1966 Yenko Stinger for sale

[sYc]

Not for sure how to respond, as we do not want to mis-lead anyone. We received an email asking about the "1969 Yenko Camaro, 1 of 2 White Yenkos" listed on the auction site. Should it not read "1969 Douglas COPO Camaro, white with Yenko stripes"? Tom

[Stefano]

My Dover White Camaro is a Yenko.

What is is not is a one which was ordered and invoiced through Yenko Chevrolet.

When it was advertised and sold new to the public there were no disclaimers as to where the paper order had originated from.

I have not misslead or missrepresented anything to anyone regarding my Dover White Yenko.

[sYc]

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this one. In my opinion, only cars originally invoiced through Yenko Chevrolet are "Yenkos". Other wise, we (sYc) would have to include ANY car that was sold else where, but received Yenko emblems/stripes. It has been documented, that as far back as 1969, Yenko would sell the stripe/emblem kits. The stripes and emblems were even listed in Yenko's 1971 Hi-Performance catalog. Tom

[sixtiesmuscle]

I thought this issue had been settled to the satisfaction of most. If a COPO that was delivered to Douglass can be proven to be in a group that is verified to have been sold as a Yenko, WITH DON YENKO'S APPROVAL, why wouldn't it be considered a Yenko Camaro NOW? By Yenko's approval and the fact that he essentially partnered with Douglass to produce these cars, the only distinction is that the Douglass cars never made a stop in PA.
Was a Camaro sold at Bill Thomas any less of a Nickey Camaro that one delivered in Chicago? I don't think so, because that was the arrangement the two men had, and, the cars were built the same in both locations. That same standard applies to the Yenko/ Douglass agreement.
I don't really care what value the market places on the two different Yenkos. A case could be made for either being worth more, or less, based on rarity & collectibility.
All that said, I DO think that a Douglass COPO/Yenko should be identified, and, documented as such.

[Stefano]

Tom,
I respectfully have to ask you where you have been for all the Douglass discussion this past Year? Why have you not commented till today?

Are you implying that someone other than Jack Douglass Sold his own COPO orders as Yenkos and that Jack was not authorized to do so?

What became availible in 1971 has absolutely nothing to do with what was sold in 1969.

Jack Douglass was not just anyone off the street. He was one of the Yenko "Authorized" Dealers.

Do you have any evidence that other dealers sold their own COPO orders per the Yenko Blueprint as new Yenkos in 1969.

Have you ever spoken to Jack Douglass or even inspected one of his cars prior to forming this belated opinion.

My Camaro was sold new as a Yenko. This is a documented fact , [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] not just my opinion.

To say that to include Douglass cars as Yenko would mean that you would have to include any car which carried Yenko Stripes as a true Yenko,is an argument without much foundation IMO.

It was not the stripes which made the Douglass Cars Yenkos but the arrangement to sell them to the public as such as well as the way and reason in which they were ordered, in the first place.

Is a Canonsberg Yenko without stripes just a COPO Camaro by your definition?

[copolocater]

Would it be fair to state a Douglass converted Yenko?My question is did Don make anything above the sale of the emblems and stripe kit?If it is or can be proven that he also made money over and above those items then you would have to consider it a converted Yenko.I've seen a flyer that was a handout of Douglass chevrolet that contained the Yenko nova,camaro and chevelle.Isn't that something Don would have to approve or put a stop to if they weren't considered actual Yenkos?I'm not taking either side but you have to ask yourself these questions. Personally I think it's a neat story and a neat car plus they offered colors Don didn't.

[djunod]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>
They told me that if I consigned a few cars they would let me in and provide all the free beer I could drink.

<hr></blockquote>

Plying you with liquor hoping you will buy more [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[shor]

I am personally not a "stripe" fan. When my car is done the stripes will reside in cardboard box in the trunk. I do know that my car was sold new at Jack Douglass Chevrolet as a Yenko Camaro. Daytona Yellow with black stripes. This is fact. My car was one of the last batch of 25 that Jack ordered from Chevrolet direct, utilizing the COPO code that he discovered. I think Jack Douglass Chevrolet was the 2nd highest volume "supercar yenko" dealer, second only to Yenko Chevrolet.

Jack had a little problem selling this last batch when they arrived. The problem was Jack had been advertising these Yenko cars heavily but it was a tough sale without the stripes. Jack has sold alot of Cannonsburg Yenkos to date and when people came in they said"wheres the stripes? where's the Yenko invoice?

On top of this Don was threatining to sue. They, after a very heated telephone discussion (verified by Don's seceratary, she remenbers because Don said he was going to personally fly out to Chicago and kick Jack's a**)they came to an agreement. Jack would pay Don 400 per car and Don would send him the stripe kits, window stickers, emblems etc.

Was I there? No. Is this true? I think so. Jack is still alive and has corraberated this sequence of events verbatim. Does this make these last batch of yenkos any less of a Yenko than thier Cannonsburg cousins? I can not say with absolute certainty. Time and preference will tell.

In my opinion these are very special cars that were ordered through the COPO system at Chevrolet with some very neat options...endura bumper,am/fm blue dot, bright trim group, interior trim, chambered exhaust and 9737. They were converted to Yenkos in Illinois rather than in Pennsylvania.

Tom, you as administrator of this site have found yourself in a rather unique position. If someone is asking you to verify the validity of one of these cars, I don't believe the opinion of one should be forever be known as "fact". I don't know the right or wrong answer either( and I own one of these !). You could refer them to Ed's site on the Douglass section. http://www.copo.com/L72-VIN-69-Douglas-Camaro.htm
He has done a great job in 100 words or less in describing these cars accurately and honestly, and there is a VIN database on these 25 to boot!

I think until the jury comes back on this one we should refer to our beloved cars as Cannonsburg Yenkos, or Douglass Yenkos. For the non Douglass fans and Cannonsburg purists among us you can simply call them, "one of those Douglass cars. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

*********( Stefano has informed me that I was a little off with regard to paragraph two of this post.(I am a sloppy note taker!) Rather than edit it out, let's wait till tonight as I expect a very long post to be forthcoming from Stefano. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] *******************

[sYc]

In the past, I had steered away from the debate over the Douglas cars. But once I received an email asking for my opinion on the car, I felt obligated to respond. And, I felt it better to do it here, in the open, where everyone's opinion, not just mine, could be expressed. That way, any potential investors who might frequent this site would know the car's history and how it is classified in the world of supercars. I was not questioning the owner's integrity nor any of the facts surrounding the car. I was simply expressing one man's opinion. It is possible that this discussion could actually raise the value of this car, and others like it. Only time will tell.

Shor; GREAT POST!!! Well said. Tom

[shor]

Tom, can you somehow move these last couple of posts over to a "new topic", maybe called Jack Douglass Yenko discussion?