Full Build: Iconic 1969 ZL1 Chevy Camaro Goes From NOPO to COPO 

As an old guy I saw a ZL-1 Camaro at Dickie Harrell's shop in south Kansas City. I was 13 and rode my bicycle there. It was around late may '69 because school was already out. Amazing car.

My stepfather has a copo he picked up from an auction that had some front end damage and it was something the two of us bonded over. I’ll never forget those days. I would have never imagined being able to turn that car in to what it is today. It does have a few options that others don’t have of the time and I think that’s what made it that much more difficult for us and pricey. It was something we agreed to do every Saturday. We would eat lunch together and then go work on the car or pick up parts if needed. I really miss those days. The car is parked in one of my buildings on my farm now and I never even start it unless he’s getting in with me. Damn I miss those days.

Nice build! What a '69 should look like. Not an overdone resto-mod.

Dude, I’ve been watching this show since I can remember and everywhere I see you do the interior rebuild. It’s one of the most awesome parts of the show almost as nice as diving into that engine you’re redoing. Thank you for all you do my hats off to you. Good job.

307’s were absolutely gutless so this is one hell of a way to make this Camaro come to life!

In 1968 My dad gave me two Firestone Wide Ovals for the front of my 1967 SS/RS 350. I drove the car from Port Angeles, Wa to Point Area, Ca on Highway 1 on the North Coast. 3200 miles later they were nearly bald and came off the Camaro.

@2:02:04 says it all. one of the very best full build videos you guys have ever - EVER - done! Truly DIY, iconic, budget considerate, unadulterated power that causes such a smile. Well done!

I thought this was a recent build until they showed that radio and Tommy started talking about iPods lol

I love everything about these builds. Even the inclusion of every possible royalty-free version of “Life in the Fast Lane” you can find.

Nice job, well documented resto type build without a bunch of stupid antics and crappy unnecessary add on’s. A nice car that is gonna be a lot of fun to drive and show off.

I love the custom GM decal that has been placed on the ATi Crank Damper. Thecway he measured up, cut and weld that rear end was super slick. I am impressed😊. Great work

My brain exploded when he made the oil prime tool. Fuckin awesome.

69 camaro has been a dream car for me since I was 13 years old. Great job on the build and thanks for all the information you provide.

Build a retro mod ‘69 Z-28! One of my friends in high school had an awesome blue with white Z. There’s so much you can do with the engine, trans, exhaust, interior, gauges, sound system and so on. Let’s build it!

The original building for Gibbs Chevy in Laharpe, Il is still there, but it is a tire place now. Its amazing that this tiny little town out in the middle of west/central Illinois was so instrumental in muscle car and NHRA history.

That 307 is SO NICE! Kind of a shame to watch it gettin' altered so much. I would love to see that car done as a restomod, keeping and freshening up the original aesthetics, but then beefing up the powerplant, and upgrading the chassis and suspension for modern performance and handling.

That wasn't the horn ground. That was the key buzzer contact switch...horn is on top of turn sig. switch

FANTASTIC BUILD guys.... That thing is absolutely BEAUTIFUL would you mind dropping it off to me this weekend..... Thanks. I'll take great care of it until the day I die. This is almost my dream car. You guys did a hell of a nice job, should be VERY proud of yourselves. Master craftsmanship at its finest. Easily, on a scale of 1 to 10 this is definitely an 11 🤘🤘 Awesome work guys. Take care, stay safe out there. ~Jonny5🥁

In 1972 I got a 69 copo Camaro for a high school graduation present I acquired every ticket except vehicular manslaughter in triplicate never wrecked it and never killed anybody my father worked as a paint supervisor in the factory with these cars came from he had an orange ss396 n75 I got to work there for 11 years there were four 427 camaro's around where I lived none were aluminum

weres the safety glasses while fixing the broken seat? they are a must with anything under tension

This is a fantastic idea........But, when you said "some" of these copo cars are lost forever. That is enough to make a muscle car nut my age (70) go down on one knee and cry.

Tommy’s my guy!! I love his down home lingo plus the fact he’s a bonified “body man”. I’d bet his father, and perhaps his grandfather, were body men. He likely grew up in a body shop. His skills were instilled in him at a young age.

Tommy Boshers is a master welder. Pretty smart fellow, entertaining and knowledgeable, but he gets that welder in his hand he absolutely backs it up.

It's a real shame they didn't take the time to dyno the engine to give us the real numbers on it😭

I love the full builds.

That was a fun build to watch. But I thought for sure that you were going to paint that thing orange! The black looked awesome!

