Thank you for a awesome history lesson of COPO and yenko’s history together. Even though it doesn’t have that 427 conversion it’s truly a amazing muscle car
Good job on the rescue. I came across it 3yrs ago when inquiring about the Malibu rotting in the front yd. Told me he didnt want to sell the Nova. Offered 30k, said wasnt interested in letting go. Now working on trying to get kid to sell a 70 Chevelle sitting in a steel building where i just moved 2yrs ago. About 15 mile from that Nova's location if your interested in filming it
When I was 17 years old, I bought a 1969 Nova SS 396/375, Muncie 4 speed, bench seat, no carpet, version in 1971 for $2,100. Only had it a few years and traded it in on a Orange 1973 Vega GT. Loved them both! Wish I had them today!
That was awesome. Great presentation.🤗 Love how you went right into title subject. HP, trany, specs, salted with history hints along the way without losing focus of that awesome car.
A friend of mine had a 396/375 black 4 speed. had to be back in 1981-82. Was a monster, had a cool little tach in the dash next to speedo. Great fun, those carefree days were...
In my travels as a Home improvement contractor, I’ve seen a lot of cars sitting in garages that haven’t seen the light of day for decades. It’s sad when people say I’m keeping it for a son or daughter, or I’ll fix it up someday. But you know they never will. The sons and daughters want something newer. If you have something sitting in your garage for years, and your in your 70s, and someone wants to buy it. Sold.
For the reasons you mention, I am convinced the market for this era of cars is at its peak. Young people dont have the disposable income to buy them and they wouldn't buy them if they could. Us old timers that want these cars to relive our younger days are dying off rapidly. Better unload them soon.
I need someone to save my 1972 Cheyenne super C-10 lwb with all original 350 engine, turbo 350 trans and rear end, but I'm NOT trying to give it away!!!
Patrick just to clarify, Willow Run airport complex was the facility, but it was located in Ypsilanti Michigan. I grew up there very close to the Fisher Body plant in the glare of the lights. A good friend of mine’s father worked there throughout the sixties and seventies and one of the things he did was to drive those Novas off the final line out to be parked. He told us that under no circumstances would they let young guys drive those big block cars off the line because invariably they would mess around and lose control and wreck them.lol. I love your posts and I love these cars. I tend to be a Ford guy having owned several Mustangs and Torino big blocks and now currently own a very rare 71 429 SCJ Mach I. My folks both work for Ford Motors. I feel fortunate to have grown up during prime of these wonder cars.
I know a guy here in southeast Texas that has a 65ish Mustang, he had it in high school, hasn't been touched since the early 80's, except when he moved once, the car is all original, and has always been in a garage. When he bought a new house, it had to be dragged out of the garage because the breaks were locked up!
It's a Yenko but I'm not sure you can claim it's Yenko Super Car as it's lacking those features. It doesn't have the decal package or the badging. It does look like it has the Yenko dealership badge on the rear deck lid. Being a L78 with documentation it's still worth a lot.
I commend you on your videos and knowledge. I like your enthusiasm. I'm in Tennessee. Had my hands on many Yenko restorations, though not known by many, as others are, such as Supercar. I love these cars.
Great job on the video and barn find PGN! Interesting find and purchase. Hopefully you'll bring that baby back to original condition and show everyone??I had the opportunity to purchase a 1969 Nova as a kid (in 1972). The lady that had had it only put less than 10k miles on it. Was like a new car to me! My first new car was a 1973 Nova SS. Love them Nova's. Keep up the great videos!
I think pushing this Yenko connection will ultimately take value away from this very cool car. It's creating a controversy where there doesn't need to be. As far as the column automatic being rare, rare doesn't always equal desirable, therefore valuable. It's not in the Yenko registry cuz it's not a Yenko Nova.
Thomas Magda this car was a total unknown before this discovery that’s why it’s not in the registry. This car will teach you and the registry something not the other way around. This car was DEFINITELY intended for the conversion and is also beyond a shadow of a doubt a Rally Green 1969 Yenko Nova SS396 L78 left unconverted. PERIOD.
When I was a todler, circa 1982 (born in 79), I could spot a Nova from a mile away. I'd yell NOVA and my parents would bug out trying to find it. 4 lights up, there she'd be. I still yell it when I see em. Someday I'll marry one. Haha. Beautiful find, sir
@midnitesquirldog1 they had whatever the customer wanted it wasn't one specific thing although most did opt for the best some didn't there was a few 396 yenko car's out there
So true why do people do this I would keep it covered and start it up and at least run it put it up on jack stands do a little maintenance but I’m not that lucky to own such a ride
Joel Wilson Lol. It was in the last place I’d ever look, Grandma would say. Of course! Why would you keep looking for it after you found it?! I would say...
not to mention if he opted not to have it converted, it's now not a Yenko S/C , it's just an L78 SS Nova purchased at Yenko Chevrolet!! I've seen people get a ration of shit and controversy buy calling a car a Nickey car or Baldwin car or take your pick Yenko , Dana etc if they weren't original conversions but they stick a 427 in decades later, like the guy passing that gold 67 Camaro as the 1st Yenko Camaro, well no , it was the i believe lowest vin# camaro sold in 67 or maybe the first big block car delivered to Don or whatever and taken back well after the fact and converted when he realized it would bring way more $$ later maybe just me but this guys doing similar marketing strategy, and i LOVE the L78 Novas sleeper look lifters clacking just not for 200K or whatever he's gonna want
Not that rare!! So it ain't converted?! As far as I'm concerned it's just another big block Nova. Does he have documentation that Yenko had it in their possession?!
I believe what he is saying is that this car was supposed to be converted by the dealership so whatever Chevrolet did to the l78 396 cars to prepare them for the 427 was done on this car that was not done on regular big block Novas.
I think this is one of the most unique cars you have found yet...... Some may not consider it a true Yenko car however there could be a strong argument that it's no different than the others... JMHO....
