GTcarz - Automotive forums for cars & trucks. - The World’s First And Only Complete Yenko Collection

For Gary Holub, it’s the classic American success story. When Gary was a kid, he read about those 427-powered ’69 Camaros in the car magazines and dreamed that one day one of these monster machines would sit in his driveway. He started a very successful concrete land developing and rental property businesses in his hometown of Marion, Iowa, and years later realized that he could have what he had always wanted. But Gary transformed his daydream into something much more than he had ever imagined.

Gary started modestly in 1985 with a green ’69 sYc car. Since then, his collection has burgeoned into what could now pass for a shrine to Don Yenko’s creations. Gary’s collection encompasses much more than just cars. There are parts, memorabilia, history lessons, and even Don Yenko’s earliest toolbox. But the cars are still the stars. A total of 23 immaculately restored or original musclecars sit in a temperature-controlled environment, and 15 of them are Yenkos.

The Yenko cars are the heros in the Holub collection, but there are more than just 427 Camaros in this mix. The main attraction is what Gary calls the “Six Pack,” which consists of one car in each of the colors Yenko offered in 1969. Le Mans Blue, Olympic Gold, Rally Green, Fathom Green, Daytona Yellow, and Hugger Orange hues make up Gary’s rainbow warriors. That Technicolor explosion sits at the far end of his immaculately maintained building, but to get to those cars, you must walk a 17-car gauntlet of Gary’s other significant musclecars.

Three cars in the Yenko collection represent the rarest—yet perhaps the least well known—of the breed. The final Yenko was a Camaro, but it debuted in 1981 as a Turbo Z. It used a turbocharger to aerobicize an otherwise anemic 350 small-block that was forced to breathe through an iron lung–like Q-jet carburetor and catalytic converter. According to Gary, his Turbo Z is No. 10 of 19.

Its next-of-incongruous-kin, the Yenko Stinger Vega, also shared a turbocharger affixed to a ’72 four-cylinder motor which was later transplanted with a 370-hp L-79. The Vega actually belongs to Gary’s youngest son, Logan, who collected over $14,000 in 5-cent rebate Iowa soda cans to buy a ’69 Nova. He traded several cars along the way to eventually obtain the Vega, which completed his dad’s collection. The Yenko Vega is Logan’s fifth car at age 13.

Next to the Vega is the original ancestor to the Yenko clan, a ’66 Corvair Stinger. The flat-six–powered commuter car came about as a direct result of Don Yenko’s involvement in sports car racing. While nimble, the Corvair never caught on with a clientele courted by mastodon motors and drag racing.

The ’81 Camaro, the Vega, and the Corvair complete Gary’s one-of-a-kind collection, but they don’t command the same respect as a 427-powered car. Allow a rabid, solid-lifter musclecar fanatic in the room, and he will be inexorably drawn to the big-block. These are heady machines, and there are thousands of fans willing to immerse themselves in the deep-running waters of 427s, four-speeds, and that big sYc logo.

While Don Yenko was clearly most famous for his 427-powered central office production order (COPO) Camaros, he built Chevelles and Novas too. The first Yenko Chevelle arrived in 1969, and of course Gary has a beautiful green example equipped with a 427, a TH400, and a rare column shifter. Yenko also built a couple of the Nova variants on display in Gary’s arena. His red ’69 rests on American five-spokes and is one of only six 427 Novas that exist today. But Rat motors were not the only engines transplanted into the Nova. In 1970, Yenko also built a series of 370hp 350ci LT1 Novas. Gary’s example is Cortez Silver with 4.10 gears and a 12-bolt which belongs to 17 year-old son Brock.

While it’s difficult to top a Yenko, there is one car in this hall of fame that commands ultimate respect. It is also the most modest in appearance, with stock steel wheels and dog-dish hubcaps. In 1969, Chevy built 69 Camaros outfitted with the now-famous COPO No. 9560 that specified a ZL1 Camaro. Outfitted with a 430hp 427ci all-aluminum Rat motor, the ZL1 is perhaps the most highly prized Camaro ever built. Gary’s Fathom Green version is No. 27 of 69, and it was raced for several years before it was restored. This car is even more prized by Gary because its previous owner was baseball legend and musclecar fan Reggie Jackson. In the Camaro’s trunk are several souvenir baseball bats and balls signed by the Hall of Famer.

The stories could go on for volumes. Each car and each piece of memorabilia has its own tale. Gary likes to think of himself as more of a museum curator than a collector—a keeper of the faith, if you will. Toy companies have used his cars as blueprints for die-cast replicas. He also preserves odd items such as a 78-speed vinyl record from 1948 featuring an interview with Don Yenko’s father at the opening of the original dealership in 1948. The concrete business may be Gary’s occupation, but that’s just what pays the bills. When it comes to passion and what he loves to do, it all revolves around rare musclecars and that big letter Y.

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