Tommy, you are Amazing! Im a huge fan of yours and love watching you work and explain what you do while doing it.

You’re in heaven with your 307. All you need is a Powerglide behind all those ponies.

Great build job but I have never seen so many advertisement breaks on any other channel. This channel is King in that category.

That was one of the best off-road recovery moments I’ve ever seen! Great edit, even better channel. Amazing video!!

My Dad had a base model '73 El Camino with a 307, 3 on the tree, and bench seats. I remember him telling me that the 307/3 speed got worse gas mileage than the 350/4 speed! Like you said, you didn't get economy OR performance. Don't feel too bad about not being able to do body work. I worked in 2 body shops, and I never got any good at "mud work". I did the initial teardown, mechanical/electrical repairs (and I was handy with a MIG welder), final assembly, sanding/buffing, and the cleanup/detail. Body filler was like some arcane magic that I never mastered. A buddy of mine bought a '67 Camaro realk cheap. It was originally a "crap brown" with gold interior, 250 straight 6, with a 3 on the tree. When he bought it, someone already swapped in a 327, and had the 3 speed shifter sticking out of the side of the trans tunnel. The 3 on the tree shift collar and "250" badges were still on the car! It ran like crap til he gave it a tune-up, changed the fluids and filters, and swapped the points ignition for an HEI. It became a real fire breathing, tire destroying monster! Another buddy of mine had an old Mustang. ('66 perhaps?) He had the stock stereo in the dash, and he mounted a modern (late 90s) stereo inside the glove box with new speakers behind the original grills. That way he had the original look, and updated sound. Not sure how easy it was to change the station or volume while driving alone...

gd trick with the rag fer door handle clips smart and slick

Not in particular a Camero guy but greatly appreciate a lot of the solid work y'all do. That Camero looking sharper then sharp. Watch this video three hours before 7:30 a.m. Got a 1999 Chrysler Concorde upgrade and restore. Needs painting really really bad runs good. Sharp sharp video.

I hope I can get my Caprice done like this. 👍

Love that build . Should have welded axel tubes to center section get rid of that vaccum secondary .1 more gear would be nice

Big blocks go in those cars with no problems, big blocks came in those cars!

I know someone that has an actual copo and man what a car it is

You could say this is a 2 hour and 6 minute products endorsement with a little bit of car rebuild included

Used to create finger sized skateboard snowboard in grade school with glue.Used the top of the desk concave relief that is for pencils and pens for the mold process.I never thought you could use epoxy to fix damaged front plastic grills like that and then bondo and sand shape and paint wow I'm impressed to know this method and seeing it work well too wow great job.Hey I got something I noticed that car manufacturers back then were allowed creativity and so my contribution that would work well is to magnetize the seat everything that is metal within the seat to catch loose change.Good job guys.

I have a clone 1971 SS Nova you did a good job on the Camaro

The legend of the 427 is one reason why i had to build a small block 427.

21 minutes is all I can take of this old school history teacher reading q-cards, and Boshers doing all the real work. I don't think this dude could find his ass with both hands.

I think that engine weighs less than 500lbs. I'm pretty sure you could use a 9.8 deck conjoined bore aluminum block to build a 550ci setup with AFRs and a solid roller with EFI and have the greatest OHV internal combustion reciprocating piston engine ever made. Zero compromise in that formula and it doesn't have to cost more than about $1200 above and iron version.

I have a 1970 nova SS currently on the rotisserie being worked on and boy would I love to put one of these in her!

All the car videos I watched , watching them narrow the rear end was cool . Never saw it done before

Love the full builds versus the episodes

this guy knows his stuff thats for sure

Awsome build. Good tips., really enjoyed watching you guys. 👍

I have a '69 Camaro and have been thinking of doing some of this work. Where can I purchase the Barrett Jackson paint and supplies? It doesn't look like anyone carries it.

Love this thing. Would’ve been great if you guys with big deep TV show budgets would have saved a less than ideal 1st gen candidate instead of a already decent driver car. But still, that thing is clean!!

Been looking for new car channels today, wasn’t sure if I was gonna like this channel, but then I saw the 427 engine and now I’m hooked!!!

“Mank da Skank” and “Baullz-Deep Boshers” be keepin’ it REAL!

Doing the swap to manual you should of went with a 5 or 6 speed. Overdrive would of been nice.

A set of slicks and open headers, probably in the high 11's.

