This First Year Yenko Camaro is Rare, Rowdy and Restored to As-Delivered Condition
Congratulations Dennis Albaugh for being named a Finalist for the Goodguys 2025 Snap-on Muscle Car of the Year with his ultra rare 1967 Yenko Camaro!
Slightly more than 300 Yenko Camaro models were produced during the brief three-year production run in the late-1960s, with the 1967 models being the rarest. Just 54 were created by the renowned Pennsylvania Chevy dealer that took 1967-69 Camaros directly from the factory with the 396c.i. engines and upgraded them with fresh L72 427c.i. engines and other performance modifications.
While exact numbers for various options are non-existent, Dennis Albaugh’s ’67 Yenko is considered one of the rarest for two reasons. First, it is one of just a few equipped with the TH400 automatic transmission and the RS/SS package. It is also one of the few converted at Dickie Harrell’s East St. Louis operation toward the end of the model year and is thought to be one of the last produced.
Historic note: At the time Chevrolet mandated that no Camaros have an engine larger than 400c.i. Beginning in 1970, though, that mandate was evetually lifted. Yenko moved on to produce modified Novas, Chevelles, and Vegas at that point.
Dennis’s ’67 was restored to as-delivered condition at his in-house collection facility over a 10-year period. When he purchased the car, it did not have the engine and transmission and had been repainted red with black stripes.
For what was envisioned as a monster muscle car, this Yenko is equipped with more creature comforts than might be expected: power windows, remote driver’s side mirror, rear speaker, vinyl roof, and the ultra-rare fold-down rear seat. The fold-down rear seat was only installed in about eight-percent of 1967 Camaros.
In addition to the high-performance 427 V8s (they were the same as the 427s found in Corvettes), most of the Yenkos had the M-21 manual four-speed transmission, a beefed-up suspension, and 4.10 rear gears, although Dennis’s example has the taller 4.56 gears. A fiberglass “Stinger” hood that mimicked the Corvette hood was also installed on most ’67 Yenkos.
Also standard was power steering, power disc brakes in the front (drums in the rear), and 14-inch Rally wheels with F70-14 redline tires. The original paint colors – Deepwater Blue and white RS stripe – were reapplied to Dennis’s Yenko Camaro.
The restored original interior in bright blue vinyl features a console, as well as aftermarket Stewart Warner gauges mounted above the console and an S-W tachometer mounted to the dash just to the left of the gauge panel. Despite the heavily optioned interior, the AM radio is the base model, not the push-button option.
This newly restored ’67 Yenko Camaro joins Dennis’s vast collection of vintage Chevrolets, including several other first-generation Yenkos and rare muscle cars.
Photos: John Jackson, Terry Lysak
