L72 COPO production was buried in the Tailfins & Bowties data. The data was obtained directly from Chevrolet in the ‘80s and reprinted in the book Tailfins and Bowties. All of the oft-repeated ’69 Camaro production numbers-3,675 Z11s, 20,302 Z/28s-came from this data.
The data lists 1969 Camaro production by engine size; 230, 250, 327 et cetera. No 427 engine is listed but the figures total 243,085, same as 1969 production. COPO 9560 [ZL1] & 9561 [L72] build records always list L78 for some reason but not Z27 [Camaro SS].
Ergo, both COPO 427 options are included in the L78 totals.
The L48 [300/350] was the standard Camaro SS engine; 22,339 built. Camaro SS optional 396 engines; 13,659 built. Data shows 34,932 Camaro SS produced. Adding L48 and 396 totals, 22,339 + 13,659 = 35,998.
That’s 1,066 more than Camaro SS.
There were 69 COPO 9560 Camaros built; 1,066 – 69 = 997 COPO 9561 cars. Tonawanda engine production records have been known for decades. 822 MN and 193 MO; 1,015 L72 Camaro 427 engines.
That means the L78 total of 4,889 is inflated. Actual L78 production would be 3,823.
Just for the record, L89 was not an engine option. It was an aluminum cylinder head option that required ordering the L78 engine. Factory docs for those cars always list both. The L78 total includes the 311 L89 cars.
