1969 Chevy Nova SS Yenko in Butler, Pennsylvania

This Triple Black ?69 Nova left the factory as an L78 396/375 HP, 4-speed street machine 46 years ago and sold new at Yenko Chevrolet. Not a shabby start to life, however early in its heyday, a previous owner of the Nova decided he wanted his baby ?Yenko-ized?.
Of course, Don Yenko was the man who took the performance cred of just about any Chevrolet-branded product to maniacal levels in his Canonsburg, Pennsylvania dealership by dropping thunderous big-block power into his customers? purchases, not to mention building his own designer lineup of turnkey battlewagons wearing the sYc callouts. But the owner who flagged Mr. Yenko about performing a major transplant on this particular Nova wanted lots of extra mustard on it. And he got it.
The engine that now rests under the hood is a genuine Yenko Can-Am spec 447-cubic inch, all-aluminum Chevy big-block with copious lightweight aluminum components: ZL1 camshaft, 13.0:1 compression, and an estimated 550-600-horsepower. Most importantly, this feverish powerplant was built by the legendary NHRA Hall of Famer, Grumpy Jenkins.
There?s documentation that records the VIN of the Nova and the serial number on the block from both Yenko and Jenkins that certify that this engine?one of 17 ever built?was indeed torqued together in this Nova by the man who rightfully gets credit for keeping Chevrolet in the drag racing game when they weren?t supposed to be there