Yenko Stored since 1979 and now Restoring

[Steve Shauger]

Link to story & video. This was an update which wasn't apparent when I was reading, until the end. This was from 2017. Perhaps a member has new updated information on vin 668616 !!!

https://www.hotrod.com/features/1969...-racing-legend

[Krateness]

The car was purchased by my family. The car sat for a year or so until we really started to gather things up to get the restoration going. From the video you could see what it was missing and while we got lucky with the motor and rearend, as we all know, the “little” things have a way to add up quick and can put a rather large dent into the wallet themselves. We’ve tried to reuse as much original components as possible. It retains a large part of it original interior still.

This car is being done by our group of friends and family. We are in no means experts but I have spent the last few years drinking in the Camaro knowledge. We are restoring the car back to what we discovered in its finding for witness marks and the like. IE: This car was found with only “T” stamps on the firewall so that is what is going back on it.

In the end the car is apart of the family now and while we were hoping to debut it at the Bowtie Nationals in Indy next month, time has slipped away from us and this kind of car is one you can’t rush. As they say there is always next year.

As far as the stories go, we haven’t had much luck in tracing the car to the original owner. It had exchanged hands multiple times even before Jeff owned the car and while there are names we have been given, none have yielded much more than a dead end. Our best find was a newspaper ad for the car, likely when it was having transmission trouble (it got blown up early in its life) and was listed in the local paper for sale in Sept/1972 for $1850. While some may say there’s no way to prove it is the car, I do have a hard time thinking there were 2 automatic yenkos rolling around the same small town at the time. We were able to acquire a copy of the Yenko inventory sheet showing the car and obtain the NCRS report showing its travel to Yenko Chevrolet.


A question I have been reluctant to ask is if this is likely the last automatic Yenko Camaro produced? The registry seems to show it as the latest Yenko VIN to be made with an automatic but who can ever really say…

There’s been a zillion photos taken but here are some of the few on my phone…

[scuncio]

Great car, looking forward to seeing your progress.

[69M22Z]

Wow. Very cool!!

[dykstra]

So cool!!! Thanks for posting pics.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Jim Nankivell Ad

[PeteLeathersac]

‘

Has the name Steven Spoo ever come up as a possible original or early owner?
Looking at the 09/72 Anderson IN Newspaper Ad w/ no phone #, note 804 Lindbergh Rd. address. Searching the address around the same timeline yielded a few hits, most notable the below 10/72 Anderson Herald Newspaper Wedding report w/ happy couple residing where else but at 804 Lindberg Rd.
Was Steve Spoo the Yenko owner, getting responsible/selling the car a month before tying the knot?
His employment w/ GM’s Guide Lamp division is also noted plus important too, he was a Veteran.
Google indicates Steven Dean Spoo was born 12/48 but passed away 04/03.
His wife also wedding party family/friend names would be a good start to try searching also I see other Old Newspaper Ads w/ his name including friend wedding w/ more names etc.
Sorry if this lead is all smoke/goes nowhere, please post here or PM if you need help searching/wasting time trying something else?

~ Pete

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[L_e_e]

PeteLeathersac=Super Sleuth Extraordinaire, I appreciate your research efforts.

[Bill Pritchard]

Pete, your detective skills are nothing short of amazing