Model Specific Discussions > Trans-Am Camaros
Don Yenko and the Yenko Stormer Camaro
yenkomark:
Recently I emailed Robert Barg thru a Canadian website for historic racing. I am researching a Yenko Stinger that was a prototype built to get Stingers approved to race in Canada and sent to Mo Carter in Spring 1966. Warren Dernoshek and I bought the car , thinking it was for parts only, until we discovered paperwork in our posession that seemed to indicate GM involved in the project ! It was based on a Corvair built in Canada with the correct options, then driven to Canonsburg by a Mo Carter employee for conversion.The point of this posting is that in the course of researching its racing history, I discovered that the 67 Camaro Robert Barg bought from Mo may have been A Yenko Stormer, as it was listed that way in the entry for a 6 Hour race at St, Jovite , Oct. 66. Co-driven by Dave Covey, the Carter employee who was involved in the Stinger prototype. Our records indicate 2 red/ white stripe Z 28 in inventory for Stormers , but Warren can account for only one later. Another piece of a mystery. Mark Gillespie
RUNUTZ:
Mark
Glad to see you stopped lurking.
Tim
Jon Mello:
Mark, Mo Carter did use the term "Stormer" in some of his advertising. I have an Mo Carter ad somewhere in my files that says Stormer. I always wondered why he had used that term when Don Yenko was already using it. I knew Mo had raced a '66 Corvair that may have started some association between Mo and Don but I have never been able to determine if there was a true business relationship between the two or if it was informal or even non-existant. I'd love to hear more if you and Warren can dig up more details. If I am remembering correctly, I don't think Mo ever called anything a "Yenko Stormer", I think it was Z-28 Stormer.
yenkomark:
Jon.... Mo Carter's dealership, City Chevrolet - Oldsmobile was being set up in April 1966 to be the Yenko Sportscars dealer in Canada. The Stinger that I am restoring appears to have been the prototype built ( with GM influence ) to be inspected by Canadian Sports Car Club to make the cars legal to race in Canada. Mo was to be the outlet for all Yenko cars in Canada, funneling the cars to other dealers across the country as well. The high import taxes which Mo had to deal with on the 1966 Stingers were revoked for 1967, making importing the cars easier .However, I don't think much ever came of the idea , other than Don And Mo becoming friends.
Jon Mello:
Thanks, Mark. I had made that assumption based more on circumstantial evidence but it's nice to have more concrete evidence to that effect, which I know Warren has in his files. There was another red '67 Z-28 that came through Yenko Chevrolet that I don't think has been accounted for in Warren's files as of yet. This is the car that was drag raced under ownership of Ollie Volpe and drive at various times by Tony Pizzi, Dick Moroso and Ollie Volpe himself. I spoke with Ollie a few months ago because a red '67 Z sold new through Yenko in May '67 was recently found and I thought it might be his old drag car. It turns out it was not. Ollie says he had a very early model Z and said it may have been some kind of COPO delivery. He says he and Don Yenko were very involved with getting this car produced before the Z-28 was offered to the public. He only drag raced the car for a year and he and Don had a falling out in their partnership. He hasn't seen the car since the end of the '67 race season. I'm just wondering if Ollie's car is the one that might be the other red car you are talking about.
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