'68 Camaro on Yenko VIN list
 

I'm willing to listen to all sides of the conversation. I'm not trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Being honest is best for the hobby. I would also appreciate commenters respecting past owners of this car.

With that said, I'm looking for information on this '68 Camaro (N437916) that was from Las Vegas. It's visible on Google Street view from 2007 to 2014. I own the car now. It was originally British Racing Green and has an NCRS report out of Ottawa, Kansas. The dealership was Moore Chevy-Olds. Lester Moore owned 5 dealerships in 1968, in and around Kansas City.

I would like to chat with someone who personally knew the car and was responsible for adding the car to the Yenko VIN list. I would assume the threshold of adding cars was quite high, as I've read comments on here stating as such. It does not have the 140 speedometer or magic mirror, for those wondering. It's got a Chevy 12 bolt w/ 4.10s and the 4 speed was swapped for a 6 speed. It also has a 427 engine with what looks to be a May/June build date. I can't get to the back of the block yet to see the casting year on the engine. I know the cowl tag has been off the car, possibly for upper cowl replacement or for firewall painting. I've included a photo of what looks to be the original British Racing Green under the carpet. I've conversed with Warren and through a 3rd party with Vince. Neither have records of the car.

I've heard there could be typos of VIN's on the Yenko list as it was transcribed from Donna's handwriting. Maybe this was one of those cars? Though I find it hard to believe that someone in the 1990s would have had access to those files, and attempted to clone this car prior to the release and publication of the VIN list.

The guy who had it in Las Vegas owned the car since the late '90s. He claims he bought it in primer from someone who owned a gun store in Summerlin, NV. He said the emblems were in a box in the trunk and the door tag was wedged between the firewall and fender after drivers side damage. He also noted it had ties to Norfolk, VA, which I'm hoping to learn more about. He has been unwilling to share a photo of the door tag and emblems. He built this car for his wife and she passed away after its completion. He removed the emblems/badges for keepsakes and sold the car around 2015.

From there I don't have solid info on who purchased it, but at some point it ended up with Boulder City Toy Box, in Boulder City, NV. They may have been the ones who had it repainted back to British Racing Green. Though I'm unsure why you wouldn't fill emblem holes in the quarter panels during a repaint. From there the trail is pretty clear.

I've pulled the cowl and wasn't able to find the hidden VIN there. The upper cowl likely replaced from damage. The former owner who lost his wife told me the cowl, heater box #, and VIN all matched. He had the car apart for the Maroon paint. I can't currently get at the number behind the heater box. Once the weather turns I'll get after that.

Ultimately, I'm looking for information on who logged this car into the Yenko VIN list, why it was logged, and possible photos of the door tag.

I know it's a stretch to say with resolution that this was one of the '68 Yenko Camaros that was converted w/o any of the COPO added features.

So, here are some questions.

Who added this car to the Yenko VIN list?

Were any customer cars worked on at Yenko Chevrolet that would possibly not be on the VIN list?

Do all NCRS reports for '68 Yenko Camaros show Yenko Chevrolet as the original delivery dealer?

If the car has nothing to do with Yenko I'm 100% okay with that. Though, I think a more thorough, deep dive into the cars and their serial numbers should be given.

The former owner of this car said he has been contacted no less than 30 times from 2007 to current about people interested in buying the car. A discussion about posting these VINs publicly should be had, as it can become an invasion of privacy, per this former owner.

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https://i.postimg.cc/DyTHqBTX/Engine-Pad-stamping.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/35bSzjDN/Original-Paint.jpg

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What's up with the A/C vent in the dash, Wes? Was this a factory Muncie 4-speed car or converted later? Interesting find for sure.

Hi Wes, I don't know how it got on our list. Perhaps as you mentioned the original handwritten list VIN was misinterpreted and at some point, a previous owner added a repop YS tag with last digit missing and badging. Based on the information & pics you provided this car has no connection to Yenko Chevrolet: Trim Tag missing Magic Mirror (script), Build Date, Delivered to KS Dealer, No 140 speedo and only 1or 2 cars were built with A/C. The seller should have provided you this info or whoever inspected the car prior to purchase.

There is an update to our internal registry list and recently it was removed, however the site list is only updated once or twice a year. The next update is due within the few next week.

Just an FYI but be sure to check the hidden VINs. The trim tag on the car has been reattached, dash top panel replaced so be sure to verify hidden VINs match.

Per the early 2010's owner there was no A/C dash when he sold it in 2015.

Back in 2014, it had the AC holes on the firewall. It would have to have the dash hole too...
The only thing connecting it with Yenko is a reputed Yenko tag, which I (nor anyone else) have not seen.
What's the stamped axle codes?

