Last week, CRG Hero Member
Vince Z28 contacted me after watching the James Garner documentary entitled
The Racing Scene that I had linked in a previous thread. He stated that “…at 33:40 in the movie a 69 red Camaro with the number 5 on it, and the name Don Yenko, is in the pits at Sebring.” I thanked him for the heads up and mentioned that I had planned on doing a thread on this particularly interesting car a few years ago when I found a treasure trove of fantastic color photos but it somehow slipped my mind. Here now is that thread featuring all the information and images I could find on the car. Please chime in with any additional information or images. Thanks!
Don Yenko and Bob Grossman paired up to drive a red 1969 Camaro with an aluminum ZL1 engine in the 12 Hours of Endurance for the Alitalia Airlines Trophy. This race took place at Sebring International Raceway on Saturday, March 22, 1969. The pair qualified 22nd, ran a total of 209 laps and won the over five liter GT class while coming 10th overall out of 70 starters.
The following are snippets about the car and/or race taken from period magazine articles. Images of these articles were posted by Jon Mello and can be seen here starting with Reply #17:
http://www.camaros.org/forum/index.php?topic=9860.15Road & Track – June 1969 – page 43 “A couple of veterans, Bob Grossman and Don Yenko, had themselves a Camaro with a 7-liter ZL1 aluminum engine, identical to Chevy’s Can-Am version except that it’s without the dry sump, and this brought them home 10th overall and first GT over five liters.”
Corvette News – June/July 1969 - page 4Referring to the Corvettes in the race the article states, “…they didn’t get to uncork any champagne, this time, because old ‘black flag’ himself, Don Yenko – in cahoots with engine man Bill Hartley and co-driver Bob Grossman – beat them with a ‘sleeper.’ What it was, was a Camaro with an aluminum 427 Corvette engine.”
Auto Racing Magazine of the World’s Greatest Sport – July 1969“There was no Trans-Am included in this year’s 12 Hours, but there was a bevy of Sports Sedans entered: Don Yenko/Bob Grossman, Camaro…”
Sebring ’69 Official Records for the Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance“The big GT class was won by Don Yenko and Bob Grossman (Camaro).” (page 2)
“For the sake of the record, the first car to take the checkered flag at 11:00 p.m. was the Yenko/Grossman GT Camaro.” (page 5)
Competition Press & Autoweek – April 12, 1969“Group 3 grand touring laurels went to Camaro drivers Don Yenko and Bob Grossman. Yenko’s Camaro sported a new 7-liter Chevy engine which his firm installs for those who want something with just a little more speed.”
Sports Car Graphic – June 1969 - page 36“…Don Yenko had an interesting newly homologated alloy 427-engined Camaro GT…”
Straightpipe (1969)The Over Two liter GT category was a contest between four seven liter Corvettes and a seven liter Camaro driven by Bob Grossman and Don Yenko. The Camaro just about matched the lap times of the Corvettes and ran a good bit more steadily to take the marbles in the class.”
A conversation about the car between markus37 and JoeC, both members of The Supercar Registry, took place on page three of their forum back in 2017. The following are the responses that pertain to the Camaro with the ZL1 engine that raced at the 1969 Sebring 12 Hours. See the entire thread here:
https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=695884/16/17 (markus37): “the ZL1 Camaro was a Trans Am car owned by Bob Grossman..was built out of the remains of 67 and 68 purchased from the New Jersey salvage pool and welded together, later updated with 69 sheet metal..very fast much lighter than Corvetes it competed against in the GT class at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen..was originally red.”
4/16/17 (JoeC): “Don raced a red ZL1 powered 69 Camaro with Bob Grossman with Best Photo sponsor at Sebring with the ZL1 but also ran in other races with a 302”
4/18/17 (markus37): “Grossman provided the car and Chevrolet, thru Yenko, the ZL1. Forgot to mention, Warren and I searched for that car for years. I talked to the guy who built the car. Last year at PVGP a guy stopped to visit, told us where the car went!”
4/22/17 (JoeC): “Mark do you know Tony Randazzo I believe they are in PA? On his site they show the 1969 Yenko Grossman ZL1 Camaro with Best Photo and Yenko on it. Caption says, ‘This was our Randy’s Auto Body 427 Aluminum ZL 1 Camaro co-owned with Drivers Bob Grossman and Don Yenko. We finished first in GT at 12 Hrs. of Sebring Fla. 1969”
4/23/17 (markus37): “I tracked him down in Florida a few years ago..had a nice conversation about the car and how he built it…had some special parts from Chevrolet front spindles, differential and axles…etc. He was trying to find the car like Warren and I were.”
Image is a screenshot of the Camaro from the movie entitled
The Racing Scene, which is a 1969 documentary film about actor James Garner and the exploits of his auto racing team during the entire 1969 racing season. Watch the whole film here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdiqOEZpR0Y 
