Span Inc.

[Stefano]

There is a copy of Span Inc's. 1967 Yenko Sports Cars Brochure in 'The 1969 Camaro Reference Book' by John R. Hooper, copywritten in 1991, on page 264.

The Brochure has the caption "Yenko Super Camaro" under the picture of the'67 with Corvette side exhaust and Corvette 427 emblems on the fenders under the Camaro emblem.

The picture also has the Caption "Engineered by Dick Harrell" and the Special Options Available section states (designed by Don Yenko and Dick Harrell).

A few pages ahead (p268) there is a Copy of a similar Fred Gibb stamped document which lists lower prices for the same cars, but no mention of Span Inc. The lower prices would tend to indicate that this was either an earlier document or that Gibb/Harrell had a special deal.

Did Fred Gibb sell any '67 or '68 Yenko Sports Cars(Stingers,Stormers or Camaros)?

Page 249 also mentions that "At least two of Nickey's former employees went on to make a name for themselves-Jim O'Connor, former Nickey Parts Department employee who went on to run the successful Berger Chevrolet High Performance Parts Department, and the one and only "Mr.Excitement" or "Mr. Chevrolet,Dick Harrell."

[sYc]

Yes, Fred Gibb Chevrolet was part of the Yenko network. Both a former employee and Mrs. Helen Gibb, Fred's wife, confirmed this. They remembered a couple of the cars and who bought them, including a red, 1968 Camaro. I guess this would be a double supercar, Yenko/Gibb! Gibb may have been involved with the Stingers as well, as one of Fred's daughters gave me a Stinger t-shirt, which was given to Fred by Don Yenko. Tom

[Stefano]

Tom,
It would have to be considered a Quadruple Super Car,I would think,a Y.N.H.G Super Car. The pioneer of stuffing the 427 into the Camaro would have to be Dick Harrell ,while employed at Nickey Chevrolet.

He did this prior to even GM/Chevrolet trying it.

He obviously subcontracted his services to Don Yenko(based on "Super Cars" information) and passed along the technology/engineering part of the project.

Harrell would have been most likely the one to sell Gibb on the Yenko Car Dealer Network concept.

Gibb states a few very interesting items, in his Hooper interview. First, he never met Don Yenko in person. Next that he was converting approx. two Camaros per week in his own shop. Finally ,that he also sold non ZL1 1969 COPO Camaros.

Nickey,Dana and Yenko all have Road Racing as a common link. Even Jack Douglass says that he met Don Yenko in 1968 while running his Can Am race car.

I have never seen any info.regarding Gibb and Road Racing, but much has written about his affection toward Drag Racing. Gibb's direct link to Drag Racings upper echelons was obviously Dick Harrell.

Could the Cars which Gibb converted either prior or after the sale have been marketed as Yenkos and included in Don Yenkos count, but not inventory sheets?

It certainly would not make sense for Gibb to purchase a Camaro converted by Harrell and pay to have it shipped from PA to IL.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Stefano;
Gibb sold at least one '67 Yenko Camaro, Stock #YS-749, 4speed, shipped from Yenko on 8/7/67.
[img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[68TopStock]

Stefano,

Thanks for starting this post. Herb Fox told me about the first time he met Dick Harrell, during the summer of 1967. He was in East St. Louis, (Collinsville?) and drove by Dick's shop. He stopped in and met Dick, he was lost, trying to find a ballpark. He introduced Dick to Fred soon afterward, and Fred bought two cars from Dick, a red one, and a black one. From the information I have, the black car was destroyed in 1973. Both are thought to be 427 converted RS cars.

YDR, what are the details about the YS749 car? I will try and post some other information from the fall of 1967 regarding Dick and Fred's first activities.

[Stefano]

68TopStock,
To clearify are you saying that Gibb purchased two Conversion Yenkos from Harrell?

Or would that be two Nickey Camaros converted by Harrell? [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]