Vehicle Description
In 1969, GM's corporate headquarters had a ban on any engine larger
than 400 cubic inches in anything smaller than a full size car.
This made the 396CI equipped 1969 Camaro SS as the top rung on the
regular production order sheet. While the 396 was a very powerful
and capable engine, some dealers wanted more. They wondered what a
Camaro with a 427 would be like, and their customers were thirsty
for more performance. Don Yenko, of Yenk Chevrolet had been
ordering SS 396 Camaros and replacing the engines with 427s before
selling them at his dealership. This had proven popular but time
consuming, and he looked for a way to improve the process. The
answer was found in the COPO ordering program. COPO stood for
Central Office Production Order. This differed from the RPO process
as it was a special order system set up to produce one off batches
of cars for police or rental fleets. Don Yenko placed an order for
201 1969 Chevrolet Camaros using this process with the 427 cubic
inch 425 horsepower V-8 installed at the factory. As the word got
out, other dealers figured out the process and began ordering their
own COPO cars. All totaled, Chevrolet produced just over 1,000 of
these factory super Camaros. These COPO Camaros were stripped down
performance machines, just meant to go fast and look mean. The
Camaro you see pictured above is a CLONE of those original COPO
Camaro's. Under the hood is the iron block 427 cubic inch V-8 with
425hp and an exhaust note that will scare small children. All this
power is routed through a close ratio 4-speed manual transmission
and on to 12-bolt rear end with 4.10:1 gears. The exterior of this
Camaro is finished in a gorgeous high gloss black with matching
black 14x7" steelies and F70-14 tires. This combination gives the
car a sinister look that is backed up by the power it produces.
Brakes are front disc
