MN code COPO engine on eBay

[Tracker1]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-COPO-CAMARO...#ht_8774wt_1202 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-COPO-CAMARO-427-425HP-3963512-ORIGINAL-MN-CODED-ENGINE-/120819303719?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories &vxp=mtr&hash=item1c21644527#ht_8774wt_1202)

[talwell]

Real stampings?

[Vern B]

My Vin is 9N634XXX with TO121MN stamping on the pad. From that, it looks like it could be real to me.

[bergy]

That "4" on the vin usually won't make an impression when the charactor next to it hits that round raised area created by the vent screen in the core box. Anything's possible though. Mine's a late May car with an 0121 January motor - verified by original POP.

[COPO]

Interesting the wider spread between the engine build date and the car build date (3 to 4 months) on these examples. I know several of the 03B Yenkos have MN engines with mid to late Feb. build dates, so much tighter spread than these examples cited. Not always first in first out on the engine inventory obviously.

[BARRY]

hi i had a may car and my block is D- 21 9

[Vern B]

I remember talking to the engineer gentleman (name??) that logged all the engine build numbers from the Tonawanda plant at the Camaro Nationals in Niagra Falls in 1998. He said it was not unusual to run a bunch of engines and they sat in inventory until called for by one of the assembly plants. He also said it was very common to make a fairly large run of engines at the beginning of the run, if it was for a new model, which these COPO cars would be. Too many documented cars out there to have any questions about the date spread.

[SS427]

Was that Fran Preeve? This is exactly what he has told me in the past on other engines such as the LS6.

[69 Post Sedan]

The MN block I had was cast January 27, assembled May 18 and installed in a first week of June car.

From what I understand it was more common in HP cars.

Kurt

[m22mike]

I knew of one July COPO Camaro with Jan cast block.

[Vern B]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SS427</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Was that Fran Preeve? This is exactly what he has told me in the past on other engines such as the LS6.</div></div>

No it wasn't Fran, but Fran was there with the gentleman. I believe Fran was an assembly line superintendent/foreman or some other similar position. This man was older than Fran and had been at Tonawanda during the 60's and was an engineer. I still have his business card at home somewhere. He was the source I first heard the number of 1015 L 72 engines and I assume the source for that number. He had records (numbers) of other big block engines produced, by year at Tonawanda. Quite a source of info and it was records he kept personally, not GM records. Hopefully, they are preserved somewhere.

Believe Fran died a few years ago as I remember??

[SS427]

Yes he did, unfortunately he died of cancer on Christmas day 2008. Does not seem like that long ago! I misspelled his last name, should be Preve.