Is a "Clone' better?

[RichSchmidt]

I think that car is a little over the top as far as clones go.Yenko camaros are nice cars to collect,but if I were going to clone one I would not go for a bolt and nut resto.Aside from being insanely expensive and a waste of possible parts that could be used to restore an original car,the fact is that there are now better ways to build these cars.I would have built a 496 stroker with a hydraulic or hydraulic roller cam to replace thae solid lifter 427,I would have used an off the shelf 850 carb not a "last one in the world" collector piece.Maybe even grind all the info off a perfromer intake and bead blast it and dress it as stock.Of course all these mods would be readily visable to a serious collector,but the overall image would appear stock.Such a car could actually boost the collector car market since the car might come across as being more practical then the choppy sounding clacketey original,and the performance on the street would be better.Guys trying to sell bogus cars as the real deal with shady paperwork and stuff like that is really what ruins the hobby.A car like the Ebay clone above does nothing to hurt the hobby.I bet that owner spent more building that car to the level it is then it might have cost to buy a real deal car just 5 years ago.That car is seriously nice and anybody who says they wouldnt want to have that car is full of crap.If it is 3/4 as nice in person as it looks in pics it is a very well done car.Not original,but correct enough to put up a good representation of what a real Yenko camaro is.

[KLONECO]

VERY WELL PUT..........MR. SHMIDT! those that need the parts should have them! those that buy them really should wake up!!!!!!!! the #'s matching components that are needed to maintain a #'s car should be left for those cars!!!!!! not wasted on .KLONES CLONES/ TRIBUTES OR Otherwise! but.....

[KLONECO]

nothing I say will make any sense to the people here! they seem to take it all wrong!I just like to see the hobby carry on preserved! enjoyed!

[Z28DZ]

According to A. Colvin's "Chevy by the Numbers, the "512" block was being casted as early as Oct. 1968.

It appears to be a nice car. However, the reproed X code trim tag (on a LA car no less) and stamped engine/irans VIN's , plus the statements of "If you know a lot about Yenkos you would know that the back panel is black on early production cars the first 50 cars were built in Jan of 69. This clone is more correct than some true Yenko's & "69 Yenko all # matching clone this is the most correct Yenko you will ever see" just seriously irks me. It is a bunch of verbal crap strung together to try make a "something" out of a "nothing" This car is not a Yenko, never has been or ever will be a Yenko and the real fact is, the most correct Yenkos I have seen are "real" Yenkos - period; and I agree these parts would have been better served restoring a "real" Yenko/COPO back to its original state. But then heck, the "real" one wouldn't be as good as this fake

[Canucklehead]

I agree with all of you, why waste the parts on just a camaro, maybe it should read "Clown" instead

[RichSchmidt]

If course everybody wants an original one,,but since just about every one of these cars is accounted for in some form or another,the only way to get the Yenko experiance is to either pay top dollar for one of the existing ones,or build one yourself.I know the owners of the last survivours would object to the fact that you can duplacte the original car except for the actual numbers,and somehow that makes their cars less valuable,but the fact is that not everybody wants the real deal.Some cant afford it,and others shouldnt be trusted with it.
Now lets put this into perspective.What would be a nicer car to have for the street if you had about 50 grand to spend?That clone camaro,or a real yenko copo car that has been in a barn for 30 years,but now has a dana 60 under the rear,an LS7 tunnel ramed engine under the glass nose and a doug nash 5 sped in it along with glass doors and a tub job?How about of the real deal car had no title and the owner told you flat out that he was the one who dumped the grenaded original 427 and 4 speed into the metal shredder at the scrap yard 30 years ago.Would the fact that it's VIN number appears on the registry of real COPO cars make it a better deal for the same price as the clone?Since about half of all original 69 COPO cars ended up as the example I described,and about half of all the correct survivous are actually rehabed race cars with restamped engines and questionable date codes on the rest of the parts,can you blame a guy for just wanting to build his own?

[camarojoe]

Rich, i understand 100% what you are saying... for years I had considered selling my fully restored, fully functional, running, driving Yenko Camaro clone to buy a basketcase "real" supercar of some sort that I would probably STILL not have enough money to buy outright, plus throw 1000's and 1000's of dollars worth of parts at, not to mention the YEARS of time and effort it would take me to ever get it to the condition the clone I would have sold was already! Sure, my car is not a real Yenko Camaro, but it wasn't easy or cheap to build it either. After years of hard work, its finished, and I can take it out and enjoy it any time i want to. There's alot to be said about that. I have a "real" Deuce now too, but I still enjoy my camaro, real or not.

[gemleeus]

i would rather have the one thats been in the barn for 30 years

[rpoz11]

Hhmmm...I had it as the 270 blocks preceeded the 512's; so on this block in this car showing an August/68 date(albeit-seperate pic images not connecting) Something doesnt seem to match on that 512 and the H/68 casting that is shown... although I am NO absolute authority to have final say so on what GM did at that time....

[BBIGG BLOCK 396]

You can beat this Clone thing to DEATH! Some people are going to say it is OK to make a clone,then there are going to be people that say SAVE THE PARTS FOR THE REAL CAR'S!It will never be settled ,just like the rebody discussion.If you build a CLONE just be HONEST and represent as a CLONE.If you have the real thing then well you are a SUPER CAR OWNER.That way BOTH people on each side of the fence is HAPPY!I for one can't own a REAL SUPER CARthe reason is my WIFE WON'T let me AFFORD ONE!

Bobby Dodson