Yenko Optional Twin Sport Mirrors

[Supercar_Kid]

I thought Marlin had mentioned before that he knew of at least one Deuce that got a '69 style Hurst dual gate auto shifter in lieu of the long handled 4 speed appearing "Super Shifter." I believe he's mentioned that a few cars were sold with their column shifters intact as well. I can't say I know of a Dual Gate equipped example personally, so I won't argue the fact. I'm still trying to learn these cars myself.

As far as the factory installed Hurst 4 speed shifter on the 4 speed Deuces is concerned, do we know for sure it was Don who was behind it's implementation? I don't doubt that the engineers at Hurst could have quickly come up with the combination of using the existing '69 Z/28 offset shifter box with a GTO bench seat handle to properly fit in a Nova configuration when they were approached with the idea, but what interests me most is who came up with the idea of including a Hurst shifter as part of the 9010 COPO package in the first place, and what special preparations were taken to make it happen at the factory.

There were no year old Hurst Z/28 shifter boxes or GTO bench seat handles laying along the line at Willow Run prior to the batch of 9010 cars coming through. Nor would there be any other Nova floor pans to be stamped with the unique 4 speed shifter hole that the hybrid Hurst set up would require, and Fisher Body would have had to be made aware of this. The big block rods and K member would have to be on hand and ready to install. There would have had to have been some sort of "briefing" of the assembly line workers prior to the batch of COPO cars coming through.

When you think about it, it just seems like a lot of extra engineering went into utilizing the Hurst shifter in the 9010 cars, not to mention a lot of extra cost. Now from Yenko's perspective it sounds like a no brainer...pay a little extra and have the cars arrive with Hurst 4 speed shifters factory installed and ready to ship, or pay a crew to switch out nearly 100 Muncie shifters with expensive over the counter Hurst units and then be stuck with the original and essentialy worthless factory Muncie units. Seems like just another part of the COPO system that Don utilized to make his life a little easier back in Canonsburg. But for the brass at GM, I'm sure a cost analysis had to be done to decide what the Hurst shifter would cost in terms of actually getting it on the cars at the factory, and whether it could be justified to be done at all. Somewhere there's got to be paperwork or documentation of some kind discussing this. I'd love to know who's at the bottom of the idea to include the Hurst at the factory, and just what it took to build the special batch of COPO cars in the middle of regular Nova production.

When it comes down to it, a Yenko Deuce is essentially everything a 70 Z/28 is just wrapped in a Nova shell rather than a Camaro. Perhaps the Hurst shifter was something Don felt was required of a performance car, and having had them installed in his 69 Camaros he may have simply demanded it as part of his COPO package. I guess we'll never know until some docs turn up. I doubt Chevrolet offered to tool up to include the shifter without some prompting from Yenko's end, but if it was solely Yenko's idea you'd think some documentation regarding it would have popped up somewhere.

I guess maybe in time something will turn up. On a side note, does anyone have an original GM window sticker for a 9010 Nova? COPO Pete? I'd be curious to see how it lists the shifter.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

You are correct again regarding the extra work for GM to put the Hurst combo in the Nova! This combo is the only non-console one to come through the center of the tunnell, and it was indeed extra work for GM. When examining the method used to put the hole in the tunnell for the deuces, it is very interesting. The hole was originally cut open with a torch, as the edges are 'burned', but the template used must not have been big enough because the forward and aft edges are 'snipped'! So, not only did they have to engineer where this hole should be, they got it wrong - ie; too small 'lengthwise', and had to open it up. All untouched tunnells are like this, and it makes you wonder why they didn't just use the shifter boot bezel as the template (that's a tip for you guys repairing your tunnells!). I wish I could go back and quiz Don about this shifter choice, but....... The BB stuff like the rods and Xmember We are clueless on that one, only theories

To my knowledge there are no original GM window stickers found for the deuces, just the one that Yenko affixed. Pete has the GM of Canada info for his car, but nothing is listed regarding the shifter - just the two copo #'s. So, we believe the shifter was included with #9737, no proof - just a theory!

The a/t cars with the AutoStick vs. the Dual Gate is also interesting. We've believed that the standard auto shifter was the A/Stick, the that the optional a/t shifter was the dual gate. This optional dual gate version actually cost $80 with the actual a/t trans costing $85! The new knowledge that we've gained is from Tommy K's a/t deuce, since it's the first window sticker we have for an a/t deuce with the a/stick - the other window sticker is for a car claimed to have the dual gate. Tommy K's sticker is significant because the a/stick is also listed as an $80 option! We have thought for years that the optional shifter was this dual gate version, without the 'console'. There are original owner a/t cars with the 'short stick' non-console version of the dual gate shifter, as well as original owner cars with the a/stick version. Over the past few years we've learned that the a/stick is also a dual gate, and we now believe that both versions may have been installed (the short stick version sporadically), and either one cost you an extra $80. We need more info on original a/t cars to be conclusive, but that's where the info is leading us right now.

[Supercar_Kid]

What do you mean by a "short stick" non-console Dual Gate? If it didn't use the plastic Hurst "console" surround, what hid the shifter's guts? The tall "autostick" used a regular 4 speed style "super boot" and was rod activated correct? I've seen this setup in George Lyon's HO A/T Deuce. The Dual Gate was a cable operated shifter, that sits up off the floor and necessitates the use of the plastic "console" to hide it's inner workings. Do I have this straight? I'm just not quite comprehending how a true "Dual Gate" like the ones used in the '69 cars could be installed without a console to cover it's moving parts? Or was the tall stick on the AutoStick shifter a bolt on and was swapped for a shorter stick? I was under the impression the AutoStick shift handle wasn't a removable bolt on type. Marlin, just what the heck are we talking about here?

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

You have it straight, there appears to be a simple stick swap! The short stick stuck onto the a/stick mechanism. The cars with the short stick have a big boot to cover the junk.

Short story, most likely the same shifter, different arms, same price = no optional a/t shifter, just the a/stick which is indeed a dual gate!

I started/stopped typing that reply several times here, so probably got lost in it myself

[Supercar_Kid]

Ok let me get this straight, original A/T Deuces have been found with everything from the stock column shifter, to the "standard" tall stick "AutoStick," to an AutoStick with a shorty console-style Dual Gate handle? And there were no Deuces with the '69 style console Dual Gate, but only AutoStick shifters with the short handles?

Can we be sure the shorty handles weren't added later on by the owners and not Yenko? Seems odd to have Hurst or Yenko (depending on who was doing the conversion) toss out a part of a kit (the AutoStick's included long 4 speed style handle) in favor of swapping in a stick from another shifter. Not sure the reasoning behind this, but it seems the more I research these cars the more questions I have about them. Wish we could find an old Hurst employee who worked on the Deuces. I have about 101 questions I'd like to ask. Thanks for your help though Marlin. We'll figure these little details out yet.

[hvychev]

Wow....

The thing that is kind of cool about these cars is that we DON'T know everything and that there are some great theorys floating around which makes this all the more interesting. Guys that own cars like the Shelbys must not have nearly as much fun as we do since the cars designer is still around!

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

You are 100% correct Eric! All three combo's have been found on the a/t deuces, and we are not exactly sure where the shorty handles were installed - but it would not have been done at Hurst. There are two cars with the shorty handles, one FG the other GB, both colors that were converted soley by Yenko in Canonsburg.

We are all in the same boat here, the more we learn - the more questions we raise