Seeking Info About This Gorries-Golden Mile COPO

[JJR69COPO]

I am seeking information about this COPO Camaro purchased from Gorries-Golden Mile by Tom Hurst of Ontario on September 29, 1969.

Hurst raced the car at Dragway Park in Ontario in 1973. Hurst sold the car to Peter Janda of Ontario in October 1985. Janda imported the car to Florida in August of 1993. Janda passed around 2010 or 2011, after which the car was sold at auction to the third owner who stored it in a warehouse in Palm Springs for over 10 years.

I purchased the car in 2022 and have been doing a ground up, nut and bolt concourse restoration. I plan to show it at MCACN in November.

If you have any information about this car, including old Polaroids, drag strip time slips, contact information for the relatives of prior owners, etc., I would very much appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks,

Jim
925-984-0671

[scuncio]

Nice car! My L78 spent a lot of time in Dragway Park, and was sold new in Ottawa.

[1967 4K]

Great color! My favorite. 👍👍👍

[R68GTO]

Looks like my old COPO except for spoilers. What was the build date on the car? Mine was a late September build

[BARRY]

HI I new Tom Hurst he lived in Milton Ontario Canada that car hit a guard rail in the 70s i did some paint repair on that copo When i showed up with my copo Camaro he found it hard to believe two where at the same show .

[JJR69COPO]

Thanks to all for responding!

It's an 06A D80 car with a shipping date of June 30th, 1969.

BARRY, based on the nature of the damage to the passenger quarter and outer wheelhouse, and the uncashed winnings check from Dragway Park I found under the dash pad when I disassembled the interior and dash wiring, we had speculated that a guardrail was the culprit. Do you know if the wreck happened at the track? Street race? (Either would make for a better story!) Do you still have any photos of both cars at any shows?

Thanks again, all.

[JJR69COPO]

Thanks for the call today, Barry.

[JJR69COPO]

1crossram, thanks for the PM with the info about Peter Janda.

[JJR69COPO]

A special thanks and shout-out to mrays for taking the time to locate the photos he took of the car in 2011 when it sold at auction in Indiana. He also recalled seeing the car in a Letter to the Editor in the February 1985 issue of Super Chevy Magazine and very kindly located and sent me photos of the pages. The Letter to the Editor was written by the original owner, Tom Hurst, and included a photo of the car in 1985 and some very helpful history about the car not being registered since 1973, for about 12 years, and only having 21,000 miles on the odometer. This helps validate the current odometer reading of just over 21,600 miles, and explains the original drivetrain, and why the body is rust free and the interior is nearly perfect but for the dash pad. Hurst also stated he took delivery of the car on September 29, 1969, which matches the POP, Warranty Booklet, and Gorries-Golden Mile Dealer Folder.

If anyone has any additional information about this Canadian COPO, I'd very much appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks again to all that helped me.

Jim
925-984-0671

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

A special thanks and shout-out to mrays for taking the time to locate the photos he took of the car in 2011 when it sold at auction in Indiana. He also recalled seeing the car in a Letter to the Editor in the February 1985 issue of Super Chevy Magazine and very kindly located and sent me photos of the pages. The Letter to the Editor was written by the original owner, Tom Hurst, and included a photo of the car in 1985 and some very helpful history about the car not being registered since 1973, for about 12 years, and only having 21,000 miles on the odometer. This helps validate the current odometer reading of just over 21,600 miles, and explains the original drivetrain, and why the body is rust free and the interior is nearly perfect but for the dash pad. Hurst also stated he took delivery of the car on September 29, 1969, which matches the POP, Warranty Booklet, and Gorries-Golden Mile Dealer Folder.

If anyone has any additional information about this Canadian COPO, I'd very much appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks again to all that helped me.

Jim
925-984-0671

Colesy’s Place is a wealth of knowledge!!!

Reach out to Bill, he will have info for sure!!

PS: Do you have the NCRS docs? VVS Vintage Vehicle Services GM Of Canada? UVIP Used Vehicle Information Package?

Ryan W31

[LT1vette]

Who was driving the GM Camaro drag car? Rick Eaton?

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Who was driving the GM Camaro drag car? Rick Eaton?

Looks like you’re right. (Or midyr :-)

Ryan W31

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

The same Lance Hill that drove the Belmont Chevy Camaro?

Yes of course.

Ryan W31

[LT1vette]

Says. Dick Aarons racing engines on back quarters...

Also.. Didn't Eaton have his own car and Lance drove the Golden car?

[427strato]

Great to see a Canadian COPO. I often wonder what became of the yellow COPO camaro that I looked at in the summer of 1969 in Hamilton, Ontario at Maurice Carter Chev. Olds. It was already sold when I saw it and was in their compound across the street from the dealership. Has that car ever been accounted for or is it lost?

[JJR69COPO]

The third owner gave me this pic. He believes it was taken in the 90s with Peter Janda next to the car. Can anyone confirm if the person in the photo is in fact Janda? Tom Hurst, the original owner?

Thanks again to everyone who contacted me.

Jim

[turbo69bird]

Very cool
Car thanks for sharing it with us. Very cool

[JJR69COPO]

Looking for a dealer key fob from either Gorries or Golden Mile Chevrolet/Olds.

