1968 Yenko Questions

[tom406]

14x7's weren't offered until '69 on any Pontiac. Those appear to be 14x6's and per Paul Zazarine's GTO resto guide, '68 spec Rally II's should be code JA (p/n 9787279) for disc brake apps and code JC (p/n 9789329) for drum brake applications. I wouldn't be surprised if Yenko offered them sans trim rings that year, for the reasons outlined by the other posters.

TOM

[Schonyenko2]

My reply was deuce related. That's what the dealer told me when I asked him why it didn't have trim rings.

[camarojoe]

[ QUOTE ]
14x7's weren't offered until '69 on any Pontiac. Those appear to be 14x6's and per Paul Zazarine's GTO resto guide, '68 spec Rally II's should be code JA (p/n 9787279) for disc brake apps and code JC (p/n 9789329) for drum brake applications. I wouldn't be surprised if Yenko offered them sans trim rings that year, for the reasons outlined by the other posters.

TOM

[/ QUOTE ]

Well that sounds legit then... 14x6's are what they would have had to be if 14x7's didn't come out til 69. I always wondered why he chose the Poncho wheels instead of something from Chevy or the aftermarket... you can bet there was a good story behind that choice.

[68l30]

Remember Don had to change wheels for a reason,he's to frugal for anything else .....I'm betting it was for more than just for looks. Does the 14x6 Pontiac wheel have a different offset than the Chevrolet 14x6 steel wheel or rally ? Maybe he went with the Pontiac for the wide-track...

Steve

[camarojoe]

That's a possibility, another thought was that the rally II wheels gave a "mag wheel" look to the car without spending the extra $ for aftermarket aluminum wheels. in 68, Chevy didn't really have a styled steel wheel available other than the rally wheel or fake mag hubcap, so the rally II Pontiac wheel was about the only decent looking factory wheel he could buy cheap to add some flair to the cars. Knowing Don, he probably had a Pontiac connection too, and got 'em for near nothing.

[JoeC]

When Don decided to use that wheel, it may not have been a Pontiac only wheel.
Early ’68 option booklet showed it as a Chevy option with a bow-tie center cap but Chevy must have canceled it.

Don may have selected it in late 67 or early 68 not knowing that it was to become known as a Pontiac only wheel in later years.
Just my opinion
Attached a picture from a Chevy promo booklet

[Xplantdad]

Joe...that's a cool looking pic. Those wheels are probably one of the best styled factory wheels ever produced

[Jeff H]

In the first set of pictures the wheels don't have the trim ring but they do have the 'Y'enko center so I would think they could have sold them without the trim ring. It lookes like a fully prepped wheel/tire. But without real paperwork it's a tough one to call either way. But those wheels look great with and without the trim ring!

[427freak]

Colin
I researched this for my car and pretty much came to the concensus that the carb is the 4053 DZ part# 3923289 that was used on the L78 and the Z28 cars. They would have just used the parts that came with the original 396. Also the wheels were JA coded 14X6's. Hope this helps.

[SuperNovaSS]

If all the parts on the 68 COPO L78 Camaro engine were the same as the standard L78 than why do the COPO engines have a different suffix code?


Jason