Cool car.. Nova Super Sport production totaled 17,654 for 1969. The L34 396/350-hp big-block was installed in 1,947 of them, and another 5,262 were fitted with the L78 396/375-hp engine. The 350hp was rarer then the 375hp. The Yenko sold is kind of cool. Paperwork and low mile! Pretty cool
Ok so ill explain. Matthew M. says that only thirty something Novas in 1969 were shipped to Yenkos dealership. This is why its rare. The customer opted to not have the conversion done. But again .....only thirty something novas were shipped to Yenkos dealership. Put down the beer get out of the recliner and pay attention. Thanks for the video. Patrick Glenn.
Exactly. You can always tell guys that have never done body work. When they say, "very little rust" it means rotted, because they don't understand what's behind that "very little rust."
The OM40MB would be a turbo 400. I seriously doubt that Chevrolet would have offered a turbo 350 behind a big block in '69 and especially behind the top of the line 375hp 396.
That's what I thought. Some people just like to be naysayers for the sake of being negative. I assume that SteveSeiwald either just thought he saw something that wasn't in the video or he is a troll, there really isn't a 3rd option.
In my opinion the coolest thing about those old GM cars was that you could bolt a 400 up to a 283, anything in between and all the way up to the 454. Sure most early Nova's had the 350, but I'm sure this has a 400. The 350 would bolt right up to the 427 and if properly built would be able to survive most street driving. I'm wondering why it was assumed to have a 350?
If it’s a Yenko, would it have a 427 ? It seems to be one of the 37 that went to Don Yenko but was never touch with all the mods. So to me it’s just a SS396 Nova . Still a bad ass car.
I friend of mine in Joppa Maryland has one of three 1969 Baldwin Motion Novas with the 590Hp 427 BigBlock Muncie 4speed and 12 bolt rear 4.11 gears with a corvette Stinger hood scoop mounted on a factory flat hood..Guage package with front disk brakes..He tols me his brother bought it new in 69 and died in the early 1970's.The car sat in a barn/garage until 1990 when the family wanted it restored..That was done by Mike's Custom shop in Joppa Maryland back in 1990..The car was finished in 95..But I never saw it after the work was done..Its probably on Rumsy Island in Harford County Maryland....
Yenko or not, that’s a very rare car. How many ‘69 Nova SS 396/375 cars were there built and still exist? Rally green with a column-shift auto? I enjoy your videos, Patrick. Keep them coming!
Here’s an FYI.... in an article Don Yenko stated he stopped building the nova as a super car when, one day at the track he stomped on the gas and as the nova lurched out of the hole shot the driver door popped open. He realized the unibody of the nova was not capable of the torque because the wheel base was to long, he decided to stop building the nova because of the potential liability. Thereby making the Yenko nova the rarest of the Yenko family. This however is not a Yenko....because it’s not.
Don Yenko died on March 5th, 1987, along with Gerry Spear, another Pittsburgh area Chevy dealer, in a plane crash. I remember when it happened. I remember hearing it on WDVE. Sad day for Chevyheads. I was driving my 73 Chevy pickup (350 with a Holley 780, Hooker headers, mild cam, heavy duty clutch, stock one ton drivetrain) near Spear's dealership when I heard it.
those are nice the novas68 69 I drove one at the shop and they are not as heavy as other cars real lite and with that 383 stroker that car had it was nice
I'm not a huge Chevy fan but I respect how rare this car is, If it were mine I would do a frame off resto on this Nova and bring it back to as close to stock as possible.
Although it was sold at the Don Yenko dealership, it should not be referred to as a Yenko. The cars that are referred to that way were COPO cars. And one thing is for sure none of them were an automatic. I don't care how rare it is that just kills it for me
MBailey1977 In 1970 Yenko used the LT1 because the insurance companies said no to the 427 in the Nova. But that high compression LT1 was almost as fast as the 427 in the Nova.
That depends on your definition of almost. The LT1 Nova ran mid 14's to low 14's. The L78 would run high 13's and the L72's ran low 13's. The L78 wasn't listed as an option in 70' but it could still be ordered by request. A second plus is not remotely close. The LT1 even rated at 360hp is overrated by close to 10hp. Even with open headers they wont make 370hp. With manifolds it's a 350 gross hp engine.
FYI, my '70 Yenko Deuce, bone stock, paper filter, smog pump, no traction bars and stock whitewall tires runs 13.5 at 104+mph. It would actually run a much faster ET if I could 60' the thing! This is born with engine (LT1), trans (M21) and rear (4.10:1's)
Ok, LoL!! Tire are E70 belted whitewalls, no traction bars, engine is stock - even the crappy TRW pistons! Trans is the original M21 with a 2.20:1 first gear, and factory 4.10:1's with stock rear sway bar.... 13.5x's!!
A high school friend had a green 69 Nova L78 4 sp car with original factory aluminum heads. The guy he sold it to wrecked it 2 days after he got it. I got to drive that car and it could pull the left wheel off the ground, weird thing is it had a switch on the dash to activate the reverse lights. . .I wish I could've bought that car but I was only 16 at the time. . .His car was bought at Dana Chevrolet
Running the reverse lights while driving was a thing back in the '70s it was always good for an inspection ticket you'd switch the wires back over get the ticket signed and then put it right back to how it was
day dreamer , its not a YSC its just a nova that rolled thru the lot at yenko chevy . my neighbor bought a burnt orange nova there with a 350 4 speed , still has it and it is not a yenko nova , just a nova sold by the dealership , get over it just a nova . make a clone . and be a laughing stock of the nova want a be nova club .
Pretty sure he said it was a yenko but didn't opt on for the options. It's 1 of 37 yenkos I believe he said. Just no options because buyer specified otherwise
John Knopp it is and it isn't if that car wasn't stashed away like that most likely it would not be around today many horrible fates could have happened to that car like being cut up for another car, being left in the elements or being wrecked. It's great to see that rare cars like this are still out there waiting to be found by people who care about them
When that car was parked in 79 did it have the pedigree that it has today ? Serious question. I didn't really follow the Yenko cars that much. I'm more a truck guy.
You can tell a person's age by this comment. He doesn't remember how cheap a nova was. The 73/74 stayed cheap through the late 90s. They did better than most who parked them in the mud until calling the junkyard or just calling the junkyard when the engine was done.
