1969 COPO Camaro – A Rare Beast

Enthusiasts thin to hold that the precocious 60s and aboriginal 70s were the aureate epoch for the American musculus car. Roughly fractional a period ago, Chevrolet built a genuinely peculiar Camaro.  This, present legendary musculus machine, boasted an astounding magnitude of powerfulness and was acceptable to embarrass anyone mindless capable to situation it connected the resistance portion oregon astatine the halt light.

A concealed retired successful the open

Back past successful 1969, fewer radical were alert that Chevrolet designed and built sizeable quantities of Camaros powered by the L72 427/425 HP engine. This was not for a deficiency of attraction oregon wide disinterest, but alternatively due to the fact that the L72 motor was not listed among the options disposable for the exemplary year.

Don Yenko, a dealership proprietor and well-known roadworthy racer, convinced Chevrolet Production Promotions manager Vince Piggins to propulsion immoderate strings and usage the Central Office Production Order (COPO) codification to person the motor installed connected the assembly line. This wasn’t the archetypal clip a COPO was used, arsenic Piggins pulled this instrumentality backmost successful 1966 for the Stinger Corvair arsenic well.

Piggins did different favour for Fred Gibb, a trader successful Illinois, whom wanted the aluminum ZL1 427 CI motor fitted to a batch of resistance racers successful 1969. To marque it happen, Piggins utilized the COPO 9560, with the COPO 9561 pursuing up for the robust artifact L72 version. This could person gone truly atrocious if firm caught a sniff of it, arsenic it wasn’t easy justifiable, particularly since Don Yenko’s cars were thoroughfare cars and not racing units. With the COPOs retired there, Piggins couldn’t simply bounds accumulation of these thoroughfare racers to a constricted fig of dealers. It was conscionable that, being precise hard to cognize who to telephone and what codes to inquire for, astir prospective buyers weren’t alert of the option.

It was expected to beryllium much competitive

The guardant reasoning of Fred Gibb launched the COPO Camaro connected a way towards greatness. By marrying the aluminum ZL1 427 engines with M40 Turbo Hydra-Matics connected 50 units, capable to suffice it for the NHRA resistance racing series. Originally, the Novas lone came with manual gearboxes, frankincense the request for the COPO order.

Once plans were acceptable successful motion, flood gates opened and a clump of 1969 Camaros and Chevelles were COPO-ed to bring successful either the L72 robust Mark IV motor artifact oregon the lighter, much almighty all-aluminum ZL1. Despite being much almighty and faster, lone 69 units of the ZL1 Camaro were built, main crushed being the prohibitively costly price. On the different hand, plentifulness Camaros saw the L72 robust block, since the motor upgrade was lone   compared to astir triple that for the ZL1.

The RPO L72 engine

What made the RPO L72 truthful peculiar that COPO 9561 blew successful sales? First of all, it was a 427-ci robust block. It featured a 11.0:1 compression ratio, generated by aluminum pistons pushed by forged alloy rods. These were the aforesaid rods utilized connected the ZL1 engine, accompanied arsenic good by a forged alloy crankshaft.

This was inactive the epoch of mechanical distribution, arsenic it would beryllium rather immoderate years earlier physics valve timing and stratified substance injection was introduced. As such, inlet and outlet valves featured a 302/316-degree organisation connected the camshaft, accompanied by a .520 valve lift. Regular valves were prone to thermal accent and oxidation, and frankincense the L72 motor came with aluminized faces and heads.

Fuel was distributed via a 4 tube 780CFM Holley carburetor, sitting atop an aluminum intake manifold. Without exception, the L72 Camaros came fitted with aluminum azygous constituent spark distributors, portion the much costly ZL1s utilized transistorized ignitions.

The L72 emitted plentifulness of heat, particularly during blistery summertime days. To support it moving wrong optimum somesthesia parameters, particularly erstwhile mashing the throttle against the floor, a heavy-duty Harrison 4-core radiator was installed.

The wide effect of this powerfulness unit? An astounding 425hp astatine 5,600rpm and chassis twisting 460lb-ft of torque astatine 4,000rpm.

The wildest sleeper of 1969

There was virtually thing connected the extracurricular that would springiness distant the tremendous quality and powerfulness that the COPO Camaro was susceptible of. The Yenko oregon Berger trims hinted somewhat to immoderate show improvements, but generally, the L72 oregon ZL1 Camaros were a premier illustration of, bare rabid wolves perfectly dressed successful sheep’s wool.

Without the accustomed stripes oregon decals, COPO Camaros would walk easy arsenic your mean 1969 econo-pony car. Only those with wrong cognition would widen their pupils astatine the show of the Argent Silver grille and the ample bluish bow necktie successful the center.

While the modular V8 Camaro coupe weighed successful astatine 3,135 lbs, the summation of the L72 engine, M21 transmission and beforehand disc brakes accrued the full curb value to 3,496 lbs. With 425hp astatine the wheels, the COPO Camaro was beneath GM’s unwritten regularisation of 1hp per 10 lbs, standing astatine 1hp per 8.2 lbs.

Part of the COPO Camaro muscle cars headed from Chevrolet dealerships towards the North, peculiarly the Canadian borderline were much retired successful the open. Dressed successful agleam yellows oregon orange, oregon adjacent Le Mans Blue and Cragar S/S wheels, these COPO Camaros weren’t hiding their capabilities. In a precise constricted run, a liquid tyre concatenation diagnostic was added arsenic option, which sprayed traction boosting compound straight onto the rear tires. Take that for an vantage astatine the resistance strip!

Highly successful demand, adjacent today

If prospecting buyers weren’t alert of the COPO enactment backmost successful the 70s, arsenic of today, the fewer remaining good preserved COPO Camaros are being auctioned for incredibly ample sums of wealth each year. One premier illustration is simply a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 COPO 9560, featuring the archetypal aluminum block, fig 9 retired of the 69 produced. With afloat documentation and impervious of archetypal transportation to Fred Gibbs Chevrolet of LaHarpe, the COPO ZL1 was auctioned for an eye-watering $451,000 successful 2012.  Certainly, that fig would beryllium adjacent greater today.

Still, this doesn’t adjacent travel adjacent to the highest ever bid for a COPO Camaro. Number #59 of the 69 units built was auctioned astatine Barrett-Jackson for a jaw-dropping $1,094,500, contempt having its ZL1 aluminum motor replaced aboriginal successful its beingness nether GM warranty.

Started arsenic a favour betwixt friends, the COPO Camaro turned retired to beryllium 1 of the astir almighty pieces of American Muscle Car history, featuring not lone an astonishing backstory, but besides the powerfulness figures, results and fame to backmost it up.