Don Yenko and Muscle Cars

Chevrolet loyalists generally agree that Don Yenko, a car dealer from Pennsylvania, deserves his reputation for driving, building, and selling some of the best muscle cars ever known.

In 1965 Don Yenko created the Corvair "Stinger," and thus started the Yenko revolution. By 1967, Yenko had taken the Chevy Camaro and installed a 427 cubic inch displacement (cid) engine. At Yenko's urging, Chevrolet then agreed to factory build a batch of 1969 Camaros with 427 engines and provide a full 5 year/50,000 mile warranty. Chevy delivered these Camaros with stylish dog-dish hubcaps and no exterior trimming. The engine was not even identified as a 427 to the public. Don Yenko ordered his Camaro with 15" rally wheels, a bigger front roll bar, and a custom 140 mile per hour speedometer. He then dressed them up with his signature sYc (Yenko Super Car) insignia and striping. Yenko also make his Camaros available with magnesium wheels, custom gauges, headers, and others specialized items that could push the sticker price well over the $4,600 that other car dealers were asking for.

Don Yenko was a genius in manipulating the Central Office Production Order (COPO) of Chevy, and in turn created a competitor to the Ford Mustang and the Plymouth Barracuda. What ensued was a high performance Yenko branded Camaro, and later a Yenko version ofd the Nova, the Chevelle, and the Vega, all of which ruled the roads of Yenko's era.

The Chevelle, which also started as a COPO, was Yenko's fastest and lightest car. The Yenko Nova S/C, with a 427 cid engine, was so light it could reach 60 mph in just 4 seconds. However, the rising cost of insurance in 1970 forced Don Yenko to offer a Nova "Deuce", which came with only 360 horsepower, and therefore lower insurance rates.

With only a few hundred Yenko muscle cars built, they are highly sought after in today's muscle car market. Don Yenko died in a plane crash in 1987, but his innovative ideas about what a true muscle car should be about will live on forever.