200
[email protected] This is the reply i got today. Nothing about an auction. Roger

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

That's good to know,cause I got the same response.
I feel better now,as I thought they were pissed We gave the Pack got an "L" Sunday and they were shining me on.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Cool Find, i can't believe all that stuff! All i wan't is a set of the 074 aluminum heads! Sell Sell https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...s/headbang.gif https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/drool.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

I just got off the phone with Larry and he said he is definitely taking the bids on the 15th of December...he is going to spread the word a little more.
https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/drool.gif

In my next post I'll tell you the story about "Friday Night with Larry"...I will tell you this, he's a real nice guy so if any of you haven't talked to him about this stuff yet feel free to do so. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

My wife just emailed me this from one of her co-workers. It gives some additional details about the transaction. I have no idea who wrote it or where it originated. Interesting about the Yenko Nova??? I'm assuming they mean a Deuce center cap?

"Huge muscle car stash found!





Larry Fisette had no idea whether he was buying King Tut's tomb or Al Capone's vault when he agreed to buy 21 trailers said to be full of Corvettes and Chevrolet muscle cars and parts. Luckily, all of the rumors he had heard whispered around his northeast Wisconsin home turned out to be more true than he ever dreamed.



So far, Fisette, a De Pere, Wisconsin, restorer and automotive repair shop proprietor, has opened 17 of the 21 sealed trailers one-by-one and found a Yenko Camaro with 45,000 miles; a pair of low-mileage 1970 LS-6 Chevelles; a 1972 Camaro Z/28; two 1957 Corvettes, one a fuel-injected car, the other a dual-four-barrel-equipped example; and several other Chevrolet performance cars. Filling in the space around the cars like water around pebbles is an inventory of NOS and used performance parts that would make a Nickey Chevrolet parts manager jealous, and Fisette is not done cracking trailers open. He's also confident there's more muscle hidden in the trailers.



How the trailers came to be full of new Corvette side exhaust systems, factory Corvette race parts, and highly desirable engines and parts is as interesting as the man who filled them.



Donald Schlag's passion for Chevrolet performance cars, even when they were new, gave him the foresight to realize that someday, others would have just as much interest in them. So while he was working at his father's John Deere dealership, Green Bay Implement, Schlag began buying the parts from the local Chevrolet dealer's parts counter in the 1960s and stored them at the John Deere dealership. He also made annual trips to California, pulling a trailer behind an RV for a month at a time in order to retrieve more parts for his stash. When his father died and the dealership was liquidated in the early 1970s, he tucked the parts and cars in semi trailers.



But when the very people who Schlag was saving parts for betrayed him by stealing a part, Schlag stopped sharing his collection. He even went so far as to completely seal the trailers off once they were full. By butting the trailers up against each other, not even he could go back in them. Schlag also stopped driving the cars he collected after one of his Corvettes was keyed in a parking lot. From that point on, he swapped the engines and slipped the cars into the trailers, never to be gazed upon again.



Many local car collectors believe the reason why Schlag pulled the engines from his cars and installed a different engine before he put them away was to thwart thieves, since the cars wouldn't be numbers-matching. Even rare parts, like a first-generation race Corvette gas tank, was separated from its two filler neck pieces and its parts spread between three trailers. Another theory to explain why Schlag swapped and separated engines was because he predicted the engines would be worth more than the cars, so he pulled the hot engine from most of the cars and put a slightly less desirable engine in its place.



Despite his unfortunate interaction with some of his fellow hobbyists, Schlag remained friendly. When scouring car shows and swap meets around Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay for more parts in his rusty El Camino, he could be found engaged in a conversation in which he would even mention if he had a part or a car.



"He'd talk about what he had, but he didn't brag and he didn't sell anything," said Fisette, who met Schlag before his June, 2005, death on two occasions. Through these brief interactions, people began to piece together what he had hiding.



And while no one knew exactly what Schlag had, Schlag knew what they had in their garage. By being the local expert on fuel injection units and offering other mechanical services, Schlag became acquainted with cars in the area, which also helped him feed his collection.



"There was a rumor that Don would remove your big-block and install a small-block [as a gas-saving measure during the second fuel crisis]," Fisette said. This would explain why about half of the engines Fisette has uncovered are big-block Chevrolet engines.



Upon learning that Schlag passed away, Fisette took a chance on acquiring the collection and contacted Schlag's family.



"I called her [Schlag's sister's] number, told her my name, and said I'd buy everything and told her I had the capability to buy and disperse it all," Fisette said. After checking with other hobbyists, Schlag's family decided that Fisette was the right person to buy the collection.



