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  • Image of COPO Camaro, Chevelle & Nova: Chevrolet's Ultimate Muscle Cars
  • Image of COPO Camaro, Chevelle & Nova: Chevrolet's Ultimate Muscle Cars

COPO Camaro, Chevelle & Nova: Chevrolet's Ultimate Muscle Cars

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Product Code: CT620
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COPO Camaro, Chevelle & Nova: Chevrolet's Ultimate Muscle Cars

Your Price:
$44.95
Currently out of stock

Retrace the history of how Don Yenko and other performance-minded individuals used a loophole in GM’s COPO program to create the ultimate Camaros, Chevelles, Novas and more, despite a corporate racing ban.

Chevy muscle car aficionado and author Matt Avery scoured archives and tracked down owners and personnel involved in the program to deliver a comprehensive story and complete guide to the COPO cars. The COPO muscle car and racing program produced a storied and remarkable journey, and Avery captures all these facets in this entertaining and revealing history.

While few knew about this back-channel program at the time, it is now recognized as the origin of GM’s top muscle cars. Dedicated Chevy racers and car owners were determined to compete head to head with Mopar and Ford at the racetrack and on the street. But in order to do so, they needed to circumvent the corporate racing ban and resolve the restriction of 400-ci engines in intermediate vehicles. The COPO program was designated for fleet vehicles such as taxicabs, but at the peak of the muscle car wars, it was used to build the ultimate high-performance Chevy muscle cars.

Don Yenko became the COPO muscle car program champion. He ordered the Corvair through the COPO program and created the Corvair Stinger to mount a SCCA road race campaign. From these humble beginnings, the road map for creating the ultimate Camaros, Chevelles, and Novas was established. Factory Camaro V-8s came equipped with the 350 small-block or 396 big-block, which had to compete with the Mustang Cobra Jets and Mopar Wedge and Hemi cars. In response, building the big-block Camaro through the COPO program was devised. At the factory, Camaros were fitted with the 396 engines and shipped to dealers where the 427s were installed in the cars.

From 1967 to 1969, the factory and dealers installed eight different 427 engines, including the all-aluminum ZL1 427. Later on, others used the road map to build COPO Novas and Chevelles to similar spec with similar results. The COPO performance car program did not end with these muscle cars. Yenko even ordered several hundred Vegas through the COPO program, so they could be fitted with turbochargers and raced in SCCA competition.

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Retrace the history of how Don Yenko and other performance-minded individuals used a loophole in GM’s COPO program to create the ultimate Camaros, Chevelles, Novas and more, despite a corporate racing ban.

Chevy muscle car aficionado and author Matt Avery scoured archives and tracked down owners and personnel involved in the program to deliver a comprehensive story and complete guide to the COPO cars. The COPO muscle car and racing program produced a storied and remarkable journey, and Avery captures all these facets in this entertaining and revealing history.

While few knew about this back-channel program at the time, it is now recognized as the origin of GM’s top muscle cars. Dedicated Chevy racers and car owners were determined to compete head to head with Mopar and Ford at the racetrack and on the street. But in order to do so, they needed to circumvent the corporate racing ban and resolve the restriction of 400-ci engines in intermediate vehicles. The COPO program was designated for fleet vehicles such as taxicabs, but at the peak of the muscle car wars, it was used to build the ultimate high-performance Chevy muscle cars.

Don Yenko became the COPO muscle car program champion. He ordered the Corvair through the COPO program and created the Corvair Stinger to mount a SCCA road race campaign. From these humble beginnings, the road map for creating the ultimate Camaros, Chevelles, and Novas was established. Factory Camaro V-8s came equipped with the 350 small-block or 396 big-block, which had to compete with the Mustang Cobra Jets and Mopar Wedge and Hemi cars. In response, building the big-block Camaro through the COPO program was devised. At the factory, Camaros were fitted with the 396 engines and shipped to dealers where the 427s were installed in the cars.

From 1967 to 1969, the factory and dealers installed eight different 427 engines, including the all-aluminum ZL1 427. Later on, others used the road map to build COPO Novas and Chevelles to similar spec with similar results. The COPO performance car program did not end with these muscle cars. Yenko even ordered several hundred Vegas through the COPO program, so they could be fitted with turbochargers and raced in SCCA competition.

Pages : 204
Size : 10 X 10 (inches)
Format : Hardback
Illustrations : 297 color, 72 b/w photos
Publisher : CarTech
ISBN : 9781613253915
Product Code : CT620

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Yenko Corvair Stinger

A Rear-Engined Compact Becomes Road Race Weapon

 

Chapter 2: 1967 Camaro 427 Conversions    

Building the Perfect Big-Block Beast

 

Chapter 3: 1968 Yenko Super Camaro

Super Car Production Gears Up and Evolves

 

Chapter 4: The Gibb Chevy II Nova Super Sport

A Muscle Car of Epic Proportion

 

Chapter 5: The ZL1 Camaro

The Ultimate Camaro

 

Chapter 6: The Camaro (1969)

COPO Super Car Production Ramps Up

 

Chapter 7: 1969 COPO Chevelle

A Giant Leap Beyond the Common Chevelle

 

Chapter 8: The 1970 Yenko Deuce Nova

The King Kong of Nova Muscle Cars

 

Chapter 9: The 1970-1/2 COPO Camaro

Winging it: Chasing down a Win

 

Chapter 10: The Vega Yenko Stinger

“Muscle’s not dead, just breathing hard . . .”

 

Appendix 1 COPO MUSCLE CARS: All 69 1969 ZL1 Camaros

Appendix 2 Gibb’s Novas

Index

COPO Camaro, Chevelle & Nova: Chevrolet's Ultimate Muscle Cars

$44.95

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