Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Bet you're wondering what's behind that subject line. Since
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, I'll just jump in.

I grew up in Lemont, Illinois in the '60's, for a small town
(maybe 3000 people) it was a big car town with a great
cruising scene. Anyway, in '69 two fellows from town both
managed to purchase Yenko Camaros. They didn't do it together, it almost seems like dumb luck was behind it.
Both cars were yellow with black vinyl tops. I don't
remember how long they both kept them, but you really didn't
see either one very often. Maybe they stuck them away for collector purposes, but that's doubtful. We drove our cars
back then. Both cars were in a minor accident (with each other!)

I guess what I'm getting at is I wonder what became of the cars. Does someone have sales records of Yenko cars? Would
buyers names be helpful in tracking a specific car, or am
I simply asking a dumb question? I'm not really worried about the current location of the cars, but I guess I was thinking if someone in the area had one of the Camaros and
wanted a little (useless) history behind it, it would be fun
to talk about them. I do have the names of the owners, we
went to high school together and hung out at the same
Dog 'n Suds drive in.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

For the sake of asking. Did they have the typical Yenko striping or did they have the SS fender striping?

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

I think there was a Douglass sold DY 427 Camaro for sale in Lockport with some damage in the early 80's,just off Rt.171 & 167th.I went to look at it,but don't recall any sYc stripes and remember the man saying it was too expensive for him to want to fix,or something like that.I thought I saw it listed in Hemmings Motor news if I remember right..

Lemont has some real true blue car guys who put the cars first & still holds one of the best weekly car cruises around today during the summer.
Dog'N Suds..Welcome. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

-----Were both these cars bought from Jack Douglass Chevrolet??? I do know one of the past owners (not original) of a yellow J/D Yenko. By the time he got it the car it had no vinyl top and Im not sure if it had one new or not. My friend found the car in relatively bad condition in Downers Grove in app. 1980/81, and proceeded to restore it. The car may or may not have been delivered with the outside stripes as well. They may have been removed early on to try (probably unsuccessfully) to give the car a little sleeper attitude!!! He was a service writer for J/D before he came to work for Classic Motors, and is still around today.......Bill S

------Rick,,,You posted while I was typing (and correcting). I think you and I are talking about the same car. My friends name was George Weathered. He put the stripes back on the car when he restored it. He also underwrote the first reproduction of the "Yenko" emblems that I had heard about at the time and retailed some of them as well as sold them to several vendors.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

They both had the typical Yenko stripes. I'd forgotten all
about Jack Douglass Chevy. If I'm not mistaken, they were
up on Ogden Avenue in Hinsdale. I can't honestly say, but
I'm supposing that they were purchased there.

The owner of one lived on 171 where 127th Street runs into
it in Lemont. Knowing the owner, he may very well have
turned it into a drag car.

Yes, the Wednesday Lemont cruise night sure draws them out.
I remember going when it first started up and thinking "Where did all these cars come from?". Were they really hidden in garages? Lemont had more than its share of
muscle. One Nickey 427 Camaro SS, three Brigance 396 Novas
and a couple of Brigance '69 396 Chevelles, plus a wide assortment of everything else including that maroon dual
quad '68 hemi Charger out by the refineries. In the funny car photo section here I posted a couple of photos of my
buddy's '65 awb Coronet, so yeah, there was some muscle in
Lemont.

When I mentioned the accident in my initial post, it was a
case of one rear-ending the other at a stop sign at the
Dog 'n Suds. You had to be there to appreciate how ridiculous the accident was. Anyway, thanks for the replies.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

That's right it was 127th,not 167th st.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Alright! Now who's got that car? Did someone buy Ted's car,
restore & keep it, or has it gone thru a handful of owners?

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

[ QUOTE ]
...Does someone have sales records of Yenko cars?...

[/ QUOTE ]

Cool story!..
Did you check the Vin listings..there's at least one DY Douglas sold Yenko car noted?.

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/show...ge/0#Post76004

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif
~ Pete

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Pete, thanks for the input, too bad I don't have a vin.
What are the odds that two identical (to the eye) yellow
Yenko Camaros would be bought from the same dealer and end
up in the same small town, and then be involved in the same
accident? I'm not making this up!

I'd like to post the owners names just in case, but think it best not to. On top of all this, we had a red
small block Yenko Nova ten miles away in Bolingbrook, Il.
I got the exhaust manifolds off of it for my own Nova in
'72.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

A friend owns a Daytona Yellow/black vinyl 69 Yenko Camaro that was sold by Jack Douglass. It is a Canonsburg car, purchased in Iowa in the late '80s. Unusually optioned for a Yenko.

Sound familiar?

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Do you remember the deuce owners name. Greg Schram maybe?

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Rich Maksym, owner of Coast to Coast has a documented DY Jack Douglass

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

William, not familiar at all. I lost touch with both guys
in the early '70's.