Always liked these Novas. Even the plain jane variety with 307's or 6 cyl. The 69-72 had the same look. Back in the 80's I had a very rusted out 74 with a 6 cyl three on the tree.
I bought parts from nickey Chevrolet In Chicago where I grew up Every part and more was put on my Nova Because I wasn't employed at nickey Chevrolet My car is not a nickey Chevrolet I did work at a very popular Chevy dealership an in Elmhurst of course. This is not a yanko It was sold by yanko.... I prefer automatic on the column You can keep your hands on the wheel and shift the gears just the same Shift on the floor for an automatic Basically for looks to make it look like a stick The only thing you miss is reverse lockout If you worried about that run a reverse pattern transmission
Its not a yenko if it wasn't converted. Its a car that was shipped so its still just a 396 nova. So if you have a car shipped to England does it make it a rare car owned by the king no has to be bought by the king. But big money nova non the less.
thunder god it’s very much a Yenko Nova that wasn’t converted. All were L78 like this car. The individual who has the most Yenko records from Yenko claims he doesn’t even have records for 37 and only solid proof for 2 conversions. The total number of 69 L78s shipped to Yenko Chevrolet could be actually be less than 37.
A friend of mine had the exact same car except his was a four speed. He crashed it and I bought the engine and transmission radiator and numerous other parts and installed them into a 68 Camaro which turned out to be a very fast car. The good old days.
Not so rare just because it was at yenkos dealership. Not " untouched" diffrent rims, gauges, hose clamp were somebody mounted a tach. And half the motor is in the trunk. But means nothing it was on yenkos property. Thanks mr. McConaughey. Decent find but put it back in your pants and take a breathe.
@@billybiker5712 reading your comment I'm going to "assume" you are an expert! So......please explain to me why this is so special besides just being an ss nova? I for one dont get it! The narrator gives the "impression" it's a "yenko" but its clearly not! So am I to again "assume" that it's only special because it was at the "yenko" dealership" but wasnt converted?!????.... can you atleast admit you can see that most people wouldnt see this car as anything but an ss nova plain and simple! I mean following this rationale then every Ford mustang gt sold at a "roush" dealership that wasnt modified by roush a special car???...I mean come on! It just seems silly dont ya think??
@@number1pappy because it's a documented yenko nova the buyer opted out of a couple of options but it's still a yenko nova that's like saying just because a yenko nova didn't have power windows it's not a yenko yes it absolutely is still a yenko and car's sold at that dealership like you all are trying to say this one was are not documented yenko car's this one is a documented yenko nova my god people will fucking argue about anything
A good friend of mine had a new 69 396/375hp, 4 speed. It was a very fast car. It had a muncie shifter (not as good as the hurst competition plus) and had straps instead of u bolts holding the rear u joint to the rear axle. He twisted those off a few times until he had to buy a new drive shaft and converted it to the u bolt hold downs. He traded it for a 68 427/435 hp corvette. The nova was faster.
i Had a 70' Nova, it was a Crazy Fast, i bought it in 73' in 76' i made a deal with my brother in law for his 1966 Chevelle ... Those were the Days, 1970 GM put out High HP
I like chevelles better than novas. They handle better and I like the four link rear better. I have a 67 chevelle that I've had for 40 years. Rust free CA car.
I had a hot little 73 ss Nova. It was a 350 4 speed two barrel. That two barrel was special somehow though. If you punched it that two barbell gave all the gas in one punch and that thing would go sideways in a flash. I'd fight a ditch in first and a second ditch on the other side of the road hitting second hard. Those was good times
Nice find and the A means Automatic. Also I never got into the yanko cars because to me it’s a name plate. Now rare cars would be anything under 500 to 600 produced by a manufacturer itself. Rare to me would be a hemi cuda covetable that less than 10 where produced and only 2 where sold in the states and the others in EU. I’m a GM guy so it’s Grandnational GNX and only 547 where produced and again another car sent to McLaren. V6 putting down 4.7 sec in 0to60.
Here's one for ya, all those Yenko stickers on the modified cars were put on by Don Yenko's teenage daughter and her school friends so they could make after school money.
That car looks like it’s been left outside in the rain for years. Look at all the rust and deterioration in the engine department. A 396 with 375 hp and it came with bench seats and an automatic? Look at how messed up the bench seats are and this car has only 74,000 miles? Did anyone notice all the rust underneath the fender wells. More like 174,000 or more. If this is a 375 horse motor why didn’t he at least show us the air cleaner with the decal on it. Something don’t seem quite right.
100k on a car back then , it’s pretty played out. The average 200k played out cars we are used to now has only been going on since the late 80s early 90s
Canonsberg PA is where they were 'built' by Don Yenko in a separate shop behind the dealership. These weren't something bought off the showroom floor ready-to-go. Jerry Heasley talks about a '67 Yenko Camaro, and they go into the whole Yenko back story...interesting stuff...
A guy I knew in high school had the same car. (but was not a Yenko) Factory 396 SS 4 speed with posi. Silver with black vinyl top. When it was in top form it was scary fast.
Hey when I was a kid my dad had a 69 nova that was green just like this to the exact. Except my dad's had a 307 and it was an automatic. It was given to him from my uncle and he loved that car to death. He went and had the motor bored out balanced blue printed and put headers with duel exhaust,racing cam,shaft, and pushrods he also had aluminum eldebrock intake manifold with 2 holly 750 double pump carburetors with craigor ss rims skinny tires on the front and wide slicks on the back. Dam I loved that car and remember it like the back of my hand. We would race mustang and porches all the time and murder them😊 it was the best. Great memories ty for the flash backs from my child hood.
A grand total of 37 ground-pounders were sold. All were originally L78 396 Novas. Twenty-eight had a transplanted 425hp 427. The remaining eight were still factory real-deal RPO L78 375hp 396s. There were unconverted ‘69 Yenko Novas that retained the L78 396. Believe it or don’t.
