Yenko Stinger

Posted on January 25, 2021 by classiccarweekly

1966 Chevrolet Corvair Yenko Stinger Stage II

Offered by Mecum | Glendale, Arizona | March 18-20, 2021

Cars with flat-six engines mounted out back are supposed to be very sporty, almost race cars. Or so I hear. So why was the Corvair labeled a danger, and why did Chevy never make sit sportier than the base model ever was?

Enter Don Yenko, who would become even more famous for modifying Camaros in the late 1960s. He started by hotting-up Corvairs into “Stinger” form. He wanted to make the Corvair SCCA eligible, but it didn’t really fall into a pre-existing category. So he modified an example to fit. But the SCCA required 100 production examples before that version would be race-eligible. So 100 1966 Yenko Stingers would end up being built. This is #50.

The changes from the base car varied from example to example. This car has a “Stage II” flat-six rated at 190 horsepower. It also has four carburetors, a limited-slip differential, a front spoiler, and a four-speed manual transmission. It’s a cool car and among the coolest of Corvairs. Read more about this one here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $82,500.

’69 Yenko Camaro

Posted on December 25, 2012 by classiccarweekly

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko

Offered by Russo & Steele | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 16-20, 2013

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko Coupe

First of all, Merry Christmas. Secondly, I picked a green car today on purpose, of course. Russo & Steele are the muscle car experts in Scottsdale – they really dig up some rare pieces of American brawn-on-wheels every year. And this Yenko Camaro is no exception.

Yenko Chevrolet in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania began selling hotted-up Corvairs in 1965 under the supervision of Don Yenko, the son of the dealership’s founder. When the Camaro came out in 1967, it was a natural fit for what Yenko was doing. Chevrolet’s policy with the Camaro limited engine size to 6.6-liters. Yenko would order Camaros and swap their engine for those out of a 7.0-liter (427) Corvette. This car does not have the original engine, but a period correct 435 horsepower, 7.0-liter V8 out of a Corvette.

By 1969, Chevrolet was more open to engagement in the Pony Car Wars. Using a special order (COPO), the big engines were installed on the assembly line. Yenko added other bits, like putting his name on the fenders. This is an actual 1969 Yenko Camaro – only 201 were built and only 30 with the automatic transmission featured in this car. Painted in Fathom Green, it was subject to a no-expense spared restoration and should probably sell for between $250,000-$300,000. Click here for more info and here to check out more from Russo & Steele.

Update: Did not sell.

Mecum Spring Classic 2012 Highlights

Posted on June 2, 2012 by classiccarweekly

Dana Mecum’s 25th Original Spring Classic Auction held May 15-20, 2012, sold a ton of cars. I mean, it has seriously taken me two days to go through the results and my mind has melted from staring at the computer screen. The top sale was this gorgeous 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible, one of 18, that sold for $600,000.

Muscle cars were the stars of the show. Numerous Hemi Mopars and big-block Chevys went across the block and brought big numbers. One of my favorite Hemi cars to sell was a 1966 Dodge Charger – my favorite Charger bodystyle. It sold for $190,000 – and it’s all original and unrestored.

Another wonderfully rare muscle car brought the second-highest price paid for a car at this sale. It’s a 1969 Yenko Nova and it’s one awesome looking car. It sold for an eye-popping $475,000.

Our featured car, the Baldwin Motion Manta Ray GT failed to sell. Interesting sales of note included this 1978 Jeep J10 Honcho 4×4 that looks great and would’ve only cost you $7,000.

Carroll Shelby’s recent passing put a spotlight on all Shelby-badged vehicles. One of the more obscure models with the Shelby name on it is this 1989 Dodge Shelby Dakota. It’s one of 1,500 built and sold for $9,500.

And finally, there was the 1964 Voisin Biscuter microcar – and it’s about as cheap as you can go on the Voisin scale. It sold for $13,000 – less than half of what it was priced at a month ago at Hyman Ltd.