Don Yenko
Donald "Don" Frank Yenko (born May 27, 1927 , † March 5, 1987 in Charleston (West Virginia) ) was an American racing car driver who, through the construction of the Yenko Singer Stage 1-3 Chevrolet Corvair, 2nd series and the Yenko Camaro , a tuned version of the Chevrolet Camaro , became known.
biography
In 1957, Yenko set up a tuning workshop for Chevrolet vehicles. Customers could either buy tuning parts or have their cars converted by Yenko's mechanics. 1967, when Chevrolet brought out the Camaro, Yenko built the Camaro SS to the Yenko Camaro by the original V8 engine 78 L with 6,489 cm³ displacement against the V8 engine L-72 of the Chevrolet Corvette with 6,997 cc exchanged and rear axle and chassis adjusted. He also tuned the Chevrolet models Chevelle and Nova by installing the L-72 engine.
In the 1970s, the muscle car business declined because they had to pay higher insurance premiums and emissions regulations were tightened. Yenko reacted astutely and gave the Nova from 1970 its unique style: Instead of installing the 7.0-liter V8 engine in its special version, he convinced GM, the very powerful V8 with 5,735 cc from the new Camaro Z-28 and the Corvette LT1 with 360 bhp (265 kW) to be installed. In addition, the new Yenko Deuce , as the car was now called, had a better chassis, a different transmission and an improved rear axle, as well as eye-catching rally stripes and emblems. In the late 1970s, Yenko tuned the Vega with a spoiler, a turbocharger and a special paint job. Due to difficulties with the approval by the Environmental Protection Agency , he only sold the converted Vega without a turbocharger. Instead, you could purchase the turbocharger separately in Yenko's workshop. In 1972 Yenko stopped selling tuned cars and only offered tuning parts from cosmetic conversions to engine tuning. The most notable product was the ZL-1 engine, which Yenko made with the permission of Chevrolet. In 1981 Yenko brought out his last tuning set, the Turbo Z Camaro . It was a turbocharger for the 5.7 liter V8 engine. In 1982 he sold his company Yenko Sportscars , which had belonged to the family since 1934.
Yenko died in March 1987 along with three passengers when his Cessna 210 M crashed near Charleston, West Virginia . He wanted to land the machine; but it landed too hard and was thrown back into the air, causing Yenko to lose control of the plane. It brushed against an earth wall and fell into a ravine.
statistics
Sebring results
year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1961 | Yenko Chevrolet | Chevrolet Corvette | Ben Moore | Rank 32 | ||||
1962 | Grady Davis | Chevrolet Corvette | Ed Lowther | failure | Clutch damage | |||
1963 | Grady Davis | Chevrolet Corvette | Ed Lowther | Dick Thompson | D. Black | M. Wyllie | failure | Engine failure |
1964 | Angels Aviation Racing | Ferrari 250 GTO | Ed Cantrell | Harry Heuer | failure | malfunction | ||
1965 | Ken Hablow | Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray | John Bushell | failure | lost wheel | |||
1966 | Harold Whims | Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray | David Morgan | Harold Whims | Rank 11 | |||
1967 | Sunray DX Oil Co. | Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray | David Morgan | Rank 10 and class win | ||||
1968 | Sunray DX Oil Company | Chevrolet Corvette | Pedro Rodríguez | failure | Engine failure | |||
1969 | Best Photo Service | Chevrolet Camaro Z / 28 | Bob Grossman | Rank 10 and class win | ||||
1970 | Marlbank Racing Team | Chevrolet Camaro | Bob Grossman | Rank 17 | ||||
1971 | Troy Promotions Inc. | Chevrolet Corvette | Tony DeLorenzo | Jerry Thompson | not classified | |||
1972 | John Greenwood Racing | Chevrolet Corvette | John Cordts | Rank 24 | ||||
1973 | John Greenwood Racing | Chevrolet Corvette | John Greenwood | failure | Engine failure | |||
1975 | Pedro Vazquez | Porsche 911S | Pedro Vazquez | Manuel Quintana | failure | Engine failure | ||
1976 | Richard Bostyan | Chevrolet Corvette | Richard Bostyan | Jerry Thompson | failure | malfunction | ||
1977 | Red Roof Inns Inc. | Chevrolet Monza | Jim Trueman | Jerry Thompson | failure | malfunction | ||
1978 | Bostyan Racing | Chevrolet Corvette | Richard Bostyan | Jerry Thompson | failure | Engine failure | ||
1986 | Dave Heinz Imports | Chevrolet Corvette | Dave Heinz | Steve Zwiren | failure | Gearbox damage |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
Web links
- Chevy Performance was Spelled "YENKO" . musclecarcalendar.com
- Investigation of Donald Yenko's plane crash by the NTSB ( memento of July 14, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Family Search - Donald Yenko
- ↑ Famous People Who Died in a Plane Crash - 1980s. PlaneCrashInfo.com
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Yenko, Don |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Yenko, Donald |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 27, 1927 |
DATE OF DEATH | March 5th 1987 |
Place of death | Charleston, West Virginia |