Hi there, long time lover of muscle cars and since the German cars are sold I'm on the hunt for a nice Chevelle, Charger, Challenger, Mustang, Cuda etc from the 60's or 70's.

I happened to find an ad stating the '69 Camaro was a COPO all but the transmission that was replaced many many years aog. How do I tell without letting the owner know what I'm trying to learn?

Is it hard to tell? A simple VIN check? Also what should I look for in terms of the body to see if it's a COPO?

Also what should I check for in terms of common issues on the car?

Thanks for yout time.

Neil

 

Wow, you are actually asking a broad question. If I ever came across a COPO for sale I would already go at it as a fake. Obviously it must have the 427 in it. Also it shoul have some documentation. I guess I could clone mine, get a bunch of numbers maching stuff and say its a COPO but without documents there really is no way to verify it over the internet. There are a lot of books written about just this thing, I would recomend getting ahold of one of those. If it is advertised as a COPO the owner is going to KNOW you are trying to learn about the car, there is no way you can look without him/her knowing that you are trying to verify it.

 

I have a guy who's emailing me a few things for what to look for. I too think it's either a clone or just a guy trying to get more attention.

They did all have the V8's and as for documentation I'll see what he has. Can I call Chevy USA or something and give them the VIN numbers to see if it's a real car if he doesn't have the documentations to back up the car?

Also how many regular Camaros were sold in '69?

Even if it isn't a COPO car but still in great shape with 45,000 miles would it be worth $10,000 US?

Thanks for the help so far. I'll post pictures later when I see the car.

 

over 190,000 regular V8's. The vin wont tell you the trim package, the cowl tag might have some info, its on the fire wall behind the master cylinder. get those pic's up when you get a chance. I would say 10k is a decent starting point, depending on the condition. You can try chevy but they will tall you the same thing, the records they keep dont go back that far so you will probably have no luck there, but you could try.

 

They sold 190,000 V8 Camaros in '69?! Wow!

So you think $10,000 is a good point to start out for a regular Non copo Camaro?

Also what would you do to verify the car if you were looking to document it?

Sorry to ask so many questions but I've only just started looking at muscle cars and I do appreciate your time and info.

 

I was unable to meet up with the owners tonight, we'll try tomorrow.

Thanks.

 

There were something like 243,000 1969 Camaro's made.
Depending on the condition I would start somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 - 10 k.
Go look on ebay for an idea of an inflated price, I have see or heard of all kinds of different sales and deals. The bottom line is that it is worth whatever you are willing to pay.
The question of validity of the car is very broad, there is ALOT of things to look for. The vin number you see under the windshield will give you very little info, the cowl tag however, will give you just enough to get by. Unfortunately the records at chevy are gone and anyone can do a good clone and, whithout documents to prove otherwise, could say they have any kind of trim (SS/RS, Z28 etc...) they want.
I recimmend going out and getting some liturature on your car, or you could just ask here, I try to get on at least everyday and will be more thsan happy to answer any question, if I can.

 

Thanks for the help. I've been unable to get ahold of the owners by email as they didn't post their number that's the only way I can contact them.

It may have sold, it could be some sort of scam or they could be older and not check their emails everyday.

I'll keep you posted whichever way it turns out.

Thanks for all the usefull info so far.

Neil

 

post a pic of the vin # if possible there is a database kept by a reputable well know car guy. he has a list of Known copo car's maybe the vin is on his list.

 

where can I find that list?