As far as the Nova goes. I don't remember the guy's name. It
was a friend of a friend deal. He had headers on the car and
I needed stock manifolds. If Greg is in the area of, say,
57-60, it could very well be him. I just remember being slightly jealous at the time that this kid had this new
Yenko and I'm driving a '68 SS.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

here's a link to a J D yellow yenko
http://www.coast2camaro.com/index.php?n=car&car=54

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Intersting story Tommy, but who the devil was the original
owner? And who wrote the article? Do I assume that it was
someone affiliated with Coast to Coast Camaro? This is
getting to be fun, but I don't want to call there and make a
monkey of myself if they know nothing about it, but I just
may have to.

Now the plot thickens. I just took a small break from this
post to check my local phonebook. One of the two fellows
I was thinking about was listed so I gave him a call. I
hadn't talked to him in 38 years! Anyway, he said no, he
didn't buy one, he bought a '70 Chevelle SS instead. He
confirmed that the other fellow did, indeed, have one. As
for the second car, I'm now at a loss. Well, maybe someone
out there will read this and say "Hey Mitch, that was me!"

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

if im not mistaken, the original owner of the coast to coast camaro's name is tim perry. my dad bought his jd chevelle the same day tim bought his camaro.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Speaking of JD Chevrolet, did you know that he managed to order 425 hp rated 66 L78 Chevelles, Check out his Ad
I spoke to him and sure enough, he received 25 or so of these cars...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...002_edited.jpg

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Was it simply a sticker change? I thought the L78 Corvette was exatly the same as the L78 Chevelle, but with free flowing Corvette-only manifolds. (plus it was a Corvete, so of course it could have higher HP.)

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

[ QUOTE ]
Was it simply a sticker change? I thought the L78 Corvette was exatly the same as the L78 Chevelle, but with free flowing Corvette-only manifolds. (plus it was a Corvete, so of course it could have higher HP.)

[/ QUOTE ]

The sticker was indeed changed but reflected a 425hp output rating at 6400rpm as opposed to the 375hp rating which was established at 5600rpm...The HP changes occurred as a "trickle down" effect after the feds imposed a weight to hp mandate on GMs flagship Corvette. As you stated, the corvette had to maintain its superior hp rating and therefore a decrease in the vette hp rating meant a decreased hp rating for everything else.

The L78 Vette and L78 Chevelle had similar engines but not identical. You are correct in that the exhaust manifolds were different...But in additon, the pistons, the cams, the heads, the intakes, the carbs, and distributors were different as well.

The 65 vette L78 and 66 Chevelle L78 sported the same 4 bolt block, the same bore and the same steel forged crank...

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Thanks for the education. In 69, were not the heads, pistons, intakes, carbs etc the same, or were they different then, too?

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

------Orlando,,,I wouldnt put too much stock in what JD told you. It wouldnt be the first time his memory was off a bit. I lived in Hinsdale (although not in 66) worked at Classic Motors in the old JD Chevrolet building and knew just about every last gearhead in the area. I never once heard a breath of a hint that would back up this 427 Chevelle order stuff. If you notice, the add doesnt say 427. It only says 425 which would make me think the add was somewhat creative!!!........Bill S

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

I agree that its not a good idea to bank on anyones recollections.
JD ad was for 425hp rated 396 motors not 427. He basically sold 66 L78 Chevelles that were rated 425hp at 6400rpm vs 375hp @ 5600rpm. Same engine. Some people say that the different hp ratings were based different sized cams, but this remains to be proven

For unreal:

The 66 L78 and 69 L78 were completely different engines.
Different blocks, pistons, cams, intakes, heads, and different carbs. The only thing they shared was the crank shaft. Although the cams had the same part numbers, they had different intake and exhaust durations.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Maybe I did not ask right. In 69, were the Corvette L78 and the Chevelle L78 the same, except for the manifolds? (and maybe the valve covers?) I thought they were, but I have "thought" a lot of things in the past that were incorrect.
Thanks,

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

1969 Vette L78?...No such animal

1965 was the only year that an L78 was offered in the corvette.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

[ QUOTE ]
1969 Vette L78?...No such animal

1965 was the only year that an L78 was offered in the corvette.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK, bad example.

You said that the L78 Chevelle was a different engine internally than the L78 Corvette. I know you said the L78 Corvette was only available in 65, but the car in question was a 66 Chevelle. So to stick to the question, would the 65 Corvette L78 be the same motor internally as the 65 L78 Chevelle? (Z16)

What I'm really trying to learn is if it was "normal" for same coded motors (eg L78. L72, etc) to be different from model to model. I would have thought (pure conjecture) that an L78 was an L78 regardless of the car it was dropped into. (manifolds aside for clearance reasons). I wonder why they would not call it a different "L" number if it were different internally.

So maybe a better example of my curiosity is whether the 69 L72 differed internally when the application was a Corvette, Impala, COPO Chevelle, or COPO Camaro. I sure thought they were the same, and assumed other motors would have been the same, too. Same curiosity would hold for other motors that shared "L" numbers, and were available across different applications.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

------Gary,,,For starters, a Z16 would have had a hydraulic cam and lifters. As a matter of fact the Z16 engine was the only square-port engine ever built for a specific option without a solid-lifter cam........Bill S

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

[ QUOTE ]
Cool story!..
Did you check the Vin listings..there's at least one DY Douglas sold Yenko car noted?.

