The Term "COPO"

[SS427]

I think our hobby would be non existent if not for the racing organizations. These are the reasons why the manufactures did what they did with these cars and without those organizations, we would likely have nothing. Just look what they have done for the trucks in recent years.

[Kurt S]

I agree that the most popular use of the term 'COPO' is for hi-po cars. But a 396/325hp 4 door Chevelle built for the CHiP was also a COPO as was a fleet of cars with trailer hitches.
Realize and accept that the COPO term encompasses more that just hi-po's. COPO was any order that required some engineering/thought as to how to build it and wasn't handled by the RPO system. As Jim states, hi-po's were just one aspect of the COPO system, but it is the reason the COPO system is now known about. Of course that opens the door for abuse of the term by taxi owners, but what can you do. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

As Jim also states and the limited documentation I've seen shows, the ordering of the special colors was not a COPO process. A more accurate statement is that special paint needed Central Office approval.

What throws the special paint nomenclature issue up in the air is when someone advertises a car as a COPO and it clearly says 'Spec Paint / COPO' on the buildsheet, I can't argue about them advertising it as a COPO. It may just have been the person who manually input the comments on that sheet at that one plant used the term. I still agree that the terms special paint and COPO don't go together. And it doesn't mean it's a desireable COPO. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[copo9566aa]

sometimes it is necessary to seek in the baskets to find any good information about COPO process...
This is just a remark.

[JoeC]

The 73 Chevelle wagon has COPO typed on the build sheet. So it appears that special paint has something to do with the COPO process. It is only for the paint not a hi po option. Same with the Yenko Chevelles with special paint. There are three COPO option codes on the build sheet listed below the RPO options. The 427 COPO code, the Yenko COPO code, and a special paint code all on the same line. At least in these two examples the paint appears to be included as a COPO option. Why else would it be right on the build sheet as a COPO option?

[Kurt S]

Joe,
I'm not following:
> The 427 COPO code, the Yenko COPO code, and a special paint code all on the same line. At least in these two
> examples the paint appears to be included as a COPO option.

If there isn't a COPO code listed it isn't a COPO item.
They put all comments in the same area of the sheets. It just happens to follow the other COPO's and require the approval of the same office.
There's no engineering required for a different paint color, just authorization.

As for the wagon, that was 73 and they may have used the term at that plant to indicate there was approval by the Central Office. Who knows? I don't put a lot of weight in that sheet.....

[JoeC]

I see what you mean Kurt but I just can't figure out why the special paint COPO 427 Chevelles have no paint code on the trim tag but has a paint code next to the COPO numbers on the build sheet. The SS 396 Chevelles with special paint have the paint code on the trim tag in normal location. It appears to be part of the COPO option but I am not sure.

[copo9566aa]

Thanks Joe,
this is the question that i`m asking since many years.

[elcamino]

I was around back in those days and ordered a new 1970 SS454 (LS5) from Public Chevrolet in Calumet, MI in spring of 1970. I remember seeing ads for Nickey Chev in Chicago. I had wanted a Buick GS-455 but the local Buick dealer would not order the car for me. Said they did not want to sell any of those cars and to go somewhere else. My 2002 TA came from this Dealer which is still in the same family. I wish I could say I still had that car in the garage. Unfortunately I could not afford to drive the car because of the lousy mileage (10mpg) and high insurance. I went to work for the M-DOT and traveling all over SW michigan on constuction projects was draining my wallet and I traded it for a 1972 El Camino SS350. The car sat on a dealers lot for over a year.

<font color="red">So if I understand it.
A few dealers talked Chevy into building these race cars and to get it built they untilized the COPO process because there was a policy at GM about how big an engine could be installed as a RPO in Camaro and Chevelle, nothing over 400 cid. Then in 1970 all hell broke loose and you could get over 400 CID in the Chevelles and no more need for the COPO process. The COPO system was in existance long before the factory hot rods were built and since those were only a drop in the bucket. little info was published in GM parts etc. </font color> We would get special equipment vehicles at work (state of mich) but I don't know if they were copo's. My '99 suburban was an oddball and built for fleet. Took over a year thru Wheels and when I had brake problems they had to call Chevy to get the right part numbers because none of the parts that the books had would fit. Was a '99 3/4 4x4 sururban on a 1 ton chassis, work truck with Silverado cloth interior and special option package.