V.V. Cooke Yenko engine

[the427king]

I think cooler heads would’ve prevailed after just a little bit of time but the name calling has now probably separated car & motor by nothing short of a galaxy. If that motor was in my possession I’d sink it in a lake after reading this thread.

Amen.

[carnut4life]

I hope cooler heads prevail in the long run and the born with block is reunited with the car but some of the comments here have been damning to making that happen. I myself would be honored to reunite the original block to such a significant car but not everyone thinks like most of us on this site and eats, breathes and sleeps cars 24/7/365 like we do.

IMO you can't blame the guy for starting high, he can always come down but if Andy had jumped at the first price he offered he'd be kicking himself for not asking more, whether the rest of us think it fair or not. Plus, at the end of the day it's really none of our business even though we're all anxious to know what happens since it involves a Yenko Camaro. Hopefully the bridges haven't been burned yet and Andy stays in contact with owner and peaceful agreement can eventually be reached that makes everyone happy.

[Pro Stock John]

On the bright side a week ago everybody thought this car's original engine was gone forever.

Give it time.

[jeffschevelle]

I reunited the original L37 IX block with Z16 Chevelle 5K167816 for ZERO dollars profit.

Gentleman who had the BARE block wanted me to give him $20K for it when I was trying to buy the car. So I passed on both. Then the car was bought by someone else, and that fellow told the gentleman with the block to pound sand when he heard that price.

A year later the gentleman with the block needs cash quick and offers it to me for $3K. Had he done that to begin with I would have the car (with block) today. I told him to sell it to the car owner and he said no, that guy won't speak to him about it (and who could blame him, right?)

So I called the car owner and told him I could get the block for $3K, and it was his for $3K if he wanted it. He agreed, I bought the block, he drove 500 miles to my house and picked it up.

And justice prevails!

[61 vert]

My offer was turned down with no counter offer. I dont like to start low and work up. Skip all the crap and state a price that you will pay. Thats what I believe and did. Its in the sellers court if he wishes to rethink but he didnt seem responsive to negotiations at this time. Hoping he realizes that we are his market and 20,000 is a fair price. Its seems as noone on here has disputed my valuation. At least that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that I was thinking it thru correctly. If I was trying to lowball I would have offered 10,000.

[EZ Nova]

Originally Posted by 61 vert

I did quite a bit of thinking about this before I made the offer. I feel that 25 to 30000 tops would catch the difference between an original engine Yenko Camaro versus a restoration motor. Original trans and rear push that number higher. Even though reportably rebuilt this motor would need to be diassembled to determine pistons and camshaft used. Aftermarket rocker arms indicate a custom build probably not correct for stock application. Then theres the actual remove and replace. Not for the faint of heart. Dont forget transportation 1000 miles. Could even be an issue like a cracked cylinder bore or out of round bores or line bore issues. Reported to be blueprinted but obviously not decked. Easy to spend another 5000 on top of the 20000. If your number was 65 percent using 25000 invested then that would yield a car value increase of around 35000. I think thats at the very top of added value. Of course theres a restoration motor to sell. It would need to be decked as well.

All this adds up to my offer of 20000 which I feel is fair. How much the seller has invested or to gain or lose is irrelevant.

I see the value you feel it adds to the car and agree with you. I didn't know how much the born-with engine added to value. I wasn't stating if you were wrong or not. I just see so many thing now are more $$$ than worth, like body and paint on a "normal" or not expensive old car. I'm looking at buddies 1978 Z28. B&P is in the $15,000.00 car is what maybe $30,000 IF that when done. And still have other stuff to do.

Many end up having more $$$ then the cars worth after resto. I have GIVEN stuff away because it was the right thing to do. I have also taken LESS then offered from people because I didn't think it was fair. I'M NOT RICH but not broke either.

I was thinking, on a Yenko, a born-with engine would be about $50,000 more bump in value at time of sale.

Good luck, time will tell.

[Rumbleguts396]

Gentlemen, the passion and excitement of this site certainly played a part bringing the owners of the car and motor together. I agree it’s time to stand down and let the process of reuniting and terms of sale happen in private. At this point it seems more harmful. I know if I owned the car or motor I wouldn’t appreciate it being discussed like this. It must be incredibly exciting for both owners. We all hope to see the car and motor reunited and a sale price that’s fair to both is reached. Rob

[roadster]

Know of a 69 copo Camaro long time owner who located original owner and learned he still had original window sticker for car . Current car owner offered 2K for w/s but original owner said w/s not for sale I want to buy car back . Car owner did not want to sell car but tried to befriend original car owner who was unhappy he would not price or offer to sell car . Took some time car owner became acquainted with others who knew original owner and eventually original owner called and said if you still want w/s for 2K come and get it . Said he wasted no time picking up w/s and they remain good friends today . Engine owner likely smart enough to ignore peanut gallery and personally I feel what someone wants for something they own is their business and they are not wrong or mean in setting whatever price they see fit . Seems like neutral party determining condition of block at agreed terms would be good investment for both parties before setting price .

[Stefano]

I hope the car and the original engine get reunited. That would be kool!

[njsteve]

I know what its like to have something from a significant car (or ten) that someone else can use.

Years ago I sold the 19,000 mile red 440+6 automatic Cuda ragtop to Steve Juliano (1988, I think it was?). In the early 2000's while cleaning my parent's garage out, I found the mangled, original set of carburetors buried in my garage along with the owners manual paperwork (braking distance, warranty papers etc). I reached out to Steve and the first thing he says, in his NewYawker accent is : "How friggen much are you gonna ransom this shit to me for Steve-O?"

I responded in my best Joysey accent: "I want tree tings Stevie: 1) I wanna to see my old frikken car again, 2) I wanna a damn good bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich on white toast with mayo, and 3) A chocolate milkshake. Think youz can handle that, tough guy?"

He started laughing hysterically and said. "Sold! I know the exact diner we can meet at."

Since he was just over the border in NY, I spent a day visiting and seeing my old car and just handed him everything I found in the garage. It was a fun day. RIP Steve Juliano. (and yes, he paid the diner tab and left a nice tip for the big-haired waitress)

It was this car: https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0519-37...a-convertible/

I still have all the restoration photo albums from my cars, including the yellow 71 hemicuda ragtop along with an extra, mint broadcast sheet, but the current caretakers of that car don't want them so I am on the verge of just throwing them up on ebay or something since they would only get thrown away one day when I'm gone. The same thing with the albums for the Steve Juliano 71 ragtop, the '71 Cuda hemi orange/billboard 440+6 4-speed ragtop and various hemi chargers, etc.

From my personal experience, sometimes the current car owners can be interesting people to deal with especially if they (or the people in charge of taking care of their collection) don't see the value in anything other than the car itself or they see everyone who contacts them as trying to take advantage of them somehow.