1969 Yenko Nova

[Keith Tedford]

By the summer of '69, these cars weren't moving off the lots very fast. I had plenty of time to choose between the Nurse Camaro and the Beare Chevelle. Typically insurance was around $400 for a Chevelle like ours. I think it was more a matter of most people not being able to afford the cars in the first place. You weren't buying $4K cars unless you were fortunate enough to have a GM job or something comparable. By late summer, I imagine Yenko would move these cars any way possible. They probably didn't care what engine the cars left with just as long as they were gone. By August, the dealers would know that bigger and better was coming out in the fall. GM was talking 454 Corvettes, Camaros, and Chevelles. Who would want a 425 hp '69 Chevelle or Camaro when they could have a 450 hp 454 shortly. I know that it irritated me a little when I found out what was coming down the pipe line. Not now.