Types of vehicles and systems functioning: Chevrolet Camaro by Yenko

MSRP	Engine	HP	Manufactured
n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Search for Chevrolet Camaro by Yenko on:

Don Yenko, the son of the founder of Yenko Chevrolet, was the man behind the '69 COPOs, and was probably the best known and largest supplier of muscle cars back in the 60's and 70's. In '69, Yenko used the COPO pipeline to get factory 427s in Camaros.

Perhaps the best know of the racing dealers is Don Yenko, from Cannonsberg, Pennsylvania. Most of these early Yenko Camaros went to Chicago, where they were distributed by Span, Inc. for Yenko Sportscars. There were 54 Camaros built in '67, making this one of the rarest of Camaros. There are only 12 surviving cars known, and 9 of those are being raced or are in very bad condition.

Wanting more performance than the 396 Camaro would give, Yenko Sportscars created the Yenko Super Camaro by installing the 427 cid 425 hp engine.

By the end of 1967 it was clear that Yenko couldn't keep up with the demand for 427 Camaros, so he approached Chevrolet about the possibility of getting factory equipped 427 Camaros. Chevy was hesitant about this at first, but the people in the Special Projects Division were eager to give it a shot. According to Jim Mattison, who worked in the division at the time, the result was that Chevy agreed to supply factory equipped 427 Camaros to Yenko in 1968 on the condition that he keep it a secret. Don Yenko agreed, and until recently it was thought that all 68 of the 1968 Yenko Camaros had dealer installed engines, just like the 67's, but they were actually factory installed. At the end of the 68 model year the cars had proved to be both reliable and desireable. This led to the birth of two special options for 1969, COPO 9561 and COPO 9737.

The Central Office Production Order (COPO) was a back door around Chevrolet's performance limits. The first COPO 9561 cars were delivered to Yenko Chevrolet in January, 1969.

The first COPO 9561 cars were delivered to Yenko Chevrolet in January, 1969. Cars built through late May had a Stewart Warner 970 custom service tachometer with a special sending unit installed. Later cars received the factory tach. Your Yenko could be ordered with or without stripes and spoilers. The stripe package included "SYC" decals.

In 1969 the Yenco SYC could be ordered with either the M22 4-speed or the Turbohydramatic transmission for $4245.00. It is not known exactly how many Yenko Camaros were made in 1969. The best figure is either 199 or 201.

The stripe package included "SYC" on the front headrests.

Yenko emblem below the Camaro emblem.

Camaro emblem.

Yenko sticker in engine compartment.

Ad featuring the Yenko ZL-1 motor. Yenko bought the rights to the ZL-1 after '69 when GM gave up on it. Yenko used the same basic specs, with a few "tweaks" here and there. (source: Yenko Registry.)

This ad, featuring the Yenko built ZL-1 engines, were made to allow racers to make enormous cubic inch engines out of them. With no water jackets and a stroker crank, these engines could easily near the 600 cubic inch mark! (source: Yenko Registry.)

This is the cover of Drag Times, which covered many of the drag strips in the east and northeast region of the U.S. (notice Don Yenko's autograph at the top, which he dated June 5, 1969). This issued talked about the test of the '69 Yenko Camaro, and it's brutally quick 11.04@114.50. Also pictured are the clippings from inside. (source: Yenko Registry.)

This is the ever popular "Meet the Mean Ones" ad which lists the dealers in the Yenko dealer network, along with the many of the options available on the supercars for '69. (click to enlarge). source: yenko.net.