1969 SS 396
The Central Office Production Order (COPO) Chevelle
It is believed that Don Yenko was behind the inception of this COPO option, allowing his SYC promotion of the hot S/C Chevelles without the need for the time-consuming and expensive engine swaps. Yenko took a COPO car and added distinctive custom side and hood striping, along with 427 and crest emblems.
Chevrolet built 86,307 SS Chevelles in 1969, and of that number, 323 were COPO cars. Of those elite 323, 99 were sent to Yenko to be transformed into a Yenko S/C Chevelle at his Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, dealership.
Yenko had hopes of keeping this now-infamous loophole a secret that only he could take advantage of. But that secret didn't last long. Berger Chevrolet began ordering Camaros and Chevelles for their own purposes, and so did several other dealerships-some of which just sold off the cars unmolested to their customers. Chevrolet's ordering guidelines specified that any and all COPO cars built had to be available to any Chevrolet dealer, and it is known that 17 COPO cars were sent to Canada.
in stock trim these COPO Chevelles could cover the quarter mile in 13.3 seconds at 108 mph. Several COPO options were available. The basic COPO 9562 or 9566 deleted the L78, a 396-cu.in. 375hp engine and added the L72 427.RPO NC8 chambered exhaust was an available option and equipped on a limited number of Chevelles.
All COPO Chevelles carry one of the option codes below:
9562AA: Four-speed transmission and Positraction
9562BA: M40 three-speed automatic transmission and Positraction
9562CD: Four-speed manual, special contour bucket seats, COPO tires
and special-order springs
9562CE: Same as above, excludes bucket seats
9562DD: M40 automatic, bucket seats, COPO tires and special springs
9562DE: Same as above, minus bucket seats
9562EA: Four-speed manual transmission, Positraction, J52 disc
brakes and L78 tires
9562FA: Same as above, except M40 automatic replaced four-speed
9566AA: Same as 9562EA with the exception of tires (used RPO PL5
14s)
9566BA: Same as 9562FA with the exception of tires (used RPO Pl5
14s)
9694CA: Four-speed together with 9562, 9737 and RPO J50 vacuum power
brakes (This option modified RPO J52 power brakes)
9694CB: Three-speed automatic transmission together with 9562DD,
9737LD and RPO J50 vacuum power brakes (This option modified RPO J52
power disc brakes)
9737LD: Sports car Conversion/ Yenko. This option was 15-inch tires
and Rally wheels.
Only the 9566 options were non-Yenko cars; Yenko cars carried 9562, 9694, and 9737 codes.
| L72 Engine Identification | ||
| COPO Number | Assembly part Number | Code (Qty built) |
| COPO 9562 | 3964268 | MP - Automatic (93) |
| COPO 9562 | 3964269 | MQ - Manual (265) |
| Note | Group | Description |
| 1 | AA | Model 13637 with 4-speed manual transmission and Positraction rear axle assembly. |
| 1 | BA | Model 13637 with 3-speed automatic transmission and Positraction rear axle assembly. |
| CD | Model 13637 with 4-speed manual transmission and Positraction rear axle assembly. Contour bucket seats, COPO tires, and special order springs. | |
| CE | Same as above but without bucket seats. | |
| DD | Model 13637 with 3-speed automatic transmission and Positraction rear axle assembly. Contour bucket seats, COPO tires, and special order springs. | |
| DE | Same as above but without bucket seats. | |
| 2 | EA | Model 13637 with 4-speed manual transmission, Positraction rear axle assembly, RPO J52 disc brakes, and RPO L78 tires. |
| 3 | FA | Same as above but with 3-speed automatic transmission in lieu of the 4-speed manual. |
| NOTES | ||
| 1 | Used as a combination with COPO option 9694 front disc brakes | |
| 2 | Service stock list applicable to COPO option 9566 AA is the same as option 9562 EA with exception of the tires. | |
| 3 | Service stock list applicable to COPO option 9566 BA is the same as option 9562 FA with exception of the tires. |
All normal service parts are found in regular catalog listings. The supplemental information is furnished for greater detail, assembly and components peculiar or special to the vehicle involved.
| PARTS LIST - CHEVELLE 13637 SERIES VEHICLE - COPO OPTION 9562 | ||||||||||
| UPC 4 | ||||||||||
| PARTS NO. | NAME | GROUP NO. | AA | BA | CD | CE | DD | DE | EA | FA |
| (3) 3963988 * | Axle Asm. -Rear-H.D. 4.10 Ratio (new) | 5.386 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3917971 | Hypoid Drive Gear & Pinion Unit (4.10 to 1.00 ratio) (service only) |
5.529 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3916234 | Differential and Case Assembly | 5.510 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| UPC 6 | ||||||||||
| (1) 3964269 * | Engine Asm-As Shipped | 0.000 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - |
| (2) 3964268 * | Engine Asm-As Shipped | 0.000 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 |
| 3958657 | Pan Unit-Oil | 1.426 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3899621 | Housing-Clutch | 0.683 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - |
| 3892632 | Fork Assembly-Clutch | 0.795 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - |
| 3975921 * | Manifold-Exhaust-L.H. | 3.601 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
(1) Identical with 3933143 product
released on 15400-600-16400 series with RPO L72 except as noted.
