Why so many COPO's from Ohio area?

[olredalert]

-----Thanks Mike. Chris tracked it down, huh! I wonder if the car is done as I didnt see a date on the video......Bill S

[John Brown]

Video was posted on Youtube April 22 2009.

[old5.0]

Well, I don't know about the farmers not buying hot rods. In Marshall County Kansas, I know of more than a dozen Hemi cars that exist currently or did exist at one time. I know of 3 Judges that came out of Bergren Chevrolet/Pontiac/Cadillac in Marysville, the county seat. The Ford dealer, Boss Motors, sold numerous Boss Mustangs, including 5 or 6 Boss 351s. I've seen pics of two LS6 Chevelles and a 69 L78 Camaro that came out of Whiteway Chevrolet in Frankfort, KS, a town of about 1,000 people just down the road from Marysville. I know of at least half a dozen 428 Mach 1s, 69 and 70 models, from restored cars to junk shells that have been in the area their whole lives. I've also heard realiable stories about 3 different Shelbys and a 67 or 8 Nickey Camaro that existed around there years ago.

I don't think the problem was nobody was buying them, I just don't think many of them survived. I don't know what the salvage yard situation in Ohio is like, but eastern Kansas and Southeast Nebraska were overrun with little mom n' pop yards at one time. I can think of 15 or 20 within 40 miles of Marysville just off the top of my head, and I'm sure there were more that I've never heard of.

Many of those went out of business within the last 20 years or so and crushed out. I'm sure that didn't help the local musclecar population any. Again, I don't know about Ohio, but that stuff just didn't sit around in fields for decades back here. Add in the fact that despite the amount of hot rod iron sold around there, few people in that particular area care much about old cars, and there's damn little of that stuff left. Just pictures and stories.

As far as COPOs, a friend's dad worked for Bergren as a mechanic for 30 years, and he's mentioned a couple of Camaros with 427s running around town. Whether they were COPOs, and where they may have come from new, I couldn't say. I can say that Mac's in Crete and Van-T in Topeka were both a fairly short drive from Marysville.

[Stefano]

Check out the latest issue of Muscle Car Review. The COPO Chevelle was on display at MCACN, as well as SCR XIII.

[69z28302]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Stefano</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Check out the latest issue of Muscle Car Review. The COPO Chevelle was on display at MCACN, as well as SCR XIII.

</div></div>

Is this it Stefano?

[Stefano]

That looks like the Bob McDorman, Original owner, double COPO Chevelle.

[Stefano]

McDorman Double COPO Chevelle.


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[ChevyThunder]

My COPO Camaro and the white and blue x44 copo from tiny little Hairston Chevrolet in Chesapeake on the Ohio River . The 2000 Census has the population at 842 . Who knows what it was in 1969.

Both cars were bought in Ohio but immediately when across the river to West Virginia to live

[69z28302]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChevyThunder</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My COPO Camaro and the white and blue x44 copo from tiny little Hairston Chevrolet in Chesapeake on the Ohio River . The 2000 Census has the population at 842 . Who knows what it was in 1969.

Both cars were bought in Ohio but immediately when across the river to West Virginia to live </div></div>

Isn't that right across the river from Huntington WV?

Mike

[copo69]

Yep, right across the river...pretty big area when you take Huntington WV, Ashland Ky., and all the towns on the Ohio side of the Ohio river.