Fake Yenko Beats Real Yenko in show

[SamLBInj]

Who were the judges here, the 3 stooges..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...y=6161&rd=1

[resto4u]

It was a goodguys show, they look at quality of restoration. They could careless if it is a real or fake yenko. This car caused a stir at the milw. show last year. I believe it was a local milw. area car. Roger

[SamLBInj]

Its like saying a tribute band is better than the original

[djunod]

I'll keep my opinions on the car to myself... except to say that it is the car that I care about, not the name or investment value.

But, there are cases where the tribute band is better then the original... when the original was usually drugged up or drunk, therefore producing an inconsistent live show.

[Supergas990]

I don't care how you cut it, there's no way I'd pay $50K - $150k for a glammed up Camaro!!!! Why not just get a nice BB?

I'll get me a real COPO for that kind of coin!!!!!

I saw that car at the GG show in Waukesha last summer. It sure looked nice, but knowing it wasn't real took all the thrill out of it.

JMHO

Blair

[SamLBInj]

The original car builders, bands, whatever, CREATED and INVENTED what others feel compelled to copy..you can never take that away from them, good or bad they thought of it first and took a chance that it would work. Tributes and copys, even if better, are only improving on someone elses original ideas with little or no originality and risk...
If you put up a beat up old original Yenko against a mint Yenko clone and tried to sell them for the same money what percentage of the people would want the copy? I bet not many..
How about having a partied up Aerosmith playing next door to a polished up tribute band that copy there songs perfectly and charge the same for tickets, which place would be full?
The only time a tribute and copy come into play is if the original can not be had. period.

[Chevy454]

Even though our Y-Camaro is a bit on the *crusty* side compared to the majority of the cars on this site, I still get quite a few compliments from folks telling me they dig the fact I'm racing a real Yenko car...sure, I could build an el-strippo clone which would be lighter and quicker, but would it be as cool?

[RichSchmidt]

And lets be realistic about the term "clone" here.This car may very well have more original 1969 parts on it then most restored Yenko cars do.How many legit cars have no original sheet metal except the firewall and roofskin?How many have all that sheet metal replacement plus bogus "CE" code engines,and a ton of reproduction parts on them?I would say that 80% of all surviving Yenko cars are each made up of less then 50% actual original material.Most of the surviving cars were tubbed out race cars,re bodies,or cars with missing drivetrains and rust damage,where in the only original pieces to ever have been on a Yenko anything might be the Vin Plate and trim tag,and a chunk of firewall.We create this illusion that when you sit in a restored legit car that you are siting in in an original 1969 interior and closing real 1969 doors,while turning a real 1969 igintion key to start a real 1969 engine.In reality,80% of the time,we are sitting on seat covers made of plastic that was still in an oil well back in the middle east in 1969,closing a door made out of steel that was still under 100 feet of rock in China back in 1969,and starting and engine that was more likley then not under the hood of somebody's station wagon in 1969.But all of this means nothing because the car in question has it's VIN number on a registery list which makes it all legit.At least this guy claims to have started out with a rust free SS,which means that chances are all the sheet metal and undercarrage was with the car in 1969 when it was new,as well as more of the small hardware stuff that got chucked away from Yenko cars back on 1969.You are right that a clone is a clone,but the fact is that it is possible to have a clone with more real original parts and bodywork then an original car.Maybe to some people the might feel safer driving a car built off a rust free shell then one that was built by hacking 2 or 3 diferent bodies into sections and welding them together while trying to hide the handiwork.Maybe to some people,an original is more about being able to see the paint chip and find red GM primer instead of chinese metal electrtostatic primer under the paint or inside the trunk or where ever.

The Muscle car market is now joining the world of real collectables,in which anything worth big money is worth reproducing to exact specifications.what happens when somebody starts restamping VIN numbers?You think that these registries are keeping people honest?How about a guy who tracks a car off the end of the earth and then stamps a fake vin and cowl tag,restamps the hidden VIN on the car{it is hard to do but would be worthwhile if recreating a car like a HEMI cuda or ZL1 Camaro},then goes to the DMV and tells them a story about how he pulled this car from the crusher with his bare hands while nobody was looking back in 1972 and nobody but him knew the car has existed since then,and now he has posession of it,and it was never really crushed so he needs a title,and when they come around to check the car out,the car will look 100% legit.What heppens when that time comes?With these car going for close to 7 figures it is only a matter of time.Anything that can be created can be re created.

[Belair62]

[ QUOTE ]
This car may very well have more original 1969 parts on it then most restored Yenko cars do.How many legit cars have no original sheet metal except the firewall and roofskin?How many have all that sheet metal replacement plus bogus "CE" code engines,and a ton of reproduction parts on them?I would say that 80% of all surviving Yenko cars are each made up of less then 50% actual original material.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rich...how in the hell can you throw out crazy percentages and figures like this ? I think I understand what you are trying to say but unless you have seen the majority of cars that are out there and inspected them this is just goofy

[RichSchmidt]

Of course these arent exact numbers,but based on what is available in the"restorable" marketplace,and what I have seen coming up on the marketplace since the late 80's,this seems to be the trend.There are many cars out there that have been sheltered since the muscle car boom of the 80's,and just how many of these are bonafide originals with minor restorations compared to reconstructions of totally destroyed cars,will always be unclear.What we do know is that even by tracking the progress of many of the cars belonging to members of this forum and cars they post about,we are seeing that pretty much anything with pedigree is considred restorable no matter how bad the condition.Add that to the tons of legit"junk" that shows up on Ebay and in car trader rags,and you can see how the credibility of resored cars could be called into question.When top dollar is being spent to buy cars where the entire body is broken in half,the drivetrain is missing and there is no title present,just becuase the cowl tag lists the car as a bigblock convertable or some other rare find,you have be realistic about what we are offering.How about that ZL1 Camaro that claimed to have the original body including the tail panel despite the fact that the entire rear clip was cut out and replaced with a donor car and the rear tail panel was reattached.I am sure it is a nice car nonetheless,but if an insurance company were paying to fix that kind of damage,you can bet the car would have a salvage title when it was done.Somebody will eventually buy that car and if they werent told otherwise,they would belive that the entire rear structure of that car was the same rear structure that was under it when it was a new ZL1 back in 1969,yet the rear clip of that car could actually have been from under the bck of any 6 cyl grocery getter.In the meantime though,owners of such cars will bash those who simply take rust free base models and dress them up to look like a more desirable version.Lets face it,we are talking about a hobby where guys will casually mention that a car is a "rebody",despite the fact that the construction of such a vehicle is in totaly violation of federal laws.With the introduction of entire new body shells for some muscle cars,we are going to have to look over our shoulders even more since that entire situation attracts more potential for fraud.

I was just venting a bit on those who have such a problem with"tribute" cars,and their value.They compare them to a "tribute band",but in reality some of these legit cars would be as similar to seeing a real band as would it be to see a guy up on stage claiming to be a famous performer because he now has a vital organ transplanted out of this famouns person's dead body.Sure there may be a little bit of that old celebrity up there,but is having their kidney really make you what they are?Thats what it is when you rebody a car then restamp a non orginal engine for it,then throw a ton of repop parts on it.This stuff doesnt bother the purists as much as some guy using original parts to make a bogus car for his own enjoyment.What a load.