A C.O.P.O. Camaro

            Gary Talbot has a special car and he knows it. A man who, in his younger years owned a 1967 Camaro and a 1969 Z 28 now has a 1969 Camaro. But one might think that with all of the available Camaros out there, why is this one so special? Gary’s car is a C.O.P.O.

            “C.O.P.O. stands for Central Office Production Order. It meant that the car was a special order directly from the central office,” said Gary. “Not many people knew you could do that .”

            While the records that tracked C.O.P.O. models ordered in 1969 are a bit hazy, there were certainly fewer than 1000 and perhaps as few as 201.

            Since people like the legendary Don Yenko would order C.O.P.O. Camaros and modified them (originally dropping in larger engines among other things) it means that most cars ordered through this program have been altered. Gary’s car, though, hasn’t.

            “It has matching numbers and the original drive train front to rear,” he said.

            All 1969 C.O.P.A. Camaros came with the same set of equipment which included a 427 cubic inch 425 horse power V8 power plant and a M21 four speed transmission.

            He bought the car in 1999 from a seller in Erie, PA but it took quite a lot of calling around to locate exactly what he wanted. In fact, Gary said that he spoke with people in Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Indian and finally Pennsylvania in order to find the car. “One person would say they don’t have one but they knew someone and gave me a phone number,” he added.

            The car had undergone a complete rotisserie restoration in 1991 and is as close to original as you can possibly get.  That same year, according to Gary, this Camaro was featured in a magazine spread about muscle cars.

            With the exception of the carpet and a few odds and ends, the car is 100% original, according to Gary. It’s no wonder this car has been invited to the Concourse d’Elegance. “They call me every year,” he said.

            But after the first five years of owning the car Gary hasn’t shown it much. “This is the first time in a few years. I took a lot of time polishing it up and getting it ready,” he said.

            While he doesn’t run the car a great deal he does admit that “it runs fantastic.” He will start the car on a regular basis and rock it back and forth some during those times when he isn’t out driving it.

            “I’ve just maintained it,” he said. “The key is to keep things clean underneath.”

            With a mint condition, matching numbered ’69 Camaro with a good deal of the paperwork, its little wonder Gary doesn’t get excited about this special car.