Love that green paint, my 71 was champagne gold with black top and interior, automatic with the high powered 307. Had a/c also. Great car put 130 thou miles on that thing. Had to replace the plastic coated timing chain top gear when it jumped time and bent just about every valve and pushrod. Good times! Thank you, great video 🤤
How many L78 '69 Novas were built? My friend in Kansas City had one with similar equipment except 4 speed. This was in 1971 while we were juniors in HS. We used to drive by Dickie Harrell's shop in Hickman Mills and drool over cars he had sitting around. To me the rumble of the L78 was all a person would ever need.
I restore classic cars for a living and I ran a classic car dealership so I know a little bit about authenticity.That's a tricky car to authenticate to the point were you have to walk away sometimes. You'd be lucky to find a 137 car with Chevys. the column shift is the turn off and you need the 427. Maybe it's real?
Nice!!! I gotta agree with the owner, why replace that L78 with a 427. A L78 in a Nova, can't get better than that. Those were mean motors. Thank for sharing another beauty
Pause at 8:48. There's a dealer recall fix on the drivers side engine. The torque was ripping the engine mounts, so they used think wire cable and wrapped it around the new engine mount and bolted it to the upper control arm.
I never understood why people would molest such a rare car! I know when they were new no one thought they were gonna be such a valuable time piece! Back then people bought them to drive an it still amazes me how many suviours there are today!
I was 14 back in 97 I had one it came with a 307 3pd but had a straight column maybe it was changed I ran a 327/th350 12 bolt as my first car it Ran too .miss that one.
So it's basically just an L78 SS396 Nova that just happened to be sold by Yenko Chevrolet. Doesn't make it a YSC. Still an AWESOME car though. Really like your videos man even though I'm a Mopar guy when it comes to muscle cars
did he say why he didn't go through with the 427 Yenko conversion? maybe the original engine was enough to scare the tar out of him and more wasn't needed?nice score! unless you're flipping them you probably have a pretty nice collection yourself,and that's a beautiful thing if you ask me. thanks again. ☆☆☆
I don’t know where my comment went but I’ll write in quotes “I like that car I’ve always liked novas since I was a little kid” if I had the money I’d buy one
My dad has a 70 Nova it's no Yenko it's just a little 350ci 4 speed car with 4:10's out back, its bare bone no power options, radio delete its basically point it straight and hold on cuz it don't corner or stop very well, I couldn't imagine a big block in one of these as the little 350 is sketchy in one.
No Neck do you know where you got rid of it? Let me know id like to trace it down for a possible video. You messed up by not keeping that. Thanks for watching the video on this earth moving discovery.
Thank you for a awesome history lesson of COPO and yenko’s history together. Even though it doesn’t have that 427 conversion it’s truly a amazing muscle car
Good job on the rescue. I came across it 3yrs ago when inquiring about the Malibu rotting in the front yd. Told me he didnt want to sell the Nova. Offered 30k, said wasnt interested in letting go. Now working on trying to get kid to sell a 70 Chevelle sitting in a steel building where i just moved 2yrs ago. About 15 mile from that Nova's location if your interested in filming it
So it's a ss 396 Nova bought at Yenko dealership that wasn't converted. Still just as cool.
When I was 17 years old, I bought a 1969 Nova SS 396/375, Muncie 4 speed, bench seat, no carpet, version in 1971 for $2,100. Only had it a few years and traded it in on a Orange 1973 Vega GT. Loved them both! Wish I had them today!
Richard Bradfield Traded for a Vega?! That's crazy!
Layne Griggs
Gas and insurance crunch yoe
That was awesome. Great presentation.🤗 Love how you went right into title subject. HP, trany, specs, salted with history hints along the way without losing focus of that awesome car.
A friend of mine had a 396/375 black 4 speed. had to be back in 1981-82. Was a monster, had a cool little tach in the dash next to speedo. Great fun, those carefree days were...
In my travels as a Home improvement contractor, I’ve seen a lot of cars sitting in garages that haven’t seen the light of day for decades. It’s sad when people say I’m keeping it for a son or daughter, or I’ll fix it up someday. But you know they never will. The sons and daughters want something newer. If you have something sitting in your garage for years, and your in your 70s, and someone wants to buy it. Sold.
"your in your"? Does this make sense to you?
For the reasons you mention, I am convinced the market for this era of cars is at its peak. Young people dont have the disposable income to buy them and they wouldn't buy them if they could. Us old timers that want these cars to relive our younger days are dying off rapidly. Better unload them soon.
AD staton meh tghn
I need someone to save my 1972 Cheyenne super C-10 lwb with all original 350 engine, turbo 350 trans and rear end, but I'm NOT trying to give it away!!!
I’m glad your talking softly as to not alert anyone of your amazing find!!!
Patrick just to clarify, Willow Run airport complex was the facility, but it was located in Ypsilanti Michigan. I grew up there very close to the Fisher Body plant in the glare of the lights. A good friend of mine’s father worked there throughout the sixties and seventies and one of the things he did was to drive those Novas off the final line out to be parked. He told us that under no circumstances would they let young guys drive those big block cars off the line because invariably they would mess around and lose control and wreck them.lol. I love your posts and I love these cars. I tend to be a Ford guy having owned several Mustangs and Torino big blocks and now currently own a very rare 71 429 SCJ Mach I. My folks both work for Ford Motors. I feel fortunate to have grown up during prime of these wonder cars.
Love the Sound of the 396,it has a sound like no other engine .
Nothing like it!!
427’s sound great. I have one in my 1966 Chevelle.
Wow he knew what he had all along . Smart man .
Congratulations on that purchase!
I know a guy here in southeast Texas that has a 65ish Mustang, he had it in high school, hasn't been touched since the early 80's, except when he moved once, the car is all original, and has always been in a garage. When he bought a new house, it had to be dragged out of the garage because the breaks were locked up!
Not a Yenko but still a nice find. A little work and it would make a nice 12 second street machine.
It's a Yenko but I'm not sure you can claim it's Yenko Super Car as it's lacking those features. It doesn't have the decal package or the badging. It does look like it has the Yenko dealership badge on the rear deck lid. Being a L78 with documentation it's still worth a lot.
Yenko dealership badge just means you bought it at their store, All it is in its factory format is a Chevy with Chevy factory options,
@@joecucch8261 At least one person understands.
