Donald "Don" Frank Yenko (May 27, 1927 - March 5, 1987 [1]) [2] was an American car dealer and racecar driver best known for creating the Yenko Camaro, a high-performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro . Biography Early life Yenko grew up in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania. Yenko Chevrolet was a Chevrolet dealership located at 575 West Pike Street in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Operating from 1949 to 1982, the dealership is best known for selling customized sports cars during the late 1960s. Referred to presently as "Yenkos," they are among the most collectible 1960s vehicles. History
1969 Yenko Nova The Incredibly Rare 427Powered 'Almost Lethal' Nova
At the Canonsburg dealership, Don Yenko started modifying Corvair Corsas into SCCA-certified Yenko Stingers. From there, as the oft-repeated story goes, came the nationwide network to sell his modified cars and the Canonsburg-built Yenko Camaros, Yenko Deuces, and COPO Chevelles. 29 April 2019 Share When Chevrolet refused to build the big-block 427 Camaro that people wanted, Don Yenko stepped up to answer the call. His speed shop in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, turned from race car support to production line in 1967 as new Camaros received heart transplants by the dozens. Daniel Strohl 09/23/2018 Muscle Cars In This Article Category: Muscle Cars Don Yenko knew exactly what he wanted: to become the Carroll Shelby of the Chevrolet world, to put his name on a car and to have people instantly recognize it as the leading performance version of that car. And he did indeed get what he wanted. The Yenko name also added additional modifications and special touches, such as decals and custom embroidered headrestsd. Barrett-Jackson presents this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko as one of three Camaros personally sold by Don Yenko to racers for use in NHRA Drag Racing programs. Don Yenko himself signed off on the sale contract.
Don Yenko’s L88powered 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Race Car
The myth is Don Yenko's dealership installed a special 425-horsepower 427 big-block into the 1969 Yenko Super Car (sYc) Camaros and Chevelles. While the 1967-1968 Yenkos were "transplant". To own a 1967 Yenko Camaro would be a dream come true for Perry, who revels in the history of Yenko Chevrolet, that small dealership in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, that has become legendary. The Yenko Super Camaro gets its name from Don Yenko, an American racecar driver from Pennsylvania. Yenko earned his stripes racing Corvettes in the United States, winning the Sports Car Club of America national driving championship four times, as well as competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 01 August 2018 Share Don Yenko, whose Chevrolet dealership in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, famously built road-racing Corvairs and street/strip Camaros, Chevelles, and Novas in the late 1960s, perished in a plane crash in 1987.
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Don Yenko built the 427 Camaro that Chevrolet wouldn’t Hagerty Media
The son of a Chevrolet dealer in Pennsylvania, after serving in the Air Force and then receiving his business administration degree from Penn State, Don Yenko returned to his home state and set up a performance shop for Chevrolets while simultaneously racing Corvettes in various SCCA events in the region. The Yenko Super Camaro was a modified Chevrolet Camaro prepared by Yenko Chevrolet, developed by the dealership owner and racer, Don Yenko . Background This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Posted 08/28/23 by Paul Sakalas Last updated on 12/05/2023 If you're into high performance Chevrolets—in particular, tire-shredding Chevelles, Novas, and Camaros—then you should really know about Don Yenko. Thanks to his efforts, some of the meanest Bowties of the 1960s screamed out of his Yenko Chevrolet dealership. Of the 350 +/- COPO 1969 Chevelles produced, Don Yenko ordered 99 of them. The remaining 251 +/- Chevelles were ordered and sold through other Chevrolet dealers nationwide. Today, these.
What Made Don Yenko’s Legendary COPOPowered Chevelles So Great?
Don Yenko was a winning road racer from Pennsylvania. His family had a small Chevy dealership in Canonsburg, not far from Pittsburgh. He proved very skilled at throwing Corvettes into corners in places like Sebring and Nassau at high speed, even after GM pulled the plug on all formal racing involvement in 1963, which got him some high-level. Don Yenko will always be remembered for his amazing achievements in the automotive industry, most notably, bringing about the creation of Yenko Chevrolet and all of the "Super Chevys" that came about because of it. But, much like most of the greats in Chevy history, Yenko wasn't born into the spotlight.