Please PM or text me photos if you have one of these key fobs for sale.

Just had the body painted and still planning to show the car at the Legends booth at MCACN in November.

Thanks,

Jim
925-984-0671

[LT1vette]

The third owner gave me this pic. He believes it was taken in the 90s with Peter Janda next to the car. Can anyone confirm if the person in the photo is in fact Janda? Tom Hurst, the original owner?

Thanks again to everyone who contacted me.

Jim

I just saw this car in Florida in March !!!! Not the same guy in the picture

[JJR69COPO]

Must have been another Lemans Blue COPO in Florida. Here's mine in March in Colorado after media blasting.

LT1vette, are you sure I can't coax you to part with that Golden Mile fob hanging in your garage?

[AnthonyS]

Hey Jim, so everyone can see one as a reference, in order to keep an eye out for you:

Here's what Gorries' rear panel dealer emblem looks like.

Of course, this one has some primer overspray and a hole drilled through it... but you all get the gist

Cheers!
Anthony

[PeteLeathersac]

‘

Here’s three styles including one above, anyone know if there were more also years used?
I’d expect the script style was earliest then square shape and decals last?:hmmm:
Top one is in my collection but I’m easily tricked if someone in need w/ correct car for it.
:beers:
~ Pete

.

[AnthonyS]

Yes Pete, very cool.

The aluminum plate version is what was originally on our early build 69 - so, I believe that's likely contemporary to the 1968/69 timeframe.

I agree the script is likely earliest with the decal later.

Cheers!

[PeteLeathersac]

‘

Here’s a couple Golden Mile pics plus the other Rick Eaton shot from a previous thread, I have more G’ Mile stuff saved on my old computer I’ll dig up and post later.
Has Lance been contacted yet to see if he has the Original Dealer Sale Paperwork for this subject car from Jerry’s files? Best email him, pm if you need contact info.
:beers:
~ Pete

.

[scuncio]

Painful to see a hole drilled through such a rare emblem.

Hey Jim, so everyone can see one as a reference, in order to keep an eye out for you:

Here's what Gorries' rear panel dealer emblem looks like.

Of course, this one has some primer overspray and a hole drilled through it... but you all get the gist

Cheers!
Anthony

[AnthonyS]

Painful to see a hole drilled through such a rare emblem.

GOSH! Don't have to tell me! GAH!

[LT1vette]

Must have been another Lemans Blue COPO in Florida. Here's mine in March in Colorado after media blasting.

LT1vette, are you sure I can't coax you to part with that Golden Mile fob hanging in your garage?

You're right. Here's the one pic of the car, can't get the other one to download. BUT I have seen the Ontario COPO license plate somewhere??

[LT1vette]

Heres the other picture

[PeteLeathersac]

‘

Here’s a couple Gorries Ads from summer of ‘69, note 07/26/69 Ad has 3x 427 Camaros in Green, Blue, Gold but a week later Ad 08/02/69, only the Green one?
I know the Subject Blue M40 car Delivery Date was 09/29/69 but what’s the Build Date?
No Trans noted in the Ads also I didn’t see any Sept. Ads for 427 cars but will look again.
:beers:
~ Pete

.

[JJR69COPO]

Pete, thanks for all the great info!!!

I checked with Lance back when I bought the car. He did not have the sales records. The salesperson was C. H. Niazi, per the Golden Mile dealer folder that included the key codes and original owner Hurst's insurance information. A photo of the folder is on page 1 of this thread.

According to the NCRS report, the car's production date was June 24, 1969. The GM production records and the Vintage Vehicle Report state that the shipping date was June 30, 1969.

It's plausible that the car is the blue one listed for sale in the July 26th Gorries Ad. The service records/Owner's Adjustment Card state(s) that the car had a bad oil leak before Hurst even took delivery. This new car problem along with the rarely ordered T400 automatic transmission may explain why the car didn't sell until September 29th?

[PeteLeathersac]

‘

Considering Build Date, the Blue car in the 07/69 Ad is likely your LB car but looking again, I found this below 09/26/69 Gorries/G’Mile Ad w/ 2x 427 Camaros.
Way cool description also timeline fits so good chance the Royal Blue “Sleeper” is your car?
:beers:
~ Pete

.

[PeteLeathersac]

‘

Last try searching w/ incorrect ‘Camero’ spelling yielded this 08/69 Gorries Ad.
Not the Blue 9561 but looks like the Green car was a Demo, Frost Green M40 w/ D80, does Special Instrumentation = 140 Speedo/9737?
Sadly, the Frost Green car sounds like N660749, real car MIA and fake built/sold as this linked thread…
https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=104704
:beers:
~ Pete

.

[JJR69COPO]

Pete, thanks for taking the time to post the Gorries newspaper ads. I'm thinking the "Sleeper" ad dated 9-26-69, three days before Hurst took delivery, is probably the same car.

On a related note, I am happy to report that we did not find any Frost Green paint when we stripped my car's underside. I must admit that I paused for a moment when I read the ad for the Frost Green Demo car because the options on both cars are nearly identical.

Still looking for a Gorries Golden Mile key fob or any other dealer items.

Thanks again to everyone who posted and or called me.

Jim

[Tracker1]

Heres the other picture

That is Bruno Beltrame's SS396 car, not a COPO.