I commend you on your videos and knowledge. I like your enthusiasm. I'm in Tennessee. Had my hands on many Yenko restorations, though not known by many, as others are, such as Supercar. I love these cars.
Great job on the video and barn find PGN! Interesting find and purchase. Hopefully you'll bring that baby back to original condition and show everyone??I had the opportunity to purchase a 1969 Nova as a kid (in 1972). The lady that had had it only put less than 10k miles on it. Was like a new car to me! My first new car was a 1973 Nova SS. Love them Nova's. Keep up the great videos!
How did you buy a new car as a kid in 1973? Thanks, my first new car was when I was 18 in 1980. A 1966 Chevelle. I still have it.
I think pushing this Yenko connection will ultimately take value away from this very cool car. It's creating a controversy where there doesn't need to be. As far as the column automatic being rare, rare doesn't always equal desirable, therefore valuable. It's not in the Yenko registry cuz it's not a Yenko Nova.
I agree all we have here is a Chevy Nova sold by Don Yenko's dealership in Canonsburg..
Thomas Magda this car was a total unknown before this discovery that’s why it’s not in the registry. This car will teach you and the registry something not the other way around. This car was DEFINITELY intended for the conversion and is also beyond a shadow of a doubt a Rally Green 1969 Yenko Nova SS396 L78 left unconverted. PERIOD.
stude1953 wrong!!!
But that's like saying any Nova Yenko sold at his dealership was a Yenko Nova that wasn't converted.
( LOL ) !
When I was a todler, circa 1982 (born in 79), I could spot a Nova from a mile away. I'd yell NOVA and my parents would bug out trying to find it. 4 lights up, there she'd be. I still yell it when I see em. Someday I'll marry one. Haha. Beautiful find, sir
StuArtThat30 Atgmail because they needed a lame and a half
Just because a car was sold by yenko doesn't mean it was meant to be a special one....seen more than a few novas 396/350 or 375 in my day
didnt know they made a 375 cubic inch ever never heard of it
@midnitesquirldog1 they had whatever the customer wanted it wasn't one specific thing although most did opt for the best some didn't there was a few 396 yenko car's out there
@@chevyone5512 - it's 350 horse or 375 horse - not cubic inches.
John Hull I got your back on that too John. I don't understand this video!!?? Lol!!
chevy one he meant to say 375 hp.
It's a crying shame to see such a beautiful peice of history just sitting to rot away.
Joe Conley Isn't it??!! A damn shame!!
So true why do people do this I would keep it covered and start it up and at least run it put it up on jack stands do a little maintenance but I’m not that lucky to own such a ride
Car was not found.. It was never lost.. The guy who owned it knew whare it was the whole time
Joel Wilson Lol. It was in the last place I’d ever look, Grandma would say. Of course! Why would you keep looking for it after you found it?! I would say...
not to mention if he opted not to have it converted, it's now not a Yenko S/C , it's just an L78 SS Nova purchased at Yenko Chevrolet!! I've seen people get a ration of shit and controversy buy calling a car a Nickey car or Baldwin car or take your pick Yenko , Dana etc if they weren't original conversions but they stick a 427 in decades later, like the guy passing that gold 67 Camaro as the 1st Yenko Camaro, well no , it was the i believe lowest vin# camaro sold in 67 or maybe the first big block car delivered to Don or whatever and taken back well after the fact and converted when he realized it would bring way more $$ later maybe just me but this guys doing similar marketing strategy, and i LOVE the L78 Novas sleeper look lifters clacking just not for 200K or whatever he's gonna want
THEY lost the keys maybe//////////////
@kcotte59 at one point the Yenko Novas were valued at $300,000. Three hundred thousand dollars..... and you thought $200,000 was ridiculous!!
Joel Wilson
Yup, it was right where he left it.
So, it's not a "Yenko" Nova, but an L78 Nova that was bought from the Yenko dealership?
Red 13
Exactly. It’s a big block nova!
Not that rare!! So it ain't converted?! As far as I'm concerned it's just another big block Nova. Does he have documentation that Yenko had it in their possession?!
Red 13 yea I don't get it?!
I believe what he is saying is that this car was supposed to be converted by the dealership so whatever Chevrolet did to the l78 396 cars to prepare them for the 427 was done on this car that was not done on regular big block Novas.
Left uncovered... Is that like saying you came in 2nd? I could have won the Stanley cup...
Patrick an excellent find and purchase. That's a fine example of sleeper muscle.
Thank you. Nice to see and great to learn. You are awesome.
I think this is one of the most unique cars you have found yet...... Some may not consider it a true Yenko car however there could be a strong argument that it's no different than the others... JMHO....
What an amazing muscle car! Thanks for sharing!
Cool car.. Nova Super Sport production totaled 17,654 for 1969. The L34 396/350-hp big-block was installed in 1,947 of them, and another 5,262 were fitted with the L78 396/375-hp engine. The 350hp was rarer then the 375hp. The Yenko sold is kind of cool. Paperwork and low mile! Pretty cool
nice find Matthew...don't know how you find time for this with a big movie career. Loved that "We Are Marshal" flic.
Ok so ill explain. Matthew M. says that only thirty something Novas in 1969 were shipped to Yenkos dealership. This is why its rare. The customer opted to not have the conversion done. But again .....only thirty something novas were shipped to Yenkos dealership. Put down the beer get out of the recliner and pay attention. Thanks for the video. Patrick Glenn.
That’s sweet,,I like the odd ball cars wow. Thanks for the video and hope you keep it
@ 5:25"Has a little bit of rust, But a very very little" Pans down to severely rotted wheel well with inner fender rusted and hanging down...LOL
Exactly. You can always tell guys that have never done body work. When they say, "very little rust" it means rotted, because they don't understand what's behind that "very little rust."
RPO not COPO. Great find.
I wonder why all the excessories were removed from the engine??
I want that car I love novas I’ve loved them ever since I was a little kid
That column shifted turbo 350 tells me this car was never intended to be a 427 YSC.
