« Reply #20 on: April 22, 2015, 08:13:33 PM »
....I've dug a bit more and found three more vintage photos of COPO 9561 cars. Two have the decal, one does not. As for the statement The ones I've seen doesn't have the sticker on the lid.... the only vintage photo you could have seen is the one I mentioned. Only two ZL1s were photographed in the day; the #3 ZL1 is the other but the air cleaner lid is not present in the photos. Id like to see photos of the other 98% before concluding none of them had the label. Ill bet every restored 69 Z/28 has a 302 label on the air cleaner but the January 69 Hot Rod feature of an 09D LA Z/28 shows the factory did forget on occasion. Could they have just forgotten on some COPOs?
So what did I do when putting the finishing touches on ZL1 #4 27 years ago? No 427 label. But I have no problem with ZL1 #6 having the label. It is entirely possible it was built that way.
Great work, William, I really appreciate it!
Do you have the pics to show us or aren't they digital maybe?
I just found a pic with the sticker! The two I've seen so far is this, are they authentic you think?
Well spoken there, X33RS, I think you have a point!
How about another curve ball thrown in...
This may be reaching but I see it entirely possible (this happened alot with fan caution decals in the Ford camp when cars came in for service) Since alot of these cars didn't sell right away, alot were sent back or distributed around the country at various dealerships....Isn't it entirely possible that those dealers, or even Gibbs himself saw fit to run over to the parts department and stick "427 decals on themselves when the cars were only days or weeks old??
I mean, without the decal, and no identification on the outside of the car, I'm sure there were alot of people back then that didn't know what they were looking at, and could have easily mistaken the cars for 396's that cost $7,000. Since they were a hard sale I could see dealers doing things to push these cars out the door. The iron block COPO's had air cleaner decals.....so could it be possible that dealers thought,,,,hey why not??
Just a thought, and speculation on my part, but a possibility. Either way I certainly wouldn't kick it out of the garage just because of a $6 decal. Just buy another lid and switch it back and forth. If you can afford the car, you can afford another air cleaner lid
What I do like about this hobby is that there are still original unrestored cars out there that show things weren't always cut in stone, and some people aren't afraid to restore a car that doesn't follow what is widely accepted as correct. William has posted enough information to suggest that sticker or no sticker is entirely possible. What pains me are restorations that are done on original cars, and things are changed just because that's what is accepted in the main stream or due to peer pressure with judges and the like. I have an unrestored car here that has a few oddities about it, but are viewed as entirely possible by other "supposed" experts that have seen the car. So I don't necessarily see this decal issue as incorrect.
You're absolutely correct... There ARE differences from the factory (from 'commonly accepted and written' absolutes).. and then, just as now, dealers DO make changes to the cars in their inventory to make them more 'saleable'. There are *many* differences in late '69 delivered Z28 (and probably other Camaros as well)... which originated in the factory(s)...
like EO paint correct
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new Camaros owned 68 and 69 Z-28. new Corvettes owned 59,62,63,64,65,66,97,99 02,05 and 08. retired race engine builder, former NASCAR tech inspector