'68 Yenko, Transplant vs. COPO

[JoeC]

Kevin,
Have you tried to contact Jim Mattison or JohnZ? They may be able to shed some light on the COPO documentation since they were witness to some of the activities. JohnZ posts on TeamCamaro and the Corvette Forum sites. Here is a recent post of JohnZ's on a COPO thread.
"Zone Sales Managers had nothing whatsoever to do with COPO's or product promotion - their job was to make sure sales targets were met and cars were distributed/allocated to dealers to keep their inventories in line with demand - to "move the iron".
All COPO activities were managed from Detroit, by Ed Barlow, Jim Mattison and Joe Pike in Sales and Marketing, and by Vince Piggins in Product Promotion Engineering.

There was no shortage of cars to be modified at Chevrolet, whatever the purpose, without going to the trouble of ordering them and having to wait for them to be built; Chevrolet Engineering had over 1,300 cars in their fleet (including mine), and there were several thousand more in the Sales/Marketing/Public Relations fleet.

Inidvidual dealers occasionally modified their own cars for local community activities to create their own marketing opportunities, but all COPO activities and Product Promotion "special cars" were handled from Detroit"

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Kevin;
Your various items of information are starting to come together in a 'timeline, or chronological process. It appears that some changes superceded others, ect, and therefore required export exceptions. Very interesting, I also wonder what Mattison and others remember about the export compiance ect.
Marlin

[Jim Mattison]

Guys, I see that there is quite the debate on if the '68 Yenko Camaro COPO 9737 actually came with the L72 engine. Hopefully, I can help to set the record straight on this issue!

In 1968, I worked in the Chevrolet Fleet & Special Order Department that processed all COPO orders. We were the sales and marketing arm of Chevy Special Vehicles. It was also in 1968 that I first met Don Yenko. At that innitial meeting, Don wanted to get close to the person at Chevy who was handling the orders and paperwork for Yenko Sportscars, a division of Yenko Chevrolet. I was that person.

What started as a business relationship, became a real friendship between Don and I, although he was conciderably older than I was. He loved life and people and it was very easy to like him.........as he loved to party and have a good time!!! As we became friends, he confided to me many of the behind the scenes things that effected the Yenko programs.

The authorization for the 1968 Yenko Camaro (COPO 9737) came about in quite an unorthodox way, as passed-down from Ed Cole, who was the President of GM at the time, to E.M. "Pete" Estes, Chevrolet General Manager. Having those two names on anything at Chevrolet gave a project the highest priority. I later found out that the Yenko family, through Don's dad, Frank, were very close with Ed Cole.

Don told me that in a meeting that he had with Ed Cole, he proposed his idea for a "factory warranted" 427 Camaro. The conversions that his people were doing at the dealership were costing him a fortune in conversion time and warrantee expense. I don't know all of the details of the meeting, but in the end Cole told him that if he could sell half of the cars he claimed to be able to sell, Chevrolet would help him out..........however, he could not publish, nor tell anyone that the cars were actually factory produced.

Cole and Estes also wanted to be able to track these vehicles for ownership, as well as warrantee expense. They had the Chevrolet Product Planning Department issue a special engine code for the "427" engine that went into the 1968 Yenko Camaro COPO 9737. That code was "MV".

Tonawanda records show that a total of 79 engines were built in 1968 with the "MV" engine code. I don't know if all of these engines went into vehicles (some were held for warrantee), but I do know that they were (L72) 427's.

The success of the 1968 Yenko Camaro opened the door for the 1969 COPO program......... and as they say "the rest is history".

I apologize for the lengthy post.

Jim Mattison

[bkhpah]

I feel very strongly that the MV code is a 396/375 and here is why. I have gone over this before, but this time we are on top of a new car. My friend has in his garage a MV code standard bore 1968 396/375 block with a Norwood Camaro VIN. I would be happy to share the VIN if you like at a later date. This motor has been rumored to have been one of the sold short blocks from a Yenko conversion 1968. Also I have just been in contact with a owner of a 375 68 Yenko Camaro 9737 car that is a non converted car. It has all the 9737 things like 1 1/16 sway bar, 140 speedo, special trim tag and rear code. But it was never a 427. It was sold to the original owners as a 396. It has warranty book and POP. I am going to inspect the car in a few weeks. It was Corvette Bronze a Yenko color. I have also talked with another local Canonsburg Yenko 68 396 Camaro owner that bought a new car with all the goodies but a 427. That makes two. If the MV total was 79 and Yenko only sold 64/65 cars that leaves a few unconverted and sold as 396 cars. There may have been a mule 427 test car, but the rest seem to have been delieverd as 396's. Would not at least one MV code 427 engine have shown up by now that is not a restamp? If I am wrong about this I will be the first to admit it. I may have not been there in the day, but the MV code just does not add up to a 427 engine...BKH

[Jim Mattison]

I'll agree that some of the early '68 Camaros were converted at Yenko's dealership and those cars could have started out as most anything. You wouldn't believe what some of the early Yenko conversions "really" started out as!

As for the 1968 "MV" 427 engine issue, I can still remember quite clearly the conversations that I had, not only with Yenko, but also with our engineering release engineers on this subject. I think that part of the confussion exists because Chevrolet didn't "officially" recognize the 427 engine in the Camaro until 1969....... Remember, Yenko couldn't tell anyone that these cars were factory built 427's.

Jim Mattison

[bkhpah]

If I can show you a engine with a Yenko Camaro 1968 VIN that is an MV code standard bore four bolt main 396 what would your opinion be? Stan, your opinion on this engine, you have seen it. The newly discovered non-converted Yenko Camaro that I just talked to the owner of knows what he has an it was never a 427. It has all the tell tail signs of a 427 Yenko without the 427. This car still has glovebox paperwork. I get to meet with this owner in just a few weeks. Yenko took out ads in the local paper selling unused 396 engines to help get rid of the extras. If you would like I will bring this block to the Super Car Reunion as part of our Yenko display we set up every year. Jim,I respect your work and opinion and have talked to you before. This is just what I have learned on my own...BKH

[JoeC]

Jim - Welcome and its great to see you adding to the discussion here.
I know it was many years ago but do you remember this name "Excalibur”? It seems like Engineering used it as some sort of code name like in a James Bond movie. I have been following the story on the 68 Yenko Camaro engine for many years and there appears to be evidence for a 427 MV and a 396 MV. One thing I notice is the date on that emission test document is 6-21-68 which is very late in the 1968 model year since change overs began in late July 68 for the 1969 model year. That "GSD-578" form dated 2-13-68 requesting the 9737HD build for Yenko is also half into the 68-model year. If Yenko wanted to sell COPO 1968 Camaros I would think the paperwork would have to be started in late 1967. This leads me to believe that early 68 Yenkos were transplants. Just my observation. On the other hand, the paperwork Kevin has especially the GSD-578 seems to indicate a COPO 427. Also the article on the blue 68 Yenko Camaro in Super Chevy claims that car has the original motor and it is a MV code 427. They claim to have the POP and a broadcast sheet and the original owners name which they state in the article bought the car in December of 1968. I also heard of a 3rd 68 Yenko owner claiming to have a 427 MV code block with a Dec 67 date. (I have his name and have been trying to contact him) I am curious if the build dates of the MV 396 cars are all early and the build dates of the cars claiming 427 MV motors are later build dates. I guess it would be very odd for Chevy to build a MV code 396 and a MV code 427 but that sure would hide it from management if that were their intention.