Muscle Car Of The Week Video #49: 1969 Chevelle Yenko 427

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Muscle Car Of The Week Video #49: 1969 Chevelle Yenko 427
The 1969 Chevelle SS 396 was a hot car, but the COPO program allowed for a run of 427 cars to really take Super Stock drag racing by storm. However, Don Yenko at Yenko Chevrolet one-upped the COPO cars with 99 special 1969 "SYC" Yenko Super Car Chevelles further modified to his liking. This 427 cubic-inch monster features a 4-speed, and it is one of only 12 built in Garnet Red. From The Brothers Collection.
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Muscle Car Of The Week Video #49: 1969 Chevelle Yenko 427
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[@billmcveigh5875]

My dad bought a 64 Malibu 2dr hdtp with a 283 4 SPD. He worked at Midway Chev in St Paul,MN. He saved enough money to purchase a 425hp/427 and over a weekend he swapped it. It was dark blue metallic and tore up the pavement. He said the reason he did that was to try to keep up with the Cuda's and Chargers in 1968. It was a beautiful car and I miss it.

[@MrRoadster100]

That 427 L72 (iron block/porcupine heads) will really rock and roll. My older brother had one of the first in a new '66 Corvette - ordered new in Dec '65 - fully loaded with everything on it including those off-road side-mounted exhaust pipes with the chrome heat guards. If kept all-original, that car would be very rare and valuable today.

[@patfromamboy]

My 1966 Chevelle has a 427 in it built by Dave Chun. It’s been together 40 years now and still runs great.

[@jeremythompson9122]

The 69 COPO 427 is my favorite Chevelle ever and definitely one of my favorite Chevy's of all time. I love this Yenko Chevelle but I prefer the regular COPO 427 Chevelle just because I'm not a big fan of stripes, spoilers, and other cosmetic add ons. But I love the wheels that Don Yenko chose to put on these cars even though I'm more of a steelies and dog dish caps kinda guy. I've heard that the 69 COPO 427 Chevelle was slightly quicker than a 70 LS6 Chevelle in the 1/4 mile if both cars were equipped with the same rear axle ratio. Plus I've always thought that the 1968-69 models were the best looking GM A-Bodies. I'm a Mopar guy but the 68-69 Chevelle SS, GTO, and Olds 442 were all great looking cars and so was the Buick GS400 when they didn't have the fender skirts. Thats my opinion at least

[@michaeldidomenico7]

this was my favorite car of my life

[@chrisdaniel5004]

It’s amazing how technology has changed in the decades of automotive engineering. Smaller engines producing serious power. Nothing wrong with that but times have changed !

[@elibryce7297]

instablaster

[@danielbrealey2924]

Wish i could hit the like button more than once!!! '69 Chevelle's are my fav of all the Chevelle's, '70 would be my 2nd fav the the '71/72 my 3rd fav. And Chevelle's are pretty much my fav muscle car... Great car. Thanks for sharing

[@randallrobertson23]

Rare , Fast and Beautiful, and worth every Penny..

[@beastlyboi1294]

My dad's buddy has a yenko chevelle but it's in the original white paint, He restored it to the point to where it looks brand new. I bet it cost him half a million dollars but man that chevelle is beautiful.

[@edstransitscott9186]

Kevin, Good job, you’re the man

[@V8TV]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@chocolatte6157]

I..... want.... that....., car!!!!! No doubt, not for sale, and if it were, I could not afford it. But! I want that car!

[@ironbassist1971]

My 1st Car 69 a 4 door Chevy Chevelle it was Sea Foam Green Black vinyl top Muscle Car!

[@TheGeil8500]

I'd love to have one. Even though I know it wasn't the fastest, but it had plenty of power and the one thing everyone forgets is the this Malibu had a very nice comfortable ride.

[@petemedina8446]

Awesome car love it didn't know there was a Yenko Chevelle

[@stripervince1]

There was yenko camaros novas chevelle vettes and even corvairs. Chevy people don't even know this, there's some even more rare group of "factory, dealership" muscle cars..... Baldwin motion cars. I saw one at a car show in Tennessee a few years ago. It was a black 69 SS chevelle with a red stripe. Amazing looking car. Extremely rare

[@matheusresende5922]

A thing of beauty...

[@evol111]

The perfect car for fun!!!

[@NewtonWashinton]

WOW AWESOME!!!!

