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Old 06-19-2018, 05:13 PM
GM_427_Racer GM_427_Racer is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Ohio
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Smile When your brother drives your muscle car.

This story was probably in the summer of 1970, but definitely prior to the engine being redone and the Yenko turned in to a full time race car. As I mentioned previously, my brother and I enlisted in the US Army Reserves in August of 1968 and we both went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina during the summer of 1969 for basic training and then on to Fort Lee, Virginia for advanced individual training. After graduating from college, my brother began working for the Ford Motor Company and lived in northwestern Ohio, but would still come home for the monthly reserve meetings in northeastern Ohio. This particular weekend he suggested that we take the Yenko to the reserve meeting on Saturday and we would ride together. I think he had an alternative motive, because when we were leaving the meeting on Saturday afternoon, he asked if he could drive the Yenko home. I didn't have a problem with it, so I said "Sure". Since this was a summer meeting and it was really hot out, we opened the car doors and with the black interior, the Yenko was really steamy inside, so we put all the windows down and we took off. The reserve station was on the outskirts, of Warren, Ohio near Lordstown where I worked at General Motors, which was out in the middle of nowhere, basically farm country back then, not that it is a whole lot different now, but definitely more population. We had to take back roads to get there, but they were nice straight paved two lane roads with very little traffic, especially on a Saturday afternoon. When we came to a four way stop, (I have no idea why there was a four way stop, unless it was for the cows when they meandered by), my brother said, "Well, its warmed up, can I get on it?" I responded "Absolutely, let er rip!!!!" Well, rip, he did, revved it up, dropped the clutch and it immediately smoked the tires and the back end was coming around to the right trying to take over where the front end used to be, he is steering the hell out of it, turning the wheel to the right (like you are taught to drive on ice and snow), but the Yenko is having none of it and it gets to the point where the rear tires have left the pavement and are on the burm and he finally lets off the throttle and straightens it up. I think I mentioned how the interior was very hot and he said the stock steering wheel was slippery and that's why he lost control. So he says, "Can I try it again?" I said, "Sure, there's no traffic, try it again..." Well, he came to a stop, revved it up, dropped the clutch, unfortunately, we had the same result, only this time, it was a little more violent and he tried to drive it further and when the stones started hitting the right side quarter panel, he finally gave it up. I decided, that was enough, I told him, "Stop the car and let me show you how to do this". He stopped, we switched positions, and after buckling up, I told him "Hang On", revved my baby up, dropped the clutch and off we went straight down the road, like it was on a string, went through the gears, took it up to about 120 and backed off. I looked over at him and said "There are some things a little brother can do better than a big brother". He was sitting there shaking his head, still blaming the hot "slippery" steering wheel and that is how I got driving gloves for a birthday present and the wooden steering wheel for Christmas later that same year.

In all fairness, my brother started racing Formula Fords in SCCA a couple years later and he was quite good, he could really drive a road course and go around turns fast, in fact he could go down straightaways pretty good too, but then again that little four popper probably didn't have a quarter of the horsepower that the Yenko had. He had a lot of success with his first formula Ford and I was very proud of him. Not too long ago, I reminded him of this episode, but naturally he didn't remember it the same way I did, but this is my story and I'm sticking to it......
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