(2) Identical with 3933143 product released
on 15400-600-16400 series with RPO M20 except as noted.
(3) Identical with 3954445 product released
on 13200-400-600 and 800 series (1968) and 13427-437-637-667 and 380 series (1969)
vehicles with RPO G60 except as noted.
* Obtained from Central Office
It appears that only the 9566 options would have been used on non-Yenko orders.
Yenko orders would have carried 9562, 9694 and 9737 codes. Of the 323 reportedly
built, Don Yenko got 99, 17 went to Canada, and the remainder to any Chevrolet dealer
that wanted to order them.
No matter what package you ordered, all of these cars included a special heavy-duty rear axle with special heat-treated 4.10:1 gears.
Records differ on just how many 4-speed and TH400 units were built. Some show GM built 96 COPO Chevelles with TH400 (Code MP) and 277 with a 4-speed (Code MQ) while others show 93 with TH400 and 265 with 4-speed. Accepted production run is COPO 323 units with the remaining engines used for service. Dealers other than Yenko ordered COPO Chevelles and the 323 quantity could be 350 or more.
COPO build sheets show the L78 engine even though the L78 engine was never installed
in a COPO Chevelle.
Note COPO options:
9562DD - M40 automatic, bucket seats, COPO tires and special springs
9694CB - Three-speed automatic transmission together with 9562DD, 9737LD and RPO
J50 vacuum power brakes (This option modified RPO J52 power disc brakes)
9737LD - Sports car Conversion/ Yenko. This option was 15-inch tires
and Rally wheels..
Special Features:
* Super Sport blackout grille with bow tie emblem
* Super Sport hood
* Blacked out rear tail panel
* Positraction 4.10:1 rear axle
* Standard Malibu interior
* Steering wheel with either SS or Bow Tie emblem
Yenko Chevelles:
* 20 - LeMans Blue
* 18 - Fathom Green
* 16 - Butternut Yellow
* 16 - Hugger Orange
* 14 - Garnet Red
* 12 - Daytona Yellow
* 5 - Dover White
* 5 - Olympic Gold
(Note: Don Yenko is reported to have ordered 99 COPO Chevelles.
The paint color breakdown above totals 106 so take them with a grain of salt.)
Engine
All COPO Chevelles were outfitted with the 425hp RPO L72 engine, which stands among the most powerful engines ever put in a production Chevrolet passenger car. GM records show 373 of these engines were built at the Tonawanda assembly plant in New York, but this number reflects only engines built, not total number of cars made. The COPO Chevelle had 425hp from the cast-iron big-block with cast-iron heads, which were stuffed with giant valves, 2.19-inch intakes and 1.72-inch exhausts, 11.1 compression, a 0.520-lift solid-lifter camshaft and a 780cfm Holley atop an aluminum intake manifold. All engines had an open-element air cleaner with a flash chrome lid and flash chrome rocker arm covers. All were equipped with GM's air injector reactor pump to meet emission standards The 427 Chevrolet engine is easily rebuildable, and every part needed to put one back to stock configuration or elevate to all-out race form is available. The engine codes were MP for the automatics and MQ if equipped with a manual transmission.
Transmission
Transmissions available with a COPO Chevelle were the M20, M21 and M22 "Rock Crusher" Muncie four-speed manual transmissions. Also available was a special Turbo Hydra-Matic 400. All had legendary strength, and parts to overhaul any of these transmissions are readily available, even though Muncie parts are getting expensive. The internally upgraded "CX" Turbo Hydra-Matic is known as the strongest automatic ever from GM and came with a heavy-duty six-bolt torque converter. A special speedo-reducer came with all four transmissions in order to calibrate the correct speedometer reading.
Rear End
The 12-bolt rear axle is among the strongest ever to make it into a passenger car and built to withstand 460-lbs.ft. of torque. The only rear axle available came with a 4.10:1 ratio with a special heat-treated ring gear. This rear differential included a special heavy-duty Positraction case with unique parts not interchangeable with other 12-bolt cases. The code for a COPO Chevelle is KQ.
Suspension/Brakes
The standard braking system consisted of four-wheel drum brakes with 9.5-inch-diameter drums. If disc brakes were ordered, the cast-iron, vented rotors measured 11 inches and were 1-inch thick. COPO Chevelles did not receive the special F41 suspension option that made it to 722 SS 396 Chevelles.
Wheels/Tires
COPO 9737 was included on all Yenko Chevelles and available in all
others. This option specified F70x15-inch Goodyear Wide Tread GT
tires on 7-inch Rally wheels (Code YH). These special tires were
reportedly never used on any other Chevrolet. The remaining COPO
Chevelles received F70x14-inch tires on 7-inch Super Sport wheels
(Code YA), which included the SS emblem in the center cap.
Interior
Most COPO Chevelles came with a blue bowtie emblem on the steering wheel, some did come with a SS 396 steering wheel. . The door panels say Malibu, not SS 396, and there were very few cars built with the tachometer and gauge package, which was optional. If a COPO Chevelle had an optional tachometer, the redline will read 6,000 rpm. A bench seat came standard and buckets were available. The standard and only door card was the standard Malibu series door card..