From his family Central Garage business in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Don Yenko set up a performance shop for Chevrolet vehicles. The customers could either order high performance parts or have their car modified by Yenko mechanics. The first popular aftermarket car made by Yenko came in 1965, in the form of a modified version of the Chevrolet Corvair. Named "The Stinger", these Corvairs were modified with a variety of different body accessories, engine upgrades with outputs of up to 240 horsepower, as well as upgrades in steering, transmissions, suspension, and Posi-traction differentials. A total of 185 Stingers are believed to have been built between 1965 and 1967.

The car on offer is arguably the rarest of the group. In the spring of 1966, Maurice “Mo” Carter, a Chevrolet/Oldsmobile in Ontario, Canada approached Don Yenko about becoming the Canadian distributor for Yenko Sportscars, manufacturer of the Yenko Stinger Corvair.

Corvairs had been raced and rallied successfully in Canada since the early 1960s and Carter saw the sales potential for the Stinger. However, before a new model car could be raced in Canada, the Canadian Automobile Sports Clubs (CASC) required that an example of the car be presented for inspection to determine what class it would be assigned to race in. This is the machine that was prepared for that particular purpose.

In order to avoid expensive import taxes on a U.S. manufactered car, a 1966 Corvair Corsa Sport Coupe with the appropriate options was built in the GM Oshawa, Ontario factory and transported by a Carter employee to the Yenko “factory” in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. One option that was different was the red interior, as the U.S. Singers came with a black interior.

In Canonsburg, the car was converted to a Stinger; Corvair emblems removed, fiberglass decklid and landau panels added, blue accents and three blue stripes added over the factory Ermine White paint. Then a center stripe that was six-inches wide, with a one-inch stripe flanking it on each side. When this was being completed on this car for presentation, the painter mis-measured the passenger side stripe and it ended up 1.125-inches in width.

A Stage I engine conversion was completed and the Stinger was then shipped back to City Chevrolet and Oldsmobile in Canada, accompanied by a two-page Export Document signed by Don Yenko and showing a conversion cost of $622.

After inspecting the Stinger, the CASC ruled that Stingers could be raced in Canada as a “Touring Car, Category II” under FIA rules, rather than as a Production Sports Car, as it raced in the U.S. That is the explanation as to why it was not assigned a Stinger ID tag. In addition, it was ruled any mechanical improvements were allowed, but that no body modifications were allowable. The next Stinger prepared for Carter to race had no Stinger body modifications; it was simply a red Corvair Corsa by outward appearance.

Carter raced his red Stinger successfully for a season, but then GM introduced the Camaro Z28 and CASC placed them in the same race group as the Stingers and other Corvairs. In turn, most Corvair racers acquired Camaros and the Corvair-based racers were soon also-rans. This killed the market for Stingers in Canada, and it believed and reported that only three Stingers were ever built for Canada.

This Yenko Stinger is reported to be the only Yenko-produced car that has been restored by a period Yenko employee. It has been restored to the specification as it is believed to have last raced around 1968 – mis-measured stripe and all. The information was provided by former GM Canada employees who indicate that this car was raced by Martin Chenhall, a General Motors Executive with a successful rally career, who would go on to then race Corvettes.

This very uncommon Stinger has a Stage III engine, lightened chassis, Yenko-style rollbar, period-correct Dunlop race tires, Gabriel adjustable shock absorbers, metallic brake linings and rare seven-inch wide double-centered Yenko rear wheels. The paint is the period-correct GM color, and the blue stripes and accents have been redone as close as possible to the 1966 paint, including the original blue overspray as done at Yenko in Canonsburg. The outstanding two-year, 1,000 man-hour restoration was accomplished by former Yenko employees with assistance from other specialty professionals.

Included in the sale of this milestone Yenko Stinger Corvair is the GM Canada factory build sheet, two-page Export form signed by Don Yenko for exporting the converted car (identified by its VIN) to the Canadian Yenko Sportscar Dealer, City Chevrolet/Oldsmobile in Hamilton, Ontario, plus show awards and concours judging sheet. This Yenko Stinger Canadian Prototype has also been shown at the Musclecar and Corvette Nationals in Rosemont, Illinois in which it was awarded 998 points from the available 1,000 in judging, giving it the high score of the show and winning a Gold Award. It also received the prestigious Emerald Award from the Judging Committee.

This car is now ready to be appreciated and enjoyed by a caring new owner. This is a quite respectable and affordable mode of transportation with history that is going to be less than the usual entry fee into the “Yenko Owner’s Club.”