COPO 427 Camaro With “Low Miles” Sells In Auction

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Welcome this COPO Camaro to the 21st century.
I would love to have this beautiful blue machine-AKA-MONSTUH in my corral.
I'm sure with a few tweaks here and there this COPO would make a GNARLY street fighter! It's true that it doesn't have as much HP as some of today's factory street machines. But it still would make a great street warrior. Or, as it's built for the strip, I'm sure it turns out some low ET's.
Tell me, what would you do with it if it were yours? Would you race it, turn it into a street machine, show it at muscle car events, garage it, etc.?
There's no denying it, this COPO Camaro would be a sheep in wolves clothing on the street.

 
Seems like a lot of sacrifice for 470hp but i suppose being 7.0l its pretty under stressed
 
Seems like a lot of sacrifice for 470hp but i suppose being 7.0l its pretty under stressed
When I first saw the header of the article, I was expecting to see a Camaro with about a 1K+ horsepower engine under the hood. After seeing it was only 470 horsepower that's why I stated it would be a somewhat Gnarly Street Monstuh.
 
Every time a post pops up for one of these types of cars (COPO, Drag Pack, or Cobra Jet), someone will inevitably post things about the horsepower numbers, compare it to a Hellcat, then scoff at the price.

It's a race car built around class rules. The 5th and 6th Gen COPO was originally based around NHRA Super Stock and Stock Eliminator rules. There are rules about engine displacement, whether the engine has a power adder or not, and minimum weights. It's also an index class that runs with a handicap, so outright ETs aren't the goal. The cars are designed to run to a specific index ET, hence the very relaxed power numbers and the 8.50-certified cage.

While unbelievable to some, these types of cars are so popular that the NHRA has created an entire class just for them: Factory Stock or FSS.

You don't need 1,200 HP to run an 8.50 index in a proper race car that weighs 3,300 lbs. To illustrate this, I'll point to Cleetus McFarland. His channel just built a Fox-body Mustang with a twin turbo 7.3L Godzilla that runs methanol. It made 760hp on pump gas, so I'd imagine more than 900hp on methanol. It ran an 8.47 (before shredding the bottom end, because what do you expect from a stock Godzilla with a couple turbos on methanol). Just about what a COPO 427 runs with half the power.

What a built street car needs to run an 8.50: 7.3L, two turbos, methanol, and a very high-strung 900ish hp
What a proper race car needs to run an 8.50: 7.0L, no power added, race gas, and a super-relaxed 470 hp
 
^ Great post. My impression of these cars is they're a way to buy a safe well built turn key drag car. Dennis Collins on YT bought one for his daughter to drag race. If I had play money for one I'd send it on the track. Street racing is dumb.
 
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I would race it one or two different days and see what I could run for quarter mile times. My little brother has a 750 hp Camaro ZL-1 with the track pack. I would turn the car into a street machine and use it mainly for local car shows. Drag racing is a blast but it gets so expensive because sooner or later parts break and it's not fun paying the piper.
 

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What kind of hoops does one have to jump through to get a VIN for a COPO? They're sold through the parts department.
 
What kind of hoops does one have to jump through to get a VIN for a COPO? They're sold through the parts department.
I could be wrong, but I believe these cars were named COPO only for a marketing tie in to the 60s versions. They were actually a specific built production model that were more along the lines of the original Z28 program (maybe even the ZL1 since production was so limited).
 
I could be wrong, but I believe these cars were named COPO only for a marketing tie in to the 60s versions. They were actually a specific built production model that were more along the lines of the original Z28 program (maybe even the ZL1 since production was so limited).
You could be right, but I did notice a serial number on what looks like window sticker. No mention of a VIN.
 
I think you are correct. These cars were built strictly for racing, and cannot be licensed for the street. As an unregisterable race car it makes sense it wouldn't need a VIN.
Pretty much takes away the opportunity to street race unless you're willing to risk losing it to the police when you get caught.
 
Every time a post pops up for one of these types of cars (COPO, Drag Pack, or Cobra Jet), someone will inevitably post things about the horsepower numbers, compare it to a Hellcat, then scoff at the price.

It's a race car built around class rules. The 5th and 6th Gen COPO was originally based around NHRA Super Stock and Stock Eliminator rules. There are rules about engine displacement, whether the engine has a power adder or not, and minimum weights. It's also an index class that runs with a handicap, so outright ETs aren't the goal. The cars are designed to run to a specific index ET, hence the very relaxed power numbers and the 8.50-certified cage.

While unbelievable to some, these types of cars are so popular that the NHRA has created an entire class just for them: Factory Stock or FSS.

You don't need 1,200 HP to run an 8.50 index in a proper race car that weighs 3,300 lbs. To illustrate this, I'll point to Cleetus McFarland. His channel just built a Fox-body Mustang with a twin turbo 7.3L Godzilla that runs methanol. It made 760hp on pump gas, so I'd imagine more than 900hp on methanol. It ran an 8.47 (before shredding the bottom end, because what do you expect from a stock Godzilla with a couple turbos on methanol). Just about what a COPO 427 runs with half the power.

What a built street car needs to run an 8.50: 7.3L, two turbos, methanol, and a very high-strung 900ish hp
What a proper race car needs to run an 8.50: 7.0L, no power added, race gas, and a super-relaxed 470 hp
No, Man. I think you are confusing Index Racing with ET racing. No 470 horsepower, 3300 pound car, could, ever, run an 8.50 ET in the 1/4 mile. You demonstrated this, to yourself, in your last paragraph and last two sentences............ .02.
 
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