Camaro - Daytona Yellow 427 Yenko '69 Camaro by Jim

Muscle Car: Chevy Camaro Yenko Year: 1969 Engine: 427 Condition: Daily Driver

About a decade ago I was at home sitting on the front steps, just like a little kid waiting for his best friend to be dropped off from across town. The only difference was I was 45 years old, and I was waiting for a car to be delivered. My wife came out to sit down next to me, and noticed I was starting to rock. She tried to calm me down, but then around the corner came that big enclosed transport truck. I stood up, my lips may have started to tremble, and I must have been holding my breath, as she nudged me and whispered, ‘breathe, you moron’.... It had arrived.

What seemed to take an hour actually took a few minutes. The driver climbed down from the big rig, we shook hands, and he asked if I was ready. Was I ready? I had been waiting weeks for this day to arrive! He opened the rear liftgate and lowered it down to street level. ‘There's only room for one of us in here,’ and I backed off a bit. The wife was snapping pictures, and I was about ready to hear the big-block 427 motor come to life. The previous owner told me he nicknamed the car ‘hairy’ as it had such a wild, hairy cam in it. Now I know why he called it that.

Once the car warmed up a bit (oh, that cam!), the driver backed my recently purchased Daytona Yellow ’69 Yenko 427 Camaro into sunlight.... It was a real one: no clone, no re-creation, no tribute. The real deal. Now realize, I’m a blue-collar worker putting in lots of hours. I’m not a rich man. My life is an open one, telling all friends everything that goes on. But not this time, as recently one gal said I could never keep a secret. I just had, and wait until Saturday.

That weekend, we had invited fellow car club members over for a garage day and BBQ. A few hours before this, I spoke with the neighbor directly across the street, asking if I could store my new purchase in his garage until that afternoon. It was no problem.

The guests arrived, most were in the garage and driveway, and it was time for me to slip away. I entered the neighbor’s garage, fired it up, and looked straight ahead through the now-opening garage door… to see every person’s head turned toward "the noise" and all eyes riveted on the Yenko Camaro. Blipping the throttle and releasing the clutch, I crept it over into my driveway as slow as I could with those 5:13 gears. Yup, like bees on honey. It was a feeling I’ll never forget. And that gal, she winked, and said ‘secret, huh?’

Fast forward ten years. The Yenko was sold. That wife is gone. The friends are still with me, and so is the passion for Yenko Camaros.

This time the pictures are nicer, and the car is nicer. It's an updated Pro Touring look '69 Yenko Camaro, and I’m just as excited about it. It’s a Dark Blue Metallic with White stripes, and gray five-spoke 18-inch mag wheels. Features include four-wheel disc brakes and directional tires; power comes from a detailed and modified 427 big-block with aluminum heads, aluminum intake, MSD ignition, four tube headers, a custom oil pan, backed by a T56 6-speed manual transmission.
The interior is carpeted, bucket seats have the sYc on both headrests, and gauges in the console. The detailed chassis features beautifully hung fuel lines, brake lines, a total custom-made exhaust, plus a fuel cell and the battery are in the trunk. But this one is a 1:18 scale die-cast car available in late June or early July, in Midnight Blue and in GM Sunset Orange with Black stripes.

“My new wife likes this car.”

- Written by Jim Thoren / Supercar Collectibles
- Submitted by Jeff Koch / Hemmings Motor News