Images: Mecum Auctions

No other Chevrolet customizer has ever come close to the work of Don Yenko, whether it be his finished products or the pure worth that every Yenko car carries to this day. Coming up next month, one of the most well-documented and talked about Yenkos is crossing the auction block at the Monterey, California Mecum Auction. That’s right, the famed 1967 Yenko Super 450 Camaro is up for grabs and it could be yours for the right price.

Debuted to the public at the 2008 Forge Invitational Muscle Car Classic in Kingsport, Tennessee after years of hiding, this 1967 Yenko was found as a “barn find.” Started out as a Camaro SS with the 396ci/375hp engine, Muncie 4-speed, 12-bolt rearend with 4.10 gears and a classic Butternut Yellow exterior with black interior, the car was then converted to a Yenko Super 450 car, one of less than 20 believed to exist today.

The Yenko Super 450 conversion came about when Don Yenko enlisted the help of Dick Harrell, “Mr. Chevrolet” himself, to convert about the first 20 factory 396 Camaro SS cars into 427-weilding beasts. Once an order was placed, the Camaros 396 engine was swapped for a Corvette 427ci/450hp L72. The car also received Stewart Warner gauges, Autolite spark plug wires, Traction Master traction bars, M/T headers and an R/C bell housing. Named the Super 450 for its NHRA horsepower rating of 450, although it boasted about 500hp in actuality, the car only came in a stick shift. Those with automatics were given the 410 moniker.

With the Yenko conversion, the car also received some iconic design cues, including a special fiberglass stinger hood, 427 fender badges and a Yenko emblem in the middle of the grill. Although later Yenkos, like the 1969 COPOs with Yenko badges, stripes and headrest decals, are looked at as superior styled cars by many, the 1967 Yenko Super 450 was the true beginning of the high-performance Camaro breed.

After purchasing the car in June of 2008, the owner, restoration specialist Mike Slaughter, did a full restoration of the car. The car still features its original floor pans, quarter panels and roof, with NOS sheet metal only used where it was needed. The car was then repainted Butternut Yellow (the car was found painted red) and the 427ci engine was completely rebuilt using correct date-coded parts, including the correct 3910 780CFM 4-barrel Holley carburetor, by Dean Davis of Moline, Illinois.

Certified original by Camaro judge and restorer Larry Christensen, the fully restored Yenko Super 450 has appeared in 11 magazine issues and won several awards, including a Legends Certification from the American Camaro Association, Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals Day Two Concours Diamond Award and the Chevy Vette Fest Gold Spinner Concours Honors with a score of 998 out of 1,000.

To top it off, the car is fully documented with photos of the complete restoration, complete inspection reports from the restoration to back the car’s “Certified Original” status, two copies of parts invoices from Yenko, a labor invoice for the car from Dick Harrell to Yenko and the original sales invoice for the car when it was sold from Yenko to Burt Chevrolet in Englewood, Colorado. As icing is to a cake, this Camaro is also one of just four Yenko Super 450s to be documented as having been originally converted by Dick Harrell.

This extremely rare and ultra-collectable Yenko Camaro will cross the auction block at the Monterey Mecum Auction on Saturday August 17th. If you’re into collector cars, Camaros, Yenko cars, Dick Harrell cars, or all of the above, this is one auction lot that shouldn’t be missed.