Accelerating from 0 to 135 mph in 9.97 seconds is heart-stopping. Doing that in an original Yenko Camaro is astounding. And thats exactly what Randy Miller, a lumberyard operator from Millers Creek, North Carolina, does.
During the supercar battles of the late 60s, Pennsylvania-based Yenko Chevrolet undertook an all-out assault on the horsepower wars. Yenko convinced Chevrolet to build a quantity of special high-performance 427ci Camaros. These unique F-bodies hit the lot dealer-equipped with special striping and equipment for dragstrip duty. With just over 200 of these hard-charging Camaros built during 1969, today they are eagerly sought outespecially Randy Millers. His modified 69 Yenko is a player in the NMCA Factory Street class. Last year at the Atlanta NMCA World Championship finals, Randys Camaro won the Factory Street class clocking a low e.t. of 9.97.
But dont think he had to violate the cars heritage to get those low-e.t. timeslips. The Factory Street class requires competing cars to retain their original appearance and profiles and run on DOT-approved tires. Only aftermarket fiberglass panels such as hoods and bumpers are allowed, and modifications to the floor or trunk pan are prohibited. To reduce frontend weight and allow more induction room, Randy replaced the original ZL2 hood with a lighter fiberglass piece with a 5-inch dome.
Under that hood Randy has swapped the original L-72 427ci big-block with a highly modified 477ci Rat motor built by Gene Fulton with 13:1 slugs and big-port aluminum cylinder heads. The fuel delivery system is comprised of a fuel cell, a Holley electric pump, and a single Holley 900-cfm 4150 carburetor bolted to a Weiand aluminum intake. Cooling the Rat is a Griffin aluminum radiator and CSI electric water pump. Exhaust routing is provided via a set of Hooker 21/8-inch Super Competition headers connected to two Borla mufflers. Providing the gear changes to the 3,575-pound Camaro (with driver) is a reworked Powerglide and a 4,500-stall converter. To handle the hard launches, Randy runs a fabricated 9-inch rearend holding 4.10 or 4.33 gears, depending on track conditions. Since class rules require the use of DOT-approved tires, he uses BFGoodrich 275/60R15 Drag Radials.
To retain the original Yenko appearance, Randy contracted Gary Barnes and Randy Roten to apply No. 72 Hugger Orange lacquer paint and Yenko striping to the Camaro. But dont mistake Randy for a newcomer to the Chevrolet faithful. Randy has owned and built all types of COPO and ultra-rare Chevrolets since the early 70s. Its just that now he has to do it quickly.