[@GlassTopRX7]

The L72 and LS6 actually made about the same power, the L88 and ZL1 427's were the most powerful engines GM actually put into a car. LS7 crate motor as well. Superchevy put examples of both on a dyno and the both put down similar numbers, I believe in there test the L72 actual made a few more HP and the same torque. The 427 flattens out around 5300-5900, where the 454 start drop after 5600 so in top gear the 427 would pull away. If you google LS6 454 dyno you can find the article online, the numbers to wheels will shock you so you've been warned. I've seen a LS6 clone on a dyno day and it was in that territory running stock manifolds, still posted low 13's on street radials.

[@Darryl6636]

GlassTopRX7 interesting information thanks

[@danielives379]

Just picked up a used 427 corvette L72 motor I'm putting in my 1970 Chevelle Malibu badged as a 350... Can you say sleeeeeper? 😁

[@johnrosaleslll7778]

I love those cars but my favorite is 1970 yenko Nova with a 427 I have a 69 Chevelle El Camino 350 4 bolt main

[@bilbobaggins4710]

Sweet . My old man had several novas and el Caminos...

[@jeremythompson9122]

Yenko only did the 427 Super Nova's in 69. The 454 replaced the 427 in 1970. Yenko did build the Yenko Deuce Nova's in 1970 though with the 360 horse(factory rated) solid lifter LT1 350 that came in Corvette's and Z28 Camaro's. I love that engine man. The 1970 LT1 actually made more horsepower on the engine dyno than the 402 big block that year but the 402 had the edge in low end torque. Those 1970 LT1's dynoed 425 horsepower at 6000 rpm. That was the exact same amount of horsepower at the exact same RPM as the 1965-69 solid lifter L78 396 big block made on an engine dyno when totally stock. Those LT1's were no joke. They've gotta be the meanest small block of the muscle car era. The only other small block that made that kind of power while completely stock was probably the 1971 Ford BOSS 351

[@buff6637]

Love my '72 Camino!!

[@fabieneldridge3414]

Nicest Chevelle ever !

[@vettepiper6752]

I'm pretty sure that's the one I use to own. Had bucket seats - wonder how many had bucket seats!

[@C.S.Sensei]

The left brake light is out. One of those 1156/1157 bulbs. 😄 Awesome car, I'm a bit more fond of the 70' SS Chevelle body.

[@jeremythompson9122]

I always liked the looks of the 68-69 the best of all the Chevelle body styles. 66-67 too. I know the 70 LS6 was the baddest RPO Chevelle ever made but I'd rather have a 69 Yenko/COPO 427

[@williamnichols429]

Why do all the muscle car channels ignore the Baldwin Motion Phase III cars? Ads for them were in all the magazines when I was a kid. If you had the cash, you could order a motor with any compression, cam, intake, carb or carbs you wanted. Some of the Phase III cars made the Yenkos with stock L-72s look tame in comparison. I don't know if it was just a rumor, but the word back then was that the Shah of Iran bought a bunch of them.

[@marksimpson7477]

my first car was a 67 Malibu 327 4 barrel powerglide I bought when I was 15 for $600.it was 8 yrs old and would still hit 120 mph.not that you wanted to.the front end got kinda light.later had a 67 ss396 that had all 427 internals and l88 cam and 4 speed.was a slug til 3500 rpm and then it just spun the tires.losa fun but couldn't get it to hook up.i think I need another

[@johnwilkerson2195]

Love to have that or a 69' Yenko Nove

[@josephvr777]

Awesome

[@taxedtodeath3610]

That Garnet red yenko chevelle is rare! That is a $350,000 car at minimum!

[@taxedtodeath3610]

By the way, I have the tribute to it...with a little 502 though

[@erickort1987]

my buddy had a 71 Malibu chevelle with 350/270 hp m21 4speed but something weird the car was poop brown with lighter gold ss stripes,i remember it had metal studded snow tires when he burned out you could see sparks,cop said he had to remove the metal studs in tires,my buddy payed me $5 a tire to remove the metal studs, lol

[@thelaborpeasant]