Not all the 1968 Yenko 427 Super Camaros were COPO 9737 "magic mirror tag" cars.

The early cars were not COPO 9737

YS-8037 Fred Eggers demo Corvette Bronze 427 AC car was not COPO 9737

The 427 auto trans cars were not COPO 9737

In the article on the YS-8037 Fred Eggers AC 4 speed car. they quote Vince Emme who said it was the only one with AC.

Hi Kurt. Are you saying you say the car in 2014? The way you wrote the first sentence indicates you have.

The axle's been repainted, heavily. I was under the car and couldn't find a hint of where it would be under the paint.

Yes, I saw the car in 2014, it was on ebay. I've known about it since 2002.

Yup, neither of those could be a COPO 9737. 9737 was a tweaked L78 - neither AC nor autos were available with a L78 so Don had to use non-COPO cars as the basis.

Have you tried offering a decent amount of money for those?

He told me, "That tag alone is worth 100K". I decided that wasn't the best way to go.

What if you asked to see some legitimate photos of the pieces he has before you can make him an honest offer? Maybe with that you will at least have photos of the items.

Hey Rick. I gave that a go too. They're never leaving as they're keepsakes to remember his wife by. I'm hoping someone here on the Yenko page or CRG was able to take photos back in the early 2000s.

I got a bit more info out of him today in what was to be our last conversation pertaining to the car. He has the buildsheet, emblems, tag, transmission (it's got a T56A in it now). He sucked up the emblems out of the trunk where stuff falls between the quarter/trunk.

He mentioned that the car was in Norfolk, VA before it came out west. He believes between there and Nevada the car made a stop at Yenko. I didn't push anymore. He's been bothered a lot over this car the last 20 years.

This car wasn't on the old vin list at COPO.com and wasn't in the registry here until more recently. These cars were mainly ordered in batches. There was a batch of cars with vins in the 420xxx range with 1195xx body numbers and then a batch of cars with vins in the 459xxx range with 1601xx body numbers. I don't have anything between those two batches.

Its hard for me to understand why a picture of the supposed YS tag would cause any issues. I heard a "story" that it was damaged in a car accident and the last digit was not identifiable. We never had any pics of the tag and don't believe CRG either.

Wes in your extensive research prior to purchasing and following have you found anyone who saw the tag. Have you found anyone who has any firsthand info regarding the validity of the Yenko claim other than the previous owner you speak with.

That is why I created this post. From what I've read the threshold of getting a car on this list is very high. As I asked earlier, and no one has yet answered, who put this car on the list? It appears to have generated from either the CRG or Yenko.net. That, in a nutshell, is why I created this post.

Fantastic now it's time to move on. You spoke to people on the site who told you what was known and discouraged you from purchasing.

So calling out someone will satisfy you? At the time it supposedly had a YS tag, NCRS muscle docs were not available so couldn't confirm dealer. Just like you, we were convince of the tag that is how it ended up on multiple lists. Hope you feel better...

Nope. Not at all. I noted in my 1st post I'm fine with wherever the car lands. Though putting this VIN on a public list needs to have a conversation beyond this car.

The threshold for a car being added is reputed to be high. Is it? This is all very simple but your last post indicates you want to move on, quickly.

Why can't we hear from who added the car? They clearly had evidence to have it added.

The list will stay up just like Shelby, & Corvette.
When we find new information we update our Registry. The update may include a newly located car, car inspection, ownership change and in the case of your car the delivered to dealer info which necessitated its removal from the list.

I am no expert.. not even close. Is it possible that someone had or found a wrecked Yenko and transferred over the tag and emblems?? Too bad you can't get the numbers that were on the tag.

It's been frustrating. But I've got to respect his privacy and wishes. I'm hoping to get the hidden vin behind the heater box this weekend.

Has anyone seen or heard of a 1968 Yenko 427 Super Camaro with auto transmission?

There is one listed in a 1968 Yenko ad but I have not seen much on AT 427 1968 Yenko 427 Camaros.

Some 1967 Yenko 427 Camaros 410hp AT have been found.

Yes, definitely. It's the best explanation if the Yenko tag is real.
In 23 years of knowing about the car, noone has seen the tag or had the complete YS #. A bit of a strange story on why to not show the tag, IMO.

Wes, what is the distance between the tag mounting holes in the door jamb?

Kurt, good point those mounting holes appear too wide for
orig YS tag mounting.

I measured the fender holes, holes under dash where cluster would go, and the door jamb, which were all on spec for a '68 Yenko. I contacted Ed from the AMCM and sent him my measurements and he sent back the same distances, to the centimeter.

The one hole next to the dimmer light switch has been widened.

