Sitting since 1970, this 1969 Yenko/SC Chevelle will soon once again be ready to hit the road.
Just when you think that there aren’t any more barn finds to be discovered, another one shows up. No doubt, most of us dream about that elusive barn find in hopes that dumb luck will lead us to a super cool piece of vintage automotive treasure.
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Well, the lucky stars were align for Rick Nelson and his fiancée, Annie Hartweg. They came upon a complete, albeit in pieces, one-owner 1969 Yenko/SC Chevelle, in Louisville, KY. They received a phone call about a Chevelle that had been parked in this garage for the past 47 years. With the original owner recently passed away, a family member contacted Rick about finding a buyer for the beast.
Rick is the owner of Muscle Car Restoration and Design in Pleasant Plains, Illinois and has seen his share of barn finds from customers. But it didn’t even cross his mind that it would be him. Rick and his shop’s restoration tech, Jim Saathoff, headed to Louisville, Kentucky, where the Chevelle had lived its entire life.
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Once they cleared all the junk blocking the car in, they were able to get it out in the daylight and boy is it a glorious sight! Upon spotting this number, Rick’s heart started to beat a little faster, as it
matches the VIN of the missing Chevelle from V.V. Cooke he came across on the Yenko Registry. He knew he had found his dream.
It’s definitely a project that is going to need some work, as even though all of the original parts were there, and the Chevelle has only 19,000 miles. But they were 19,000 hard, tough miles that ended up in an alleged theft and a run-in with a tree. The Chevelle was returned home two weeks later. The front end was stripped away, and that’s where it sat until it was unearthed by Rick and his crew. While the damage is a major bummer and there’s likely more to the story, it’s what has kept this Chevelle around and with such low miles.
There were 99 Yenko/SC Chevelles built, and a little less than 40 are known to exist today. This ultrarare edition is considered a museum piece and well worth the investment to restore – even one neglected for many decades. We can’t wait to see the finished product from Rick and his crew.
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