"We were so lucky to find Larry," said Joanne Stepien, Don Schlag's sister. "I received several phone calls [from people interested in buying the collection], so I took their names and numbers. I had about five different people to choose from." Stepien then researched the reputations of each party, and Fisette was the only person to come back with stellar credentials.



Once the deal was sealed, Fisette was ready to break down the doors of the trailers to see what he bought, and the first trailer he opened didn't let him down.



"I hadn't seen inside any of the trailers. I did it all on Donny's reputation," Fisette said. "The first trailer I opened had two [1970 Chevelle] LS-6s in it," he said. "It was absolutely total amazement." The Chevelles were parked bumper-to-bumper in the trailer, and the first he gazed upon was a gold four-speed, bench-seat car that Fisette soon realized was the LS-6 Chevelle his neighbor bought new. Fisette even remembers the day the neighbor brought it home from the dealership and showed it to him. Regardless of his memory of the car, Fisette prefers the Chevelle parked in front of the gold, four-speed car: a blue Chevelle with bucket seats and an automatic transmission, which he considers more driveable.



Unearthing the Yenko Camaro shortly thereafter was obviously an exciting experience for Fisette, but it was opening a trailer full of factory performance engines that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.



"The most exciting moment was when I opened up a trailer and saw shiny engines up one side and down the other, and then two stacked shelves of them," Fisette recalled. More than 150 high-performance engines have been found, in addition to 14 nice, low-mileage cars, but the bulk of trailers contain parts. And lots of them.



Since finding the trailers, Fisette has organized the parts in a warehouse to best determine what he has. While looking down the line of engines, Fisette smiled at a complete engine for a 1969 Camaro Z/28 engine and asked, "Isn't that pretty? It's a DZ-302 that's complete down to the breather!" The Camaro 302-cid engine is one of approximately six such engines he's found, and he's hopeful that it and many of the other engines will land back in the cars they originally came from, right down to the cast-iron COPO 427-cid engine block he's found.



"I think it's going to give people a chance to make their cars correct," he said. One hobbyist has already contacted Fisette to ask if he has the original engine to his Nova, which was sold to Schlag many years ago following an engine transplant. Although Fisette plans to sell all of the parts in one lot, he said he would try to reunite the Nova owner with his car's original engine.



For Fisette, the hunt was more fun than the catch, and he wants to share that experience with fellow car collectors. Pointing to a 1958 Corvette radio, he said, "Imagine how happy this is going to make somebody."



A happy man himself, Fisette is thoroughly enjoying the challenge presented to him. "I've done nothing but empty trailers since September," Fisette said while surrounded by all the parts he's organized in his warehouse. "I walk in here and feel like Scrooge McDuck. I can remember as a kid thinking, 'I'd kill for a four-speed.' Now look how many I have got!"



Finding such parts continues to be a treasure hunt in itself. Each time he opens a trailer, Fisette doesn't know if he'll find it filled cars or SS wheels hanging from the ceiling, engines lining the walls, and 55-gallon drums filled with performance heads and crankshafts. And even when he finds a trailer loaded with cars, he's never sure if he'll find another stash of fuel-injection units or Corvette knock-off wheels in the cars' trunks as he has on several occasions.



Regardless of his few interactions with Schlag, Fisette feels he's come to understand the man, and if he's right, there are more surprises great cars and parts waiting to be found. One of those potential surprises may be another Yenko car. Fisette has found a rust-free front clip for a Nova in one trailer, a hubcap center specific to a Yenko Nova in another trailer, and he's heard that Schlag owned a Yenko Nova with a damaged front clip. Combined with the fact he has a title and keys to a Nova, Fisette is confident he'll soon uncover another muscle car icon from the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, dealership. "I've really got to know him through this puzzle," Fisette said.



Larry Fisette is a worthy caretaker to the cars and parts collected by Donald Schlag, because he'll make sure that the cars and parts end up in the hands Schlag was saving them for."





Mike

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Thanks for the post Mike,it was interesting reading.
Man...I wish he'd check to see if one of those DZ's is mine! https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...mlins/hmmm.gif

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

A legitimate, and not-made-up find like this size will NEVER happen again. Everything is separated, tagged, shelved, so NEW buyer could see what he is getting. Thats alot of work. Must say those valve covers in that Yenko camaro look TOO clean........

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

[ QUOTE ]
A legitimate, and not-made-up find like this size will NEVER happen again.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh yes it will...............

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

Come to think of it, an older gent near me is hoarding all makes of NOS parts. Same deal-you can't get through the house and business. No cars though.

Re: Just saw this in Old Cars Weekly
 

There's updated info on the guy's business website. Looks like it may be possible to buy individual cars/items...

"Currently, we are looking to sell the vehicles and the cars in one lot. We are accepting sealed bids until December 15, 2005. If they are not sold by that time, the collection will be sold part by part, car by car."