I'd still send a check to say thank you the prior owner, if it was me I'd send $200 to thank him. Money still greases the skids, it's worked in for a lot of people.

Did he indicate to you whether the car was built as an L78 or a low-po combo?

That's a thought. He did tell me he doesn't need money though.

I did ask if I could purchase the build sheet as it has nothing to do with the emblems/plate. No indication as to what it was. The 427 in it has a date code of 2 weeks before the car was built. 4.10s out back and will put it on jack stands tomorrow to see if the axle code is visible.

Nothing tastes better than steak that someone else payed for.

I'd say it's pretty key for you to build a relationship with the previous owner, little cashola, let a little time pass. If he's texts on a mobile, maybe wait a few weeks, send him a video of the car idling. He might never want to own the car again but we all feel something when we get videos and pics of cars we used to own. Maybe he'd even send you a pic of the build sheet.

Engine assembly stamp on the block appears to be T0521ID. Quit screwing around with the community by just saying that it’s dated just prior to the car. It’s not a CE block. Disclose what you have found. Also, you were asked for the distance between the holes on the door jamb. Tell the community what the distance is. There are a lot of very knowledgeable enthusiast who own real 68 Yenkos with real door tags here. They can confirm your measurement on real cars.

Regarding the door tag holes. Are you measuring the distance between the hole next to the dome light switch & the smaller hole below the dome light switch? If so, those holes would mount the tag incorrectly.

normally the YS tag is located above the dome light switch

I'm not screwing around. Who put the car on the list in 2002 then waited 23 years to remove it yesterday? Why would you email me, "Long story on the car", then not disclose a single thing about it other than mentioning the driver side damage? You said the CRG put it on due to it having a door tag. If this site has the threshold you denote, why wasn't the car vetted years ago, and again in 2014 when it was purported to be on eBay?

I asked all very solid and non-confrontational questions, and denoted half-a-dozen times that I'm fine with it not being a Yenko.

There's a credibility concern with leaving a car on a list 23 years and having an owner harassed with calls. Don't spin this like I'm the one that's in the wrong.

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Wes, you didn't even look at the car or do your diligence before purchasing. Stop with the list blame game, and go and enjoy your Camaro. There's a lot of information and knowledgeable members but you chose not to discuss and become informed until AFTER the fact. You haven't even looked at the hidden VINs, know the location of YS tag mounting or bothered to clean the paint off the rear axle stamping.

At this point nothing productive is being added.

If the guy who built the car for his wife knew he had a real yenko in 2015 he either sold it for non real yenko money because he wanted the keepsakes or the buyer paid real yenko money for an undocumented car. Neither of those makes sense to me. No one’s leaving that kind of money on the table for sentimental keepsakes and that applies to buyer and seller. And he refuses to even send a picture of the items? I know some people are hard to deal with but surely something appeals to almost all types of personalities. Figure it out and go that route, if money doesn’t motivate, maybe pride/prestige does. “No one believes it’s a real car, help me prove them wrong” or “the car deserves to be recognized as a real car and your and your wife’s story is part of the cars history to be told” type of thing. Just another idea if moneys not a motivator.

Build sheet? Wonder what that could be because no 1st gen came with one.

Correction. Paperwork is the wording he used.

Yenko did do customer conversions such as the 1975 Yenko Trans Am L-88.

It would be hard to prove without original paperwork like the L-88 Trans Am has or an old magazine/news article or ad.

There was also a Yenko Turbo Corvette that was in a magazine article back in the day and other special Yenko built cars.

Yenko did a VW Karmann Ghia Corvair engine conversion for a customer documented by a for sale ad from back in the day

Right, Joe. I have a very thorough log of over 350 Yenko classified ads placed from back in the day. Of all those cars, I'm most intrigued by this one, and have done considerable research to locate the car. It's impossible to gauge by the ad the validity of the claim, but an L88 '69 Nova by Yenko would be an all-time car.

So yeah, I'll continue on with my historical research regarding this Camaro. I never claimed it to be a Yenko. I've only asked appropriate questions to gather more insight as to what this car used to be. I don't need to be ridiculed for questioning who put this car on this list, what information they have "It's a long story", and accused of buying a car that I didn't do my research on. I did my homework before buying this car and paid fair market value for a customized '68 Camaro that I wanted to conduct research on. The members of this page who think they're clever for the way the correspond does nothing other than question the motives and validity of who's in charge of adding cars to the list.

Funny, I had engaging and interesting dialogue with them before asking about the threshold of who could add/subtract cars. From there on you can see what unfolded.

I'll share with you privately some of the cool ads I've got clipped from Yenko related classifieds.
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