1968 Yenko Copo Camaro/ Non converted car

[sYc]

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I am now the owner (again) of my 1968 Corvette Bronze 396/375 Camaro which I originally purchased new at Kenny Ross Chevrolet in Pittsburgh, PA in September 1968. Car only has 5K original miles, and may be a Non-Converted COPO/Yenko which I was unaware of at the time I owned it. Have been researching this possibility for sometime now and all signs are looking very positive. Will update as I learn more. I have attached a picture of the car that was taken in 1968 in front of the dealership.'

Tom, after re-reading this thread, and the other one about the car, and looking at your emails and PMs to me, I have a couple of things to throw out.

How/why did a Yenko end up at Kenny Ross? Part of the Yenko SC network, or dealer transfer? , But with no signs of it being a Yenko (I am assuming this since you just now feel it might be a Yenko, nothing caught your eye back then). If the car originated at Yenko, all of the factory paperwork, including the window sticker, would have read Yenko. And, if the car had any Yenko options, it would have had a Yenko window sticker. In addition, Yenko made sure their cars could be identified, by the use of stickers, emblems, and later on stripes. After hearing from numerous folks who bought Yenko cars new, from various dealers, including Douglass, the one common theme is they were all well aware of the Yenko connection, whether it be though paperwork, emblems, stickers, what ever. I have to wonder if this car originated at Yenko.

Now, could it be a Kenny Ross COPO? Well that is possible, in the same sense as dealers in '69 found out about the 427 COPO (JD) and ordered them direct from GM, rather then get them from Yenko. But, even with that, the COPO option would have been present on any paperwork, such as window sticker. And, was not the 9737 option the listed as the "Yenko Sports Car Conversion" option?

Regardless, an interesting car. Would be nice if GM had the Chevy archives up and and running.

[Belair62]

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I have just located a 1968 Yenko Camaro 9737 car. This car was sold unconverted. It was a 396/375 car. It was a COPO that did not receive the 427 conversion. It is a very low mile car. Original MV 396 is gone, but I think the rest of the driveline is intact. What is the thoughts of board members on a unique car like this. Supercar or not?...BKH


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Brian; Neat car. I am assuming that this is the car that you had me research a while back. As per being a supercar, I would say yes. To me, it is the same as the 1968 396/375 automatic Gibb Novas that were not switched to 427s. Both are special in their own way. Yours with the 9737 COPO (Yenko) package and the Gibb cars with their COPO auto trans. To me, these cars represent the start of what I consider COPO built supercars.

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Tom Clary


[/ QUOTE ] If this is the same car in this whole thread...why the turnaround of opinion....

[sYc]

Until a couple of days ago, I "assumed" that the car was sold new at Yenko. But, when I learned that it was sold new at Kenny Ross, and that the original owner did not suspect it to be a Yenko, until now, just wonder if it is a Yenko. Appears it is a 9737 COPO, which yes, would be a supercar, in the same sense as the Gibb cars.

Until now, I/we had assumed any car with the 9737 option, special trim tag, were Yenkos, but that may, or may not be the case. And I certaintly do not know.

[Unreal]

Tom Billigen made the comment that he bought the car in September 1968 at Kenny Ross, and had no idea it was a Yenko car. In fact, he said he assumed all L78's had the 140 speedo. All of us who lived in Pgh at the time knew about Yenko, so unless Tom crawled from under a rock the day he bought the car from Kenny Ross, it's fair to assume his car had no Yenko sticker on the window, and no yenko badging. Since the 69's were about to be introduced, dealers would be clammering to unload 68's. It is reasonable to assume that Yenko transferred this car to Kenny Ross in the same manner as he would have transferred an Impala station wagon.

Is this a Supercar? In my opinion, a 9737 without the L72 engine transplant is no more a supercar than the 70 Camaro with the COPO spoiler. I mean no disrespect to anyone's car. In fact I, personally would prefer to have an unconverted COPO 9737 L78 than a Yenko conversion. (resale value aside) But it's up to other, much more involved folks than I, to determine if it should be considered a Supercar.

In any case, I am glad for Tom to have his old car back, and hope he can reunite it with the original L78 motor.

[JoeC]

would be intersting to see what dealer is shown on NICB info

[sYc]

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would be intersting to see what dealer is shown on NICB info

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Yep, that it would. If Yenko, new info on non-converted Yenko cars, or if Kenny Ross, new info about possible non-Yenko '68 COPOs.

[Chevy454]

Unreal: how do you view the '68 9738 Novas?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

We had assumed that any 9737 '68 Camaros were ordered through sYc - especially since the COPO was still called Sports Car Conversion - Yenko! So, we also assumed that in order for a COPO car to end up at Kenny Ross that it had to be dealer trxfrd from Yenko, maybe not, but most likely that's the only way another dealer would get one. An NICB would certainly clear that up for good!

Obviously, the car is not a Yenko though, it's a non-converted copo, and I'm assuming will be restored as such??

[T Billigen]

I never "assume" anything. I can't remember what the window sticker said. I only became interested in the background when Huber was restoring his 68 Yenko. A lot of the options that were on his car were on my old car. I even went down to the owners garage and looked at the cowl tag and interior to make sure what I remembered was indeed there and it was. This was in 1992 so I have been keeping an eye on the car for along time, when I got the oportunity I bought it! The bottom line is I know what it is and I now own it again!!! And it is the same car as in the thread

[Unreal]

Rob, I'm not informed enough to know what the 9738 Novas included, so I don't know how to respond. We all know what they say about opinions......but the opinion of guys with more experience, or more at stake, (eg Tom C, Tom B, Brian H, etc.) should prevail over opinions of guys like me.

As the builder of a tribute car, I have very little standing on this issue, but have a real love and interest in these cars, none the less.

My feeling is that a bigger sway bar, 15" wheels, and a 140 speedo do not make it any more a Supercar than an SS L78. (no less cool to own, however. And for Tom B, what better story than to get your old car back...and by luck at the time of original purchase, it was a 9737!!)

Now, Tom B.......we're counting on you to get that damned motor back!!