When did you first discover C.O.P.O. cars

MXZ · #1 06-12-2006, 03:03 PM

I first found out about these cars back in 1980. Heard the story's a few times from my relatives, but didn't give it too much thought.

Wish I had paid attention more back then.

When did you discover? Seems there was not too much advertisement back then on these cars. How did most know? Word of mouth?

bigchevydaddy · #2 06-12-2006, 08:58 PM

Summer of 1980. Just moved to Florida with my family and the son of our next door neighbor had what I thought was a '69 Z/28. Looked like a Z, with hugger orange paint, cowl-induction hood and Z stripes, but it had a 427. I didn't really pay attention to the bb heater core and curved-neck radiator, but it all makes sense now. He traded it for a super beetle about a month after we moved there; gas was killing him. I was a poor student, and couldn't raise the cash to buy it. Considering what they cost now, I still can't!

BCD.

**tom406** · #3 06-12-2006, 10:02 PM

In '82 or so I was about 13 and my Dad took me to the drags (at my request, he's not a car guy) in Brainerd, MN. Racing there was a silver '69 Chevelle with Cragar S/S's and a big block, but no SS396 equipment. On a placard in his pits was a hand scrawled sign saying something about being an original 427 car, very rare. I'm sure he caught a lot grief from the "experts". Magazine articles in the mid '80's identified the COPO story for me.

Only other cars I remember from that weekend was a ratty '69 GTO Judge with a BBC, and in a case of turnabout being fair play, there was a white '67 Chevelle running a 389 Pontiac.

That was also the weekend my Dad attempted to have "the talk" with me during the long drive. Poor guy, I kept shutting him down with an embarrassed "I know, I know" since we'd had a pretty comprehensive educational program in my school (Thank You school district 621. Sorry Dad.)

Happy Father's Day to all you fellow Dads out there. Keep fighting the good fight.

TOM BRESKE

**firstgenaddict** · #4 06-12-2006, 10:54 PM

Mid 80's a story or two of a Yenko in a barn... then the late 80's SUPER CHEVY with many many ZL-1's and 9561's

Keith Tedford · #5 06-13-2006, 04:25 AM

I found out about the COPO car availability in early calander year 1969. A friend worked in the Oshawa main office, and he told us about these cars. His brother went to Beare Motors and they had no clue as to what he was talking about. Given the COPO code, they checked with GM and, Yes, you could order one. John ordered his right away but didn't get it until about July. The dealer got one in from another dealer and Ken got his later in July. Mine was dealer ordered and I bought off of Beare Motors' lot in the middle of August. Several dealers like Belmont, and Central Chev in London knew about these cars as well. How they got the information is anyone's guess. Perhaps GM informed the more performance oriented dealers. Nurse Chev-Olds in Whitby, Ontario sold a red COPO Camaro in '69 but was destroyed in an accident within about a year. I believe it was the UOP Shadow CanAm cars that used the Nurse shop on the CanAm weekends at Mosport.

MXZ · #6 06-13-2006, 01:56 PM

Very cool story Keith.I truely enjoy stories like this from the guys who lived it in the days when I was such a youngin'.

nuch_ss396 · #7 06-13-2006, 05:44 PM

High school!

1976 - A friend told me about a neighbor who had a hugger
orange 1969 Yenko Camaro. He even told me about the SYC
decals on the headrests. I told him he was full of it....

Then I got the opportunity to see this car for myself.

I apologized to my friend and immediately became a COPO
fanatic.

Steve

Bob Adamsky · #8 06-14-2006, 08:58 PM

New guy here, first post. Not big on writing just enjoy the reading. But this post i had to respond to.

Back in Brunswick Ohio in the early 80s there was a car show every year at the high school that i would find someone or someway to get there (early teens)to check out all the 69 Chevelles.

There was a very dark blue 69 there that looked like a SS (hood and rims) but didnt have any emblems on it. Remember standing there while the owner was in a heated debate with someone else that he didnt take the emblems off the car, he bought the car this way and it was special order. Real or not, dont know, just know i was hooked.

Bob Adamsky

COPO_Anders · #9 06-14-2006, 09:24 PM

I´m not sure if I had read about COPO´s before I bought this Car Review in August 1985, but this magazine really got me hooked !
I first laid eyes on the COPO 9561 that I now own, two years later. Claes the owner, stopped behind my Chevy II at a meeting. He told me he had traded a hardtop like mine to get the 427 Camaro I was looking at. When I responded with the question: is it a real COPO Camaro ?, he just couldn´t believe what he just heard. Very few people knew about COPO´s here in Sweden in 1987.
May I say, it was love at first sight.

427TJ · #10 06-14-2006, 09:31 PM

1982, when I was 20. I picked up a Hot Rod Magazine special edition on Camaros and these two articles were inside. The "ZL-1" article explained the "COPO" term and that the car was a special-order. The ZL-1 article also mentioned Fred Gibb Chevrolet and Yenko Chevrolet. The "427/425" article on the next page explained the availability of the L72 in the '69 Camaro.

Dedicated to the Promotion and Preservation of American Muscle Cars, Dealer built Supercars and COPO cars.