Wonder why the placement of the Yenko badge was lower on the vintage photo, and higher up on the later photo?

I'm really not the one to ask that question as there are many more people on here better qualified. However I do know they did modify cars for customers.

They are 2 different cars...

Different cars if I understand what you are asking. If the vintage photos were of a car that did not go thru the Super Car department that could be why they were in a different place. If only Don were still alive to bring more of this to light.

I see no reason not to believe the car is a Yenko 427 COPO Chevelle. Aside from the fact the stripes are missing, everything else is there.

Why the black crests then? Sure would be nice to know the VIN. Maybe one of the unknown Garnet Red cars.

Whole car could have been repainted, crests too. I certainly don't see the fact the badges aren't painted correctly as a sign its not legit. BTW, they aren't painted how the stick-on black and chrome ones were painted either.

I see 2 plausible scenarios here:

1) It could have been repainted by 1977, which would explain the missing stripes. The emblems may also have been changed at that time.

2) This is what I was hinting at before... it may not be a garnet red car originally. What if a customer specifically wanted a cortez silver 427 Chevelle, would Don have pulled a car out of his regular inventory and converted it? This would explain the black crests on this particular car.

I don’t think people were cloning Yenko cars in 1977, were they? Beat up looking with snow tires?

It may very well have been repainted, but why would you think it's not one of the 99 Yenko Chevelles? It's got a bowtie in the grille and an SS hood, no Malibu side trim, IE: all the COPO stuff that a Yenko 427 Chevelle would have. It wasn't some put together car off the back lot.

maybe because when the kids got there after school to put the stripes and emblems on those cars the new kid placed the emblem to low on the fender. The shop foreman hollered at him but told him to leave it like that and get to the next car.
Think it could of happened that way back then? What a great era for muscle cars!