Gold Yenko at Mecum sets record

[Steve Shauger]

Great thread! The volume of information this site contains ( 25 years and counting) is amazing and really provides insight on this iconic There are many social media sites but for research/searching websites are much better.

[JoeC]

There were some well known "ringer" drag test done back in the day

A 1964 "389" GTO ran 13.1 at 115 mph.
Turned out to have a 421 SD tuned by Royal Pontiac.

1969 Road Runner A12 440 Six Barrel
drag test at Cecil County Drag-O-Way
12.91 ET at 111.8 mph on street tires, through the mufflers
driver - Ronnie Sox

Don Yenko was a competitive racer
He wanted his 427 Drag Special to run a good time and it did

[Steve Shauger]

Originally Posted by JoeC

There were some well known "ringer" drag test done back in the day

A 1964 "389" GTO ran 13.1 at 115 mph.
Turned out to have a 421 SD tuned by Royal Pontiac.

1969 Road Runner A12 440 Six Barrel
drag test at Cecil County Drag-O-Way
12.91 ET at 111.8 mph on street tires, through the mufflers
driver - Ronnie Sox

Don Yenko was a competitive racer
He wanted his 427 Drag Special to run a good time and it did

Absolutely, it was an exciting time. These articles certainly helped drive our passions on these amazing cars!

[lycan]

Originally Posted by bergy

So - spring clamps, six inch collectors, Lakewood bell, 8,000 rpm SW tach, and slicks. All of the prototype hype is totally unnecessary. To me - the fascinating part of the story is the incredible team and driver that made it happen. Car is magnificent - people make the story.

... plus headers, 4.56 gears, different carb (stock L72 was 780 CFM) and other "engine mods" (according to Dick Williams). The SS&DI article was intended to make a "big splash" ... no question it worked!!
Certainly makes the car historically interesting

[Pro Stock John]

So maybe the original owner pulled the original engine and swapped in an L88, sold the original engine to a buddy.

[William]

"It turned better times than the $7,000-plus ZL-1 version that the magazine had tested months earlier and they rightly sang its praises as a less expensive alternative.".

Uh, no it didn't.

The #3 ZL-1 was tested right off the showroom floor, E70 x 15 tires, manifolds, AIR equipment intact.

Let's compare it to the test of the similarly modified #2 ZL-1 in the May, 1969 SS & DI. Headers, small slicks, a little help from Dick Harrell. With the tight stock converter it ran 11.64/122 mph. They did that with the original 780 vac secondary carb as the tires couldn't handle an 850DP. Driven to the track.

A production open header Camaro ZL-1 had about 525 hp and was 156 lbs lighter than an L-72.

[JoeC]

I believe Ro McGonegal was there for the Yenko and ZL-1 drag tests

photos from my ZL-1 file

[Stefano]

Originally Posted by William

"It turned better times than the $7,000-plus ZL-1 version that the magazine had tested months earlier and they rightly sang its praises as a less expensive alternative.".

Uh, no it didn't.

The #3 ZL-1 was tested right off the showroom floor, E70 x 15 tires, manifolds, AIR equipment intact.

Let's compare it to the test of the similarly modified #2 ZL-1 in the May, 1969 SS & DI. Headers, small slicks, a little help from Dick Harrell. With the tight stock converter it ran 11.64/122 mph. They did that with the original 780 vac secondary carb as the tires couldn't handle an 850DP. Driven to the track.

A production open header Camaro ZL-1 had about 525 hp and was 156 lbs lighter than an L-72.

The MPH of each test ZL1 vs L72 is a true testament to the actual HP being put down.

[JoeC]

One difference would be the Yenko had 4:56 gears

ZL-1 #2 had 4:10 gears

[Pro Stock John]

Stefano points out that the MPH tells the tale.

Joe the difference between 4.56 and 4.10 gearing might be 1-2 mph at the stripe.