Summary

GM Canada-documented, frame-off rotisserie restoration. L72 427ci V8 engine, M21 4-speed transmission, optional Monaco Orange paint and radio and stripe delete. Decoding of Cowl Tag, casting numbers and date codes included.

Details

Powered by a L72 427ci V8 engine paired with a Muncie M21 4-speed transmission and a 12-bolt rear end, this 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle COPO 427 is a GM-documented original COPO 9566 AA. It was factory-finished in extra-cost optional Monaco Orange paint (known as Hugger Orange on Camaros) over Trim Code 756 Black upholstery. Both the radio and stripe options were deleted. Other factory options are numerous, including A51 front bucket seats, a D55 floor console, a G80 posi-traction rear axle with G84 4.10 ratio, J50 power brakes with J52 front discs, a Muncie M21 close-ratio 4-speed manual transmission, U14 tachometer and clock, and ZN1 front and rear springs. Following assembly at GM's Baltimore, MD, factory, the Chevelle was shipped to Wheaton Chev-Olds Ltd. in Regina, Saskatchewan, on July 22, 1969. All COPO-based cars were limited-production items bound mainly for Yenko Chevrolet and other select performance-minded Chevy dealers. According to muscle car experts, as many as 323 COPO Chevelles were produced, based on the upscale Malibu trim level, including COPO 9562 with 15x6-inch Rally wheels and COPO 9566 AA reserved for non-Yenko delivery, with 14-inch SS-type wheels. Of the 323 cars, 99 would become Yenko Super Chevelles, and only an estimated 17 to 22 COPO Chevelles were exported new to Canada. While General Motors enacted a self-enforced anti-racing policy in 1963, its Chevrolet division quietly continued developing and offering a fast-growing array of options, resulting in some of the most fearsome high-performance cars to ever roll off an assembly line. Instrumental in that process was Chevrolet's COPO (Corporate Office Production Order) system normally used for processing large fleet-vehicle orders. Well-connected to GM management, Pennsylvanian Chevy dealer and racer Don Yenko began employing the COPO system by 1968 to avoid having to swap engines to create his hot L72 427-powered Super Camaros and Super Chevelles. For 1969, Chevrolet's Product Promotion Engineering Department created several comprehensive COPO option packages for wicked 427-powered F-Body Camaros, including COPO 9560 (aluminum ZL1 427) and COPO 9561 (iron L72 427), plus COPO 9562 (iron-block 427) Chevelles. From the Frank Tiegs Collection.