68 COPO Nova SS 427 #37

[copo-2]

Thanks to each and everyone for their continued support and interest. Though, there are many memories of a personal nature about the Nova featured in Chevy Rumble, the real story is about those responsible for its existance, why it was built, and how the process took place? Any of us who own a muscle car has memories and stories to tell about our possession, but if not for Dick Harrell, Fred Gibb, Vince Piggins, and many others, many of our cherished Chevrolet's would never have existed? To the creators of these cars, We owe a great deal?

To the many friends I have met, who have shown interest in the history of the car, to the many for their help in gathering and sharing information about about these COPO Novas, to those who have chosen to write articles about these cars, I am grateful.

In 1968, Fred Gibb Chevrolet was successful in getting GM to bend the rules to get 50 Novas built through the COPO process to compete in the automatic classes of NHRA drag racing. The L-78 had recently been introduced in the late 68 Novas, however without an automatic transmission option. Ford and Chrysler didn't have to worry about Chevrolet in the Super Stock ranks, because they were not available until Fred Gibb Chevrolet had these 50 built with a redesigned T-400 behind the L-78. This was the first time Chevrolet would be able to compete in NHRA in the high performance, solid lifter automatic class. NHRA's requirements was a minium of 50 factory built cars with the same specs., to classify them to compete in S/S. From this time on, Chevrolet has continued to compete and do well in these automatic classes.

As many of us grow older, there are many of the younger people who never got to witness what many of us enjoyed during this era, yet many take a deep interest in the history behind them. Only by sharing our knowledge, working together with postive attitudes, will the interest continue to exist about some of the things that transpired? Many have spent a great deal of time and expense to share with others the examples or documentation behind these cars. Many have spent many dollars to bring a piece of junk to some, but a treasure to others, because of the ever continuing effort to preserve history, enjoy the same feeling we older ones endured back in the day, and to demostrate the feeling and love we have for our favorite Chevrolet. Today we can enjoy the creations that the pioneers of the muscle car era with these examples from mild to wild. Because of our love for these cars, we are forever grateful and want to remember these pioneers for their work and the unsure risk they sometimes took because of their devotion to Chevrolet, as we enjoy our cars.

Ray