Awesome car. I was just thinking it would probably suck to be the guy who ponied up the money in 69 to get one of these and then see the SS-454s popping up just one year later for way cheaper haha. Remember, people weren't really thinking about collecting these things in the 70s lol. It's pretty cool that they used the Malibu interior, I never knew that (and I'm anal about this stuff lol). Hate me for saying it if you want but that makes me kind of want to get a cheap Malibu to clone. Itd actually be closer than a Chevelle cloned into one (which I bet a lot of people have unwittingly done, naturally thinking the Chevelle interior was correct). I find myself constantly correcting my friends who are way too used to newer cars and think all the SS cars and Yenkos and whatnot came fully loaded like modern cars. They start calling BS on cars like this with bench seats and I'm just like "Nope, it was a much different time back then. It wasn't about looking cool cruising and having a comfortable hot rod to drive to work like today. Back then it was strictly stripped down, light weight, and going fast. In fact if you find a Yenko or Roadrunner or whatever with a center console you should be a lot more suspicious than one with a bench" Still though, as much as I love all these Yenko cars, and as popular as they are, my favorites are still the somewhat undiscovered kings of the hill. Yenkos were great but a Baldwin Motion was the absolute baddest thing to have hands down. GM fresh 427 stuffed in a Camaro, Nova, or Chevelle? Try a well built, blueprinted 454 with a guarantee to run 11 seconds or your money back. Now you're talkin nasty :-P

[@bobsilver3983]

I just bought a Fathom Green 69 Malibu....nowadays even Malibus are spendy!

[@manowar5516]

Michael McHugh Yeah. You guys sucked back then. My ol man has told me a ton of those stories too.😒

[@w41duvernay]

These were faster than the LS6 1970's Chevelle. Actually saw a test comparison...

[@jeremythompson9122]

I'd take this car over a 70 LS6 any day of the week. I'd actually take a regular 69 COPO Chevelle 427 over a Yenko Chevelle but they're basically the same car sans the YSC graphics and the aftermarket wheels. Awesome ride

[@w41duvernay]

WHAT many people don't know the 427 made a 100 hp more than the 306/ 375 hp version, the Yenko was actually a half sec faster than the much balihooed 1970 Ls6 Chevelle.

[@stripervince1]

probably would sell at auction for $250k. super rare

[@w41duvernay]

Try 1 million...

[@AlejandroP1980s]

w41duvernay what engine does it have

[@BrianS2464]

Looks like the drivers side brake light is out.

[@Thunda65]

Mmmm- lovely!

[@dacrd]

@4:17 standard 1969 ss396 325hp not 350hp

[@erickort1987]

the 69 yenko novas only 2 garnet red in exinstance out of 7-10in exinstance ..total 37-38 made

[@Observerx10]

With headers, slicks and gears we are looking at high 11 second ETs?

[@AutoYoung]

Yes sir!!!!

[@w41duvernay]

These Yenko Chevelle were faster than the legendary 70 Chevelle 545 ls6s were. I have seen mag articles... that why there is a huge debate on what is a better engine the Chevy BB 427 or 454.

[@kevinkendall3122]

@@w41duvernay pretty much identical engines,only slight difference being stroke length

[@AlejandroP1980s]

Kevin Kendall so this yenko better than 454 big block

[@jeremythompson9122]

@@w41duvernay I actually always liked the L72 better than the LS6. They seemed a little snappier and had a nastier sounding idle. Very similar engines though. Always liked the L78 396 too. 375 horsepower lol yeah right...more like 425 at 6000 rpm. Even though im a Mopar guy the thing I really always liked about Chevy Mark IV big blocks is that they always offered both hydraulic and solid cammed versions of them all. I'm pretty sure it was the same way with the earlier 348/409 W-Series big blocks. They made about 10 or 12 different versions of the 348 going all the way up to 350 horsepower I think

[@JT-SE-OHIO]

Most people didn't like the Muncie shifter and swapped it out for a Hurst competition plus. It had a shorter throw and was smoother when power shifting.

[@chrisholcombe137]

I think there is 425 HP 396 ?

[@thud9797]

Yeah the 396 L78 was 425hp it's just that GM with their 10 lb per horsepower rule made Chevrolet rate it at 375hp for the passenger cars instead of the true 425hp that it got in the Corvette, the Corvette being exempt from that horsepower rule.

[@danielbrealey2924]

A bit of a tech question guys; if this has the 4.84" bore spacing like the 454, what was the factory bore and stroke on a 427? It couldn't be 4.5" bore and a 4" stroke would it? I don't know, but I would imagine that 4.5" bore is only achievable in a 502 block or something like an aftermarket block? Can someonw fill me in please. Would love to know if thw bore was thw same on a 427 and 454- what is that stock bore though. Thank you in advance for anyone who's kind enough and knowledge enough to answer

[@craighelzer1593]

I cant remember what a 454 bore is, a 427 is a 396 crankshaft in a 454 block.

