Belmont COPOs

[midyr]

Besides running Lance Hill's Racing Engine and Lance Hill's Tech Center I also ran Belmont's Performance Division along with Dave Mackay. We ordered every performance car Belmont sold. Our initial COPO order was for 10 9561 Camaros and 5 9562 Chevelles, including a hugger orange 4-spd I used as a daily driver. These were for stock. We sold them pretty quick and ordered more, in addition to customer-ordered COPOs. One customer order we remember was gold with a green interior.
At the time Belmont was the largest volume Chevy dealer in Canada, and we also moved more COPO stuff than anybody else.
Central Chev in London, Ontario, where my buddy Wayne "Hub" Huber operated their performance division, also moved a good number.
I can tell you guys that none of them ever came off the truck looking nearly as pretty as the restos.

Lance Hill

[PeteLeathersac]

Lance,

That Gold w/ Green guts car would probably be the car sold new to Willard Clements and recently advertised for sale http://staging.motorbase.com/auction...id/1571601122/

Being involved w/ Belmont and Central through these years, can you tell us anything about factory built '68-70 L78 Novas being delivered w/ L89 Aluminum Heads?.
Not dealer mods but installed on the cars...same as Camaros or not?.


~ Pete

[midyr]

This car has not had its original motor since a few months after delivery. Willard had it towed in to Belmont on a chain with lettering still on the windows from flogging it at Cayuga Dragway. There were windows in the block too, from rods coming through. We said no way for warranty Willard. So he ordered up a replacement. The car was used hard for as long as Willard had it. Another thing, if it went 11s at Indy, it must have been dropped from an airplane. Where do the claimed numbers on these cars come from???

[iluv69s]

[ QUOTE ]
This car has not had its original motor since a few months after delivery.

[/ QUOTE ]


but the 'for sale' ad says the the car still has the original motor because the second owner pulled the original motor and stored it for 20 years...



here we go again....

[BARRY]

HI that is true about the original motor i owed that car for 20 years it had the vin at the side of the block date on the block is D 29 9 what are the odds of geing a new or used block with that date back then and how would care back then i bought the car for 5,200.00 in 1978 with that motor i don"t think any one would stamp the vin back then... they would not even know it was thier BARRY ALLAN

[iluv69s]

[ QUOTE ]
This car has not had its original motor since a few months after delivery.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]




HI that is true about the original motor i owed that car for 20 years it had the vin at the side of the block


[/ QUOTE ]

seems to be a difference of opinion...anyone???

[midyr]

Pete,

I don't have any reliable recollection of the Novas being available with that combination and doubt it ever was. I have Davey's salesman book from 1969, which is complete even to written-in price changes, and it shows the L89 option in Chevelles but not Camaros or Novas, yet we know we sold a yellow L89 Camaro. Some stuff was not included in the salesman books anyway, as we know, that was what COPOs, etc, were for. But, also, a dealer would put anything on a customers new delivery that they wanted, including aluminum heads, all day long, so that could be an explanation. And then of course if you knew somebody with pull in a zone office or the plant your car could be 'customized' as it went down the line. L89 heads? M22? You got it. This was a widely known and well established practice, on either side of the border. The paperwork reflected the original order, not what actually went on the car. Money changed hands and cuts went up the food chain. I saw numerous examples of it over the years. Sorry I couldn't have been of more definitive help on the question, guys.

Lance

[Mr70]

midyr
By chance did the Belmont Monaco Orange COPO Chevelle have a VIN ending in 70,& did you sell a Lemans Blue COPO Camaro ending with 85?

[midyr]

Rick,

I talked to Davey and neither of us specifically remember an orange COPO Chevelle, but it is entirely possible we had one, or even more. We do recall silver and blue in our initial order of 5, and then there were additional orders later, both stock and customer orders. We do not have VINs or paperwork left, so can't help there. If you think Belmont delivered an orange Chevelle, you can tap GM Canada's records to know for sure.

As for a Le Mans blue COPO Camaro, we ordered a column-shift M40 car and subsequently sold it to a friend who kept it in meticulous condition until he died young of cancer. It was not a RS car.

Lance

[Mr70]

I thought you were referring to an Orange COPO 4spd. Chevelle earlier,but see now how you weren't.
Appreciate the follow up & sorry to hear that too..
Thanks Lance.