Introducing........RAT’S NEST

[R68GTO]

Newly discovered / now MacNeish certified COPO from where else……..Ohio. I’m a GTO guy as you can see by my sig but always wanted a 69 Camaro. Started seriously looking last fall to get a gauge on pricing, condition, etc. I really wanted an RS/Z28 but found those all to be more than I wanted to spend.
I recalled a conversation I had with a coworker back in the early 2000’s about a Camaro he owned with low miles. We discussed the car off/on over the next few years - I only saw the car once briefly at a local car show. Black Camaro with gold Z28 stripes and an automatic. I thought to myself at that time - eh, not a real Z since it was an auto. The coworker had retired years ago so we lost touch. Fast-forward 15 years……through a mutual coworker I got his number and gave him a call. He still had the car, but didn’t want to sell it. We discussed the car and he told me that he owned it since the early 1980’s it had a 427 / turbo 400 and it only had 15,000 original miles. He was not interested in selling it.
I told him that if he ever decided to sell it, to give me a call. For the next week, I couldn’t get this car off my mind thinking that even though it was an automatic (I wanted a 4 speed), it would be a great car to build off of if the low mileage claim was true……which I was very skeptical about. The next weekend I called him to ask if I could just come look at it and hopefully I would see something I didn’t want so I could stop thinking about it since he didn’t want to sell anyway. He agreed so I went the following weekend. Stay tuned....

[bbbentley]

I know a little about the car and this is going to be great! Trust me.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

You got the PHS Invoice for it yet ?

[R68GTO]

Not yet BVZ....Mattison is having trouble finding his Norwood stuff

[Bill Pritchard]

This sounds very interesting

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by R68GTO

....Mattison is having trouble finding his Norwood stuff

So typical , and just when you needed him most.

I also have an old affliction with 69 Camaro.
Comes and Goes , have been able to keep it moderated without meds- so far.
Seems like unaware COPO's are the only hope for a poor boy anymore.
Hope you scored a sweet deal.

We are going to lose interest if you dont at least tell us what colors the car originally was ! Goldenrod ? Carousel ? Matador ?

[The Boss]

In for the ride...

[R68GTO]

The owner had mentioned to me years ago that he sometimes wondered if it might be a COPO but didn’t think it was (not original engine) and even had someone come look at it and determined that it wasn’t. With that nugget of info in my head I did some research on what to look for in a COPO car. Being a novice (I still am), I was looking for a curve neck radiator, big block heater core, disc brakes, 140 mph speedo, 12 bolt BE rear end.
When I saw the car and started looking it over, I fairly quickly believed it was true a low mileage car. The owner stated it was rust free and had all original interior. The interior certainly looked the part and the body was pretty rust free with just a couple of spots that looked a little funky in the rear inner wheel houses. Rockers and floor/trunk pans looked perfect. It had a few of the COPO signs I was looking for (disc brakes, BB heater core) but was missing others (curve neck radiator, 12 bolt rear, 140 speedo). He again mentioned the COPO possibility but again dismissed it since he had a local “car guy” check it out - that guy told him it was a small block car. Here’s what the car looked like when I inspected it in his garage.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Man that car really is in nice shape top to bottom. (saw picture of stone lodged in leaf spring shackle)
Looks more like a well kept NC car than a lifelong Ohio resident.

Interior speaks for itself , and the mileage.

The previous owner really took great care of it.
He will be SICK when/if he gets news of the central office deal.

Have never heard anyone say anything negative about LeMans Blue .
Believe you're in pretty good shape with this Chevrolet

[Unreal]

For the future, most COPOs did not have the 140MPH speedo. All of Yenko-ordered COPOs for conversion (ie adding badges and stripes) were "Double COPO" (9561 and 9737) as well as a few other COPOs. However most of the estimated 1000 COPOs had standard Camaro 120 MPH speedos.