Nickey Chevrolet had Dick Harrell installing the 427 in the 1967 Camaro. In addition it was performance tuned

Stock 69 Z/28 (302ci) Bandimere Speedway Denver Co. 15.00 flat @ 99 mph. 6000 ft above sea level. Tire spin all through 1-2 and most of 3.

Find an "O" axel out of a 442, It had super large axles and retainers on the outboard from the factory and less then an inch longer.

Now that I see a COPO, I want one.

Thank you answering questions on Friday.

Is the car for sale, if not what do you do with the cars after your done.

69 is My dream car I be happy with the base Camaro

That little copper contact is the key buzzer not the horn contact!!

I feel like this was filmed a lot earlier than this year.

What Muncie is going in. 21? or the old rock crusher 22. I had the M22 in my 1969 nova back in 83. That trans was i monster to shift!

No chance I would scrap all that gorgeous chrome

I run a 10 bolt for 15 years in a 69 427 nova been down Atco many times,build it right and drive right!

What a fantastic build!

Thats such an awesome build.

God dang man ! What if #Chevrolet produced a NEW 69' Camaro ? I wonder if they would sell ?

I raced a 5.0 mustang 2011 in my 02 Z28 and we were dead even until 145 on a closed course. He wasn't too happy about that race 😂

A great new series guys... really enjoyed it. Haven't seen Steve Mank before... a great addition to the team. He clearly knows his stuff. Love your approach to the project. And Tommy... you keep getting better and better at your craf. You did not indicate if you did the transmission with original M22 close ratios, or wider spread now available. (I would have done the wider ratio set). Can understand why you did the quick ratio manual box... but wouldn't this car be great with aftermarket electrric rack and pinion? Regardless... great project car.

Iconic clean piece of American muscle best way to start a project wipe out all the preservation and hard work of somebody else and just do what you want to can't get any more American than that.

You could spray rusty brake drums with Rustoleum Red primer which will kill the rust, no sanding required! You could save those old parts tell sell, some of us like to keep it simple and cheap! That primer can save the entire car, really!! cheers! :)

Very Cool. Awesome build 👌👌❤❤👍👍😎😎

great build...

Should took the windshield out before you painted the car front and back don’t you think

What a beautiful car nice job guys as always 👍🏻👍🏻

Beautiful car! Why no headrests? 1969's had headrests.

You should go with Chrome Reverse solids with plain baby moon caps. They look so good on first gen F bodies. Nuthin but reflections.

I'm sure you remembered the sub-frame connecters

Wonderful content.

Should of Used the type of “Chambered” exhaust offered on a ZL1!

Every time I watch one of your shows my chest gets more hair! 😂

Cool build! That 307 looked like new though

Golly.. another camaro.. what fun .....

Beautiful machine.

If only I had deep enough pockets. Beautiful.

Would've been nice to complete the engine bay look with correct looking air cleaner, valve covers & dizzy. Considering all the trouble they went to like keeping rear drums, OEM style radiator, heater box, front and rear suspension, diff and retro tires a few things don't quite add up - ie the OEM style Muncie with the non OEM crossmember, the non OEM looking valve covers, distributor and that crappy throttle return spring which just looks wrong - I don't get it since all the rest of it really nails it. Why not use a 5sp if using that crossmember then finishing the engine bay properly so it looks like a ZL1 from 1969? If it were me doing a homage-ish style resto, the very least I'd do is have factory style rear discs and calipers from a later model which you can't see with these wheels (assuming they fit with those rims), factory looking power steering (even if it was never offered) and as mentioned a 5sp. I'd even try to emulate the smog pump I reckon. In the end it came together just a tad weird but I guess sponsors are why this was derailed.

With this motor/tire combo 2nd gear starts are the way.

Love this show. Very enoying with the flashing from the cameras though... Thanx

That is were they get a song “Getting up 409.”🙂

Wow, just Wow!

Definitely needs a regear in the diff 278 should make that drive nice and have plenty of traction

Tommy my good man why did you go to so much work to make this car so perfect but didn’t paint the inside of the doors behind the door panels?

Tommy, I want you to build me a ‘69 Firebird. I have a plan utilizing a few Tenn boys. Hint-Butler is involved.

After seeing the engine rock when revving, I'd chain down the block...and the original blue would have been better IMO than the black. Over all a very nice job

VERY COOL, Would Love to have it in my Garage! Keep up the great builds.

Im pretty sure mine was born with a 307 and power glide to😋

outstanding

I’m from the camp of let’s take this sweet 307 that needs a restoration and a lot of work, and inject it with everything new and go for it! Love it!