When did GM first introduce the COPO option ?

**John** · #1 07-31-2005, 06:37 AM

Does anyone know when they first made available the COPO option...of "ordering something that was not a RPO on a vehicle?"
....

gtaa9 · #2 07-31-2005, 04:31 PM

I believe the first COPO car you could buy was in 1967.I'm not 100% sure on this though.

**Mr70** · #3 07-31-2005, 04:57 PM

COPO wasn't an Option.
COPO stands for Central Office Production Order & was basically developed so Dealers could order large quanties of Special Fleet Vehicles,at a discount,with larger volume as well as superseding corporate red tape.
It made it easier to process for both parties involved.
Vehicles like Ambulances,Buses,Police Cars,Village trucks etc.,all painted there own colors schemes with options catered towards them and not the public masses.
The High Performance Engine ideas were an after thought.

Z-11 396 · #4 07-31-2005, 07:11 PM

Did Yenko not start talking to GM in 1965 to build his first Stinger Corvair's for the 1966 year with the COPO's # 9513A, the 3.89 positraction differential, and COPO's # 9861E, the Dual Master brake cylinder unit.

**John** · #5 07-31-2005, 07:29 PM

...sorry for calling it an "option"...
....just thought that there may be vehicles earlier then just 1968, and 1969 that may have been ordered with items which were not RPO items ...to their vehicle.

yenkoman · #6 08-01-2005, 04:28 AM

My understanding is C.O.P.O. did not start until late 68 but theres alot of people here who know everything that I forgot over the years

Verne_Frantz · #7 08-01-2005, 06:25 AM

The COPO orders all went through the Fleet and Special Order Dept. The exact difference between a F&SO order and a COPO order is vague. I've documented a 1958 Chevy which was a COPO. Yes, stamped on the cowl tag with the order number. Also, a '63 4-dr Biscayne, stamped likewise, which I believe was an FBI car. (and a few others from the early '60s)

I know on this site "COPO" means something really special, but historically, those type of orders went way back. "COPO" did not always mean "Supercar" - it was simply an order that had to go through the Central Office due to specific changes from regular production. It's been around a long time.

**John** · #8 08-01-2005, 02:28 PM

...thanks Verne...that's what I wanted to know

**bwag** · #9 08-01-2005, 05:03 PM

I'm doing some work on a 27k mile 39 Chevy this week. The last time I had the car I found some paper work from the factory and selling dealer,there was a section on the order blank with a C.O.P.O. designation. I remember showing it to some of my friends ,I'll try to post the document if its still in the car.

Jeff Murphy · #10 08-01-2005, 08:58 PM

If I'm not mistaken, Fred Gibb used the COPO system to help LaHarpe area residents get cars in the immediate post-WWII days. Apparently, GM still rationed cars and gave priority to fleet orders for public services.

So Gibb got the idea to order a fleet of "taxis". He then sold those "taxis" to the local folks that couldn't get a car any other way...

By the time GM figured out that LaHarpe's 6000 population couldn't support a fleet of 50 taxis, it was too late.

It was only a matter of time before the Novas and ZL-1s...