The OM40MB would be a turbo 400. I seriously doubt that Chevrolet would have offered a turbo 350 behind a big block in '69 and especially behind the top of the line 375hp 396.
that would be a th400 not 350 with that engine
Never was there a th350 behind a big block factory
That's what I thought. Some people just like to be naysayers for the sake of being negative. I assume that SteveSeiwald either just thought he saw something that wasn't in the video or he is a troll, there really isn't a 3rd option.
In my opinion the coolest thing about those old GM cars was that you could bolt a 400 up to a 283, anything in between and all the way up to the 454. Sure most early Nova's had the 350, but I'm sure this has a 400. The 350 would bolt right up to the 427 and if properly built would be able to survive most street driving. I'm wondering why it was assumed to have a 350?
If it’s a Yenko, would it have a 427 ? It seems to be one of the 37 that went to Don Yenko but was never touch with all the mods. So to me it’s just a SS396 Nova . Still a bad ass car.
Not all of the Nova's got the 427 but I thought they call got YSC decal package.
GlassTopRX7
Not all got the decals either but some just got mods to them and sold through Yenko. There's alot of undocumented " Yenko's " out there.
@Greg Hubbard except that it is
This guy opted out of the 427 conversion
Thomas Cory I’m with u on that,ITS NOT YENKO
I friend of mine in Joppa Maryland has one of three 1969 Baldwin Motion Novas with the 590Hp 427 BigBlock Muncie 4speed and 12 bolt rear 4.11 gears with a corvette Stinger hood scoop mounted on a factory flat hood..Guage package with front disk brakes..He tols me his brother bought it new in 69 and died in the early 1970's.The car sat in a barn/garage until 1990 when the family wanted it restored..That was done by Mike's Custom shop in Joppa Maryland back in 1990..The car was finished in 95..But I never saw it after the work was done..Its probably on Rumsy Island in Harford County Maryland....
Yenko or not, that’s a very rare car. How many ‘69 Nova SS 396/375 cars were there built and still exist? Rally green with a column-shift auto? I enjoy your videos, Patrick. Keep them coming!
5,262
Here’s an FYI.... in an article Don Yenko stated he stopped building the nova as a super car when, one day at the track he stomped on the gas and as the nova lurched out of the hole shot the driver door popped open. He realized the unibody of the nova was not capable of the torque because the wheel base was to long, he decided to stop building the nova because of the potential liability. Thereby making the Yenko nova the rarest of the Yenko family. This however is not a Yenko....because it’s not.
Beautiful car good gracious what a find does my heart good to know there's a few real jewels out there thank you for the video .😉
Thank You Patrick , this is so freaking awesome!! Very much enjoyed.
Don Yenko died on March 5th, 1987, along with Gerry Spear, another Pittsburgh area Chevy dealer, in a plane crash. I remember when it happened. I remember hearing it on WDVE. Sad day for Chevyheads. I was driving my 73 Chevy pickup (350 with a Holley 780, Hooker headers, mild cam, heavy duty clutch, stock one ton drivetrain) near Spear's dealership when I heard it.
You got a great car 1969 yenko nova, nice.
those are nice the novas68 69 I drove one at the shop and they are not as heavy as other cars real lite and with that 383 stroker that car had it was nice
I'm not a huge Chevy fan but I respect how rare this car is, If it were mine I would do a frame off resto on this Nova and bring it back to as close to stock as possible.
Novas are X-bodies and therefore are unibodies. No frame. They do however have a removable front subframe like the 67-81 F-bodies.
Glad to finally see a Nova. I love Nova's.
Nova's what? You've never seen a Nova before?
Although it was sold at the Don Yenko dealership, it should not be referred to as a Yenko. The cars that are referred to that way were COPO cars. And one thing is for sure none of them were an automatic. I don't care how rare it is that just kills it for me
I've read the 69 yenko 427 nova was so fast it was considered scary. The reason why yenko built the 70 with the just the 370 hp LT1 350.
MBailey1977 In 1970 Yenko used the LT1 because the insurance companies said no to the 427 in the Nova. But that high compression LT1 was almost as fast as the 427 in the Nova.
That depends on your definition of almost. The LT1 Nova ran mid 14's to low 14's. The L78 would run high 13's and the L72's ran low 13's. The L78 wasn't listed as an option in 70' but it could still be ordered by request. A second plus is not remotely close. The LT1 even rated at 360hp is overrated by close to 10hp. Even with open headers they wont make 370hp. With manifolds it's a 350 gross hp engine.
FYI, my '70 Yenko Deuce, bone stock, paper filter, smog pump, no traction bars and stock whitewall tires runs 13.5 at 104+mph. It would actually run a much faster ET if I could 60' the thing! This is born with engine (LT1), trans (M21) and rear (4.10:1's)
BS, not even with slicks. Not on a stock motor.
Ok, LoL!! Tire are E70 belted whitewalls, no traction bars, engine is stock - even the crappy TRW pistons! Trans is the original M21 with a 2.20:1 first gear, and factory 4.10:1's with stock rear sway bar.... 13.5x's!!
A high school friend had a green 69 Nova L78 4 sp car with original factory aluminum heads. The guy he sold it to wrecked it 2 days after he got it. I got to drive that car and it could pull the left wheel off the ground, weird thing is it had a switch on the dash to activate the reverse lights. . .I wish I could've bought that car but I was only 16 at the time. . .His car was bought at Dana Chevrolet
Running the reverse lights while driving was a thing back in the '70s it was always good for an inspection ticket you'd switch the wires back over get the ticket signed and then put it right back to how it was
day dreamer , its not a YSC its just a nova that rolled thru the lot at yenko chevy . my neighbor bought a burnt orange nova there with a 350 4 speed , still has it and it is not a yenko nova , just a nova sold by the dealership , get over it just a nova . make a clone . and be a laughing stock of the nova want a be nova club .
123 123 Thank You!! That's ALL it is!!!
Pretty sure he said it was a yenko but didn't opt on for the options. It's 1 of 37 yenkos I believe he said. Just no options because buyer specified otherwise
What a find. Wish that was in my garage.
Pretty wild it’s still with the original owner.
Well, it was until this guy posted the address.....
