69 Copo Camaros sold new in Canada

[Keith Tedford]

Yes, it is a Chevelle.

[midyr]

Any of you guys have knowledge of the ZL1 Camaro shipped new into Nurse in 1969?

[PeteLeathersac]

I've read of it before too Lance and mentioned it here in past threads...supposedly sent to Nurse so a back up ZL1 was handy for Eaton's Can-Am team..
Unconfirmed is the engine was used by Eaton and Nurse sold the car w/ an iron motor?.
I believe Keith Tedford has mentioned here in the past that he saw an iron Copo at Nurse and maybe that the car was wrecked on the street?.
Also this same engine may be one Ed Cunneen found in more recent years???

Nothing to do w/ this subject Lance but did you see this thread from this morning?.
https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/showflat...true#Post424753


~ Pete

[Keith Tedford]

One weekend when there was a CanAm race at Mosport, there was either an AVS or UOP Shadow being worked on in the Nurse Chev-Olds back shop. I was told that GM had trailer loads of parts available to the racers on the circuit. Don't know this to be fact though.
The red COPO Chevelle that Nurse sold was an L72 car. I could have bought that car or the Chevelle that I bought from Beare Motors. The Chevelle didn't look like a stripper and was $700 cheaper. No regrets at all.

[PeteLeathersac]

And on the Copo at Nurse's Keith?.
Perhaps I'm losing it but hadn't you mentioned here previously you'd seen one there also knew it was later wrecked?.

Funny on any Can-Am cars using the ZL1 427 engines as they ran different displacements anyway?.


~ Pete

[Keith Tedford]

Yes, that red COPO was written off on Taunton Road north of the Oshawa airport so I was told. Didn't the CanAm engines have a bigger bore,shorter stoke and 430 CID. I think that Grumpy Jenkins used the same bore-stroke combination in his pro stock car back then. This combination was said to run better than the stock ZL1 bore stroke.

[midyr]

I believe I likely ended up with the motor pulled from the Nurse ZL1 and handed over to George Eaton's race team. In late 1969, after Eaton lost his backing from Eaton's Dept store, I bought a boatload of stuff from him, including 2 alum blocks, 3 sets of alum open-chamber heads, cranks, rods, etc, etc. Still have cabinets of hardware. One block was a standard ZL1, one was a 430 Can Am. I never saw the Camaro, don't know the color, but do clearly recall hearing the story repeated numerous times back then, including by Vince Piggins. A few years ago I heard the camaro was with a guy in Hamilton and he knows what it is.

[Keith Tedford]

I stopped in at Nurse quite regularly in '69. They always had something interesting on the lot. Always at least one Z/28. They even had one that they installed the track cam and cross ram setup. They even let me take the car out for a drive. Most disappointing ride I ever took. A ZL1 on the lot would have been BIG news around Oshawa. Lots of us were aware that it was available. You never know. I always stay positive about these stories because there was a time in the '80s when no one believed that there were COPO Chevelles.