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/show...ge/0#Post76004

[/ QUOTE ]


Let's get back to the origination of the thread...before it was stolen.

I currently own the DY #578804 listed 4th on the VIN list. It is a non-vinyl top, 4-speed car. Purchased at J.D., the car spent its entire life in the Elgin/Carpentersville area until the late 90's when the Elgin owner moved to Madison, WI. I purchased the car from him in 2003.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

Quick85,

You should contact Rich Maksym at Coast-2-Coast Camaro Parts & Restoration (phone (248)933-0440) as he has spoken to the original owner of his DY car...which sounds like you know who that might be. His DY car is not on the VIN list (#649223) as it is a COPO car ordered/created by Jack Douglass, an '05D' car, sold 11/18/69. If you recall the two DY cars on the streets of Lemont in 1969, this car would be too late a build. The other give-away would be the endura front bumper...that would be recognizeable in the wreck. Good luck with your 'quest'.

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

[ QUOTE ]
------Gary,,,For starters, a Z16 would have had a hydraulic cam and lifters. As a matter of fact the Z16 engine was the only square-port engine ever built for a specific option without a solid-lifter cam........Bill S

[/ QUOTE ]

Unreal, here is some information that I hope you find helpful. Anyhow, if you have further questions, just send me a PM. Our discussion should probably take place at another location...

An RPO, such as RPO L78, designated a particular block, crankshaft , intake and cylinder head combo for a particular year.

Given the same RPO, the same model and the same year, the engine block stamp codes differed as a function of specific trans, carb and cylinder head combos.

So going back to your statement, you are correct in your understanding that an L78 is an L78 regardless of the car it was dropped into; the caveat being as long as you are comparing L78 engines from the same year. As you know, L78 engines are different and unique to their specific year of production.

The 396 in the 65 Z16 was RPO L37. The 396 in the 65 Vette was RPO L78. They were different in that they sported different cams, carbs and distributors. The cam on the Corvette was mechanical vs that of the Z16 which was hydraulic.

So addressing your inquiry regarding 1969 L72:

In 1969, the L72 was not available in the Corvette. Remember, the general rule of thumb is that the Vette always maintained its own unique set of RPOs. This was GMs way of maintaining the Corvette’s flagship status. The exception to this rule was the big Impala which borrowed the Vette’s big block engine in 1965 and 1966. GM likely felt this was acceptable because the huge Impala was a far cry from a threat to the sales of the Corvette. They were two different animals.

The only time the Vette and Camaro shared the same engine during the same year was when they were both chosen as the recipient vehicles for the aluminum ZL1 engine.

Anyhow, the COPO Camaros and COPO Chevelles were bare bone cars that came with the same crankshaft, heads, pistons, intake, and midyear 4 bolt engine block, cast number 3963512 that was designated for the special high performance passenger car.

The 1969 COPO cars essentially sported the passenger cars special high performance 427/L72. Just like when the Camaro was chosen as one of the recipient vehicles for the aluminum ZL1 engine, it again’ along with the Chevelle was chosen as the recipient of the passenger cars special high performance 427. The union of the lighter bare bones, Camaro and Chevelle with the omnipotent passenger car’s L72 was achieved via a central office production order (COPO). GM likely allowed the limited production of these COPO cars as they were designated for the drag strip as opposed to the Corvette which was heralded as the all American sports car vs drag car. Nonetheless, the COPO Camaro had the potential to compete with Vette sales so its production was closely regulated by GM.

Anyhow, I hope this helps

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

[ QUOTE ]


The only time the Vette and Camaro shared the same engine during the same year was when they were both chosen as the recipient vehicles for the aluminum ZL1 engine.



[/ QUOTE ]

What about the 1970 LT-1?

Re: Yenko Camaros (1969) - Two! - Lemont, Il. 1969
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


The only time the Vette and Camaro shared the same engine during the same year was when they were both chosen as the recipient vehicles for the aluminum ZL1 engine.



[/ QUOTE ]

What about the 1970 LT-1?

[/ QUOTE ]

Take a quick glance at the text, you will see that the premise of the discussion is 1969 (and earlier).

So if we extend the discussion to include the 1970 model year, then your statement would hold true. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

69 Z in Chicago (american flag on inner decklid)?
 

I have just found out that Quick85 (Mitch) is a friend of my father's from back in the 70's. He even worked with my brother for a while back then. Mitch as I remember was a total car guy, probably why him and my father got along so well. Mitch also gave me my first ride in a Corvette, I was probably 7 years old or so. The fact that I was the first to reply to him and not knowing who he was is amazing to me. What a small world!

Mitch also had a silver 69 Z that somewhere along the line had the american flag painted on the inside of the rear deck lid. That rang a bell with me for some reason. Anyone remember this car?

Mitch https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/beers.gif

Re: 69 Z in Chicago (american flag on inner decklid)?
 

Photo posted...

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/show...98/#Post427698