This is an original Chevrolet Nova Yenko Deuce from the 1970 model year, it’s one of just 175 examples made and it was kept by its first owner for 42 years.
Chevrolets modified by Don Yenko and his team were period competitors for the Shelby GT350 and GT500 Mustangs. Both Shelby and Yenko were former race and championship-winning race car drivers who turned their expertise to the development of high-performance road cars.
Fast Facts – The Chevrolet Nova Yenko Deuce
- This is a 1970 Chevrolet Nova Yenko Deuce, it’s a rare high-performance model of the Nova with only 175 examples ever made. Equipped with a 350 cubic inch LT1 V8, it delivers 360 bhp, outpacing the standard Nova SS, and it included upgrades like dual exhausts, power brakes, and a 4.10:1 Positraction differential.
- Don Yenko, a former racing champion and Chevrolet dealer, became known for modifying Chevrolets into high-performance “Yenko” models, including the Corvair, Nova, Camaro, and Chevelle. Yenko’s cars were competitors to Shelby’s Mustangs, and his innovative modifications made them among the era’s most sought-after American muscle cars.
- This specific Yenko Deuce, originally sold in Pennsylvania, remained with its first owners for 42 years and logged 123,000 miles – largely driven by Brenda Baldwin. It underwent a high-level restoration and received awards, including a National First Prize from the Antique Automobile Club of America.
- The car is now set for auction at RM Sotheby’s on October 30th with a price guide of $170,000 to $190,000. It includes a certificate of authenticity from marque expert Jerry MacNeish, highlighting its collectible status.
Who Was Don Yenko?
Don Yenko was born Donald “Don” Frank Yenko on May the 27th, 1927 into a family of Chevrolet dealers. He would remain faithful to the brand his entire life, first as a racing driver and then as an unofficial performance department for the marque that included a slew of exceptionally quick cars.
This is Don Yenko with one of his Chevrolet Vegas. Yenko was a four-time Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) national driving champion before he turned his hand to building high-performance cars. Image courtesy of the General Motors Archives.
Early in his life Yenko had a passion for both racing and flying, he earned his pilot’s license at the age of 16 and he served in the United States Air Force before attending Pennsylvania State University and starting the university’s first flying club.
In the 1950s and 1960s Yenko would become a celebrated racing driver competing on both sides of the Atlantic, he won over 10% of the races he entered and ended up on the podium almost 20% of the time – an impressive record by any standard.
His racing career included entries at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and he became a four-time Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) national driving champion.
The first Yenko-branded Chevrolet came out in 1965 based on the Chevrolet Corvair. Don Yenko and his team developed a series of upgrades that boosted power to as much as 240 bhp, they also added upgraded steering, brakes, suspension, improved transmissions, and positraction differentials (limited-slip differentials).
Over the years to follow, a number of Yenko-modified Chevrolets were built including Camaros, Chevelles, Novas, and eventually, some examples of the Vega too. The most famous were the Yenko Camaros which were fitted with the L-72 427 cubic inch (7.0 liter) V8 from the Corvette producing 425 bhp.
As the 1960s drew to a close and a new decade dawned, the muscle car landscape was changing rapidly. automotive insurance companies were raising premiums significantly on big block V8 performance cars, and the US government was releasing ever more stringent emissions restrictions.
The Chevrolet Nova Yenko Deuce is powered by a high-output LT1 350 cubic inch (5.7 liter) small-block V8, also used in the Z28 Camaro and Corvette.
This all spelled doom for the big block Yenkos, but Don was nothing if not adaptable, and so he developed the Yenko Deuce – a version of the 1970 Chevrolet Nova powered by the smaller-displacement, high-output LT1 350 cubic inch (5.7 liter) small-block V8s used in the Z28 Camaro and Corvette.
The Yenko Deuce turned out 360 bhp, considerably more than Chevrolet’s highest-performance version of the model, the Nova SS which made 295 bhp. The Deuce was also given dual exhausts, power brakes with front discs, heavy duty springs on all four corners, front and rear sway bars, and an improved cooling system.
The Yenko Deuce was also given a 4.10:1 gear ratio and a 12-bolt Positraction rear differential. When placing an order, customers could choose between the Muncie M21 4-speed manual transmission or Turbo-Hydramatic 400 3-speed automatic transmission.
The cars would be built to this specification for Yenko at the Chevrolet factory, then shipped to the Yenko facility where workers would install SS wheels, a Dixco hood tachometer, and perhaps most importantly, a series of Yenko badges, decals, and stripes.
Just 175 examples of the Yenko Deuce would be built, one reason for this was the sticker price which could be as high as $5,000 USD – the same price point as a new Cadillac. The surviving examples are now worth sums well into the low six figures and their values show no sign of changing direction any time soon.
The car was also fitted with stripes, decals, and badges, so that no one would miss that you were driving a Yenko and not a run of the mill Nova.
The 1970 Chevrolet Nova Yenko Deuce Shown Here
The car you see here is one of those original examples of the 1970 Chevrolet Nova Yenko Deuce. This car’s history is perhaps a little more interesting than most, having been delivered new to the Ammon R. Smith Chevrolet dealership in York, Pennsylvania.
There had been three Yenko Deuces delivered, two manuals and an automatic. The two manuals sold quickly but the automatic remained in the showroom for over a year with no takers until local car enthusiasts Alan and Brenda Baldwin saw it and realized it would be a perfect addition to their collection due to the automatic transmission.
The auto box would be a welcome respite for Alan, who drove manuals every day, but it would eventually become the favorite of Brenda who would daily drive it for 17 years – putting 123,000 miles on it. The car would then be dry stored for decades until it was rediscovered by muscle car enthusiast Skip Lecates.
Not long after being found, the car was shipped to MASCAR Auto Body in Costa Mesa, California, a shop made famous on the Discovery Channel TV series Overhaulin’. It would be given a world-class restoration and subsequently win a National First Prize from the Automobile Club of America, as well as a Grand National winner.
This car was restored by MASCAR Auto Body in Costa Mesa, California, a shop made famous on the Discovery Channel TV series Overhaulin’.
The car is now due to roll across the auction block with RM Sotheby’s on the 30th of October with a price guide of $170,000 – $190,000 USD, and it comes with a certificate of Authenticity from marque expert Jerry MacNeish issued in 2024.
If you’d like to read more about this Yenko Deuce you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
