Don Yenko and Grumpy Jenkins Gave This ‘69 Nova 600 Horses

In the 1960s and ’70s, sports car racer Don Yenko became a legend, turning standard-issue Camaros, Chevelles, and Novas into terrors of the street and the drag strip. Fellow Pennsylvanian Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins was a renowned engine builder and racer whose machines dominated the early years of NHRA Pro Stock drag racing. The two mechanical madmen combined forces in 1982 to build the Nova, recently listed on eBay, a plain-looking coupe that holds a 600-horsepower secret under its hood.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

From Muscle Car to Monster

The cowl tag shows that this 1969 Nova Super Sport left GM’s Willow Run, Mich., assembly plant with Tuxedo Black paint, a black bench seat, and a V-8 engine. No documentation exists to confirm which V-8 went into the Nova. We do know that 13 years after it was built, the factory drivetrain was replaced with something far better than anything available from Chevrolet.

In 1982, Don Yenko set about turning this Nova into a Yenko Supercar. He commissioned Jenkins Competition for the engine. Grumpy Jenkins started with a very rare Reynolds-cast high-silicon engine block machined to Can-Am specifications. The engine was bored 0.70 over to 447 cubic inches, with a balanced rotating assembly, 13:1-compression aluminum cylinder heads, and a degreed ZL1 camshaft. Jenkins charged Yenko $10,935 for the engine alone—about what a brand-new 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 cost. The seller estimates the all-aluminum engine is good for 600 horsepower.

The big block bolts up to a Muncie M22 “Rock Crusher” four-speed manual transmission topped by a Hurst shifter. The 12-bolt rear end holds a Positraction limited-slip differential with drag-strip-ready 4.30 gears. Lakewood slapper bars keep the tires planted under hard acceleration.

Major Horsepower in a Plain Wrapper

The original owner ordered this Nova in basic transportation trim when new, and the interior remains taxi-cab spare. There’s no radio or heater, sacrificed to save weight. An aftermarket Stewart-Warner tachometer and a trio of under-dash gauges keep tabs on the transplanted monster of an engine.

We bet it sounds wonderful given the Hooker headers and three-inch chambered exhaust. Those launches must be hell on the skinny bias-ply redline tires, mounted on steel wheels with poverty hubcaps to complete the sleeper look. This 1982 build would be one of Yenko’s last Supercar conversions, as he closed up shop later that year.

Adrenaline Rush

The Nova’s owner says the car spent much of its life racing in the Pennsylvania area. According to the seller, it’s still “an adrenaline rush to drive. It runs strong and is very fast.” The seller claims the car received a six-figure, frame-off rotisserie restoration in 2013, befitting its big-name pedigree. More than 10 years later, the car still looks immaculate in photos. It’s located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the buyer is willing to help arrange shipping.

About that pedigree: Some collectors get hung up on “matching numbers” this and “born-with” that. This Nova is not for them. Instead, it’s for the serious motorhead who appreciates the workmanship that those fabled Pennsylvania shops put into it four decades ago. Don Yenko and Bill Jenkins made this Nova unique, a true one-of-one. There aren’t many opportunities to own a car with this kind of racing heritage.