[@JT-SE-OHIO]

I think that Yenko was better at making them fast than making them look good. I never did care for their striping and logo's. Looks cheap, generic and off the shelf type stuff. Just my 2 cents. I drove a 68 Corvette for a few months with the 427/435 hp and it would make a Chevy man out of you. I'm fortunate that I didn't kill someone with that car. I was fresh out of high school. I had a pretty good looking 69 Malibu at the time and a friend of mine with the vette wanted to drive it for a while because it was easier on gas. What am I going to do? You can't tell an old friend no! Big difference between that turd 307 and the 427. A whole different ball game.

[@kellygotell1179]

Surprised he said the dash that came in the yenko wasn’t the fancier SS dash. I wonder how they differed ?

[@NickeyChevelle]

In 1969 there was only one dash available in the COPO/Yenko/Harrell, etc. cars. An in-dash tachometer was available as an option, but they were inaccurate and unpopular. Yenkos generally came with aftermarket Stewart-Warner tachs.

[@hanktorrance6855]

It's NOT SYC,it's standard monogram format the Y in sYc comes first, so it's Yenko super car

[@blackericdenice]

If it was for racing. Why didn’t they put gages instead of lights?

[@eZaFJDUBB]

this car came with the exhaust dumped out infront of the rear tires from yenko

[@davidgriffin4401]

The Brothers!???

[@carlmorgan2859]

I have a Blue one

[@spaghettiman1]

Shouldn't the exhaust manifolds be natural steel not painted?

[@NickeyChevelle]

Yes.

[@w41duvernay]

I rather have a 69 Yenko/COPO 427 chevelle than a 70 Chevy Chevelle 454 SS NOT because they are rare but the 427 were faster than the 454s.

[@jeremythompson9895]

I always felt that the L72 427 COPO Chevelle was faster than the 1970 LS6 454 Chevelle SS too. The L72 had a nastier sounding idle to it plus I love the no nonsense sleeper look of the COPO Chevelles. The non-Yenko versions often times just looked like a base model Malibu. No SS badges or stripes and mostly understated colors with dog dish caps and plain steel wheels. The 68-69 L72 COPO Chevelles might be my favorite muscle car ever built by Chevy. Either that or a 66 L72/4 speed Biscayne. Loved the COPO Camaro too

[@d1bigshifter737]

Is6 powerful stufg

[@GlassTopRX7]

They perform nearly identically. The engines themselves are nearly identical aside from the stroke.

[@w41duvernay]

​@GlassTopRX7 incorrect. TEST results from Mags show the 427 Yenko Chevelles being a 1/2 sec faster.

[@flashflex2873]

Hay tengo un malibu que se está pudriendo en el chasis debe de decir el motor que traía mi malibu ?

[@peterlyons2000]

At 1m30s and 1m39s if you notice some vinyl flaws like I first did, there's a good reason for them being there. See the replies.

[@V8TV]

That split in the stripe and the slight misalignment were just how these cars were done new. A faithful restoration includes the flaws as well.

[@peterlyons2000]

I honestly never thought of that. All I saw was the flaws and assumed poor craftsmanship. Another example of this attention to detail would be assembly line chalk marks. They're not that aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but they do translate a sense of authenticity to the end product in terms of what the car looked like the day it was delivered. Thanks for the kind response to a not so kind observation on my part. Nothing but class.

[@V8TV]

+Peter Lyons it’s all good Peter! And your observation is legit, as these weren’t hand-built masterpieces when new, but assembly line cars built quickly!

[@55classic1]

actually it's Yenko Super car...Y SC

[@ginnyredmond7183]

Doesn't anybody remember how chey use to be SPELLED CHEVEROLET, Now they spell it CHEVROLET. IT CALLED THE MENDEL EFFECT

[@teddysgunshop2318]

Twilight out ha ha

[@V8TV]

Strange sense of humor my friend.

[@rollingstopp]

i have nothing 2 Add ......

[@CorvetteSpeed]

At 1:30 look at the horrible YENKO / SC decal, its so misaligned !!!!!!!!!! like a child applied it.

[@brangelospanks2927]

"yanko"

[@tripjet999]

GM = General Mess

[@Plowboy247]

Beautiful car, but I'm a Nova man when it comes to all muscle cars. I love ALL CHEVROLETS but especially Yenkos but Nova has my pick out of the Yenkos over Chevelle and Camaro