Bushwacker the guy recording bought the car
its a shame owners let them just sit and go down hill
John Knopp it is and it isn't if that car wasn't stashed away like that most likely it would not be around today many horrible fates could have happened to that car like being cut up for another car, being left in the elements or being wrecked. It's great to see that rare cars like this are still out there waiting to be found by people who care about them
When that car was parked in 79 did it have the pedigree that it has today ? Serious question. I didn't really follow the Yenko cars that much. I'm more a truck guy.
John Knopp but if they go down hill that means 😨 they don't just sit 😨😨🍿😨🍿😨🍿😨🍿😨👏😨👏😨👏😨👏😨
People get sick or go to jail sometimes for years.
You can tell a person's age by this comment. He doesn't remember how cheap a nova was. The 73/74 stayed cheap through the late 90s. They did better than most who parked them in the mud until calling the junkyard or just calling the junkyard when the engine was done.
Always liked these Novas. Even the plain jane variety with 307's or 6 cyl. The 69-72 had the same look. Back in the 80's I had a very rusted out 74 with a 6 cyl three on the tree.
@Mark RichardsYou're right I forgot about the 68. Even the 73 and 74 were pretty nice looking. I didn't care for the change in 75.
Great promo for your purchase.
Your “Yenko”ing My Chain this is An Amazing Find 😮😮😀😊 Novas are the Best
How the hell is a Nova a smaller car than a Camaro they're just about equal
406 nova :: they had to pop the 427's in them too!! That changed in '69 of course! COPO'S..LATE IN year. GM finally got smart..
Had a 68 Chevy 2 ss just out of high school. 350 auto , nothing special but it was cool when I was 23 😎
I bought parts from nickey Chevrolet In Chicago where I grew up Every part and more was put on my Nova Because I wasn't employed at nickey Chevrolet My car is not a nickey Chevrolet I did work at a very popular Chevy dealership an in Elmhurst of course. This is not a yanko It was sold by yanko.... I prefer automatic on the column You can keep your hands on the wheel and shift the gears just the same Shift on the floor for an automatic Basically for looks to make it look like a stick The only thing you miss is reverse lockout If you worried about that run a reverse pattern transmission
Its not a yenko if it wasn't converted. Its a car that was shipped so its still just a 396 nova. So if you have a car shipped to England does it make it a rare car owned by the king no has to be bought by the king. But big money nova non the less.
thunder god it’s very much a Yenko Nova that wasn’t converted. All were L78 like this car. The individual who has the most Yenko records from Yenko claims he doesn’t even have records for 37 and only solid proof for 2 conversions. The total number of 69 L78s shipped to Yenko Chevrolet could be actually be less than 37.
You bought this car are u going to do a video after you get it running
A friend of mine had the exact same car except his was a four speed. He crashed it and I bought the engine and transmission radiator and numerous other parts and installed them into a 68 Camaro which turned out to be a very fast car. The good old days.
I'm not a really big fan of green cars, but this one is an exception for me, I like it.
Not so rare just because it was at yenkos dealership. Not " untouched" diffrent rims, gauges, hose clamp were somebody mounted a tach. And half the motor is in the trunk. But means nothing it was on yenkos property. Thanks mr. McConaughey. Decent find but put it back in your pants and take a breathe.
I'm guessing you know exactly shit about car's with that dumb ass comment
@@billybiker5712 reading your comment I'm going to "assume" you are an expert! So......please explain to me why this is so special besides just being an ss nova? I for one dont get it! The narrator gives the "impression" it's a "yenko" but its clearly not! So am I to again "assume" that it's only special because it was at the "yenko" dealership" but wasnt converted?!????.... can you atleast admit you can see that most people wouldnt see this car as anything but an ss nova plain and simple! I mean following this rationale then every Ford mustang gt sold at a "roush" dealership that wasnt modified by roush a special car???...I mean come on! It just seems silly dont ya think??
@@number1pappy because it's a documented yenko nova the buyer opted out of a couple of options but it's still a yenko nova that's like saying just because a yenko nova didn't have power windows it's not a yenko yes it absolutely is still a yenko and car's sold at that dealership like you all are trying to say this one was are not documented yenko car's this one is a documented yenko nova my god people will fucking argue about anything
Agreed....yenko sold alot of cars .....and he loved corvairs... lol...
fastcam72 I like your thinking brother!! I agree!
Its good the owner had enough respect for it to leave it indoors
A good friend of mine had a new 69 396/375hp, 4 speed. It was a very fast car. It had a muncie shifter (not as good as the hurst competition plus) and had straps instead of u bolts holding the rear u joint to the rear axle. He twisted those off a few times until he had to buy a new drive shaft and converted it to the u bolt hold downs. He traded it for a 68 427/435 hp corvette. The nova was faster.
i Had a 70' Nova, it was a Crazy Fast, i bought it in 73' in 76' i made a deal with my brother in law for his 1966 Chevelle ... Those were the Days, 1970 GM put out High HP
I like chevelles better than novas. They handle better and I like the four link rear better. I have a 67 chevelle that I've had for 40 years. Rust free CA car.
I had a hot little 73 ss Nova. It was a 350 4 speed two barrel. That two barrel was special somehow though. If you punched it that two barbell gave all the gas in one punch and that thing would go sideways in a flash. I'd fight a ditch in first and a second ditch on the other side of the road hitting second hard. Those was good times
3 speed sorry
How do you find out if it was on the list to be converted by Yenko? Besides using internet?
Nice find and the A means Automatic. Also I never got into the yanko cars because to me it’s a name plate. Now rare cars would be anything under 500 to 600 produced by a manufacturer itself. Rare to me would be a hemi cuda covetable that less than 10 where produced and only 2 where sold in the states and the others in EU. I’m a GM guy so it’s Grandnational GNX and only 547 where produced and again another car sent to McLaren. V6 putting down 4.7 sec in 0to60.
Here's one for ya, all those Yenko stickers on the modified cars were put on by Don Yenko's teenage daughter and her school friends so they could make after school money.
Ha-ha-ha-ha, that's pretty cool , I could totally see that happening!
