While 38 L78 Novas were ordered by Yenko
Chevrolet for conversion, the exact number
actually converted is not verified. It is thought
to be about half that, as several of the 38 have
been found and documented as having been
delivered unconverted, with the factory L78
still in place. That makes Dennis Albaugh’s
Rally Green example all the more valuable.WELL-TRAVELED NOVA
42 SEPTEMBER 2019
AT A GLANCE
1969 YENKO/SC 427 NOVA
Owned by: Dennis Albaugh, Ankeny, IA
Restored by: Randy Miller, Greensboro, NC
Engine: 427ci/450hp L72 V-8
Transmission: Muncie M21 close-ratio 4-speed
manual
Rearend: BV-code GM 12-bolt with 4.10 gears and
Positraction
Interior: Black vinyl bench seat
Wheels: 14x7-inch two-piece stamped steel XT
with dog dish hubcaps
Tires: E70-14 Firestone Super Sport
Special parts: Vinyl roof, Stewart-Warner under-
dash gauge panel, AM radio“The Yenko/SC 427 Nova was
definitely not a car for amateurs”
ability. Then Yenko Sportscars technicians
would reinstall the No. 840 cast-iron SS396
cylinder heads, No. 163 four-barrel alumi-
num intake manifold, No. 4346GE 780-cfm
Holley four-barrel carburetor, and No. 499
AC Delco single-point ignition.
The 427-inch L72 engines were power
rated by GM at 425 hp at 5,000 rpm and
460 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. Once
these engines were “Yenko tuned,” they
made more like 450 hp.
Virtually all the other mechanical fea-
tures on the 1969 Yenko/SC 427 Novas
were identical to their smaller-displace-
ment siblings. That included a Muncie M21
four-speed transmission, a BV-code 4.10- or
a BT 3.55-geared GM 12-bolt Positraction
rearend, the factory code F41 front andrear heavy-duty suspension complete with
heavy-duty front coil springs (to support
the added weight of that 427), an 11⁄16-inch-
diameter front antisway bar, five-leaf
heavy-duty rear springs, AC Delco shocks,
and a Delco Moraine heavy-duty master
cylinder, which activated the Nova SS 11-
inch power front disc and 9½-inch power
rear drum brake package. All 1969 Yenko/
SC 427 Novas were sold as four-speed cars,
although one automatic was tested only as
a prototype.
Wheels and tires on the 1969 Yenko/
SC 427 Novas consisted of anything from
14x7-inch two-piece stamped steel XT rims
with pie pan hubcaps to 14x7 Rally wheels,
or the upscale 14x6 Atlas mags sporting
a Yenko center-cap insignia. The wheels
were mounted with Firestone or Goodyear
E70-14 bias-ply red- or white-striped rub-
ber.
Just like Yenko’s Camaros and Chevelles,
the 427 Novas were offered in limited col-
ors: code 52 Garnet Red, code 57 Fathom
Blue, code 71 Le Mans Blue, and code 79
Rally Green. Other than paint and the
distinctive 3M black or white vinyl-tape
graphics, the exteriors of these cars were Powering Albaugh’s Nova is a 427-inch L72
V-8, built using a CE-code warranty short-
block that’s topped with the L78’s cylinder
heads, intake, and Holley 780-cfm carburetor.
Spinning in the block is a Duntov solid-lifter
cam, while a Delco single-point ignition deliv-
ers the spark. Yenko super-tuned these en-
gines to deliver 450 hp.