That car looks like it’s been left outside in the rain for years. Look at all the rust and deterioration in the engine department. A 396 with 375 hp and it came with bench seats and an automatic? Look at how messed up the bench seats are and this car has only 74,000 miles? Did anyone notice all the rust underneath the fender wells. More like 174,000 or more. If this is a 375 horse motor why didn’t he at least show us the air cleaner with the decal on it. Something don’t seem quite right.
No way he put 178k on it in 8yrs. Common sence. Rust from it being a daily driver
My dad still has his Nova 375hp he bought new & has bench with 3spd
100k on a car back then , it’s pretty played out.
The average 200k played out cars we are used to now has only been going on since the late 80s early 90s
The square port manifold suggest its a L78???
All good points I thought of before reading this.
Canonsberg PA is where they were 'built' by Don Yenko in a separate shop behind the dealership. These weren't something bought off the showroom floor ready-to-go. Jerry Heasley talks about a '67 Yenko Camaro, and they go into the whole Yenko back story...interesting stuff...
A guy I knew in high school had the same car. (but was not a Yenko) Factory 396 SS 4 speed with posi. Silver with black vinyl top. When it was in top form it was scary fast.
Hey when I was a kid my dad had a 69 nova that was green just like this to the exact. Except my dad's had a 307 and it was an automatic. It was given to him from my uncle and he loved that car to death. He went and had the motor bored out balanced blue printed and put headers with duel exhaust,racing cam,shaft, and pushrods he also had aluminum eldebrock intake manifold with 2 holly 750 double pump carburetors with craigor ss rims skinny tires on the front and wide slicks on the back. Dam I loved that car and remember it like the back of my hand. We would race mustang and porches all the time and murder them😊 it was the best. Great memories ty for the flash backs from my child hood.
A grand total of 37 ground-pounders were sold. All were originally L78 396 Novas. Twenty-eight had a transplanted 425hp 427. The remaining eight were still factory real-deal RPO L78 375hp 396s.
There were unconverted ‘69 Yenko Novas that retained the L78 396. Believe it or don’t.
I love the Novas my dad had 1970 nova with the factory 4speed with a 396 that was built pretty good.
kcotte59 your a sick little fuck
Lol
WoW...I like it .get it going and do another video when its running.. thanks
Love that green paint, my 71 was champagne gold with black top and interior, automatic with the high powered 307. Had a/c also. Great car put 130 thou miles on that thing. Had to replace the plastic coated timing chain top gear when it jumped time and bent just about every valve and pushrod. Good times! Thank you, great video 🤤
Very nice car very nice video, I have a question is the car for sale? Thanks
How many L78 '69 Novas were built? My friend in Kansas City had one with similar equipment except 4 speed. This was in 1971 while we were juniors in HS. We used to drive by Dickie Harrell's shop in Hickman Mills and drool over cars he had sitting around. To me the rumble of the L78 was all a person would ever need.
I restore classic cars for a living and I ran a classic car dealership so I know a little bit about authenticity.That's a tricky car to authenticate to the point were you have to walk away sometimes. You'd be lucky to find a 137 car with Chevys. the column shift is the turn off and you need the 427. Maybe it's real?
Seems you have a nice L78 nova. Rare in it's own right . Nothing more nothing less. Awesome find.
Libta Slayer its ALOT MORE. Trust me on this. Do some research and you’ll see. Thanks for watching.
Nice!!! I gotta agree with the owner, why replace that L78 with a 427. A L78 in a Nova, can't get better than that. Those were mean motors. Thank for sharing another beauty
Pause at 8:48. There's a dealer recall fix on the drivers side engine. The torque was ripping the engine mounts, so they used think wire cable and wrapped it around the new engine mount and bolted it to the upper control arm.
you're correct
I know cause i had one
Incredible car. Thanks.
Friend of mine has a 427 small block 70 Nova, dynoed @ 659 horse 619 ft lbs. It's a hoot!!!
I never understood why people would molest such a rare car! I know when they were new no one thought they were gonna be such a valuable time piece! Back then people bought them to drive an it still amazes me how many suviours there are today!
Great find👍
I was 14 back in 97 I had one it came with a 307 3pd but had a straight column maybe it was changed I ran a 327/th350 12 bolt as my first car it Ran too .miss that one.
Oh wow! Oh wow! Beautiful
To think it’s possibly one of one in existence!
Come on guys......Yenko yes or no....its a very sweet car...no matter what....thanks for the video....
So it's basically just an L78 SS396 Nova that just happened to be sold by Yenko Chevrolet. Doesn't make it a YSC. Still an AWESOME car though. Really like your videos man even though I'm a Mopar guy when it comes to muscle cars
did he say why he didn't go through with the 427 Yenko conversion? maybe the original engine was enough to scare the tar out of him and more wasn't needed?nice score! unless you're flipping them you probably have a pretty nice collection yourself,and that's a beautiful thing if you ask me. thanks again. ☆☆☆
Do they want to sell this car or they just gonna let it rot away Looking to know what's up with it
I don’t know where my comment went but I’ll write in quotes “I like that car I’ve always liked novas since I was a little kid” if I had the money I’d buy one
So basically you spend the 5 mins repeating everything over and over
art vandelay Shut up
Have you not checked out his other vids?.....lol
No Neck all his bids are same passing off junk as valuable smh
My dad has a 70 Nova it's no Yenko it's just a little 350ci 4 speed car with 4:10's out back, its bare bone no power options, radio delete its basically point it straight and hold on cuz it don't corner or stop very well, I couldn't imagine a big block in one of these as the little 350 is sketchy in one.
Pennsylvania is a hot bed for musclecars they stay having hidden gems that's great
I know where an original owner , unrestored, 69 Hemi Roadrunner with 13k orig. miles is located. It is a beautiful Pa. car.
I found an empty coke can at the Yenko dealership...that makes it a genuine Yenko and ultra-rare....i should have kept it...damn
No Neck do you know where you got rid of it? Let me know id like to trace it down for a possible video. You messed up by not keeping that. Thanks for watching the video on this earth moving discovery.
Patrick Glenn Nichols Musclecar Barn Finds Lmao. 😂
Wondering if you still have it
Not a Yenko Super Car. It was just sold by Yenko,, lol.